Evelyn Laws.

Cajuns Return to Pensacola.......

 Fat. Stuffed. And Happy.

 

And ready for a routine!  Spring Break was a wonderful time spent shooting a wedding on an amazing plantation, another bride, babies, and more cajun babies........and of course, eating crawfish and chocolate around the clock with my wonderful and adorable family. I miss them so much it hurts sometimes.  The autism hurt a lot this time too.

 

 It doesn't always, but this time it did.  The 5th birthday is fast approaching and it's got me twisted. Things aren't clicking for him now, but I know soon we'll break through again and will feel more triumphant than I did before.  The outburst and tantrums are driving me in the ground. For now, I'm exhausted with a list I'll never finish and a grand plan to FIX my baby.  To help him enjoy all of the things that everyone else gets to enjoy. Organically.

 I wanted to share some of my edited fotos from my family time and have many more to show from Josh and Robin's wedding and from my sessions with little Miss Julia (3 months).  Here are some of our Chauvin babies and of course, our newest little Chauvin.......Noah. (also 3 months, who is without a doubt....NOT LITTLE. the rolls are endless.)  who I just cannot resist posting about tonight.  The cuteness of his little face just wears me slap out. TRULY.  I think he just reminds me so much of Lily when she was a baby.....I don't know......but someone help me out!!!

 

And here's one more of my baby JohnDavid "wrastling" with my Lawsy boy.  This photograph is not only one of my all time favorite but is a memory and a moment that is so profound. So simple. So mundane. But SO profound. This moment is a glimpse of normalcy for Laws. For me. For us. 

A photograph like this could never have a pricetag in my book. Never.  Up until now, Laws has been afraid of JohnDavid. He winces and puts his skinny little arms up at the rambunctious, vivacious, and tough little 2 year old cousin who tries to enter his personal space much to much for his liking.  He has started to actually enjoy it and we are teaching him to really fight back and stand up to that little 2 year old cajun who has stolen the heart of everyone around him. 

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Hickman-Hebert Wedding Sneak Peek below.........Nite Nite!!

BOO!

 

Scared you didn't I?  And it's not even Halloween! (much to the dismay of my little Rain Man of a son who becomes regularly OBSESSED with pumpkins every November. And for the next 6-8 months afteward. Only to do it all over again the next November.)

The poor. Wretched. little. Neglected. BLOG.  Let me just say a few words without any more explanations that no one will believe anyway....(insert chuckle)

1. I'm "working" on new branding.

2. And two new blog (s).  Yes, two of them. Working is sort of a relative term at this point. But working, nonetheless. Wink.

3. I'm going to be published.

4. I've traveled to DC twice in 3 weeks. Being published is associated with said traveling. Modern Portrait Workshop is also associated with said traveling. 

5. I've traveled TWICE since my kids were born.

6. Not really. That was a sarcastic joke. But you get the point. ;)

7. Being published took me by surprise.  And I love it. More to come.....on that front. Soon. 

8. I'm booking weddings left and right. 

9. I think I'm going to LOVE shooting weddings. A year ago, I said you couldn't pay me enough money to shoot them. Go figure.

10. I have a pet mouse. 

11.  Ok. So that was a joke too. He lives in my office. I think he may have friends. I'm reconsidering the office/studio. ;)

12. And not reconsidering the dog. Franklin. Still love the dog. Very much a miracle, I tell you.

12. Still haven't found a suitable Kindergarten for my Kindergarten age son. He doesn't fit in. Anywhere.  Too autistic to be typical. Too typical to be obviously autistic. Well, sometimes anway.

13. The Modern Portrait Workshop in DC rocked. I can't wait to implement ALL of what Justine and Diana taught. The journey is just simply....so much fun. :) 

14. I am sick of taxes.  DC was a reminder.

15. I love watching my children roll around in the bed together. Happy. Happy. Happy.

16. I will post photographs below.  Random favorites from recent.  Aside from the amazing bridals at Houmas House in Baton Rouge. More on those once the wedding is over. This next weekend!

