Outside of the box...

Now this is what I call a cupcake!

I've had several opportunities to be creative over the past few weeks and I'm loving it. I find that even though I love my job, I often times have to be very detailed and analytical, so I truly enjoy the moments when I can think "outside of the box" and have a little fun.

My sweet friend Natalie's birthday was this past Monday and we celebrated last night over this monstrous cupcake. It is seriously about the size of a human head and was a huge hit! (The picture just doesn't do it justice!) I also had a random stranger approach me and ask me to make one for his son. Hmm...perhaps I should start up a side business. Taking orders now...

And speaking of side businesses, I have been having a lot of fun with my photography lately. I had the opportunity to take family portraits for a good friend of mine from church. His family was an absolute joy to be around and they were so easy to work with. As a special thank you, I decided to package up their pictures and their CD in a cute little photo box that they could save. I think it cost me $3 and made such a huge difference in the presentation. Of course I don't think he had a clue what to do with it, but I'm sure his mom will appreciate it.

What is a mother?

I spent this past weekend reflecting quite a bit on motherhood and what it means to be a mother. As a single, you can imagine that myself and others in my same life stage, might feel a little left out on this celebratory day. However, as I sat in church this past Sunday and listened to the pastor speak of the characteristics of a mother, I very quickly realized that God has given me the same challenge. Motherhood is not only a profound responsibility, but a choice. And it's not just for married people.

I have the opportunity every day to love on others, share my nurturing nature, provide protection when necessary, exercise authority over those who may need it, and set a good example. I am given the joy of loving on babies in my church nursery, mentoring young ladies in the youth group and helping to train them up in the way they should go. I have the privilege of babysitting for friends and loving on their little ones. The opportunities are endless if I am simply open to them.

My own mother has set such a remarkable example for me and reminds me often of the Proverbs 31 woman. She has not only been a mother to me, but to all those around me. This past weekend we were able to celebrate her and what a blessing she has been to our entire family.

We also celebrated my brother's birthday this past weekend (he just happened to be born on Mother's Day 34 years ago)! Hard to believe I'm related to such an old man! We spent the afternoon out at my parents new house eating hot dogs, watching the kids play, and visiting. It was a great time with family and just reminded me once again of how much I am blessed.

I HATE CANCER!!!

I'm sure that is a sentiment shared by pretty much everyone. And I don't use the word hate very often, but in this case, I do hate it. I am mourning the loss of my sweet friend Jennifer today who lost her battle to cancer this past Friday. She was a beautiful person who was a fighter and full of life! And she was one of my few friends who actually followed my blog and always loved my crazy stories. It's times like these that I'm forced to surrender all of my questions to God and trust in His sovereignty yet again. Even though I don't understand why her life was cut short and why we live in such a fallen world that is full of evil diseases like cancer, I know that He will prevail and that she is sitting at His feet in Heaven today.

I think the most difficult part of her death for me is the fact that I didn't get to say goodbye. She lived in Houston with her amazing husband and this was the third round of cancer she had gone through. As I mentioned above, she was a true fighter! So naturally, when I heard the cancer had returned, I assumed she was going to kick some butt again. Little did I know that a few months later I would get an email from a mutual friend telling me that she was no longer with us. It all happened so fast. But isn't that just like life? We blink and it passes us by...

I want to thank my friend for reminding me how precious life is. For being the kind of woman who continued to glorify God and consider others above herself even when her own circumstances were not ideal. And for fighting the good fight right up until the very end! I will miss my sweet friend, but the memories I have of her and the legacy she has left behind will live on in those that she touched.

What a Beautiful Belly!

This past weekend I had the wonderful pleasure of taking maternity pictures for my beautiful friends Courtney and Asher. What a joy! They were such troopers to meet up with me again, as this was the second time I had taken pictures for them, since I managed to delete the first set...UGH!

