Siblings in Oklahoma

So, while out in Oklahoma visiting with my good friend to photograph her newborn and family, (you can see a few of their pictures here, ) I also had the privilege of capturing the essence of these adorable siblings!!!!! The parents couldn't have a done a better job with these little darlings!

Such a cutie! Almost 8 months old here.

Dad is pretty funny....I was glad for his assistance. 

Photographing these kids reminded me how much I love capturing
the spontaneity of children.

My favorite was when these two broke out in a kissy war!
Couldn't have even planned that, it was so cute! 

It's no secret this little guy is showered with much love.

Baby Boy

What could possibly be better than making pictures??? Traveling AND making pictures!!!!

My very dear friend and her husband had their first baby boy the end of July and asked if I could come to Oklahoma and capture some moments. Ummmm, YEAH!!!! Of course!!

I had so much fun documenting life here in the Redmond household over the span of a few days. Here are some of the highlights of this adorable baby and family.

Community Strong~Remembering Oso

Hard to believe but we are coming upon the one year anniversary of the Oso mudslide. So it seems an appropriate time to share a few images. Most are ones you've probably seen before but this was my experience. When I came home in January it was top of my list to visit the site. I grew up in the neighboring town. Many of my friends lived in Oso and went to Arlington schools, the same schools I attended. Being from a small community, everyone was somehow connected to someone involved. 

Upon arriving at the mudslide site there was a women paying her respects and wiping tears from her eyes as she walked away. I imagine this is a daily routine for her. As I got out of the car and she was walking past me to go back home (one of the few still standing right across the street), she said firmly out of concern, "Be respectful, this is a grave site". I humbly responded "Of course". I just wanted to give her a hug. I understood the sensitivity of the area where so many lost their lives and so many spent endless hours searching and helping where they could. Some of them were my friends too. So even though I wasn't around when this happened, even from a distance, I still felt connected. 

As I stood there surrounded by the beauty of the green, hilly country scene that I grew up in, I tried to imagine everything I had only seen in pictures that flooded the internet. The emotion I felt was overwhelming as I thought of every story & every life that is now a part of this land. This land that is currently a memorial full of debris and dirt hills with a large gap missing from the side of a mountain, also leaves a large gap missing from so many hearts.

43 trees represent the 43 lives lost in the slide.

On the opposite side of the slide where mud and debris continued across SR530.

Commitment to change & the "Chub Challenge"

You know, it's that time of year again when everyone has overindulged in all their favorite tasty treats and start to think about those New Year's resolutions. I have to be honest though, I'm not much of a resolution girl but it is a good time when the holiday's are behind us to get back on track.

Last year was my year to finally get a grip on the weight side of things. I was at my heaviest.

Image courtesy of Bordeaux Studio

My complex about my weight began as a teen. I took every diet pill on the market, tried every fad diet, starved myself, yadda yadda yadda.

I was probably at my smallest when I got married as a lot of people are. Then come the kids. After each one, I held on to more weight then when I started. At various points of trying to lose weight I'd get down to a more appropriate weight but then I would somehow gain weight back. Story sound familiar?

I love to eat. Who doesn't? Everyone has their comfort food and different reasons why they overeat. Some people eat when they are depressed. I tend to be more of a happy/bored eater. Ha, I guess I'm generally happy because I eat a lot!!! I have no appetite if I'm in a depressed mood.

Image courtesy of Sandra Pierce

As a child I was taught to eat everything on my plate. Are you part of the clean plate club too? To this day I want to eat everything on my plate if I can. This has lead to issues with portion control for me. I typically choose to eat off smaller plates now and have to remind myself that it's ok to take home half my meal and eat it later. It will still be there.

It takes a lot of commitment and dedication to make a change. It was finally time for me to make this commitment to myself for myself. We owe it to ourselves to be good to ourselves. To love ourselves. "Nobody is going to love us if we don't love us". We've heard that before. No more excuses. No more being lazy. No more being careless.  This is about being healthy and making healthy choices.

This image is especially painful for me to look at. Ugh! Gross!

When we moved to NY the summer of 2013, I joined Vent Fitness in Guilderland toward the end of the year in November. A friend from Chicago was heading up a "Biggest Loser" weigh loss challenge for the new year. We all had to put in a good size chunk of money and whoever lost the most weight percentage wise won the cash pot. This helped to light a fire under my butt and really I was only competing against myself. It was nice to have a support group to keep us all going. Everyone did really well. And I came in second! There is no money for 2nd best. I think there were 10-12 of us. I forget now. But DANG IT!!!!! Cash would have been nice! Think of the plane tickets I could have bought! Oh well, I came away a loser and that was much more rewarding in the long run. I had lost 32 lbs in about 3.5 months. I went to the gym almost everyday doing a variety of classes and chose to eat Paleo style. It wasn't always easy to get up and out to the gym everyday but I made myself go and sometimes I would still eat that treat I wanted. Fast forward to August and a fitness challenge had begun at the gym. By now I've met my main workout buddy and a few other regulars. We joked and referred to the challenge as the "Chub Challenge".  I continued eating the Paleo diet, worked out everyday, sometimes a couple times a day and tracked my food with MyFitnessPal. By the end of the 12 week challenge I was down another 11.5 lbs. It was a lot harder to lose weight since I had already lost a good bit. But I toned, lost more inches and I was stronger. Best of all, I came away with the best gym family ever! 

Before and After Front

Before and After Side 

Still no 6 pack. It's under there somewhere! But I've got a pretty good start. There's no doubt, since the holidays, I've gained back a few more pounds than I want. I. Ate. Everything.!!!!! I'm scared to step on the scale. And I have to get myself back off refined sugar and flour. Thank goodness another reinVent Challenge is just around the corner. I look forward to working out again with my gym family team and welcoming more people into our challenge family. Go Team Brown!

 Below are a few photos of our gym shenanigans.

Strong, Beautiful & Brave-Surviving Breast Cancer

"Never let a stumble in the road be the end of the journey".

The month of October recognizes breast cancer in a big way. So many of us have loved ones that have been effected by a form of cancer one way or another and we are reminded of it a lot more than once a year. 

Tonia is a friend I've met since living here in the Albany area. I never knew her pre-cancer. She is an amazing, lovely person with such a beautiful, positive spirit and I wanted to capture that image to celebrate her recovery. She was diagnosed just a little over a year ago, 9 days after her 41st birthday. Like most that receive the news, she was devastated but knew she had to remain positive for her daughter. Thankfully they caught it in the early stages and she has been in the clear for almost a year now. Tonia credits her faith for carrying her through the storm and reminds herself to live life to the fullest and not to sweat the small stuff. I think we all should live that way no matter what. Don't you?

Special thanks to the makeup artist, Heather for her awesome skills!

Here are some of my favorite shots!