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.

THE TUCKER CLAN......I mentioned in my wedding post a few days ago that I got to see one of my dearest friends while in Lafayette and got to take some fun photos of Lily with her children having fun and playing alondside the Vermillion river. We joined one another at her sister Molly's house, so I snuck a few of her two beauties, May and Trip. AHHHH.......this family is to die for!  I carry on such a beautiful and interesting relationship with so many of my friends from afar and on the telephone.......that when I see them it makes me miss them even more.  It imprints the bond that we have from so far away with a FACE. And it is wonderful. Wonderful to have gotten such a rare treat for such a short visit. I busted out that camera of mine when no one really was expecting it.  Drank wine. And shot away.

 

Sure had a ball too!! I MISS YOU JULES!!  Way up in darn Charlotte and she's a Louisiana girl y'all!!!!  One of these days.....we'll be going to the drive through the Daquiri Shop together thinking about the good 'ol days most likely wondering why we thought moving back home was such a great idea in the first place!  We're good like that....Me and Jules.....we just can't seem to make sense of it all, but are always aware that when we think we've LOST IT.......we should just pick up that telephone! Most likely the other one has a story that should make the caller who thought their life or their day was crazy feel a whole lot better! LOL!! 

  Julie will be spending the next two weeks in Louisiana soaking up the hot, muggy,  downhome, cajun Louisiana lifestyle with all of her family.  She is salt of the earth and one of the people who I can call with the REAL DEAL. You know those folks I'm talking about. The ones who KNOW you, but love you anyway.  Crazy or not. HEEHEE.

I simply cannot wait to get back down there to have a real session with little May and Mr. Trip.......should be lining that up soon!  As for Caroline and Stuart.....well guys, just tell your mom and dad to come on back home and we take all the photos you like. Hint, Hint. 

 

 

And a rare occurence when something like this happens....May was outside playing with her grandmother and the big kids when she walked up the bedroom window checking out her baby brother!  She's probably thinking....."Why did YOU have to come along and take over the thrown, you little....THING!" ;) 

And he's going, "Joke's on Her gang!"  Gosh I love these photos......

NOLA's always a good time.....

Not much time to write tonight, but thought I should post a few of the photos that I took while on my French Quarter photo shoot on Thursday...........with help from none other than photographer assistant extradonaire and old college bud, Mr. Chad Howat.  He was gracious enough to spend his evening strolling around aimlessly in the Quarter helping me change out lenses at the drop of a hat and to offer food and drink service as needed. HeeHee  ;)  I didn't quite FEEL the creativity flowing as much as I needed it to, but turns out I got some nice photographs that might even look nice blown up.  Guess finding a happy place in New Orleans doesn't always lead to award winning photographs though, huh?

These two above are ones taken from the ferry, and while not completely in focus........I think they turned out pretty darn good for being that dark and that late. ;)  Not to mention the RUNNING in bare feet I had to do to actually make the boat!!  Oh, this trip was a.....well....TRIP!!!  Enjoy the photos and maybe I'll post more later. Just got back from my second trip to Big Easy in 3 days, so will post fotos from that trip soon!  Happy Father's Day to all of the amazing dads out there...........I am so blessed to be surrounded by many wonderful men who love being a father and love being good at it too!!!  I don't know where I would be without my dad, as he is a man of no comparison.  Truly an insipiration. 

When you pray tonight...

Please pray for my little one.........the vomitting has started! And for goodness sake, pray for his momma too!!  We all know how hard it is for me to function without any sleep!  But the adrenaline will kick in, I'm sure,  It's like that when our children get sick.  It messes up the wiring in my head when my babies are ill.  I swear.....I cannot think straight when I know there is something hurting them. Especially when they can't verbalize what's going on.

It's hard to know how to help them and that sort of freaks me out.  Anyway, I will not be staying up late tonight editing photos and the like......it's off to bed for me.  I was going to tell you all about the conversation I had with Lily on the way home the other day, but I'll save it for later.  I suppose that since the theme of this tiny post is .......PRAY.......I should show some photographs of the inside of our gorgeous Catholic church over in Franklin, but I haven't gotten to those yet.  Cane fields, bayous, and street signs will have to do for tonight!

