Last week was a huge week for the I ♥ Faces website! Not only was it their first birthday, but they teased everyone all week about the suprise rockstar guest photographer that would be the judge of the "Best Face" photo challenge.
The day before the contest started, they posted the suprise judge...only it was not one rockstar photographer...it was 18!!!
My jaw dropped when I read the names of the judges:
Jose Villa, Ree Drummond (The Pioneer Woman), Angie Monson, Nate Kaiser, Sheye Rosemeyer, Becker, Simon Pollock, Rebekah Westover, Amy Wenzel, Justin & Mary Marantz, Rog Ellsworth, Michael Howard, Patti Schmidt, Raya Carlisle, Lori Nordstrom, Lyndzee Ellsworth & Donna Boucher!
Almost 1000 talented photographers entered images, so Saturday when I went to the I ♥ Faces website to check out who the winners were, I was shocked to learn that Justin & Mary Marantz & Jose Villa had chosen my image as one of their top 5 favorite images!
I'm still quite shocked...and truly honored. I admire Jose, Justin & Mary so much & can't believe that my image made it into their top 5 picks!
I now get to display this little gem on my blog :)
This has truly made my week!
If you have never visited the I ♥ Faces website, I encourage you to give it a try! All levels of photographers are welcome to join in the fun & it is a great place to learn & meet friends that love photography!
Thank you for visiting today & I hope you have a wonderful week!!
xoxo,
I feel like SUCH an idiot! I meant for this to be posted last Wednesday & thought I had scheduled it to post then...well guess what?? I just noticed it didn't post. I'm very sure that it was an error on my part & had nothing to do with Blogger.
So, this is my gift to you. They are 5x7, super cute, nifty desk calanders.
I love the one that I made myself last year, and just designed the one I'll be using in 2010 (you can see my calander below). The thing that I love the most about this calander is, it's great for quick reference & it looks super cute sitting on my desk :)
So here is what you'll need to do to get yours:
- Email me with which calander you want (A,B,C or D).
- I'll be in touch to find out what image you would like to put in it.
That's it! Oh and one more thing. Please email me before Jan. 10th to let me know that you are interested. I would like to have the complete order placed by Jan. 12th. If you haven't had your session with me yet, or are waiting on your gallery to be posted, you will still get yours. I will ask you which calander you like & will include it in your order.
I hope you had a very Merry Christmas & wish you nothing but good things in 2010!!!
Calander A
Calander B
Calander C
Calander D
This little guys is sooo excited about Santa this year! It's really such a joy to watch him as he talks about how Santa is going to come to his house because he is on the "nice" list :)
Here are the images from our Christmas card...I'm in love!
This is totally him...my goofball :)
and this is going to be a Christmas present to myself...I'm going to have this printed on a great big canvas!
Yesterday I took Christian out for a little mini session & put our Christmas cards together! We are gearing up for the big day in the Larson house & I wanted to make sure to wished each and every one of you a very Merry Christmas!
Here is our 2009 Christmas card...LOVE the way it turned out! 
As 2009 comes to an end, I can't help but reflect on how far my business has come in the past year. I feel so grateful to be a photographer & am humbled that you have given me this unbelievable opportunity.
One of the best things about what I do is witness & capture beautiful moments in peoples lives. Whether it has been the birth of a little one, celebration of a recent engagement, or to document the love that a family has for each other, I have enjoyed every moment that I have spent with you.
I have the absolute best, most supportive clients imaginable & I would like to thank you from the bottom of my heart for allowing me into your lives!
I have a Christmas present for you & will be back on Wednesday to tell you all about it!
Until then, be safe & enjoy this Christmas season with your friends & family!
XOXO,
I sure am :) I found a jewel of a website that offers tons super cute FREE fonts.
I hope that everyone had a fun halloween!
Mark and I had the best time with Christian. This is really the first year that he was SUPER excited about going trick or treating. It also really made me reflect on how fast time really passes. Seems like only yesterday that he couldn't even say the words "trick or treat" and now he doesn't even want me to walk up to the front door with him when he gets his candy.
He is growing up so fast!!
Next week is Christian's 4th birthday & he wants a Spider Man party at Chuck E Cheese. So, as you can imagine, the party plans have begun & to my suprise, Christian has been very involved in the planning process! From the guest list, to what kind of cake he wants, and even the color of the balloons! I think it will also be the first year that he really understands & enjoys his birthday.