17. I feel like a real photographer. Finally. Now only if I would also feel like a business woman......wonder when THAT will happen?

18.  I love other people's babies. Infants, I mean. Well, you know what I MEAN!!  They are just so dang soft and squishy and fragile and precious and for someone ELSE! One of my BFF's had her darling and ever so beautiful daughter on St. Patrick's Day. We welcome you Miss Rice!

19. They named her Eleanor. Here she is.....

 

Makes me grit my teeth. Hard.

 

 

20. Speaking of gritting my teeth.....have you ever in your life seen a cuter or fatter 4 month old. EVER?  I received this photo from my brother a few days ago and I have not stopped chuckling since. Well, more like......laughing until I choke. But that's beside the point.

 

We love you Noah Man....we are coming to squeeze your guts out soon. Very soon.  We will hurt you, I'm afraid!!  So get ready, my little cajun Chauvin bebe!

e.

Trotting along.... with a few personal notes...

AHH....so many thoughts run, or rather RACE, through my head as I sit throughout my day (or drive, or cleanup, or feed kiddies, or edit photographs, or talk to my BFF) that I feel as though I should start to put my nifty little iPhone notes to good use.  Even while lying in bed at night, with Laws' skinny little arms wrapped around my neck as he doses off to the land of nod, I find so many wonderful thoughts and things to talk about it, write about, be thankful for.  There are just so many I get wrapped up in the moment and then.....POOF.  There are papers to fill out for school, the dishes still need to be done (note to self:  yogurt spoon still in his lunch box.  will rot if i don't remember to put in dishwasher), tuition checks paid, check bank accounts so that we can pay said tuition, make sure sheets get turned on in dryer again (pet peeve:  sheets not completely dry.  like when they get all twisted and those nasty little parts stay wet. ugh.), revamp diet plan for the week (you know that changes weekly, depending on my sweet tooth.  hence, the extra 10 pounds since June), make a life list, pay taxes (not going there AGAIN!)......

So you see everyone....I am well intentioned to keep you in the KNOW with me and us and them and it.........oh, you get what I mean right?  I just run so many wonderful things through little filters all day waiting for the chance to bring it to the blog but somehow they never make it.  And frankly, I just have a hard time being......I don't know the word...superficial....for the sake of having something to write about or to put up here. I always want to have good content that I can talk openly about and not 

....."This is Jim and Sara.....and what a cute couple.  And these are their kids, Sue and Jack....aren't they cute too?"  post.

SO, with the coming of 2009 and the start of a new year and I have started with one of the things on my life list and that is to blog at least every other day and to add precious and funny and relevant and irrelevant content so that my clients, friends, family, and potential clients can have something to enjoy or something to look forward to.  Hopefully I can find something enlightening or funny (if you don't have humor, then WHAT exactly DO you have right?) or interesting to share.  Even if it's just a thought or two.  2009...here I come.  

As the holiday season approaches, I sit and look around at the busyness of everyone and everything but am finally able to (after the complete mad dash of client holiday sessions and Christmas card orders) just be.  I'm not sure what just BEING means but I embrace every Christmas season with a sense of magic and wonder and this year seems to be putting a tiny, but much needed, spring in my step in terms of being a mom and enjoying BOTH of my children.

  The past few years with Laws have literally been some of the most difficult that I can remember.  Last year at this time my heart was broken.  So tattered and frayed and worn. But mostly broken.  Broken because I felt like he was so broken. Beautiful in every way, but just broken.  The wall of an indescribable nothingness that kept him from us.  The mysterious cloud that surrounded his spirit and his face.  It was like I couldn't even SEE his face. Even though looking at him and his beauty made my insides hurt, I was staring at eyes that had nothing but grey matter behind them.  The words that do not come, the words that don't describe what we SEE when we really LOOK INTO our children's eyes still escape me.  There is something about what you feel in your heart when you look into the eyes of even a baby that seems to say....I LOVE YOU. Or I"M HERE with YOU.  Those unexplained feelings, those organic moments that happen so naturally with a typical child just DON'T with a child that has autism.  And last year, they didn't with Laws.  But this year......I see a spirit. The mountain of AUTISM that surrounded him and me and and us and my thoughts seemed insurmountable on most days.  The thought that at 3.5 years he had no clue who Santa was or why we opened presents or the point of presents or Christmas, for that matter, was sickening to me.  The repetitive words and ear piercing shrieks every few minutes started to make me weak.  I felt like on some days I would just collapse with this child that was mine and whom I would die for but couldn't seem to find. 

