Nolan Ryan and Nelly/ie Cruz

We don't have kids, but we do have undying, stereotypical no-children love for our two pups.  So I want to show you how cute they are.  Look look look.

This is Nolan.  He's two years old and is the skinniest ol boy I've ever seen.  Rumor has it he's a lab/golden mix, but really...who knows.  He loves running, treats, and laying on the couch, and only cuddles on occasion.  He likes his space.  I respect that.  He hates it when I cut his nails.  I also respect that.

This is Nellie.  She's one year old, and was advertised as a golden/border collie mix, but all her brothers looked like variations of Great Pyrenees/Terrier mixes.  Cute little weirdos.  Anyways, Nellie loves belly rubs, cuddling, and eating without breathing.  She's terrified of plastic bags and pillows. And, thanks to my adventures today, flying bottles of jalapenos. 

Here are a couple other photos of the little cuties.  Ooh and ahh all you want.  They're the cutest.  I know.  I know.

Ah.  I love them.  Judge me, I don't even care.

xoxo Bec

Three things

This weekend I learned three things:

1. My mom (and dad) are saints. I had the opportunity to fill in for mom at home for about 24 hours, from Friday afternoon to Saturday afternoon. I love, love, love my brothers and sisters. They are hilarious and fairly self-reliant and great Friday night football troopers. That being said, my parents are saints.  If you know them, you know I'm right.

2. I don't know what I want.  Jeff and I were able to make it to the costume/pumpkin carving/all-around Halloween party a few friends throw every year around this time.  Every time we get to see his friends from home, I end up wishing that we lived much closer so we could be everyday friends, not just now and then friends. But I am so grateful to live so near my parents in this stage of their lives. And we LOVE our school. And I have a few friends in other cities I want to live nearer to as well. Arghrghgghh.

3. I miss established relationships with students.  I spent three fabulous years in a top-notch school filled with dedicated professionals and ridiculous and wonderful students, and I worked hard to get to know as many of those kiddos as I could. I love my new school and think it is absolutely outstanding. Simultaneously, I am tired and very ready to reach the stage of established, trusting relationships with my new kiddos. Earning trust is a taxing job.

xoxo Bec

Mast Family

I am so embarrassed to say that the last time I saw this family, Sarah was just a little peanut in her mommy's tummy!  Needless to say, she's grown a little bit.  :)  I had such a great time hanging out with these three, and meeting little Red Riding Hood live and in person!  I told Bree, I've seen so many pictures of Sarah, seeing her in person felt like a celebrity siting!

xoxo Bec

Craig Family + Baby Madison

These are my precious brother- and sister-in-law and their two gorgeous children!  I cannot believe how blessed I am to have married into a family so filled with beauty and love.  We got together a few Saturdays ago to record a few moments with their family as well as some solos of little Madi, so they can always remember these first few wonderful weeks as a family of four.

Gramma was available for some snuggles, too!

Ahh!!  I can't stop looking at these photos, because I love the folks in them so stinkin' much!  Can't wait until we get together again.  Love you guys!

xoxo Bec

THANK YOU!

I am so blessed to have experienced tremendous business growth in the past year, and to send a huge THANK YOU to all my clients and supporters, I'm offering a special day of photos at a smashing price!  This is a great opportunity to get photos for a Christmas card (not sure if my sister is designing this year or not--remind me to ask her!), senior portraits, family portraits for Christmas gifts, or just to celebrate the near-completion of the year 2012.  This could even be an early Christmas gift for a loved one who wants photos of their own family.

Here's the deal!

I have a special location picked out in McKinney, and I'm going to just camp out that day!  I will be shooting from 10-5 that day, with scheduled breaks, so email me quickly to get the time that works best for you and yours!

If you're interested in booking, please email me at becca@bephotographyonline.com and I will hook you up with more details, and even a pay-pal link so you can pre-pay!  I am so excited about this day, and hope it extends the blessings I've received this year.

Feel free to pass this information on to your friends and family!  And, of course, if you would like a longer session at the location of your choice, I am always available to make those appointments as well!

xoxo Bec

Mondays

I was doing my usual "changing lives and taking names" thing today when a few students caught me off guard.  We were talking about the word "nervous," and they were voting as to whether that word had a positive, negative, or neutral connotation.  They called negative, a decision with which, within context, I definitely agreed, but every teacher has to play devil's advocate now and then, so I brought up the possibility of positive nervousness-- like on one's wedding day, for instance.

A student scoffed and said something along the lines of, "I know some people who say their wedding day was the worst day of their life!" To which I had some smart mouthed response (super mature, as per usual!), and some thoughtless comment about "...and I can tell you why the divorce rate is so high..." eventually came out of my stupid mouth.

We got back on track and finished the assignment we were working on together.  At the end of class, I asked if anyone had any questions.  A girl respectfully raised her hand and quietly said, "You said you know why everyone gets divorced. Why is it?"

And I almost died.  Of my chronic stupid disease.  Where do I get off, making huge, sweeping statements about a terribly heart-wrenching situation I know nothing about? Ugh. I irritate myself.

Anyways, I gave my answer, as carefully as I could, and made sure to emphasize that I don't have all the answers, but I do have theories and hopefully they are reason-based.

