Sterling Reverie

Eskimo kisses are best felt with your eyes closed. I love every single nose to nose moment with my daughter. I close my eyes and breathe in the moment because her older brother has taught me that these moments will fly by far too fast.

This weekend is St. Patrick's Day.

I do not have an ounce of Irish blood. Or at least I'm pretty sure I don't. I haven't done a 23 and Me... are those accurate? Nonetheless, I love St. Patrick's Day, I always have. My parents, my mom in particular, was always great at incorporating the holidays into our busy lives. Every chance she had she would make something grand out of our holidays.

Cody and I try to do the same. Most times we succeed, sometimes we fail, but we always try.

It's March 1st!

I don't know why, but every time I look at the calendar I shock myself. In disbelief that time has failed to standstill, yet again. Time steadily, but sneakily, clicks away. And with it's passing, I have much more to look back on. To reflect. One thought that I can't escape is the practice of being present.

I struggle with that so much. I am a planner. I am a doer. My gaze is always on the future. But as I get older, I realize that a shift needs to happen. I long to be present in the moment. And I have been practicing.

My favorite way to be present is by playing with my son. He is intense haha. I love to be there in the moment with him. Listen to the way he enunciates his words. How he laughs at the simplest reasons. The youth in his eyes and wholehearted joy in his laugh. I live fully in those moments.

For those that are unaware, my husband is a "farmer". I put it in parenthesis because he would disagree with the title and instead say, "I work in harvesting". But most people don't understand the difference, that is of course unless you grew up in an agricultural heavy community. Anyways, I digress.

This winter season, the nature of his work has pulled him away from home, me and James. We WERE a migrant family. We WERE together. We made the migration from our home in Monterey County down to Yuma AZ every winter. We would return with the crops, the start of the Spring season. But with our little one in school, we were unable to make the migration as a family this winter.

It was our first time to spend the winter growing season apart. To say it has been difficult is an understatement. This struggle is not uncommon in our ag community. My family is not the only to spend the winter without a family member. But it is OUR first. And just because other families endure the same emptiness, does not make our, nor their, emptiness any less trying.

This month, on the 15th, marked the 20th birthday, his birthdays, that I have spent with Cody. We spent a moment reminiscing on the phone together, albeit apart. TWENTY BIRTHDAYS! That's crazy.

Hey 2024 why don't you ease off the gas a little.

Can you believe it is already February?! We are already in the second month of 2024. Do you have any fun plans in store?

This weekend my family is going to go somewhere new to us. We're going to Legoland!

There are 5 million pieces of tiny feet harpooning legos scattered in my living room.

Will I miss seeing a giant pile of legos sprayed out across my living room floor? Everyone that should know better, has told me so. Almost just how they told me I would miss cleaning his little face for the 100th time during breakfast. Or how I would miss tiny handprints placed all over the house.

No, I don't really miss using the last baby wipe to clean smashed food off of his face. Nor do I think I'll miss picking up toys off of the floor. But I do. Secretly I do. Given the chance, the choice, I would do it again and again to be able to relive those stages of his life just one more time. To see his gummy smile, to kiss his full baby face, to watch his imagination at work as he build with his legos.

Happy 2024!

How was the remainder of your 2023? Mine was filled with so much love, chaos & my favorite, family photography sessions. Thank you to everyone of my families for trusting in me to capture your family in this stage of life. It may be messy, it probably is a little crazy, but there is so much love and it truly flys by in a blink.

When your mom brings your pug brother to your senior photography session and he steals the show. I can't help it! I love it when the pups join in.

Right now I feel like I am on top of the world. It is such an amazing feeling. The community of artists around me is incredible and I cannot help but feel a surge of excitement. Growth, knowledge, experience. I am awe struck by those who selflessly give and nurture the rising generations.

It is not only the artistic community that I feel stirring, it is my community at large. I love being a part of such development & camaraderie.

I am forever grateful to be doing what I love for those who love what I do.

Motherhood

It's been busy over here! My motherhood journey simultaneously calls for me to speed up while also taking the time to enjoy, to experience, to slow down.

This week has gone by in a whirlwind. It seems the longer I have been on this planet, the faster time seems to slip through my fingers.

Although, there are moments in my life that I can recall. Think back on. These moments stand still.


Photog friends, I would love to showcase your beautiful art. Please tag

“I was drawn to horses as if they were magnets. It was in my blood. I must have inherited from my grandfather a genetic proclivity toward the equine species. Perhaps there's a quirk in the DNA that makes horse people different from everyone else, that instantly divides humanity into those who love horses and the others, who simply don't know.”
Allan J. Hamilton

Mr. Hamilton your words speak directly to my soul!

My history with horses has long been a part of my story, longer than I have been physically tied to it myself. My great grandfather raised and trained race horses. And while my parents and their parents were “sleepers” to the equestrian gene, I was not. I started officially riding horses in elementary school and haven’t stopped. 
 
 

Photog friends, I would love to showcase your beautiful art. Please tag