Over the course of this past year, after many hours of ABA therapy and a regular preschool (in which we have an aid that accompanies him for about half of his 16 hour school week) where he is required to participate and do the things that all of his peers are doing......he has come a long way. No doubt.  I pray so hard every day.  I beg for his recovery.  I ASK for a pardon for him.  I plead with St. Michael the Archangel and our Mother Mary to bring him to US.  To open up his brain, the pathways, the connections......to take whatever it is that Autism is stealing from him and give it back.  And you know, some days I think they are listening.  Some days I feel as though all of the prayers and all of the therapy and all of the love that is given to him is helping.  He has become so social and loving and we have seen so many wondrous clues as to who Laws really is.  Who this gift that we have been given is supposed to be to the world.  It is humbling and amazing.  If ever there was a mom to love their child out of autism, it will be me.  I know that in reality he will always have autism. He will always be different. But I will never......for the rest of my life.....quit trying. Never quit praying. Never quit asking.

Yet, I will forever wonder why.  Why me. Why us.  There is a reason, surely....and you know.....there are some days I see it. I see what joy he brings to us and dumbfounded at what he has taught me.  What he has taught Lily.  The beautiful, magnificent soul that she is.  One of my other only hopes for him is that he realizes one day the magnitude of her love for him.  

TRAVELHOST MAGAZINE

As you all know from my previous post a few days ago, I have been working alongside the fabulous owner/publisher of a way cool travel information magazine called TRAVELHOST. http://www.travelhost.com/jsp/advertisers.jsp?hc=1584898184

The lovely Jennifer Russell recently acquired the magazine after being an Academic Dean and incredibly integral part of a private school in town for many years.  While the school suffered a huge loss when she left there, this magazine is sure to see success upon her arrival! She is a woman of beauty and talent that I had the privilege of doing a photo shoot with a few months back.  Initially this session was to have updated photographs of herself for the magazine and she was so pleased with the results that she was the creative force behind the idea for the HOT MAMA SESSIONS that I posted about a few weeks ago.   http://evelynlaws.typepad.com/my_weblog/2008/06/hot-mama-sessions.html   As you can see below, she is SURELY one hot mama and have thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to work with her!

    Her idea was that taking photographs of women in their 30's and 40's, when the last thing we make time for is ourselves, could be such an uplifting and positive experience for them and for me. Capturing the beauty that abounds when we are still holding on to our youth with a little more wisdom and little less elasticity in our skin is empowering and worthwhile. And heck, it's not often that we moms/women have photographs of ourselves that we can look back on and say, "WOW....I was one HOT MAMA!"  I know for me, it's not everyday that I get dressed up and put makeup on just for the sake of looking pretty.  There is no time for that on most days, or rather it's not usually a priority for me when my focus needs to be in a million different places at once.  So, capturing these women and giving them something to look back on and offering a reminder that despite all of the trials and tribulations that life hands us........we are beautiful in every sense of the word. 

So, I just had to show off a couple of the photos from her session a few months back and wanted also to highlight her magazine AND the ad for a local boutique, Artesana that I helped to create.........

