I'm back at it

As life would have it things have changed yet again. 

After almost 5 years of being out of corporate America I have returned to work. As you can imagine it is quite the lifestyle adjustment. The kids have adjusted faster than I expected. With Bailey being in school full time now I guess it doesn't affect her the way I thought it would. Or did it?... The first week she didn't really speak to me. She wouldn't hug me or look at me. 

She seems to be well adjusted now... even though she has been whining more than normal. Not sure if that's due to me returning to work, or her just being 4. But hey all in all it's been pretty cool balancing home life, and work life.  

I managed to squeeze in a mini Fall photo shoot. Which I desperately needed in order to really enjoy the Fall and Winter scrapping that is about to take place :) And I haven't done a Fall/Winter shoot of the kids in almost two years. What was once a tradition became an obligation. But this year that all change and it has gone back to normal. I shoot for me again. 

Anywho , here are a few fav's from this weekends shoot. 

This is Jeremiah can you believe it? He is 12 now. One more year and he is a real teenager :( Where did the time go?

 And here are the Princesses, Madison is 6 now, and Bailey is 4. They both go to a small Private School together and are doing great. I can't believe Bailey is 4 she was just about 10 months old when I started this blog.

Ok some of you may not remember this paper but this is some old SEI from about 2 years ago "Monrovia". I was in love with this line. And believe it or not this is a layout I started over a year ago and just put the finishing touches on it.  I have a small stack of layouts I want to finish. So here is a small step toward that goal.
This is Jeremiah at 9, Fall 2010.

I hope everyone is enjoying the season and your ready for Christmas shopping. 

Happy Scrapping girls!

- Taj

Hey bloggers,

I hope everyone is enjoying the beginning of the Fall season so far. Here in Tx we are still experiencing 80+ degree weather, but that's better than 110 degree weather. I will take what I can get. We are hoping for a real Fall, and Winter season this year. We were cheated out of the luxury of the cold weather last year. Which left us with an overwhelming amount of bugs, and other critters.
I am so excited about sweaters, boots, Fall candles, hot chocolate, chilli, and everything related to the season. I am happy to sit in the house more days than not under a warm blanket, in some comfy sweats, scrapping, and scrapping,lol.

This Fall I will be more intentional about taking more images of my children. Last year I failed miserably in that area. It's hard to take as many pictures of your family when your photographing everyone else's.

I have had this picture of Bailey for a while now. I've wanted to scrap it for so long, but it felt like I could never find the right papers and design for it. Finally, My Minds Eye came along :) and created the "Sweetest Thing" collection. Allowing me to finally create a page for this sweet image of my baby girl.
A little history about this photo. It was taken right at the beginning of Fall 2010. This was about the time Bailey started getting really sick throwing up mysteriously. She had been in and out of the ER and doctors offices, test after test, with doctors trying to determine what was causing her to become so sick. With each visit we would be left in the dark, wondering what was making our sweet baby so ill. On this particular day I had planned to take her out and photograph her for Fall. And out of no where she started to fall ill. I pray I never forget what she said to me, "Mom I want to take pictures". I said Bailey it's cold outside and your not feeling well. We will try another day. She insisted "No Mommy I want too". So we pulled the car over and took maybe 10 frames before she became too weak to continue. This is one of the photos I got that day. It's a wonderful reminder of how brave she was, and is.

Thanks for stopping by. Chat with you soon.

Hey Ladies,

It's been three weeks since I last blogged. I said I was going to be blogging consistently but 3 weeks isn't too bad is it? The good news is I have been scrapping. Not as much as I would like but I have completed 2 pages and finished 2 that I started over a year ago. Yes you read that right... I have about 5 or 6 layouts that I started and never finished. I put the foundation of the layout down; paper, images, but no embellies or detail. I figured finishing these pages could be a great way for me to get back into the groove of creating. I was kinda rusty, trying to find my way back to a layout that felt like me. I created one that I was so unhappy with. I plan to take it apart and redo it. The good thing about that layout is I was able to work out some of those quirks, and kinks.

Over the past few weeks I have been trying to get re-adjusted to everything scrap. You know what's new in the industry, changes that have taken place, what new products to buy, and tools to invest in. What better way to do all of this than to visit Scrappers Boutique. I haven't been there in about 5 months, and I haven't placed any online orders in I don't know when.  It was great to see everyone, and all the fun changes made to the store.

This layout was created Nov. of last year. The photo was taken July of last year. The products are a mesh mash of a left over kit from Scarlet Lime, and a Studio Calico kit. The really sad part is the Scarlet Lime kit is so old I am not sure what year I bought it. I think it's 2010, or early 2011 LOL.
I will chat with you ladies soon, I have some new scrap goodies from My Minds Eye, and Teresa Collins that I picked up and I can't wait to get busy with them.

Well, I am headed to bed. Nighty night!!

I am back

Hello Bloggers,

I can't believe November 1st 2011 was my last blog post. So much has happened in that time. It feels like forever since I have scrapped and been involved in the community of art.

I took a break from it all after dealing with the lost of my father in law. Our family really needed to focus on each other and learning to deal with the fact that he is with our Lord now. So, I stopped photography, scrapbooking, and anything else that didn't completely involve every single one of us as a family. I know you ladies understand.  As much as we love this craft, the real reason we do this is to celebrate and document the life we are blessed to be living and when a piece of that is lost then it's time to take a step back and rethink it all.
I can't tell you the struggle it's been. As many of you know, (that have followed me from the beginning) my daughter Madison and Dad were like best friends.  While it's been hard for us all, I believe she struggles the most. There are times when Steven and I will catch her just staring at a photo of the both of them. She sometimes just breaks down and acts out without any warning. We know it's just frustration. We encourage her to express herself and try to explain the way she feels.
Bailey said that he wanted to live with Jesus and not with us anymore. It's so hard to explain death to little kids. It's hard for adults to understand, even more so for children. The one thing that gets us all through is the promises we have from our Heavenly Father, The God of comfort.
Matthew 5:4 and Philippians 1:21, when the Apostle Paul says, "For me, to live is Christ and to die is gain."

I have missed all of you and your inspiring work. Even more than that I have missed your friendships. The support and connections made from women all over the country and world.
I have kept in touch with a few of you. You have been so kind to check on me and my family via Facebook, and email. Thank you so much for that :) It means the world.

It looks like so much has changed in your lives as well. I have been able to sneak over to a few of your blogs and check you out and I have a lot more blog hopping to do :)

Well gals, I love you all and plan on being a consistent blogger and scrapper again :)
I am also re-entering the world of photography. I have decided to expand my market and focus on Families, Children, as well as High School Seniors again.

Thank you to all of my followers that hung in there with me. You girls rock!