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Almost 4000 Pictures in Four Weeks and These are the First of My Kids August 30, 2010

Posted by Emily in : Little Man Dallin, Photography, Princess Hannah , 3comments

I’ve shot almost 4,000 pictures of other people since the end of July.  Not one of them was of my kids.

Terrible.  I know.

It’s almost the end of August, and these are the first pictures I’ve taken of my kids.

I know.  Time to gasp.  :)  But seriously, a large part of me felt completely guilty for NOT recording their sweet little faces in almost a month.  I mean, capturing my kids was the whole reason I pursued photography in the first place.

You know you take a lot of pictures when your four-year-old throws her hands up to cover her eyes and says, “MOM!  WHY DID YOU BRING OUT THE REFLECTOR!”

Well, because the lighting called for it.

Without the reflector, the lighting looks like this:

Grey, dark, and dingy.  THIS is not at all what a nice warm summer day feels like!

She tolerated the reflector when she looked away. (Or she may have been so busy and important filling up her pool with cold irrigation water that nothing could bother her concentration.)

I also like taking pictures of my little guy.  He is one handsome fella who can’t say “reflector” yet, so he has yet to lecture me on my equipment of choice when photographing him.

On the other hand, he does ask me, “What are you doing?” about 100 times a day.    Half of the time I feel interrogated (the inflection in his voice is quite convincing!) and I think, “Seriously, YOU ARE TWO!  I shouldn’t have to answer to you!”

But he is such a cute two-year-old.  :)

Canvas Coupon! August 26, 2010

Posted by Emily in : Deals , 3comments

Thanks for all the emails and love sent my way!  My outlook on life is much better!

Today I received a print from Canvas On Demand.  My friend Leigh emailed me a Canvas On Demand coupon for a 16×20 canvas for $25!  (Prints this size usually run about $125.)

If you don’t know if that’s a good deal or not, it’s a STEAL!

The quality and color turned out fantastic!  Click on this link to get a coupon of your own!  You’re going to LOVE it!

September Photo Shoot Promo! August 24, 2010

Posted by Emily in : Photography , add a comment

September Photo Shoot Session $150:

What does $100 print credit look like?

You can mix and match any size combo up to $100!  This is fun!

September Head Shot Photo Shoot Session $75

Includes three high resolution images on a CD!

Purchase additional prints from your shoot at 25% off my regular prices!

If you are in the Utah County area, contact me at emily@emilylesher.com to schedule an appointment!

Hello. I’m Here. Barely. August 23, 2010

Posted by Emily in : Family, My Handsome Husband, Parenthood, Thoughts , 9comments

Hello internet.

Hello Pam.  Thanks for noticing my absence. :)

Honestly, I’ve got nothin’.

I’ve just come away from a  very, very bad week.  The kind that changes your life FOREVER.  (So you know, heavy stuff.)

To top it off, I was extremely busy with photo shoots last week (check my photo blog cause I’ve been posting there) which was great, but a bit stressful given our lovely week.

Sometimes life SUCKS.  BAD.

A few days ago, I photographed the kids of the dentist who fixed Hannah’s teeth.  During casual conversation with him and his wife, I started crying.

HELLO.  PEOPLE.  CRYING ON THE JOB.

Totally not cool.  Did I mention I don’t know these people?  Yep.  Just met the wife 30 seconds before the shoot and I’ve only seen the dentist while he was working on Hannah’s mouth.

What can I say, I’ve been out of sorts.

I have no juice.  I have nothing to write.

I have audibly reminded myself like a trillion times, “It’s not the challenges you receive in life, it’s how you handle them.”  David asked me why I kept saying that (out loud, to myself mind you) and I told him, “BECAUSE I NEED TO HEAR IT.”

In an effort to help, many people try to think of someone else they know who’s situation was worse than yours, and how things turned around and there was this beautiful ending . . .

Well, let me tell you folks . . .  IT DOESN’T HELP.

I’m not interested in comparing crappy situations.  Those heart warming stories (while nice and all) do not make me feel better one iota.  I know people are just trying to help, but seriously . . . JUST.  STOP.  IT.

I just want to be heard by people I know and trust, and then in some weird twisted way, I feel SO MUCH BETTER when people say. “Seriously, that DOES suck.”  What can I say?  I’m a woman who wants to be heard; the “problem solving” conversations are not helping.

Interestingly enough, earlier in the week I came across this video which I bawled throughout:

And you know what?  I have the most important things in place in my life.  I have a wonderful husband, two darling, healthy kidlets, a  supportive family, and I know God has not forgotten about us.

I have no idea what his plans are though.

Giveaway Winner is . . . August 19, 2010

Posted by Emily in : Giveaway , 2comments

Our winner is . . .

Melanie!  Congrats!  You are going to LOVE these clips!

GIVEAWAY! Daisy Ribbons! August 13, 2010

Posted by Emily in : Giveaway , 4comments

My very talented friend, Kelley, is giving away some darling hair accessories!