It is such a cool and informative publication with highlights of local areas, restaurants, shops, and entertainment in the Escambia and Santa Rosa county areas.  Lots of awesome info for tourist traveling to our area, offering the perfect vacation or business trip reference.  AND.....a couple of my photos have made in into the magazine aside from the photos in the above ad!  YIPPPEEEE!!!   Although it's a small, local publication it's still so fun to see my photos housed within it's pages. I plan to submit more photos of our lovely town to Mrs. Jennifer and am planning on pursuing this type of work in the future.  I tell you what, with all of the struggles that I am currently facing, it sure it NICE to have my art.  It's evolving, never static, challenging, and always creative and fulfilling.   I have no idea which direction it will take me (just like everything else in my life for now!) but for some reason I am enjoying this photography journey.  It brings me so much pleasure to hear from so many people who are so genuine and kind in their words about my work.  Having the ability to REALLY reach people with my words, but mainly my photographs, is one of the greatest surprises of my life.

Off to bed now....I have my Emmy, DJ, and JohnDavid here with us for a few nights so we are enjoying being with one another.  Still have so much to catch up on.  Laws' camp has been interesting and somewhat heartbreaking for me and it was a difficult week for me.  I do have tons of cool photos to show though and am hoping for a better week next week.  I just lay in bed at night and look at his beautiful face and hope with everything my heart has left that when he wakes up the next morning, the autism will be gone.  That he will awake with a new soul and that he will be released of his sentence.  I had that thought the other night while laying next to him and watching him sleep that it's like Laws is serving a life sentence in prison for a crime that he did not commit.  Behind bars to where I can never really reach him.  Never REALLY hug him and kiss him and it mean the same as it does when I hug Lily....or anyone else for that matter.  It's like he's just barely out of reach.  Every now and then you can reach your arms in but the bars are still there.  And they aren't coming off.  It's like his spirit is in handcuffs and shackles and it's dreadful to be the parent of such a perfect and beautiful little boy that is so hard to reach.  It's that whole being trapped inside thing that scares the crap out of me.  His tantrums have gotten so disruptive that it's hard to live with him these days.

It's like he used to be so happy and now he's just perpetually and painfully frustrated.  And believe me, he lets us know it.  About every 10-15 minutes. When moments like this happen it is simply beautiful.......

happy and looking at us and enjoying life.  But more often than not autism is wreaking havoc on everything in it's path......and I just wish it would go away.

 

e. 

 

Just to say HI

OK GANG......so much to share that I'm not sure where to begin!  Just wanted to say HI to everyone and to update the blog so I'll just post some random thoughts tonight......

First things first.......I FOUND MAX!!  For those of you who missed my post about a month ago regarding this beloved stuffed animal who has been with Laws and with us since he was 4 months old.   He  brought a smile to Laws' face and so much comfort to his little soul that I had a VERY difficult time losing him. BUT....you will be happy to know that he has made his way back to us.  More on that later, but I literally almost cried when I found him and thanked St. Anthony a few times over.  :)  Again, I never realized that I could develop an attachment so strong to a stuffed animal!!  Becoming a mom has made me......oh, I don't know........WEIRD.  Heehee.  Although some of you would say, "Well Ev......it wasn't the kiddos girlfriend!"    Oh you know, it's that whole evolving thing again. Below is a photo of him from a few months back holding the love of his life on our Trip to Fort Barancas.  We take Max everywhere and now we are complete once again!!! 

The second thing I wanted to share is this AD that you see above which was created by TravelHost owner, Jennifer Russell and her graphic designer on Tuesday of this past week. The photographs that you see contained within this amazing ad are MINE!!  I was THRILLED when I saw this puppy and thought I should share it with you all.  I will post about the very talented Mrs. Russell and her fun and informative magazine TRAVEL HOST this coming week.  I did an awesome photo shoot of her a few months back so that she could have a photograph of herself for the magazine and the shoot went better than expected.  She is such a cool gal and should have blogged about her months ago!  She also has a couple of photographs of Pensacola in her magazine that I took......which is a tad bit exciting for little 'ol me! It's such fun when I get to help her out with the ads because I love this type of work.  Hopefully one of these days I'll make it onto the likes of Martha Stewart Living.........a girl can dream, can't she?  Here is one more photo that I liked from the Artesana AD shoot that I'll leave you guys with.

