July 11, 2009
Logan turned one today. Wow. A year ago today we were staring in awe at this beautiful gift that was laid on my chest at 2:16 in the afternoon. We were completely and totally in shock, having no idea what was in store for us. I remember him coming out and he was so gray with this cone head and I thought, “really, they look like that?” and then just crying at the miracle of him…Logan Eldon Senske. What a rollercoaster of emotions. He went from this tiny, beautiful baby to this walking, talking, still beautiful, big boy! In no time. Here is a little slideshow that sums up this year.
Logan, your Daddy & I love you more than we could ever describe. We pray for you often – and we can’t wait to watch you year after year grow up into the man the Lord created you to be. We pray you are aware of Jesus, of His grace and love, of peace and true joy in Christ. Happy Birthday, sweetie.
Here are a few pics from Logan’s one year photo session with mom. Then read below for how he came into this world!
So apparently in the ‘mommy blogging world’ you are supposed to tell your child’s birth story on their one-year birthday. Luckily, I created this blog before Logan was born so I can cut and paste. Here is the story of Logan.
If anyone has questions let me know! It is so helpful to talk to others who have just gone through this because of how fresh it is in their minds. Quick update – Logan passed his birth weight already! This kid is a good eater! He is not 7 lbs. 5 oz. and growing! He turned one week old yesterday. It is going so fast already! He is waking up every 2.5-3 hours to eat and he’s most alert at night (which we are trying to change!) but those big beautiful eyes are hard to want to close! Thanks for reading…
Hi there! So many of you have asked whether or not I had a c-section (which I didn’t but I was induced) and what the entire process was like…so I thought I would share my experience with you! For those of you that I know are expecting soon and are curious, here is my story…definitely not the ‘norm’ of what happens but if I’ve learned anything from the past month its that you are tested and tried for good reason. The end result isn’t in your hands, its in the Lord’s, and with His perfect timing in everything, you are left with the most amazing gift you could ever receive.
We arrived at the hospital on Wednesday, July 9th around 6:00 PM. At 7:00 PM they gave me Cervidil, which basically is meant to ripen your cervix overnight for more dilation. I was at 2 cm at this point. I had contractions all night from the pill they gave me, but they were very mild and I could breath through them pretty easily. At around 4:45 AM the contractions were much stronger. At 6 AM the morning of Thursday (7/10) the nurse started my pitocin drip. 7:30 AM my doctor came to break my water. The second my water broke the contractions were strong and right on top of one another. Breathing through them wasn’t easy because they came so quickly and so strong. At 9 AM I was given the epidural (not ashamed to say I LOVED it!) and I was a little over 4 cm. at this point. The doctor said she would come in at noon to check me and I would probably be at a 5 or so. She came in at 12:00 and I was dilated to a 9! I started pushing at 1:45 and little Logan was born at 2:16 PM.
There it is. I would definitely say contractions were the hardest part, but that was because I got the epidural. I have nothing to compare it to, but the pitocin and the docs breaking my water made those contractions come so quickly…I couldn’t believe it. After that pushing was the easy part (crazy, I know) and I had a low dose of the epidural so I could feel pressure, know when a contraction was coming, and be able to push through them. Like I said above, the end result is worth whatever you go through. I just wanted him to be healthy and okay…and he was.
Thanks for reading and enjoy your weekend!
July 10, 2009
Please click here for your slideshow.
I got out of my car at Centennial Lakes and was just waiting for the family to arrive - at one point I heard some noises that were loud enough to catch my attention. I looked up to see one of my favorite families coming towards me – and a sea of children directly behind them. Well, it wasn’t exactly a ’sea’ but 8 children coming towards you all wearing matching white shirts can seem like a lot. They were a big family, which was perfect for me and made me feel right at home.
