First off, you are the best! You're kind words, thoughts and prayers are hard at work and I know they are making a difference. I'm in such awe over the overwhelming support I've received - your comments, e-mails, and some wonderful surprise gifts sent to our room have just brought me to tears. You all don't know how much your friendship and support means to me and my family- thank you sooooooo much!
The doctor's at Children have come to the following conclusion - her lab results show that she has contracted Shigella (similar to E-Coli - yuck!) coupled with nephritis and HSP (the disease mentioned below). That's the reasons for her high fevers, added stomach pains, and other not so fun symptoms. Then we got the exciting news that she could leave the hospital after getting a round of antibiotics to start treating the Shigella (her HSP just has to run it's course - there's no treatment except for monitoring her kidneys with weekly urine tests and then with monthly tests)!! Brielle is coming back to her little happy-go-lucky self; she's talkative and giggling, she's walking well (although she's wobbly on her legs and has fallen more than once scaring her a bit), and she's eating & drinking more. I'm so glad to have her out of the hospital (although I'm sooooooo thankful for the wonderful care she received). And I am selfishly so happy to see things outside of little B's hospital room. We sat outside tonight just soaking up the beautiful sunset here in Arizona, then bathed and now she's soundly sleeping.
Anyway, sorry for all the details, we are just so happy to be discharged and will be heading home back to South Carolina on Tuesday! It will give Briella time to be up to traveling and if she regresses, we are close to the doctors who treated her.
Thanks again so much you all!!!! You don't know how much your words, prayers and support have meant to me and my family. I wish I could give back to you - really... it's meant the world to me. I'll hopefully be back to posting soon. It kills me not to be posting more, but I will certainly be making up for it when I get back home! :) Thank you and XOXO's to you all.
{very sick little girl...}
Life has a way of changing things up on you....I'm not home and won't be home for several days unfortunately. Briella has been pretty sick most of our trip and it got really bad the morning we were supposed to leave (she lost a lot of blood) and not to be gross but the morning we were supposed to leave she woke up with her diaper completely full of blood. We took her to the ER and Jeff and Tyler traveled back to South Carolina. She also has developed 50+ bright red lesions all over her body, her joints are swollen, and her gums, lips and mouth have been bleeding and she hasn't been able to walk (I think her joints just hurt too bad). They have diagnosed her with a disease called HSP ( Henoch-Schönlein Purpura). Kinda rare so I'm so glad that we're being treated at the Children's Hospital in Phoenix where they have specialized care. Seeing my little girl in this much discomfort is heart-breaking but I know that she will get over this rough time and that she's in good, caring hands. Anyway, we've been in the hospital for 3 days and it sounds like we won't be going to South Carolina till after the weekend. I just wanted to keep you all posted since I mentioned posting pictures and session sneak peeks soon. Thanks to those of you who have sent me e-mails and left sweet comments on my blog after hearing she was sick ;-) You're thoughts and prayers are appreciated.
I'll post more updates as soon as I can.
{In the land of Kokopelli's....far from home}
Can you guess where I am? Hint: It's dry, hot and in a land where kokopelli's can be found. It's is in the United States.... so that will narrow it down quite a bit.
Just wanted to let my blogging friends and viewers know that I haven't been able to post since I'm far from home doing some shoots and vacationing for the past week. I'm freaking out that I haven't been able to post in so long...I miss it so. But when I get back I'll be back to posting - woo hoo. We fly back tomorrow night so not too much longer.
It's strange not to have my editing software with me.... feels so bizarre not to be doing that part of my job while I'm here. But I have enjoyed shooting in a completely different environment and being creative in a whole new, fun and challenging way.
{Nuxie Made}
I admit, I have a hat fetish when it come to accessories for my children. I love them, I'm always on the lookout for different, fun, funky, colorful hats. So I was thrilled to photograph and feature these hats for Nux of 'Nuxie Made'!! They fit all the things I love - they're colorful, hand-made, and look absolutely darling on children (and pre-teens). My daughter even insisted on wearing one to bed (yep, that's my stubborn but oh so loving two year old). Aren't these hats adorable?!