I've had sort of a tought week with Laws at this camp and have had many thoughts that I wanted to share here but have been so crazy that I just couldn't find the time to blog.  Below you will see Laws sharing some bubble time with a couple of other children in his classroom.  So far he seems to enjoy it, but it's been mostly play all week.  It's a total grass roots effort that so many people have worked SO HARD to make happen, but it's almost an impossible feat.  Gotta start somewhere, I know, but was so hoping that he would have been getting that 6 hours of one on one ABA therapy for 6 weeks.  Such is life.  I'm so thankful to all of the folks who have gotten this started and just know that in a few years all of the kinks will be worked out and Pensacola will have a great thing going for these children.  It's funny....because when i say things like, "these children" I still sometimes cannot believe it's ME saying it.  I cannot believe we are one of THEM.  It was a tough week for me.....but am hoping to get back up and find that positive attitude that I normally manage to straddle every single day.  Even when my son is autistic. This week was one of those that made me want to give birth again and start all over.  Start over, so that God could correct this horrible mistake that he made and give me MY SON BACK.  The little boy, that at the age of FOUR, could tell me what he wants and WHY.  Not just shriek and yell and cry for every little thing.  The little boy that has playdates and talks about what he wants to be when he grows up.  The little boy that beats things up and plays soccer and gets into trouble and understands WHY.  But next week, I'll just be glad that he is Laws and that he is happy and healthy and that he does not live in poverty or in fear.  Happy and thankful that God chose me to be his mom.  Some days are just harder than others.  I had an incident in Louisiana that I still haven't talked about here that set me back a bit.  I encountered the most RUDE woman in WalMart (one more reason NOT to shop at Wal Mart!) while shopping with my sister, godchild, and Laws.  It was utterly embarrising and enfuriating to say the least.  I must admit though, I stooped to a level that I dared not thought I would ever go.  But when it's your child someone is being rude about..............I'll go to the MAT.  I'll debrief you all about the MAT this week. 

Booked my first big wedding for November at the Pensacola Yacht Club this past week so that was something GOOD.  Uber nervous and uber excited!  I'm so hoping to book a few more this year and have the chance to push myself a bit!  Will also give me the chance to continue to work with my little sister who we all know has WAY more confidence that myself.  She alone pushes me to JUST DO IT! 

This afternoon I got to do a "Birthday Shoot" of my dear friend Shannon and I'll post a sneak peek below.  This girl has a heart of gold and am so happy to call her a friend.  And would you just look at this beautiful face!

 

e.

The Langlinais Family and a HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Well, the end of the school year is finally wrapping up for Lily and Laws and our days have been cookoo!  I wanted to share with you all the family photo  session that I did with the Langlinais family almost two weeks ago now!  This was a session that I donated to Mrs. Langlinais' autism fund raiser back in March.  For two years now, she has taken on the task of putting together a tennis tournament to raise money for the purchase of a hyperbaric oxygen chamber. 

So many families of autistic children have seen amazing results from having spent time in the chamber. Keri is an amazing woman, who is VERY active in the autism community here in Pensacola.  Her son, Ryan, was diagnosed with Autism at the age of 3 and is now almost 16.  Keri is tireless in her efforts to help Ryan as well as so many other families who LIVE with autism everyday.

I had such a great time doing their portraits downtown and at the beach.....Ryan is such a sweetheart and his little brother Chase is just the same.   I don't think doing a family photo session for this long was Ryan's idea of a good time, but I thought he was such a trooper!!

Here are the handsome young men of the family...........

 

  And here is the Queen!  Keri truly is a beautiful person as much on the inside as she is on the outside.  She has such a way of making everyone feel special and she is so accepting of her son and his diagnosis, taking life's challenges head on and with an infectious positive outlook that leaves everyone in her path smiling.....


I'm having a hard time choosing which photos to show here, as The Langlinais family has yet to see their gallery.  Password to come this weekend guys!