The Walthall/Benson family is absolutely incredible! My husband and I have been blessed in our friendship with Micah, AJ, Annalis & Soren (6 weeks older than Logan)…you might remember him from this post. I had heard so much about AJ’s family, that I could not wait to meet them. They were just as I expected and welcomed me with open arms. We wanted to get some shots of Grandpa & Grandma with all of the grandkids, some bigger group shots, and some of the kids just being kids. You can tell all of the cousins love each other. There are only 2 girls with the 6 boys – Brook & Annalis seem to handle that just fine! They were wonderful children to be around and I hope you can see the love of the families through these photographs.
Walthall/Benson family – thank you for letting me be a part of this day and give you memories to treasure forever. It was so great to meet all of you!
June 30, 2009
They found Nate’s body in Pokegama Lake – I don’t know anything else. Just that the family is filled with grief. Please continue to pray for them as they are heading to the hospital, which will be a very difficult time, and in the coming days, weeks, years…I don’t have any details on memorial services but we’ll be going.
We will miss you, Nathan, but know you are with our Heavenly Father in peace. It is so encouraging knowing that Nathan loved Jesus with all of his heart – in spite of all of this, there is comfort in knowing where he is.
June 30, 2009
We will be heading up north on Thursday morning – I absolutely can’t wait to get there. If you have been following my blog for a while, you’d remember this post and the absolute heartache I felt last year, stuck on bedrest, not able to join my amazing family in our annual 4th of July party. This year we will be there with bells on! We can’t wait! Boating, grilling out, games and games of washoe, singing by the campfire, tubing, skiing, fireworks on the lake, movies, smores, kiddos playing in the water, sand castles, minnows, puppies…ahhh, I can’t wait.
It will feel differently this year as Nate and his family usually come to our party. With them not there, a void will be present. We are still praying for a miracle…and thinking about you, Sam and kids.
We will also be going to the rest of Judy’s memorials and time with friends to celebrate her life. What a devasting, difficult, but beautiful and exciting week. More to come.
Here are some new pics of Logan:
June 29, 2009
We feel sad.
We feel a little defeated.
We feel a lot of time with the Lord is needed.
In the past few days, our families have heard some pretty tough news. The first was the passing of our good friend, Judy. Her son, Matt, played football with Brian at St. Olaf and Matt ended up marrying one of my good friends, Jenn. Through football, my in-laws became really close friends with Judy & her husband, Rich. We’ve known them for about 9 years and had some great times with them at Olaf and down in Iowa. We are feeling the loss of her amazing spirit. Judy lost her year-long battle to cancer on Saturday night. Matt & Jenn are expecting their first child in September – none of this can be easy. We are heading down to Iowa for the visitation and funeral.
Then last night my best friend Jess called me. Another family friend of ours had a terrible tragedy that still has missing pieces. Our friends, the Js, have a son, Nate, who is married to Sam and they have 4 young children. Yesterday they went out to Nesbit Island, an island on the other side of the lake from my parent’s house, with some youth group kids. Apparently Nate and another friend were in a canoe when the wind picked up and a wave tipped them over. Sam, Nate’s wife, got on the jet ski to where the canoe was. She found the other guy that was in the canoe with Nate and, sadly, he had already drowned. Nate is still missing. The divers were resuming where they left off this morning. I grew up on this lake and have never experienced something like this. It was choppy and windy yesterday – just a big puzzle right now.
I can’t understand everything that is happening – praying is the only thing I can think to do. Nate is still missing and that family is grieving at the possibilities. Judy’s family is content that Judy finally has peace, but will forever feel the void of their loss. Today is a day where I shake my head in disbelief, but get down on my knees in prayer…deep prayer where I don’t necessarily look for answers…I just pray. What else can I do right now?
I know some of you that read this blog pray. Please do so now. Pray for the J family and what they are experiencing, pray for the Willis family and the loss they feel. Thank you.