He discovered the outside air unit last night & I was lucky enough to have my camera.
I love this image...
I can't believe that he is going to be 4 soon...
Yesterday he said,
"Mommy is your name Erica Larson?"
It sure is buddy.
Is Daddy's name Mark Larson?
That is Daddy's name...Is your name Christian Larson?
Nope...my name is Spider Man!
Is it Spider Man Larson?
Nope, my first name is Spider & my last name is Man!
Guess what Spider man wants to be for halloween? Yep, thats right. I went and bought his costume early because I was afraid the stores would run out.
Now guess what Spider Man wore to Walgreens last night... :)
I hope you have a good weekend!
I've been getting lots of emails lately asking how Mark is doing. We feel so grateful to have such supportive people in our lives & that you take the time to write & let us know that we are being prayed for & thought about. Thank you a million times :)
There has been a change in Marks health over the past several months. We have noticed that he is getting sick more & that his need for blood transfusions has increased. Mark remains strong & positive & at this point, it has been a bit of a "waiting game" to see what the Aplastic Anemia, is going to do next.
One of the horrible things about this disease, is that you have so many questions that remain unanswered. There are so few people that actually get aplastic anemia (1 in 1,000,000), that even the doctors don't know much about it. In all the time that Mark has had it, we have never even met anyone else with the disease.
This is so hard for me to ask, but could you please pray for my strength? Day to day it's been a hard lately. I can't imagine my life without Mark & even if I think about it for a moment, my heart just breaks. I keep so much inside that there are very few days in the past month or so, that I don't wake up with a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach.
I also feel so guilty for these feelings. I want to be strong for my family & to have faith that God is in control. It's just so hard not to be scared to death of what the next day will bring.
At this point, all I know to do is pray, have faith in God, to be thankful for every day....and pray some more.
Thank you so much for your support. It means more to me than you will ever know.
XXOO
My little baby boy is not so little any more...
The first time that Mark & I took Christian to get a haircut, we learned that he had a cowlick on the left side of his bangs. Basically, once his hair dried it looked like the left side of his bangs were about an inch shorter than the right. For the next month everywhere we went people would ask me if he cut his own bangs...
So ever since that hair cut, I've always asked for the stylist to leave it longer.
That is....until this past Saturday...and I LOVE his new "do"!!!!
Here is a before shot;
Here is the new do!!!
I wanted to wish everyone a Happy Memorial Day & to thank all of our military, past and present, for fighting & serving our country. It's because of you that we enjoy our freedom and our everyday lives as Americans. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart.
This is a picture of my Grandfather, Charles Bowman, who bravely served our country for 45 years and 4 months; 20 years & 4 months with the U.S. Navy and 25 years with the Federal Aviation Administration.
He sadly passed away at the young age of 64 after a long cancer battle. He and my Grandma were married for 43 years! I know that he is in heaven with Jesus watching over us.
I love you Grandad!
I never imagined that potty training would be such a challenge! My son Christian is now 3 & 1/2 and has been going pee pee in the potty for quite some time.
But....when it comes time to poop......that's a whole different ball game. It has been a HUGE challenge!
So, the last time we were at the Pediatricians office, his doctor suggested that we allow Christian to "watch" us when we are going. I was not to hot about the idea of giving up my private time in the bathroom but....well lets just say, you get desperate.
Yesterday I made my daily trip to the restroom with my 3 year old right by my side. When I was finished, I zipped my pants up and said, "See Mommy is a big girl!"
By this point, Christian looked pretty puzzled. I squatted to his level and said, "whats wrong buddy?"
He said, "Momma...Where is your pee pee?"
I said, "Momma doesn't have a pee pee because I am a girl & girls don't have pee pees."
Christian thought about this for a moment...then he said, "Momma, I'm going to tell Daddy to go to the pee pee store and buy you one."
I think that was my clue that it's time for Daddy to take over! I can't wait to tell him about this when he's about 17 :) LOL
Through out my life I have heard the saying, "God will never put anything in your life that you can't handle". I've also heard, "Whatever doesn't kill you will make you stronger". These statements certainly took on a whole different meaning in late 2002.