 

I also need to wish my dear Aunt Malyn a VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!  A woman with a heart of gold who loves her family immensely. She is very close to my heart and I could not go the day without telling her how special she is.  Her daughter and I are just as close as sister's can be....well all three of her children seem like siblings to me, even though we rarely see each other any more.  Her oldest and I are just 3 weeks apart though, and for a long time I could not manage in my little small world in Franklin, Louisiana without her!!  Seriously, I couldn't.  We were all raised along side of one another for our entire youth and the memories that abound from that time in our lives are without a doubt some of the most precious there are.  Crazy, but precious. And I do mean Crazy too. ;)  I hope you have a great day today because you deserve it!!!!!!!

love,

ev

Happy Late Birthday Laws!

Well, here I am 5 days late on posting a very happy birthday to our baby boy!!  Hutson Laws turned 4 this past Saturday and as I have told lots of you……FOUR is a BIG one for me.  Something about 4 just sounds older, you know? 

Three still sounds so toddler-ish, as opposed to our friend 4.  We had a very nice, yet low key weekend for our little guy as he doesn’t so much enjoy the hooplah surrounding big events.  Even though he doesn’t necessarily have the words to say so, his behavior says it all.  We opted for a 9:30am birthday bash at none other than the “Doughnut Store” as Laws likes to call it!  (AKA Krispy Kreme!) He has come to the conclusion that he loves doughnuts and we gladly eat 2 or 3 in one sitting, which we all know for Laws is pretty darn good.  And if you ask Jeanie, his lead therapist, she’ll tell you he eats mac and chees, peas, strawberries, oranges, corndogs, veggie chicken nuggest………oh all sorts of things that he wont do for ME.  But I’m just the mom, I guess. ;) 

Mam and Poppa drove in on Friday night for his big day and met us at Krispy Kreme as a surprise to Lily and Laws, present and balloon in hand.  We got one dozen doughnuts and placed them in front of him with four candles and had a most special four year old celebration.  And as much as I wonder if he really “gets” why we have birthday celebrations at all, his big and wide smile was so beautiful as he sat there and LET us sing happy birthday to him.  We accomplished so much in this past year, not the least of which is getting him to be ok with singing happy birthday with candles and then blowing them out.  From the moment we tried to sing to him on his one year celebration, it was obvious that it was not his gig. 

For some reason, that used to frighten him and now (with the help of our magical wizard of a therapist, Jeanie and her crew!) he is just fine to blow out those candles without being so afraid.   I must admit though, that with the joy my heart felt watching him blow out his first set of candles, it also felt a tremendous amount of  heartache.  As I lay in bed with him that night rubbing his soft and tender little skin, I also layed in the realization that I do not know this little body that I gave birth to.  At 10:38pm in the evening, on April 26, 2004 my son was born. The words, once again, escape me when trying to describe how I felt when I saw his face and looked deep into his eyes wondering about everything he would do and everything he would become. 

And then I got put on that plane to

HOLLAND

and the rest of his peers and their families went to

ITALY

.  Remember that post?  I am back to reading that passage every few hours at this point and hoping that the pain of this diagnosis which has taken the little boy that I gave birth to and hidden him somewhere will soon go back into hiding.  I just want to scream while forcefully stomping my feet sometimes and yell…….”Give him back to me.  He’s MINE.  I want to know him and interact with him, and play ball with him, and look deep into his eyes without longing to find him.  I want to share in his happiness and in his frustrations, not just stand by on the sidelines because it’s all I’m allowed to do. I want the rough and tough, and silly, and anxious little boy that all the other mom’s got!”

But that’s not what God gave me.  Accepting generally comes naturally to me…….most of the time. But right now it’s really hard to constantly wonder about who Laws is and who he will become.  What will he accomplish and will he ever be able to tell me that his best friend hurt his feelings and so he hit him and then got in trouble, but that they later made up.  Will he ever even have a best friend?  In relationships that we have with our family and friends, we have their reactions, opinions, and emotions in which to gauge the status of the relationship.  With Laws, there is no gauge.  Nothing to go on. And for me that is tough.

But despite all of these things that make life more complicated, I look at the beauty in his face and appreciate those tiny glances that I get that somehow seem to say........."I'm here sometimes and I like having you here with me."  I continue to pray that God will heal him......whatever that might mean to God.