{Snips & Snails and Puppy Dog Tails...}
And 4 boys ages 3 and under! What a busy busy all boy session today was - I headed to Hartsville to photograph these adorable little blonde boys. They kept me on my toes being that they were all so young and at that age where they do what they want to do, it's just how it goes. But it was fun and entertaining. They were truely 'all boy' boys playing in the fountain - getting soaked and running around on the gravel barefoot (without it hurting their soft little feet). The youngest of these boys was 3 months old! He was so content during our session, happy as can be the entire time - amazing!! Here's some images from today! The first two pictures were begging to 'go vintage' so I listened... don't you love their outfits?! They were purchased at a cute little Hartsville children's boutique - Juice!
{sludge, muck & dreaded delays... sigh}
Yes, the weather here in South Carolina has been wet! This past Saturday we had over 4 inches (at least that's what's being said and not from a reliable source - merely chatter heard at the local Piggly Wiggly). Sooo, that resulted in two more sessions being postponed. I really don't like postponing my client's sessions but I want them to get the best images possible and in these wet and soggy conditions it's the best choice.On another note, I was recently featured in the Country Club of South Carolina's quarterly 'Club Journal'. The cover is my daughter (well her legs and feet anyway -ha! getting on her tricycle in her little white tutu). They did a spread on me and posted samples of my work inside. Pretty fun!
{Nissalisa - monster wear for your lil' monsters...}
Monsters… monsters – what could be more cool on a t-shirt? My son went nuts when he tried this on for our photo shoot. These zany shirts are the creations of Nissalisa. And who is Nissalisa? It’s the sister-in-law duo Nissa & Lisa! Very fitting. J Anyway, I think these shirts are so fun for little boys – and big boys too! Their sizes run really small so I would contact Lisa or Nissa and ask them about sizing (between the two of them they have 8 children so they are pretty much experts in that area). My son is a 5T and he needed a size 8 – wowzah! Personally I love the long sleeve shirts – they are more form-fitting but not too clingy. My son really liked the short-sleeve – 1) it was green – his favorite color, along with orange and 2) he loves short sleeved shirts – he’s such a little furnace. Anyway, they have many different monsters to choose from (Tyler is shown sporting ‘ Blue Bernard’) as well as monster onesies, monster towels and adult size monster appliquéd t-shirts with ringer neck (gotta love the ringer necks)!
{Monkey & Me}
Oh my…here’s another amazingly creative, hip, and fun featured designer, Beth creator of Monkey & Me unique children’s clothing. Little Briella was so giddy trying these clothes on and modeling for me. I’ve never seen her so excited for a photo session. We dressed her on-location so the clothes wouldn’t wrinkle too much and she kept saying ‘Oh this is gonna be fun! '{giggles emanating from her}. I was thrilled she was so into it. Anyway, getting the thumbs up from my daughter was a good sign and I instantly fell in love with the colors, and cute vintage designs. Monkey & Me designs a variety of styles from funky and hip to wild and spunky available in infant sizes all the way up to 6T. And since Beth is the designer/creator she knows all about sizing so if you’re unsure of what sizes you’re interested in just send her your child’s measurements and she’ll help you find the perfect fit! I just love this red and white polka-dot retro animals A-line dress! But I think Brielle felt sassy in all of them. If you like funky, retro, unique clothing you’ve gotta check out Monkey & Me.
{Oh... I just had to post a few more...}
Since I have yet to put up Megan & Jessica's gallery (it's been a crazy week and spring break for the kidlets on top of that), I thought I'd add a second peek from their session. I love face shots so I couldn't resist posting more. Oh so many images to choose from, can't wait to show you more. Thanks for being patient!
{Fun, Fashion & Friends}
Yesterday afternoon I photographed two close friends - Megan & Jessica. They just so happen to be awesome babysitters too - my kids adore these two girls! And they were bummed to see me leave with Megan and Jessica as we ventured on our photo shoot. I have to say photographing Megan & Jessica brought me right back to my senior year in High School - the laughter, teasing, embarrassment and enthusiasm - it all came flooding back and was so surreal. The two could be sisters, they were that close - you know the type of friendship where you share make-up, do each others hair, make fun of each other yet encourage and support each other. That's the type of friendship they had and it made this session one of my favorites. I could have photographed them all night but we lost light and had to end it at some point. Anyway here's a few images from our session. I varied my editing styles since I just couldn't resist and the possibilities were pretty wide with this age group. ;-)
More to come...