This one is right along the bayou Teche with the sugar mill in the distance.  PEEEYOUUU........that place sure does smell bad on the inside.  I'll take the smell of burning cane all day long.  In fact, it happens to be one of my very favorite things in life......the smell of that burning cane.  BUT, doing a tour of the sugar mill and all smells that go along with it.  YUCK.  Although, I do LOVE my sugar.  **********

OH MY WORD....

I am sorry gang.......but this girl is BUSY!!!  After returning home from Louisiana late on Monday, it is all I can do to keep my head afloat.  Backed up laundry, bills, editing photos, ordering prints and christmas cards.......wheew!!!  I have to say though, that it is nice to have Laws back into his routine.  Team Laws is back in action and things are in order, just the way he likes it.  Jumping on and off of this emotional roller coaster with him is draining me.  For the two weeks prior to us going back over to Franklin he was doing so awesome. So awesome that some days I actually had the thought (those delusional, creepy, nagging thoughts!) that one day he might not have autism.  Hope is the only word to describe those thoughts, I guess.  False hope, maybe.  But I try to keep all things FALSE out of my life.........keep the glass half full, you know?  They say these children do this though.  2 steps forward and 5 steps back.  But as long as they come back at least 3 or 4 steps and make PROGRESS, you have to get used to the setbacks.  It's still really hard getting used to having your hopes and spirits go soaring high, only to have them come crashing down upon you like a ton of bricks.  Getting out of his routine is becoming noticeably harder as he gets older.  Those strict routine and OCD tendencies are where things are going to keep getting stickier.  I get so torn between keeping him in this safe place around no one else but his team and our little family and throwing him into the fire we call LIFE.  I just wish that when I go home to Louisiana or anywhere else for that matter, that others could see the difference.  That they could see just how HARD he has to work to make such minimal progress that goes unoticed by the rest of the world.  I get to see and hear how focused he has to be to go through therapy everyday and I want his whole life to be that rewarding for him.... and for me.  But it can't be.  Because life doesn't happen one on one at a table doing categories and learning how to answer questions. Nothing is ever that controlled in the real world.

Laws will start his regular preschool on Monday and I am thrilled.  Again, into the fire my boy will go.  But I will get 4 hours to myself on Mondays and Wednesdays...............heaven might really exist on earth!!!  The break will be nice and Laws will go with one of his team members who will shadow him throughout his day to facilitate things like turn taking, reciprocal conversation, and proper behavior in the school setting.  And talk about God helping me out........AGAIN.....in terms of bringing the right people to help us. To help Laws. The teacher in this class happens to have a child with Aspergers and one with mild CP.  She is very comfortable with the process that we have had to go through and I wish now that I had gotten him there sooner.  I was afraid of putting him into a classroom with his same age peers.  I was afraid for him to not have the same teachers as last year.  I was afraid for him to fail.  Afraid to hear the words, "He just can't make it in a regular classroom." Every year I will not only wonder if it will be the last year that he will able to function in a typical classroom, but will wonder if the women who will care for my child at school will like him. Love him.  Care about him.  Want the best for him.  Push him.  Want to see him succeed. 

Or will he be just another bothersome distraction that gets in the way of what needs to be done. I feel certain after today, that come Monday, Laws will be in good hands.  And so will I.

Teachers are human too.  And not all teachers are in it to see that MY child reaches his fullest potential.  Some are just in it for the paycheck (however little it might be), but most, I believe are in it to make a difference.  The teachers that Laws has had so far have made a difference.  Whether they know it or not.

Here are two of the best teachers.....one in a real classroom.......and both in real life, that one could hope to have.  MOM and DAD!!  These were taken a while ago, but thought it would be nice for everyone to see my teachers. Honest, gentle, dedicated, tireless, and REAL.  If all children got the chance to have these two for parents, the world would certainly be a kinder, softer, happier place.