We had such a fun time enjoying the beautiful sunshine in the park. And little did they know, I had a small surprise waiting for them. I had two photo shoots Saturday morning and during the first, a little yellow duckling came out of nowhere and followed me and the family around for over an hour. Being the tender-hearted person I am, I couldn't leave it there by itself, so I took it with me to Courtney & Asher's shoot and planned to take it home. Fortunately, Asher is a duck hunter and was willing to provide a home for it until it was old enough to be released back into the wild. And can I just say...having a fluffy yellow duckling in your maternity pictures is priceless! Here are just a few pictures of the beautiful couple. They are going to be such amazing parents to their little girl.

You're how old???

I've had an interesting revelation lately...I'm getting older. It's not that I've been ignoring my birthdays for the past decade. Or the laugh lines and wrinkles that keep popping up all over my face. It's just that I'm still in the same stage of life and not much has changed so I forget that the rest of the world is moving on around me.

I've come to this staggering conclusion several times over the past few months. The first was when I ran into one of the children I was a nanny for when I first moved to Dallas. Sarah Catherine was only 11 years old when I first met her. She was this tiny little girl who had big innocent eyes and was trying to find her way in this big world and live up to her big name. When I ran into her at the restaurant I was working for a few months ago, I was speechless. She is now this grown woman who is a freshman at Vanderbilt and has all the confidence in the world. Where did the time go? Oh yeah, that was 10 years ago...

Then I had lunch with an old co-worker yesterday whose daughter I used to babysit. He was telling me she is about to graduate from high school and go off to Baylor. Sic'em Bears! But seriously...she's graduating? Even the kids I grew up babysitting back in East Texas are all married and having kids now. And my nephew is about to turn five. 5!!!!! That just doesn't seem possible. I still remember going to visit him in the NICU every day for the first month of his life. And look at him now...

All of this "growing up" around me has made me wonder if I need to grow up a little more. I am a firm believer in being a child at heart and knowing how to have fun (even as an adult). But perhaps now that I'm in my 30's, I may need to stop wearing my "Kiss Me I'm Irish" t-shirts and act my age. :) After all, I am starting to look it!

Shaking things up a bit...

One thing I have discovered about life is that CHANGE is inevitable. And I'm pretty sure I am one of the few people who actually like it. Whether it's moving to a new town, buying a new home, getting a new haircut, or starting a new job (which is the case for me), I always look forward to it. It's a chance to start over fresh, meet new people, and experience new things.

Just a month ago, I would have told you that my plans were to move to East Texas at the end of this year and try to buy a house so I could be closer to my family. Being in Dallas, even though it's only two hours away, has been so hard on me over the past few years. Not that I didn't miss my mom and dad and brother and sister-in-law before now, but I feel like I'm missing out on the precious childhood years of my nephew and niece. So, I had planned to move home. And then...

I found out about a position that opened up at the Hunt Oil Company here in Dallas. The pay was substantially more than I was currently making and the company is known to be one of the best around. So, I decided to take a chance and interview with them. Initially I went into it thinking that it would be a good change for me and that I could stay in Dallas another year or two and then move home. Which may still be the case. However, this change has been one for the books. I have never worked for a company that values their employees as much as Hunt. Not only do they stand for family values, honesty and integrity, but they encourage the employees to stay physically fit and volunteer on a regular basis. The two weeks I've worked so far have been incredibly refreshing! And I'm pretty sure they pump happy gas into this place. I wake up tired and grumpy, but as soon as I walk into this place, voila...life is good! :)

I still miss my family and find myself wanting to go home every weekend to see what I'm missing and just enjoy some down time. But for now, I'll be content to stay where God has placed me, enjoy meeting these fascinating new people, and enjoy the ride. Who knows? Maybe my Mr. Right is hiding somewhere in this 14-story building.

I'M LIVE!!!

Just a quick little update to let my followers know that I have finally launched my new photography website. I'm still building up my portfolio and looking for new business, so if you want pictures taken or know of anyone, please feel free to pass them along.

http://www.jaimepphotography.com/