A photoshoot early in the morning

Had an early session this morning. This young man is in our church and it excited to graduate in a few weeks. I couldn't wait to share.

Have I really been gone that long?

I can't believe my last post was over two weeks ago. I will admit that these last two weeks have been incredibly busy but wow! Hope you all haven't felt abandoned.



So today, I just have to share this photo of everyone's favorite 4 year old taken with my new camera. I have some adjusting to do (buttons and dials work differently). I also got a couple of new lenses so that will keep me busy as well. I am so excited and I feel like a kid at Christmas. Every morning I wake up so excited to play with my new 'toy'.

Prepare yourself, you will be seeing lots more pictures this week.

Boo Boo gets a boo boo

Boo Boo, aka Brianna, is home recuperating today. Here is the story:

Apparently, Brianna's class was playing a game of tag during P.E. in the gym. Well, Brianna was flying around the gym (totally winning, that's my girl!), ‘cause she’s a little speed demon, and the girl who tagged her did so a little too hard and Brianna went flying into the bleachers! She really whacked her head and bruised up her shoulder, arm, & hip. The school called me and, to make a long story shorter, Andrew ended up picking her up from school.

Then it got interesting. Brianna started to throw up! And if you know anything about head injuries, throwing up is not a good thing. Again, to make a long story shorter, I ended up taking Brianna to the Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital in Nashville for a CT Scan! Fortunately everything looked clear and they expect her to fully recover within a few days, but she did sustain a concussion and is staying home from school today due to the fact that she is still throwing up and is sore. Sheesh!

Happy Birthday Grandma Rita!

Happy Birthday! We hope you had a lovely day!

How you can get a $5 Target Gift Card

I am busy starting up my photography business and one thing that I am working on is my logo. I love the work the designers have done for me and I would love to know what others think. I have started voting on my photography blog (link is in the top right column) or here. After one week I will randomly choose a winner and I will send them a $5 gift card. Make sure to put your name in the comment so I know who you are.

Our Church

Recently, I was asked by our Bishop to photograph our Church for the website and for some other projects. I don't normally do buildings and I was excited to give it a shot. Yesterday the weather was perfect and I was able to capture this. I am pretty happy with the outcome. I admit it was fun to not have my subject trying to run away from me.

Arick has chosen a name

(until I get a pic of Arick's frog, this one snagged from the Internet will do)

Arick has chosen a name for his frog. He has two frogs now. Fireball is his tomato frog. He also has an Australian Whites Tree Frog (as you can see, it isn't white). This tree frog is his second one, as his first one, Crikey (get the Australian link?) died. It took him a week to figure out his name, cause how can you top Crikey? So drumroll please. His name is . . . Leaf Arickson. Ha!! Leaf cause he matches the leaves and tries to hide in there. Arickson speaks for itself. I love kids with a sense of humor.

One of the little joys in life

One of the little joys in life is when my bracket beats Andrew's bracket for the NCAA basketball tournament. I called Kansas and Memphis as the final two and Andrew predicted UNC and UCLA. I predicted Kansas to win, but honestly I am already thrilled with how far my bracket has come. Considering I don't watch basketball at all, I think I did pretty good.

Andrew would like to add that this is an annual ocurrance. No matter how hard he tries, he can't seem to beat me . . . even the year when I based my picks on team colors. :)

Just had to share!

Well I would have just left this on my photography blog, but I am too excited to share. I was able to photograph these adorable twins and hang out with their mom. You can see more photos of this session on my other blog: amylynnsmithphotography.blogspot.com (link is to the right as well).

Tuesday Ten

Today is Tuesday and I thought I would list ten things that are going on around here.

1.Well you will all be happy to hear that Ty is doing fabulously. The weekend was rough but and the mornings are still bad but he is healing nicely.

2.Ella is speaking in two-three word sentences. So far we understand "Thank you Daddy" and "more cheese".

3. Tonight we were given the wonderful gift of a piano. It is used, but it is beautiful. Now Brianna's teacher can stop asking us to get a real piano. I am sure it will help her play so much better.

4. Taxes are done and by some miracle we are still getting a refund. I had to check it three times.

5. Brianna slept over at Gigi's house on Friday. Craig's granddaughter, Tori, was there as well and the girl's had a splendid time. We took them out for Japanese food and a trip to the Science Center the next day and wore them out.

6. Arick went to the store on Saturday to replace his beloved frog, Crikey. He has yet to name him, but loves him already.

7. Ella has adjusted incredibly well to nursery. This by far has been our easiest child to transition into nursery.

8. I, Amy, am enjoying my new calling at Church. I am the Relief Society 2nd Counselor and am over the Enrichment program. I am busy getting several activity groups started, getting the humanitarian project stuff together, and such.

9. Andrew is busy in his new calling as Ward Mission Leader.

10. New and exciting things are happening in my photography business, look for more details in the next few months.

Ty update

Ty is home and doing great. In fact, after Ty woke up from the surgery, he asked Daddy, "When am I going to get my tonsils out?" I am so glad that he is pretty much unaware of what was done. Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers.

Prayer request

Ty is going in for his tonsillectomy tomorrow and we could sure use prayers for a speedy recovery and a calm mom.

Also, Arick's favorite pet frog died today. He tried so hard to be brave and not cry, but as soon as I hugged him, he couldn't hold back the tears. It just broke my heart. We will get a new frog soon. We had some crickets that died within 24 hours of buying them, and we believe those crickets that the frog ate before we discovered the problem, led to his early demise.

