Personal Peek: (Part II) I Lost My Dog Today

Click here for the previous blog post (Part I).

I am so incredibly grateful for photos and how they will help keep memories living on long after we are all gone.  (That is IF we get our photos printed, saved, and backed up, right?)  :)

Here are some images from our last few days with our sweet Brady.  Some taken with my fancy camera, some taken with my iPhone.  Just taken, and that is what matters.

Personal Peek: I Lost My Dog Today

I lost my dog today.  I mean, really, really lost my sweet dog.  (And oddly enough, documenting his life (and last days of life) through my cameras and writing about it is very therapeutic.)

My sweet Brady.  My friend of 13 years... Day in and day out.  Through graduate school in Kentucky, moving to Austin, meeting and marrying my husband, having a baby, then another baby, changing careers, buying houses, and all of the ups, downs, and adventures of life the last 13 years.

The dog that followed me around the house constantly the last few months... always wanting to be where I was.  The dog who chose to sleep on the rug in my office because it was next to me... even though it was not nearly as comfortable as his bed in the room next door - but because it was close to me.  Because turns out - I was his "person."

I don't think I honestly realized how much of a "baby" (or my "person") that he was to me until last Thursday when I got the news that I had mere days left with him by my side.  By my husband's side.  By my children's side.  In our home.  In our space.  In this world.

It will definitely take me a few days or weeks to put this story together... but for now I can rest in the fact that he is in no more pain, no more suffering, and that he died peacefully in my arms today.  It truly was a beautiful way to go out.  I owed him that... he was my angel for 13 years.  The least I could do was usher him out to become an angel on the other side.  He will be buried at my childhood home (acreage) in Iowa, and that is something so special to me.

If I have ever been reminded of the importance of photography, it has been through the last few days.  I have collected the most amazing photos, memories, laughter, tears, and things we will never forget about our last few days with this amazing friend.  And I can't wait for the emptiness to wear off a little bit and to dig in and make the most amazing photo book documenting his life for each of my children (and myself too) for us to have always.

Dogs really are a man's best friend.  I will forever miss and cherish my handsome boy.

I'm Back!

Wow... has it ever been a busy spring!  Since getting back from our Iowa trip less than a month ago, I've had lots of newborn sessions, family sessions, wildflower mini-sessions, my baby girl's 2nd birthday and party, a week long stomach bug, and lots of other fun stuff happening with the kiddos, my upcoming photography studio, and trying to balance it all so that I can get all of my work done and still squeeze in a few snuggles on the couch with my handsome hubby.

The kids and I enjoyed 7 days in Iowa visiting my family and we had so much fun on the farm!  I tell you what... I always loved that place, but watching the joy in my own children when they are there enjoying it really makes my love for it triple.

And I must admit, it is so nice for me to get out of the city, away from traffic and huge to do lists, and just "be" my old self every now and then.  But it's also nice to come back to our sweet little life here in Austin.  There are more houses (3,000) in my community than there are people (1,200) in my hometown!  It is the one place on Earth that I can say I actually feel young there.  So many wonderful childhood memories of raising pigs, horses, rabbits, sheep, cats, you name it... we raised it.

Here are some snapshots I took while we were there.

Personal Peek: Feeling Such Gratitude

Today's blog post is a bit of a personal peek into our little lives.  The other day, Miles, Avah, and I were driving home from preschool.  I told them I loved them.  (Because I do, but also because I absolutely love hearing Avah say it back now that she can speak in some little sentences.  And she says it SO cute.  "I love YOOOOOOU, Mommy!  I love YOOOOO, Milesey!")

Miles said, "Mommy and Avah, I love you girls so much.  You are just perfect for me."  And you know my little Mama heart melted.  Right then and there.  I love hearing sweet words coming from his heart because he is so loving.  (And also because sometimes (especially since turning 4), his words can be a little sharp around the edges at times.)

Fall is crazy season for photographers.  They say it is like tax season for accountants, and I know why they say that.  I have had the pleasure of working with so many sweet families, kiddos, and babies this year.  And late the other night while I was in the middle of an editing marathon, I started thinking about what Miles had said.  And then about the fact that every little kiddo on my computer being edited is so perfectly placed into their family dynamic.  I love how God perfectly, purposely, and without error weaves families together.

Last month, Miles of Smiles Photography celebrated our 3 year anniversary.  And OH how far we've come since those early days in 2010.  Back then, it took countless hours of work, planning, praying, and more planning, but I could not be more thrilled with where Miles of Smiles Photography sits today.  And that is thanks to God and my ahhhhmazing clients!

I am so very grateful for my business, the incredible families that I get to work with and serve with photography, and the fact that I get to help them create custom artwork for their homes and freeze little memories in time.  And in the process, I also get to see a whole lot more of my own babies than I did when I worked full time outside of the home.

I hope you all know how grateful I am for each and every one of you.  Whether you're a client, a Facebook fan, a Newsletter reader... who ever you may be.  Thank you for letting me do what I love and see who I love for a living.  Much love.  xoxo

~Sarah