That sweet little girl then gave a compelling argument for why marriage shouldn't exist at all.  How much simpler things would be--because then, we wouldn't have to face the inevitable disappointment of broken commitment.

I need to listen more and speak less.  Happy Monday to you, soldier.

xoxo Bec

Honestly

Since my parents decided to pursue adoption, and then adoption subsequently threw itself headfirst into the Lowder household, the most common question I get from friends who know my folks is, "So...how is your family?"

Well.

That's a big question.  Do you really have time for the answer?  No, of course not, but I would never expect you to--because even if you have hours to spare, there's no way even that's enough time for me to sit down and process and attempt to explain and brag and cry and stumble through just "how" my family is.

The same is probably true for you--just because my family is no longer a simple story doesn't mean we're the only ones who are experiencing something extraordinary.  So please don't think I'm trying to break the curve or be anything more or less than anyone else.  I'm just answering honestly.

So, here goes.

Before I met my four youngest siblings, I had this completely unrealistic, weird, romantic idea of what adoption was.  Here's what I thought (cue sentimental music):

Toddler, of either Asian or African descent, sits in a lonely orphanage and dreams about American parents who, surely, will come rescue him one day.  He is completely unaware and disinterested in the fact that he was conceived by, born of, and somehow separated from human parents of his own.  He somehow learns English, manners, and how to love and be loved.  One day, someone white and wealthy steps off a plane, walks into the orphanage, picks up this child (who is the cutest in the room), and walks back to the airplane.  Toddler holds close to mother while giving father affectionate high-fives and kisses.  On the plane ride back, after the toddler thanks his new parents profusely for coming to find him, and pledges to be precious, grateful, and obedient for his entire life, the parents rock him to peaceful sleep and make a list of all their generous friends who they will talk into adopting the remaining children in the orphanage, so no one is left out.  Once home, the child keeps his pledge to be a perfect child, and is always completely accepted and treated with gentleness and a careful tongue by those he meets.

Before my sassiness gets the best of me, let's get one thing straight here.  The romance of adoption is real.  There is no love like the love shown to an adopted child.  It is not the biggest love, or the most fancy love, or the most anything love (none but Jesus!), but it is a unique and beautiful and cracked love that is a picture of God's unwavering affection for us orphans here on earth.

But it is not a Disney story.  Sassy time.

Children from hard places are from hard places.  That place may be the slums of a Chinese city or the outskirts of San Antonio or anywhere else in the world.  Geography doesn't make a child more or less healthy, though culture can definitely mean a lot in the transition from one family to another.  Also, they know they were conceived by, born of, and somehow separated from human parents of their own.  The separation may have come at day one, or year one, or the day after they turned fourteen.  They may know exactly why, or they may have no idea, but no matter what, they know, and there will come a time when they ache for that connection.  They may or may not have learned what love is.  They may have been best friends with their mother or she may be their greatest fear, or they may be completely apathetic about her.  They may have been hurt.  They may be resilient, or they may be weak-hearted.  They may be looking forward to a permanent home, or that could be the furthest hope from their heart.  They may not sleep at night.  They may not wake up during the day.  They may not understand the grace they have been given, and the great expense at which their new life comes, both financially (less important) and emotionally and relationally (desperately important).

And people don't know this, because...well...how could they?  So well-intentioned comments and questions like, "You are so lucky now!" or "Do you know who your mother is?" or "What grade are you in?" or "You look so much like your Dad!" can sometimes deliver a sting that no one expected.  People who would would be great babysitters don't get called, because parents want to protect their children's hurts, and not expose their secrets to the world.  Sometimes, it's not okay for people to drop by and visit, because disruptions just don't work for this new family.  Holidays probably won't be celebrated the same way.  Maybe Mother's Day and Father's Day are minimized, even though their parents are as good as gold, because the first parents aren't there to be celebrated as well, so it hurts.  Everything, and nothing, is normal.

I feel like I need to emphasize that my younger brothers and sisters are the coolest cats in the world.  I love them more than life itself and have learned more from them already than they will ever learn from me.  I love that they have two families to love, and two families who love them.  No one can ever take that away from them.

There's probably more to say, but really, I'm not an expert on this.  These are just my observations as a daughter and big sister, and maybe it's enough information for you to know how my family is doing.  We are so blessed, and we are growing so strong--complete with scars, growing pains, and awkward stages--the works.  We've got it all.  So, when I say, "We're great!  How's your family?", please know I mean it with all my heart, and this is the back story, and sometimes "great" is pretty hard.

xoxo Bec

Madison

Two and a half years ago, I stared out a hospital window for three hours while directly behind me, my sister-in-law fought bravely to bring my gorgeous, healthy nephew into the world.  It was one of the best days of my life!  A few days ago, I sat in that same hospital and watched my brother- and sister-in-law go to battle again, and this time, we got a beautiful baby girl!  I am so, so honored to have been able to be present for both kiddos' births, and to carry the responsibility of documenting their first few moments in the world.  I'm not sure I've ever been paid a higher compliment.

Everyone, please welcome Madison!  She was such a trooper in those first few minutes.  The nurses and doctors would mess with her a little bit, and she'd give them a look and scream as loud as her little lungs would allow, but as soon as they left her alone, she'd fall asleep!  Then they would mess with her again, and out would come the cries and screams, and then, poof!  Sleep.  Incredibly precious.

xoxo Bec