 

And I am just thankful to have his angelic face to look at, even if his eyes rarely meet mine.  Because there are parents who have lost a child that only wish that they could have theirs back as happy and healthy as Laws is.  So it is today, his birthday, and everyday that we celebrate HIM, his SPIRIT, and his SMILE.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU MY FOUR YEAR OLD ANGEL!!!!!!!

I just have to end with a few photos of him as a baby before I sign off, because you most certainly have not seen a cuter baby than this! ;)

    +   

   

FINALLY......some photos of the BOY!

 

Out the door now to Louisiana but just had to post some updated photos of our Lawsy boy!!  I never really do a photo shoot with him and decided yesterday that it was the day to get it done.  And let me be clear here.......taking photographs of this little guy is a STRUGGLE.  Poor little thing just cannot look and was trying so hard.  He is even to the point of saying "CHEEEEEEEEESE" without even looking in my direction.  It's so incredibly adorable that he tries so hard.  He truly gives me a reason to TRY HARDER.......and I thank God every single day for that.  He's my little miracle bundle of love!!!!!!!!  He wears me out to no end, but then again, I'm a mom.  And that's what we do.  Get WORN OUT. :)

 

 

 

 

I thought this picture was so cool of Ryan and Laws sharing a moment......love the light shining in behind them.  One day I hope he can appreciate this photograph as much as we do now.

But just look at the sheer happiness in his face.  Some of the pictures I took of this day, he's just looking at the little yellow flower with such wonder and peace...........like an appreciation for such a small little thing.  An appreciation that seems to escape most of us on most days, I imagine.  His vision of the world might be different, but he sure is inspiring.

Tennis Tournament for Autism

I had the pleasure of attending a tennis tournament in Pensacola on March 15, at the Roger Scott Tennis facility.  The benefit, headed by Keri Langlinais and Elizabeth Payne was a big success and fun was definitely had by all!!  It was a very dreary day, but still got some fun and interesting photographs of the players!  I am always so amazed at the warrior moms and dads out there who have children with disabilities yet still manage to find time for things like putting on Tennis Tournaments!! 

I have no idea how they do it, but I am so thankful to all of the folks who do this for our children and for the folks who participate and donate their money and their time to these causes.  It's very heartwarming for a parent of a child with autism to see people show up at a benefit such as this that I know will help my son.  I want to say THANK YOU from a parent of a very special and incredible little boy!!!  Thank you to Keri and Elizabeth and the Gulf Breeze Chamber of Commerce for sponsoring the event and to ALL of the sponsers who donated food, items for the silent auction, or any 'ol thing associated with putting this thing on.  You are all heroes in my book!!

I was so happy that Keri asked me to attend as the photographer and am hoping to donate more of my time as a photographer to help this cause.  This summer will be the Kids for Camp here in Pensacola, which will be giving children the opportunity to have one on one ABA therapy every day for 6 weeks for a nominal charge.  The camp made national news last year and was a huge success!  I am thrilled to say that Laws was accepted into the camp and my heart is full just thinking of how much I know he will benefit from this one on one therapy.  At his age, it is imperative that our children receive this therapy that is outrageously expensive and for which insurance does not pay. 

I hope to document a lot of what goes on at camp through my lens and will be reporting it all here........on the FUNKY BLOG!!  But for now, I am excited that the money Keri's group is raising will go toward purchasing a hyperbaric oxygen chamber for our children.  This is a biomedical approach to treatment for autism that so many people have seen incredible results with.  Laws has not yet had an opportunity to participate in a "dive" as they call it, but hopefully soon he will.  I am not exactly sure about the science behind it, but when you are faced with autism and you see so many people getting amazing results from things like this, you go for it.  There are definitely some things that doctors throw out there that I think are a little cooky and are only trying to make money, but I have personally talked with several moms who saw striking results from the chamber dives and I plan to try it.  These children are sick and need help.

 

I have to admit too, that while taking these photographs (which was a first for me...have you ever tried taking photos of a tennis match?) I was getting caught up in the game!  I almost got NAILED a few times, but thankfully I walked away unharmed! I took over 350 photos, so this is a very small random sample of some of them.