 

More sessions to come this weekend, so will post highlights once they are into this computer of mine!  Exciting new site to launch by the weekend.......waiting on my company to get all of the peices together for the debut of La182 foto!!!  So many amazing responses to my artwork that it's overwhelming!! 

The only photos that I have on my computer from last weekend are ones that my lovely little sister took of me for the websites and the one above of Lily trying to play with her baby brother.  Emily is such an awesome and evolving photographer.......and so YOUNG!  She has a very full and exciting career ahead of her and you should check out her work.  www.emmyphotography.com   

What a precious family, huh?

They don't come much cuter than this, I can tell you!!

I am not at all comfortable in FRONT of the camera and in fact, dislike it intensely.  BUT, I think she did a great job  taking these of me. And besides, anytime I have actually taken a shower, gotten dressed, and look decent enough to go to church (or any public place for that matter) I figure we should all capitilize on that moment..........for it doesn't happen often!! TeeHee!  When I visit another photographer's website I always like to have a visual of who they are.  It tells something more about there story.  You learn a little more by looking into their eyes.

More to come tomorrow about my conversation with Lily on the way back home from Louisiana.  GOD, I love that child. I realize more and more everyday how blessed we are to have her.  And I also realize more and more how much she is me in a 6 year old's body!!!!!  It's freaky sometimes how much her brain works like mine.  But I know how incredibly sensitive and compassionate and true she is too and I like to think she got that from me as well.  I just hope she keeps all of the good parts of me and figures out how to get rid of the BAD. HAHA!

e.

Back in Time a bit

So, while I'm here in little 'ol Franklin with nothing to do but eat and sleep..........I thought I would post some photographs of the old elementary school where I once attended and where my mom still teaches today.  It's amazing how just the smell of that building and all of the old familiar doors, tables, and hallways can bring back so many memories from 25 years ago!   

Without a decent park around here to take the children to play, we opted to go on over to St. John to let them play on the playground there........camera in hand, of course. (you KNOW i'm bored!!)

And while SOME upgrades have been made to the general playground/cafeteria area, it is mostly completely familiar.  At the time I was in kindergarten or even 4th and 5th grade, that school seemed SOOO BIG.  Everything seems so big when you are so small.  Walking down this hallway seemed like it took about an hour in those elementary days, and now it only takes 60 seconds and the door to the principal's office is just another door. Not that eery place where only the bad kids go.  Thank God it was a place I never had to go, except for the occasional sick visit with sweet secretaries.....Mrs. Gracie, and then in later years Mrs. Anita.

My mother happens to teach in the same Kindergarten classroom where me and my 3 siblings learned not only how to read and write but also that you can have more friends than just the ones that are in your extended family and that sometimes they are weird.  :)  It's where we started our Catholic education that lead us through 12 more years of the same teachings. And it's funny that after those 13 years, all four of us  and all of our friends are in different places in regard to our faith and religion in general.  One would think that being taught the same thing over and over and over for that many years would produce the same person with the same overall beliefs............but it doesn't.  I guess one would also think that after having spent so many years and so much time with the same small group of folks that you would continue down that path once it's all over. But you don't.  I graduated with 30 people.  And the day we walked out of our last mass was in most cases the last time I saw those faces.  It's very interesting to me how you just leave it all behind one day and go out into the world to find and CHOOSE the people whom you want to surround yourself with.  I guess it's like family.....you can't help who your relatives are, but you can help who your friends are and I like that choice, because I like my friends and all of the things that they have each taught me.  One by one.  I am grateful for the opportunities that I have had and all of the lessons that have gone along with each one of them.  Every path has led me to someone special in some way.  And I believe that God gave me that choice to go out and find those people to share my life with.

