3 little Miracles

3 little Miracles

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Getting DOWN to Joining UP!

My husband and I finally did it . . . . . we finally got DOWN to business and Joined up with a local Down Syndrome Parent Group.  They call it a support group, but I would much rather call it a Parent Group because "Support" makes it sound like we need therapy because our daughter has Down Syndrome.  Just the opposite, we have found being the parents of a child with Down Syndrome has been an amazing blessing and joy, and Rachel is just the happiest little baby almost all of the time.

We finally made the decision to attend the Down Syndrome Parent Group, because we felt we wanted to get feedback from other parents on what the next few years might be like as we begin to think about preschool for Rachel.  At first my husband was going to let me attend alone while he stayed home with the kids, but we are lucky enough that our group offers childcare and he thought he would give attending the meetings a try.  To his joy, he met another father at the group and fellow brother Marine (once a Marine always a Marine) and the meeting wasn't a circle of woman crying over their children (he really thought that was what the DS parent group was going to be).

It was the first meeting for the year, so we really spent the first night just sharing stories on how we each found out our little one had DS, was it while we were pregnant OR did we find out the day of delivery (as in our case).  Then David and I asked a few questions of two of the couples because they each had daughters 3 years old, so their daughters are just a bit ahead of Rachel and had great advice for what is around the corner developmentally.  Finally we spent the last part of the evening planning out the topics we really want to learn about as a group and the special speakers we wanted to bring in to help us with those topics.

We truly felt blessed and like we had found a new group of friends . . . . . most of all we felt comfortable RIGHT A WAY!  You can find us on Facebook New Bern Down Syndrome Parent Group.  This is a closed group for parents, family, and friends of children with DS in the New Bern and surrounding area of Eastern North Carolina, if you feel you meet that criteria please contact me to join our FB group.
(I made this logo for our group)

Monday, January 9, 2012

Pinterest Recipe of the Day


Sticky Bun Breakfast Ring


1 tube Pillsbury Grands buttermilk biscuits
3 Tbsp. butter or margarine, melted
1/2 C. pancake syrup
1/3 C. packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 C. chopped pecans, opt.
1/4 C. chopped almonds, opt.

  • Spray a fluted pan with non-stick spray. Combine the melted butter and syrup in a small bowl and set aside. In another bowl, combine the brown sugar, cinnamon, and nuts (if desired).
  • Place about half of the syrup mixture in the bottom of the pan. Then sprinkle half of the brown sugar mixture on top.
  • Lay the biscuits on the bottom of the pan, overlapping edges (closely together) to form a ring.
  • Top with remaining syrup and sugar mixtures.
  • Bake at 375 degrees for approximately 20 minutes or until golden brown.
  • Cool for 1 minute in the pan, then invert onto a serving platter and enjoy!

Friday, January 6, 2012

I have my own DOMAIN!!

I can check another item off my business To-DO list, I got my business webpage finished and my own DOMAIN up and running.  I still need to finish editing some of the engagement photos and get them on the website along with a few of the Senior Photo shoot pictures I took, but for now I think it looks pretty good.
Let me know what you think, I totally want your HONEST opinion.

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Photography Business Progress and Engagement Photo Shoot

I did an engagement photo shoot for my niece Cassandra and her fiance' Andrew back on December 18th around our downtown historic area.  We had such a great time, although we were VERY cold and had to stop into a Java Stop about half way through the shoot to warm up, HA.  This picture is yet unedited, but this was one of her favorites, obviously not one she would use for the paper, but still a lovely intimate moment between them.
You can View Slideshow of the raw unedited gallery OR you can go to my facebook business page to view the images I have already edited for them HERE.

It is a LOT of working pulling together my photography business, I am lucky I have had a lot of great advice from friends in the business OR other photographers I have gotten to know through blogging who freely share their experience.  Although they were always honest about the work it took to set up shot, it is still a lot more work then I thought it would be, but I feel like God is opening up the way each step.  I already have several clients lined up for 2012, including a potential wedding in June . . . . .scary . . . . . but exciting!! I am setting my goals and already checking some things off the list, in fact I completed my first two goals yesterday.  I finally established my business domain (which I will share later) and I established my client proofing site.  Now I have to:

  • Register for DSLR class at CCC for February and Photography class in April
  • See if CCC has any Business Management courses
  • Draft Business Plan
  • Firm up my business logo and marketing paperwork
  • Check into opening business banking account
  • Check into insurance for camera equipment and business

I have a lot of work to do, and working around the kids can some days be a challenge, but I LOVE it and I know I am doing what I should be doing.  God will provide for all the details that need to come into place.

So, what do you think of the pictures?  Did you take a look?

349 Friends

This morning I was listening to k-love and a woman came on a told a quick testimony about how God recently impacted her life for change.  With the help of her son, she finally escaped her home which she was afraid to leave and managed with God's strength to travel the world to visit the 324 friends she had on facebook.

This got me to thinking about the 349 friends I have listed in my list of "friends" on facebook.  How many are family? How many are extended family? How many are friends in my life daily? How many are life long friends that I stay in touch with via facebook, phone, and mail?  My list of questions of how I am connected to these 349 individuals goes on and on.

So I have decided I am going to go through my list of 349.  I want to find out where they are in the world and map my "friends".  I may not be able to afford a trip around the world to visit my 349 friends, but I might be able to do a letter or something that passes along from each one of my friends until it gets back to me by the end of 2012.  I am still brain storming this idea because I just heard this lady on the radio this morning and I want to pray over what God would have me to do with her testimony.

Do you have any ideas for me?

Wordless Wednesday - Just Woke Up

Social Media Prayer


Can also be found at Gypsy Momma's blog