My little model

Brianna was a great sport today and let me take lots of photos of her in Nashville. The session was mostly a bust due to equipment failure, but I did manage to get these shots.

Ty's interpretation

For dinner tonight, I served sushi (my friend Cristina came and taught me a favorite family recipe, it is delish) and fresh pineapple. When Arick asked what we were having, Ty quickly jumped in and said "Porcupine-apple." Can't argue with that one.

You're Invited

Just a little note to let our friends and family know, that you are more than welcome to visit us here. I would love to play hostess to new visitors.

Papa and Grandma

Andrew's parents came for their first visit to our home this last week. We had such a great time together and the kids loved having them here. Some highlights of the week, included:

-Family Home Evening with Papa beating us all at a memory/visualization game (with ease I might add) and eating Andrew's yummy cookies.

-Visiting the Civil War site where much of the Battle of Franklin was fought.

-Having them here while Andrew and I received new callings (I am the new Relief Society second counselor and Andrew is the Ward Mission Leader). Papa was also able to participate in my being set apart, which was a special moment for me.

-Eating tasty fried green tomato BLT sandwiches, yummy fried chicken and fried okra at the famous Loveless Cafe.

-Brianna and Grandma having a late night party reading all of the joke books that grandma has sent Bri over the years.

-Watching Planet Earth and snuggling with Papa and Grandma.

They left for Utah this morning and we are missing them already. We are so blessed to have such loving family.

Our home part 1

Well, I was able to finish 90% of my spring-cleaning list before my in-laws arrived. I still have some vertical surfaces to clean, some vents to vacuum and some touch ups to do, but I may leave it for a rainy day. Here are the results and I am glad to finally share some photos of our home.


Here is our master bedroom. We do plan on painting the walls a different color soon. I haven't found the wall art or the lamp that I want in my bedroom yet. The glider is being replaced with a black recliner in the next couple of weeks. We are just waiting for it to be delivered. Eventually, I would like to hang sheers on the windows and get a rug. Ella and her crib (I know she is 19 months but I get nervous being away from her) will finally move to the room she shares with Brianna.

On a side note, the bedroom furniture was delivered this last week and it means the end of broken plastic drawers and baskets to hold our clothes. It is so much easier to keep our room tidy now! I love my bedroom so much. I hate leaving it and so does the rest of the family. No matter how many times I tell my kids that the bedroom is for Mom and Dad only, I still find them in there lounging on my bed, reading books, and watching t.v.



This is the living room. Our plans for this room include more seating, a coffee table, and a rug. We will have to move the piano to another part of the house and shift the bookcase to where the piano is for those plans.


This is our dining room that we made into the office/craft space. We do wish there was a door to hide the mess but at least it doesn't get in the way of family life now.


This is our bonus room over the garage. It is the one room that I don't feel the need to keep as clean since we do a lot of playing here. I will share a picture of the other half of this room in the next post so you can see all the things we do in this room.

All in all, our home is coming along nicely. A lot of the plans I mentioned could take years to complete, but that is what makes the process so fun.

P.S. Papa and Grandma arrived safely . . . the kids are beyond excited!

Spring Cleaning

Twice a year I get in my spring cleaning mode. I clean as many nooks and crannies as I can stand, try to get everything put back into its proper place, and sort through clothes, getting rid of those things that are worn out or are too small. It is, at the least, a seven day endeavor and I feel so great when I am done.

Here are some interesting facts about my current spring cleaning (all numbers are estimated as I often give up counting when I get to a certain point):

25+ batteries and I have no clue if they are dead, used or new
Over 40 blankets(many of which were baby blankets and are now being donated)
21+ pairs (and sometimes just one in a pair) of gloves/mittens (which only get used a few times now in TN)
At least 150 pens and pencils in about 15 different places. That would explain why we could never find one when we needed it.
Lots and lots of coins (I will add up the total later and edit this)
Easily over 1000 items that were not in their proper place.
16 times today that I have asked the kids if they are done. 16 times that I have heard "No".
Over 20 socks that were finally reunited with their mates. Woohoo!
4 boxes leftover from moving have been emptied and crushed. I swear these boxes just appear out of thin air.
All Library books have been located, phew!
We are still missing 3 things on my "to find" list and it is driving me nuts!
6 garbage bags full of broken items and various other junk.

And just to make sure that you don't think that I do all of this by myself. Andrew is a big help too. Andrew has been patching up the wall dents and doing touch up painting. He has refinished the top of our kitchen table that looked awful (thanks sweetheart, it looks beautiful!), he has helped organize the medicine cabinet and the garage, and he put in a new garage door opener. Now if only my kids were that helpful! Getting my kids to help has been a huge tug of war but I am winning.

Ty's tonsils

Andrew and I took Ty to the doctor on Monday to discuss his sleep apnea and snoring. Ty's tonsils are definitely a problem so we have scheduled surgery for March 25th. The doctor thinks that his tonsils are partly responsible for his slow growth and the swollen lymph node that has been on his neck for 2 years now. Hopefully this will help alleviate the problems. This will be the first time any of our kids will be under general anesthesia so I am a bit nervous. Ty is four and should handle the recovery well, unlike his Auntie Jamie who just had hers removed and had a rough time. Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers.

Just one of those days

I am a very happy person but I still have those days and today is one of them. In the last 24 hours, I have made too many mistakes, I am exhausted and overemotional, and a bit overwhelmed. I just wish I could crawl back in bed and stay there until tomorrow.