These are photographs of memories that will be forever engrained in my memory.  No matter how sheltered and quaint and small this little place is that kept me from what I think of as the REAL WORLD now, I am grateful that my youth was spent here.  It was all we knew.  It was the best my parents could offer to me and the 3 that followed.  It truly is a little slice of heaven in a town of only 13,000 people.  And while most folks have out-grown, become better than, or have had to move on from Franklin, it's still where I call home.  I cannot change what has become of this tiny town, no matter how run down and depressing it has become. There are still people here who believe in the magic of this place and hopefully one day children will inhabit main street with bikes and skates and business will thrive with the busyness of a small town that was once so alive.

So many competitive games of kickball done here.  Many skinned knees, but more lessons learned than anything I'm sure.  Below is THE playground.  Gosh, again, all I can think of is just how incredibly BIG and SCARY this place seemed!! It's also where I stomped on the flower of the first boy who wanted to be my boyfriend!!  He's probably much better off anyway!! LOL!

I just think 1st grade love was a little more than I could possibly handle at the time.

More NYC and Less Sleep

Just thought I'd post a few more NYC photos before trying to get some darn sleep tonight!!  How wonderful is this weather???  I'm in heaven!!

Except I hope there is more sleep to go around up there..........certainly if heaven does exist, then there is lots of sleep, lots of chocolate, and no such thing as autism.  ;)

Return from NYC

Well, I am still recovering from my trip....but wanted to post a few photographs so that everyone knows I'm still here! ;)  The trip was a nice one, but getting out of town was a little bit nerve racking!!  At the exact time that I was in the terminal with only 30 minutes left until boarding, tornadoes starting popping up all over downtown Pensacola!!!  ARGHHH!!  Needless to say, we were all pretty panicked, considering we had to move to the center of the terminal and watch it through the glass windows.  All the while, not knowing if our children were alright.  First off, Pensacola never gets tornadoes and secondly, I never leave my children for almost 4 days..........so this led me to believe that maybe God was trying to tell me something!!  I was very near canceling the trip, but realized once we knew they were safe, I should go and celebrate with my friends.  And I needed the break.  BAD.

The food was incredible, but the city was intimidating to me.  I was totally expecting to be able to just stop on the street whenever I wanted and snap a photo...but NOOOOOOO.....when hoards of people are moving behind you, it's extremely difficult to do!  Most of my shots were either in a cab or just trying to shuffle my way through the people just to keep an eye on my group! I think once I have a chance to go back and get a feel for where I am and where I want to be, then I might have a better grip on what kind of photographs I want to take and where. 

I was also having camera/lens trouble, so that did not help my situation...but I got a few decent shots for what it's worth.  And it was fun, and the food was to die for, and CHICAGO was an awesome play.  I'm so glad now, that I boarded that plane.  On the way home, God played his part by having me sit next to TWO people who just happened to work with autistic children!!  NOW....what are the chances of TWO people, out of almost 200, sitting next to me on on airplane that work with children that have the same disorder as my son?  It was just crazy.  And these two individuals did not know one another and both live in Birmingham!  We all exchanged information and I left with a smiling heart when I got off that plane in Atlanta.  I feel like the universe and God are sending me the right people to help Laws and I could not be more thankful than I am now for these blessings.

This photo above is the lookout of NYC from the Metropolitan Museum, where we had a few drinks and hung out watching the sun set over the city. Here you see the martini with part of the NYC landscape behind it surrounded in the colors of the setting sun.

 

 

So, now that I'm back, I am running around like crazy trying to get caught up on photo session editing, his therapy schedule adjusted, cleaning, errands.........doing my MOM thing!  Poor little guy is on me like white on rice for fear that I will leave him again.  He's even not wanting to go to bed without me, which is totally new.  Getting up in the middle of the night too. GOOD TIMES on Lee Street.  It's like having a newborn again......somebody call in the troops.  Momma is TIRED.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO LISA!!  I'm so glad I got to share your weekend with you. And THANK YOU to TROY for the incredible hotel room in Times Square.........Stephanie and I were singing your praises every single night!!  You guys are such good friends and I'm so happy that I found you.  I had a great time with all of you and hope to do it again next year!