Spring mini photoshoot.

Mini photoshoots are so fun with the kids!!!!  If there's one think I have learned over the years with photography, it's this ... the more relaxed and more fun you have during the photo taking, the better the photo's!!!!  Years ago when we hired a photographer to take pictures of our small family, it went terrible!!!  I had these pictures in my mind of how I wanted them to look.  Perfect, of course!  I kept telling Hadassah to sit still.  Look this way and not that way.  Even though we had a professional photographer and I think she has darling photos in her studio, I thought I was to be in charge.  We were all stressed to the max by the time the session was over and we ended up at a small restaurant, slurping spaghetti noodles, while talking through this horrible experience.  I say horrible now because it really was bad but we learned from it!  Thank the Lord!!!!  Mike said that he is not willing to take family photos if they are going to end up in tears and stress!  I totally agreed but still wanted that "good photo"!!!!  Looking back now, we laugh.  I did learn from this whole experience and thankfully we've never had a bad photo session like this one on repeat!  The truth is, I still don't love those family session photos.  It's a bad memory and so it reflects my emotions on the photos.  Moral of the story:  make it fun!  Your family will treasure the photo's years later so much more!

Kauffman's Orchard is just around the corner from our house and we love to go there to take a few photos now and then!  One sunny evening, I told Ashlyn and Austin to go get changed into whatever nice clothes they want to wear and then go take some photo's.  Here's what they picked and I think it's so cute!

Of course, we grabbed Coca for the photo session too!

These two are the cutest ever!!!!!!!!

Look at how good they did with their outfits!!!!!  Why in the world do I even stress over holiday portraits?  I am putting Ashlyn in charge of all our outfits from now on!  :)))

Austin is so darling right now and is really loving all his siblings attention!  He loves that they are all home and not in school.  Ashlyn and Austin really play well together!  I love that about these two!  He is almost five years old and I can hardly believe that fact!  He plans to start kindergarten in the fall.  I'm not sure how that will all go?  He does know how to write his name and knows some shapes and all colors.  He can count to thirteen and then skips some numbers from there to twenty.  Recognizing letters is not so great yet.  I think kindergarten will be a huge learning year for him and I'm excited to see how well he does!  He also still loves his mom SO MUCH and that's adorable!  I hope going to school and being away from me a few hours a day will be a good experience!

I love you Austin!  Right now, you love any play time acting out characters.  The past few months I have been your playmate sidekick and have made many little costumes for your imagination!  I love how you let your imagination run wild and think I can make whatever comes to your mind.  :)))  You love your siblings and cousins!!!!  Sweets is something on your daily menu but your next favorite food is broccoli and carrots with ranch dip.  You never liked potatoes and even meat is the last thing you eat off of your plate.  I love how you talk with your eye brows!!!!  Your laugh is adorable and I love you Little Man!

Ashlyn is a "spitfire" and "Sweets" in one cute package!!!!  She's got sass!  I love to have her home everyday and really helps entertain Austin!  She is Austin's best friend!  I've said often about Ashlyn that "she is my worst mess maker but my best cleaner upper."  Does that make sense?  I'm sure she just like how I was when I was younger!  (Sorry Mom!!!!)  You can tell where Ashlyn is if you look for her path!  Shoes at the door, coat on the floor, papers on the table, crafts in her room and toys on the living room floor.  She has a blast with all her things and when it's time to clean it up, she is amazing!!!!  Ashlyn just turned nine and really had to adjust her expectations when it came to a birthday party.  She loves to plan and make lists.  She's been dreaming of having friends over for a long time but because of the virus, it squashed all those plans.  She was disappointed but we tried to still make it a special day for her!  She can make her own popcorn.  She knows how to scramble eggs in a pan and cook them.  She is giving daily four wheeler rides these days but still needs reminded to slow down!  Teaching her at school has it's challenges but over all is going well!!!!  She needs my assistance with Math but reading, handwriting and most other subjects she is working solo.  I love how she adores her dad!

Ashlyn I love you to the moon and back a million times over!!!!  I hope you use your energy for the Lord's glory every day of your life!!!!  Your bunny is really cute!  Thank you for making life fun!

We finished the session with a pink tree pose but I think we are over it now!!!???!!!! :))))

Ashlyn and Austin remind Mike and I so much of how our two oldest used to be!  Big pals and best of play mates!  Hadassah and Matthew were like this!  It's like two sets of kids in our family and I love it!!!!

Spring time is so lovely and I am usually so ready to head to the greenhouses and plant the garden.  Ashlyn is my shadow with all things gardening!  She loves it too!!!!  She gets all excited to plant seeds and go greenhouse shopping!  I do wish the coronavirus would now be over and we could move happily with life because more than ever, I miss the old normal!!!!

Today I am missing friends!  I ever miss strangers!  To go and get out in public without thinking of the virus sounds like a dream away.  I hope those days return soon and the shutdown will be lifted!  The kids are doing well!  I am really getting the itch to get in public more and shop for flowers and think of normal life!  The family time is been precious though!!!!!  We spent each and every evening together here at home!  Matthew is all into ping pong and even though he beats me 98% of the time, I like to be his competition!  :)))

Happy Spring to you all!!!!!  God loves you and he's got the whole world in his hands!!!!