about me

Welcome to my little corner of the web, I'm so glad you stopped by for a visit. If you were at my home, I'd invite you to sit down and offer you something to drink because my mother taught me to be a gracious hostess. Whether you're an old friend or a new reader, I'm happy to share a little piece of my world with you.

I'm a stay-at-home mom to two beautiful little girls and wife to one very hard-working man. I love to take pictures, cook for my family, and write about our life. I have a bachelor's degree in accounting, but after only eight months in the "biz" decided that my passion for life is far outside the realm of auditing. I don't regret earning my degree. It has opened other doors for me, and although it makes me highly over qualified for my once a week bookkeeping job, I'm glad I have it.

I started this little blog in 2008, shortly after marrying Ryan, my devoted husband. I had recently quit my job, leaving me with some free time, and I thought, "Hey, I should start my own blog!" I wanted a place to document our new life together and to be able to share it with family and friends. I hardly knew what a blog was then.

Since that time, this blog has had a few facelifts, has been neglected at times, and yet continues to be the primary way I document my little family and my view of the world.

In 2009, our first daughter was born and my husband gifted me my first DSLR camera. I have always enjoyed taking pictures, but having a beautiful new subject inspired me to learn more. Those first pictures were terrible! The pictures I take now: slightly less terrible. I'm on the long, windy road of photography education, gleaning information from the web, books, and good old fashioned trial and error. That is, in between my "real" life of taking care of two little ones.

Our second daughter, was born in 2011. She was born with an undiagnosed congenital diaphragmatic hernia, and although her prognosis was bleak in the beginning, she is now a happy, healthy baby girl. Her birth, the sadness of having a very sick little girl, and our struggle as a family to deal with the pain, fueled me to write like never before. By writing about our journey, I was able to keep family and friends current with Mia's daily health status, as well as to cope with and try to understand the roller coaster of emotions I was riding.

I love writing and posting pictures here for so many reasons. Primarily as a tribute to my beautiful daughters, who fuel me to become a better person each day, and who deserve a record of their lives as meaningful as they are to me. As an outlet for my creativity, which helps keep me fresh and ready to meet the daily challenges of life. And finally, in hopes that somewhere along the line, a reader will connect with something I've written and feel a little spark of inspiration. I know I've been inspired by so many wonderful women bloggers, so many of whom don't have any idea who I am, but they are an important part of my life nonetheless. If I can be that for even one person, then I've succeeded.

So, thank you for visiting. Sit down, read, enjoy. And don't be too shy to say "hi" in the comments or send me an email. I promise not to bite.