I never believed in love at first site, that is, until I met Mark in early 2002. My Mother was working at a cigar shop in Sawgrass Village & I had gone to visit her one afternoon. I walked in the door, and there he was! Our eyes locked, we were introduced to each other by Mom, and then we had a conversation that lasted for about 3 hours.
When I was driving home that afternoon, I remember thinking about how handsome and sweet he was & that I didn't want our time together to end. It was just one of those moments that you wish that you could "freeze time".
Well, it wasn't long before he was calling me & we were having our three our conversations every day. If it wasn't on the phone, we would meet at the very cigar shop that we met at & just sit & enjoy each other for hours. I woke up every morning thinking of him, and went to sleep every night thinking of him. It didn't take me long to realize that I had met my soul mate.
During this time, Mark had been building a new house. In late 2002, he moved in to his new home & invited me over to see the house. I was so happy for him & couldn't wait to see the home that I had heard so much about. He picked me up & drove me to his home...and I never left. It's funny...he never officially asked me to move in...but, he never wanted me to go home. Life was just perfect...
A few months after we had moved in together, we had been doing some work in the yard & I noticed that he was getting out of breath. I was a little worried, but then just thought, "maybe it's because he's getting a little over heated". I didn't realize it at the time, but Mark was really worried. You see, he had been diagnosed with Aplastic Anemia several years earlier, but had been in remission for six years. This feeling that he was getting of being "out of breath" was the same feeling that he had when he was first diagnosed.
We sat down that evening and decided that it was time to make a appointment to see what was going on. At the time, I really had no idea how serious this horrible disease was. I thought that if someone had anemia, they just needed to up their iron intake. Boy did I have a surprise three days later when we walked into the doctors office. I remember when the doctor walked in with Mark's lab results in his hand & told us that Mark's Aplastic Anemia was back. Looking back, I still didn't know how serious this was at that moment. It wasn't until we got home that night and I Googled "Aplastic Anemia". I was devastated, and so scared about what was to come.
When I came out of the office that night, I found Mark on the sofa staring off into space. He looked up at me with tears in his eyes and asked, "Have I ruined your life?" I said, "You are the best thing that has ever happened to me!" I put my arms around him and we cried together. This was the beginning of our fight with Aplastic Anemia. You can read more about our fight in a previous blog post HERE.
Fast forward to last week...
Mark got sick...really sick. We went to the doctor they wanted to put him in the hospital immediately. He had an upper respiratory infection, a fungal infection on his leg, and his blood levels were critical. Well if you know Mark...he was not about to let the doctor put him in the hospital. He told the doctor that there was no reason for him to be admitted & that he could come to the hospital every day & come home at night. So, that's what we did for a week, and then on the weekend, we had a home health nurse come into our home.
To top it off, the day that I took Mark to the doctor, I received a call that my Mother-n-law had been admitted to St. Lukes hospital was sick. Then to really put the icing on the cake, the next morning, I got another phone call that my Father-n-law had fallen while walking the dogs, and was taken to the hospital & most likely had broken his shoulder.
Needless to say, I was a wreck! I put out a prayer request on my Facebook page. The next morning when I opened my email, I was so humbled by the response that I received by my request. I had a ton of emails letting me know that we were being prayed for, and offering help. God is so good...
Thank you so much for taking the time out of your day and letting Mark and I know that you care. Even though Mark & I continuously live with the uncertainty of Aplastic Anemia, we feel so blessed. We have God, each other, a beautiful son, and such a caring network of support from our wonderful friends and family.
I am happy to report that after LOTS of IV antibiotics, 4 units of blood, and alot of prayer, my sweetie is doing much better! My mother-n-law is out of the hospital & my father-n-law did break his shoulder, but it wont require surgery.
You will never know how much your supportive words and prayers mean to me.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart...I love you guys!
XXOO,
Erica
We had the best time last month visiting Mark's dad, brothers & step mom in Texas last month! I just got to go through some of the images from our trip & thought I would share a few special ones that I really love.
This group shot is 3 generations of Larson men!
(from left to right)
Eric (Mark's brother), Dad, Mark (my sweetie pie), Chris (Mark's brother), and Christian at the bottom (my other sweetie pie)
Mark's furry sister Missy :)
Mark's other furry sister Choula :)
We really had the best time visiting. It had been about 2 and a half years since we had seen everyone (looong overdue!) and hopefully, we will get back there to visit again really soon.
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