June 23, 2009
Do you ever feel like a robot with the same answer for every question? Every person I have seen in the past few days has heard the same thing from me – ‘we’re good…just really busy’ Who isn’t busy? It is summer and summer are some of the best, but most crazy-busy, months of the year. They are that way for us too. The biggest thing going on in our family right now is the fact that my husband tore down our old deck and is building a new one. He is such a handy guy (I know, I was surprised too but thoroughly impressed!) We now have the majority of the decking laid, thanks to our entire family for helping this past weekend, and I can finally envision what it is going to be like. We are going to love it! And you will too when some of you come over to have a BBQ with us.
I have pictures to post from our deck project.
I have pictures to post of my new nephew Brodie who I just met this past weekend – I instantly fell in love. He is beautiful!
I have pictures to post from 3 sessions I’m done in the past 2 days.
And I have some updated pics to post of little Mr. Logan…who is not so little anymore. He is more and more everyday taking steps all around the house – he does this new ‘face’ whenever we ask him to. He puts his head down and frowns, then cracks himself up because he makes us laugh so hard. He also loves to imitate everything you do. From ‘mooing’ sounds to singing, he can mimic. It is so great to watch him.
The main reason I wanted to post this morning is becuase I heard some news last night that just reaffirmed for me how incredible gracious and loving our Father is. Our friends have been blessed with a beautiful gift and we are just in awe of His faithfulness in timing and perfect plan for His children. I smile just thinking about them, and the way He has spoken to them. Amazing, thank you Jesus.
Have a beautiful day today.
June 14, 2009
It was a particularly beautiful, particularly windy Sunday afternoon when I had the opportunity to photograph Sarah & Tommy for their engagement pictures by the Stone Arch Bridge. Right away I enjoyed their company. They were both laid back, fun to be around, and care about each other a lot, which was obvious during our session together. Almost every time I asked them to kiss, they would giggle at one another. It was so great I asked them to kiss about 20 times…they tried all different kinds of things with me, even jumping in front of a garage door that was much too high off the ground for Sarah’s heels. She was a trooper the entire day – and yes, I photographed the shoes – I had to. They were great! Some of my favorite shots from this day was when they were just being themselves, totally unaware of the camera and whether or not I was getting a good shot of them.
I am REALLY excited about their wedding in December! I love winter weddings and I know theirs will be beautiful. Sarah & Tommy, enjoy your sneek peek, and thanks again for allowing me to be a part of your moments together. You reminded me of why I do what I do and love it so much. Thank you.
June 11, 2009
Often times I have to remind myself to soak in what is all around me. I take things for granted and simply move on, day after day, not opening my eyes to my surroundings. I have worked in downtown Minneapolis for 5 years. There are moments, walking on Nicollet, where I just stop and look. The people, the crowded lunch dates, the happy hour specials, the artists playing their instruments on the sidewalks, the bands playing in Peavey’s Plaza…incredible. I often take for granted where we live and what Minneapolis/St.Paul have to offer. My engagement session with Brooke & Jeff was so much fun for me. You don’t need much in terms of surroundings when you are photographing love, which these two definitely have, but visiting the Mill City Museum proved more than worth it.
The story is simple – boy meets girl, they fall in love, she waits a while for him to finally pop the question (like so many of us do), and he does. Jeff proposed down by the Mississippi River, so we went to that exact same location to photograph the two of them now. It was beautiful for me – to see the bench where he proposed, walking down the same sidewalk he did, wondering what he was thinking and feeling at the time. One of my best memories from this session was when I asked Brooke to climb up on Jeff’s back. This was a first for me: she didn’t really know how? Jeff informed me that this was normal for her and that she didn’t really understand the leg part. Ha ha – it made for some pretty cute pics though. I left those only for you, Brooke, you’ll see them soon.
In all seriousness, Brooke & Jeff, I’m so anxious for your wedding this fall. You are a beautiful, fun, joyous couple who know each other inside and out. I love that. I look forward to celebrating with you and capturing those special moments for you.
Enjoy your slideshow.
