West Texas Life...

A bunch of friends from South Florida have been asking how we are doing and what we've been up to here in Texas... so I decided to start taking photographs of some of our favorite things here at the ranch house and from various excursions.  I have to say, I love life here.  I miss my dear friends, church & CR family back home.... but the peace and quiet here has really been a great change for our family.  I can honestly say, we feel more like a family than ever before!  I feel like more of Mom than ever before... more focused time on Trystan & Elise, dinner on the table most nights, playdates, etc.  Life is good.  Might sound strange, but there aren't as many distractions out here and we spend more time just being... instead of doing.  Obviously, I haven't done a ton of business out here yet... (though it's trickling in slowly), but for once I am shooting because I WANT to... not because I'm being paid to do it.  Imagine that??  Looking back, I realize I didn't used to allow myself to really do much of this because I've always had too much work waiting on me to finish for others.  The simple act of carefully (or spontaneously) taking photographs of my kids and documenting alllll the life that is going on all around me is THRILLING for me!  There are a few more cactus pictures I need to add to this post... but I wanted to display a small collection of images I've taken here lately.  I've added captions under some of the photos to better explain why they are so special!!  Thanks for taking the time to see what we've been up to... more to come!





These are two pictures of the sunrise I snapped early one morning... the colors here and totally unedited too! It was really this colorful!!







Wild Daisies....my favorite!! I took many of these pictures (the ones with the really shallow depth of field or watercolor blur effect) with my trusty 50mm f1.8 lens. It's really one of my favorite lenses just because it opens up so big and makes your pictures really look like artwork. I've been ignoring it in my camera bag for quite some time and was reminded of just how much I love it when I got these shots!! It's a must have if you are into photography even a little bit!!! And, of course, if you have a DSLR camera. That helps! :)




This is one of our outside kitties who's been beat up quite a bit...either by the other cats or another wild animal.. we affectionately call him "One-eyed Willy!"





Another one of our 5 outside kitties... they were all here when we got here so we are keeping them fed... they are our rattlesnake-patrol!! He's cooling off under the carport near my cowboy hubby's truck!





Texas Wildflowers.. love 'em! Been dying to photograph some since we made our trek out here! They lined the highways from North Florida all the way to our cattle gate and up the dirt road!! I pick them and put them in a vase in my kitchen window. It's the little things like this that bring me the most joy! And then- I get to make beautiful art out of the photographs!! :)




"Hot-Scobtch? How do we play Mommy?"




This may be the single BEST photograph I've ever seen or taken of Trystan!! I actually managed to catch his natural sweet smile. His eyes are completely unedited too! So proud of my beautiful boy!




A spooky gi-normous Wolf Spider Matt found outside in a plastic bin... ICK!? One of the joys of country-living... we've sprayed, so hopefully none of these will make their way into the house!?





Don't know what these little purple flowers are called.. but their petals are almost translucent in the sunlight.





The "locals"... some of the 60+ cows on the land we live on... lots and lots of brand new babies being born lately! The kids enjoy watching for them outside of our living room picture-window. Elise runs around the house screaming "mooooo" when they visit! The single cow on the left.. Trystan affectionately calls him "Horny"... hysterical!!





Elise.. in all her glory.. this is her latest smile! She had fallen down in the grass and was full of dirt... but (just like me as a little one) the dirtier, the better! And what a ham!!! (totally UNLIKE me... HA!)





I loove this... love the antique look and texture! THIS will be on my wall!





Ok, so we have about 6 nests of Barn Swallows up near the roof of our house. This particular bunch were in the front of the house... and I stood on my car to get somewhat level with the nest. I'm lovin' my 70-200mm f2.8 big-daddy lens to get in closer. I now know how nature photographers feel... I had to stand still and just wait for my moment... I can't believe I managed to get Mommy bird mid-flight. I loved watching all the babies open their mouths in anticipation of food. Barn Swallows are the most beautiful little birds.. it's been fun to watch the babies grow. The nest in the back of the house has babies in it too, and two more have eggs... and I'm completely nervous that the babies are going to take their first flights with our dog Bella (the huntress) waiting below them!!?? Having these birds so close to our proximity is really special to me...God uses the illustration of the Sparrow in Matthew 10:29-31 to constantly remind me that no matter how small or alone... or unseen I might feel at times... He knows exactly where I am and cares for me... just like He cares for these little insignificant birds. He sees me, no matter where I am. It gives me peace. :)





Exploration under a bridge in San Angelo.. thankfully no critters awaiting us...










This family sized pool Nana bought us like 2 years ago.. just bustin' it out and
enjoying some water fun in the oven-like heat!!