I hope everyone had a safe and happy Easter!  Lily had a great time and a great weekend, but my boy was sick, sick, sick.  Sick with what, we are not sure.......but he sure made our lives a little less fun over the holiday weekend.  Poor little guy ran fever for days, but upon seeing our good friend and gracious doctor over the weekend I find out that ears, chest, and throat are all clear.  And while it was very generous of him to give up his time to see Laws on Saturday, I was bummed to find out that it's most likely just a bad cold making him this miserable.  I wanted to body slam the man when he broke the news, but realized it wasn't his fault and that the sleep deprivation was most likely causing some irrational thoughts to take control!  I am comforted however, to know that as a pediatrician he most likely sees and knows of some irrational moms and am certain that on most occasions I am not one of them. :)

So, we are pushing on with our week and finally have therapist back in the house today......YAY, YAY, YAY!!!!  I had an incredible photo shoot over the weekend with the editor of a local magazine who needed some fun head shots and will have to blog about her next time.  We headed back downtown to some of favorite spots and got some gorgeous shots of her!  Will post some of my little ones at Easter too......

e.

Random Thoughts and a side note: WALMART

We are just getting back from the beach where we spent a very nice afternoon for Ryan's birthday with our lovely Delahoussaye friends!!  As I was going through my photos trying to decide what to post tonight, I found this collage that I created long ago and just had to share it!!!  Look at my baby boy.....GOSH.......I could hurt him, he's so stinkin' cute!!  I need to find one of Lily or at least post some of her at this age. Should be about 10 months old.  Would be interesteing to see how much they look alike.  You can tell in these photographs just how aware and into us he was.  The eye contact was incredible and he was very responsive.  Going to the condo tongiht threw him off a bit, but he enjoyed their new great dane pup LOTS and it was so adorable to watch them play together.  We also took them down to the indoor pool and they wore themselves OUT!!! It took us all of about 2 minutes to put them both to bed!!  Wait..........Here are some of my Lily.....beautiful, she is.  In every way, that's for sure.

 

Seeing these makes me realize how far I've come just BECOMING  a mom and how far we still have to go.  How far I still have to go. 

The responsibility is incredible.  The patience, loss of sleep, and focus it takes to be a parent is mind numbing.  But the rewards are completely immeasurable. 

When discussing parenting, did I ever mention the word evolving?  OH yes, I have.  More than once.  What can I say?  I AM evolving.  Evolving not only as a mother, but a friend, a daughter, a sister, a photographer, and business owner..............it's an amazing journey that sometimes I completely take for granted while getting mixed up in the small things.  But through it all, I remain totally thankful and humbled by the life that I have.  That I have created for myself.  Not all of the choices I have made have been the right ones.  But I'm becoming alright with those decisions and will continue to evaluate my place on this earth.  I hope that I will learn to take comfort in the decisions for the true me, and will find solace in owning and loving those decisions.

On a completely unrelated note.........went to Walmart this morning.  Last time I made that venture had to be more than 9 months ago.  I understand AGAIN, why I do not go there!  Too many lights, too many people, too much STUFF.  You can't even focus in that darn place.  And then while you are there, you manage to cram the cart totally full to the point that you dont even bother really browsing and shopping and convincing yourself that you really NEED that funky little serving dish or those frozed burritos that you might try one day (knowing full well, that they'll get freezer burnt and go to waste), because the basket cannot hold one more single, solitary item.  Next is the checkout line.  If you dont have to wait yourself for 15 minutes to make it to the belt, then you're doing good.  Once you get there, you start unloading and you do not even get halfway through dumping the mass of STUFF, the cashier needs your basket because all of the bags on her rounder are full.  So now, YOU are the one holding up the line.  It's amazing.  My heartrate goes up.  I think I start to panic on the inside for some reason.  It's never a good thing at the checkout counter with Laws.  Maybe the apple doesn't really fall that far from the tree.  ;)

e.