Back to normal life..........

I survived! What do you know? Last weekend was absolute chaos...complete with standing on my feet for an average of 12 hours a day holding a very heavy camera/lens, interacting with people on a constant basis, about 4 hours of sleep each night, living in continual fear that the pregnant mares we brought along were going to have their babies at the show, having a great time, being blessed by so many people, and coming home with over 4,000 images.

I LOVE my camera and lens even more now...they handled the wacky indoor lighting like the champs they are!

Mom and Beamer were seriously impressive....brought home the blues!

Jessie enjoyed the show....despite her crutches! (BTW, we heard this past week that the Dr thinks she doesn't need surgery!! Praise GOD!)

And a good time was had by all!!

At this point, life is settling back down again, and the next big thing on our platter is the arrival of some new baby horses! Can't WAIT!! The first mare due is the mare I showed last year, so I'm especially excited ;) 

Now that I've gone through all my pictures and organized everything, I'm slowly pulling my head back above water, and really want to keep sharing quotes. So in honor of my return to blogland, here's a deluge! :) :) :)

....especially Beethoven's Pathetique Sonata.

...I have to remind myself of this from time to time.

...actually, PETA might be right ;) 

.....I had a shirt that said this on the back for the longest time. Then it disappeared. I have a strange feeling Mom threw it away :'(

.....yep! I've got friends like this.

.....okay, okay. The dog is cute, you have to admit!

.....guys, you know this one's your fav :)

.....which is why I want to MOVE! Summer is coming!! Aaaahhhhhhhh.....

......and horses.

......and in Him, we find the greatest satisfaction, the deepest fulfillment, and the truest joy.

God bless you all!! ♥ ♥

Christmas Puppy ♥

Our Christmas tree went up today, and look who came inside to see it!!!

Saying Goodbye Hurts

The hardest thing about loving an animal? The inexplicable goodbyes......the unanswered questions....the losses.....

"Dog's lives are too short....their only fault, really."
~Unknown

She brought us so much joy in her short life, and I'll never forget her. 

Why God chose to take her? 

I don't know.

Did He have a reason?
Yes....that I'm sure of.

“Remember me and smile, for it's better to forget than to remember me and cry.” 
― Dr. Seuss

"When you're going through something hard and wonder where God is, remember the teacher is always silent during a test."

~Unknown

"God's plan for your life far exceeds the circumstances of your day."

~Louie Giglio

She was just a puppy....not nearly as  big as other people's losses and problems. But she was very special to us....to me....and I'll miss her.

But God is good.

In which we acquire a puppy......

We currently have 17 puppies in our kitchen.

Yes, seventeen.

And yes, we're officially crazy.

That said, this little guy is sorta extra special cause he gets to stay here and become our next stud dog. I am so in love with him.....he has the biggest, chunkiest head and he's going to be huge!

We need name suggestions......something with hunting.....or guns.....or.....

Summer Monsoons

They start in the morning looking like this....big beautiful fluffy white clouds, and deep cobalt blue skies.

In the afternoon, the skies turn dark and foreboding....

And then it rains!!! And leaves us with lots of water everywhere :)

Passion Meets Career

I've really been blessed. Like really, really been blessed.

God has allowed my passion to turn into a career which is so amazing! I've always loved photography, but never dreamed it would be anything more than a hobby.

Boy was I wrong! And boy am I grateful!!

Here's some fun recent shots for you :)

To see more, visit my photography blog at http://www.atruefocus.blogspot.com 

Pups and Jess

We've been having pups born since 6 AM this morning!!

Birth is such a miracle!!

This is how Jessie rolls when we're having pups! Progression is as she realizes I have the camera on her :)

Thanksgiving in pictures!

Since there's only a few days left till Christmas and all the celebrations and parties and family wonderfulness that brings, I figured I should post about our Thanksgiving before it comes time to post about Christmas!

Yes, I have been a bit behind.

Since my life is documented through my pictures, I'm just going to post a bunch of pictures of our wonderful time with my mom's family and tell our story that way!

We left for Tucson the day before Thanksgiving to spend a couple days with our relatives there. My mom's whole family (parents, siblings and all their families) live down there within a few minutes of each other.

My Uncle Jerry and his motto coffee cup!

Jessie teaching  my Uncle how to use our ipad :)

What are they all watching on the ipad??

Steve and Jon!! (the beyond awesome PianoGuys)

My techy Grandma!!

On Thanksgiving morning, my whole family (minus Anna) and my Aunt and Uncle drove out to Sabino Canyon to hike for a while....

Tucson's desert is so much prettier than Phoenix's!

Me: "PICNIC TABLE!!!!!!!! Hang on guys.....Jessie, go lay on your belly on it!"

My Aunt Lisa....from whom I inherited my name and obviously at least some of my love of photography! She has the same camera I do :)

My daddy...

My very sophisticated Uncle Jerry! Sabino Canyon has some gorgeous little areas there.

Back to my grandparent's house to clean up before Thanksgiving dinner...we took Annie with us, our beatiful 6 month old Lab pup. She is amazing!!

Thanksgiving without Martinelli's...really??

They call him Ricardo..... (I just liked this picture!)

My ever willing victim model!!

I really love my grandparent's house!!!

Only Rich Mullin's fans will understand the next picture :)

Thanksgiving afternoon, we went over to my Uncle Tad's house (Mom's oldest brother). Had a wonderful time there catching up with the family and eating an amazing dinner.

Jessie and Uncle Tad inspecting the chiltepin peppers that my Uncle is growing in his salsa garden. And laughing....he could be a stand-up comedian he is soooooo funny.

And the camera went away for the rest of the evening :D

Next morning, my Aunt Lisa left a note on my grandparent's door saying she was cooking breakfast. She lives right next door to them, so we headed over there.

Fruit....

....plus coffee/hot chocolate....

....plus pancakes....

....plus homemade whipped cream......

......equals amazingness!!!!!!

Lisa and Lisa!! (very confusing I must admit!)

 Glory hallelujah!!! I actually came home with a picture of my gorgeous but very camera shy sister, Anna!!

Us with Aunt Lisa...

She had a dart board on her back porch that provided much entertainment...and amusement :)

Is she proud of her skill....or scared of it???

This is funny.....we were all sitting in my aunt's living room with our laptops and ipads. My grandpa wanted to read the morning paper, but in order to appear up to date with the rest of the technology in the room, he appeared to be playing on his ipad. (He didn't hide the newspaper very well, though!) LOL

In her backyard, my aunt has a coy pond. She just had it finished this summer and was very very proud of it. Every morning, she feeds the fish, and they all come to the surface and eat and you can see them so well.

Imagine our surprise when this feller flew into her yard!!! You hardly ever see Great Blue Herons up close...but this one was hunting fish!

He was extremely fun to photograph, but we got a call about a week after we got home, and there was only one fish left on the pond :(

Soooooo...............there was our Thanksgiving in picture form!!! 

Will hopefully be posting pictures from Christmas soon...since the world didn't end yesterday!