These Daylilies are darling.

And I love this Daisy.

I love this little lady bug!

So, how can you get some of these in your hands?  Easy!  First, you can order directly from the Daisy Ribbons website.  You can use coupon code DAISY to get 20% off your order of $30 or more.  Score!

Second, you can win some right here!  Kelley is very generously giving away 2 of her lovely garden clips of $12 or under to a lucky Emily’s Musings reader.  You have several ways to enter, so make sure you put each entry in a different comment below so I can keep up:

This giveaway will run through Wednesday, August 18th, so hurry and enter!

My Besties August 12, 2010

Posted by Emily in : Friends, Utah , 3comments

These are my best friends from elementary school, Jr. High, and High School.  We’ve known each other for . . . a long time.

Amidst all the family fun and activities surrounding my niece’s wedding, I was able to get together with my friends.

We live all over (especially me!) and the stars aligned that night for us to get together.

In this photo: Me, Katie, Ashley, Lindsay, Katie (who lives in CO), and Pam (who lives in AZ).  (We are missing Tricia who lives in Houston and just had a baby.)

It was such a fun night, talking and laughing the night away while eating fried ice cream.

Getting together with these girls was the shot in the arm I needed to keep me going.  It’s been a L-O-N-G four years of medical school, and it was fun to jump into my carefree self and laugh the night away.

Probably Should Start Paying Her to Babysit August 11, 2010

Posted by Emily in : Little Man Dallin, Parenthood, Princess Hannah, Thoughts , 2comments

When I check on Hannah right before I get into bed, I love it when I find her like this:

She is in pure sleeping bliss.

I also love it when she entertains Dallin in the morning while I try to pull myself out of my deep-sleep-coma.

This kid should be earning an allowance!

She brought in a little step so she could dump toys into Dallin’s crib so he would be happy.  Then, she pulled up a chair, and proceeded to “read” a made up princess story while holding her travel size Book of Mormon.  I love how they are feet to feet.  Hannah is one good little mother-hen around here!

Video of the Shortest Commercial Runway in the World! (It’s on Saba of Course!) August 10, 2010

Posted by Emily in : Saba, Thoughts , 3comments

My friend, Rebecca, posted this video on facebook and it made me so homesick for Saba!  Gosh, I really miss it there, and I’m not looking back with rose-colored glasses either.  I really loved living there while I lived there.

When you watch this video, please note the crazy landing and imagine me 10 hours into labor with Hannah, chartering a private plane to get me off the island so I could deliver her on St. Maarten.  Then, try to imagine me flying back to this island with a three day old baby, (held in David’s arms) post c-section.

All I can say about the landing is OUCH.

Enjoy!

A Little Announcement . . . August 9, 2010

Posted by Emily in : Daily Life, Family, Parenthood, Photography, Pregnancy, Thoughts, Utah , 3comments

So, I must announce . . .

THERE IS NO NEWS IN THE LESHER HOUSEHOLD.

It was clear to me after I wrote about feeling legitimately sick (the contagious kind that started with Hannah, then went to Dallin, then David, then to me, then to my mother-in-law) that some of you thought I might be dealing with a stint of morning sickness.

Well, let me tell you, if there is anything that reminded me of how much I hate having the non-contagious flu (morning sickness) it was that sick day.

UGH.  I am so not ready for baby #3.  And honestly, who says there will be a baby #3?  Two is good, right?  We’re a family of four, plus a dog (with plans of getting another Whippet within the year) so we are good.  For now anyway, and maybe forever.  Who knows.  All I know is pregnancy is a killer, and there is NO WAY, I repeat, NO WAY, I can care for two little needy people when I can’t even take care of myself.  Pregnancy equals: trying not to die of massive migraines that last for weeks on end (I literally had a migraine when I was pregnant with Hannah for FOUR WEEKS, and if that doesn’t make you suicidal, then I’m not sure what will!) and trying not to loose more weight in the first four months (by vomiting up everything I put in my mouth) than I will gain the last five months.  Somehow, parenting two little people while I am a beached whale, slowing dying on the floor, doesn’t sound like a plan for success.

So, there you have it.  I’m not pregnant.  Not now, not tomorrow.

Glad we cleared that up.  :)

Gosh, so much has been happening lately.  I’ve been busy shooting, which has been great, but has left me little to no personal time.  I love it, and I’m working on balancing my life as a wife, mother, student, and working mom.  It’s been a transition to balance my family and my professional life, especially since I’ve been out of the working world for five years.  Luckily for me, I love what I do, and 90% of my work happens after my kids are asleep.

In other news, my niece, Jess, got married a couple weeks ago.  I photographed her wedding, and enlisted the help of my good friend, Luone, to help me since I actually had to be in some of the shots.  See the wedding pics here.  I had a slammed packed couple of weeks with family fun, (lots of family in from out of town) but now things have calmed down a bit and I should be back to regular posting.

Don’t hold me to it though, the pressure might make me pop, and I don’t think I could handle that right now!  :)