The Griffin Family Herald

From August to December

2010-12-03T17:37:00.000-06:00

So much has happened since my last post! Back in August, Miles lost his first tooth, then the next day, he lost the second one! Then in September, Miles started Cub Scouts and Hannah started ballet class. Also in September, the four of us went down to Glen Rose to Dinosaur Valley State Park and to see the Creation Evidence Museum. I had been wanting to go for years, so this was my birthday request this year. Then the next week, after 2 years and 3 months of wearing braces, I got them off! I'm loving my new smile, and the fact that eating is not so much of a hassle anymore!

The day before I got my braces off.

The day I got them off.

And for those who never saw me before I got my braces, here's what I looked like.

The mold of my teeth.

At the beginning of October we went with Thomas, Mindy, Jason, Mama and Daddy up to the Wichita Mountains to celebrate Daddy and Thomas's birthdays. It was nice to see mountains again, and the view off of Mount Scott was amazing. Miles continued to go to Sonlight every Friday, while Hannah and I had our time together then. We did story time at Barnes and Noble, ate lunch, shopped, and sometimes just came home and watched The Little Mermaid together. At the end of the month, we left for a trip to North Alabama, and stayed for two weeks. I used to live there as a child and have missed it ever since we moved back to Texas. The trip was part vacation and part checking the place out to see if we'd like to move there. Chip had never been out there, so it was really about convincing him. And in case anyone's wondering, he was convinced!

Mount Scott, Oklahoma

Monte Sano, Alabama

Near New Market, Al

Guntersville Lake from Sand Mountain, AL

Above De Soto Falls, AL

While in North Alabama, we got to see my best childhood friend, and beloved friends from Church, and my girlfriends from junior high. The mountains were absolutely beautiful, and the people were just as friendly and down to earth as I had remembered. I really love that area.

When we got back from out trip, we went to a ceremony where Miles was awarded his very first Cub Scout badge, the Tiger Cub badge! I was so proud of him!

Today, Hannah started her first day of Mother's Day Out, or "school," as she calls it. We walked into her classroom and she immediately took off her backpack and coat and said, "Bye Mommy." I had a feeling she would have no problems with me leaving her. She just started playing with the toys and was fine. I've really needed a break from the kid's lately, so now every Friday will be all mine. Hannah's school is at the same church as Miles's Sonlight class, so it's really convenient. I'm so thankful for programs like those!

Outside the house before school

On the way to school

Hannah diving right into the toys!

Now that we're in December, we're getting ready for Christmas of course, so tomorrow we're going to Lowe's to pick out a tree as we do every year. This will be our first time to do all the Christmasy things with Hannah. I wonder what she'll think of it all. I look forward to experiencing it all with her.

By the end of the month, we hope to have our house sold. On Monday I have rentals to look at, and Lord willing, we'll be moving around the middle of January. I'm so ready to move! The house I really hope we can rent is much bigger than what we have now, with lots of trees in the nicely fenced-in backyard. It's also close to a good friend of mine and an awesome park, which makes it even better! Please keep us in your prayers.

Well, that about wraps it up for the last few months. We're going to take the kids to see Santa soon, and I'll post those photos as soon as I can.

My favorite of the ones I took this morning.

Tiger Cub

2010-08-31T08:43:00.000-05:00

Last night we signed Miles up to be a Tiger Cub in the Boy Scouts! Chip was a Cub Scout when he was a kid, and I was a Girl Scout briefly, and I've always wanted my kids to be in scouting too. I'm hoping Miles will stay in it much longer than Chip or I did, though, all the way to Eagle Scout.

Miles is super-excited! He's ready to start going on hikes and camping trips and to learn how to use a compass. And he's eagerly awaiting his first issue of Boys' Life Magazine. I'm just so proud of him already. He looked so cute last night in his Tiger Cub hat his grandaddy gave him!

Next year when Hannah is 5 we'll sign her up for American Heritage Girls. It's a new organization similar to Girl Scouts, but it's Christian-based, and unlike Girl Scouts, is supported by the Boy Scouts. I can't wait to have two scouts in the family!

I am just so excited about scouting! I wish that I had been in scouting for longer as a child. I love that it's all about being a good citizen and having good values, and so much more. I think the biggest draw for me is the emphasis on spending time outdoors in nature. I so want my children to love nature and to be knowledgable about things in nature. I hope to learn a lot along with them too. In fact, I've heard of some homeschoolers who use scouting as their "curriculum," which I think is a wonderful idea, so I plan to use it as a big part of ours, since they will learn so much earning their badges and participating in activities, etc. The ideas of "hands-on" and "real-world" learning in scouting fits well with my ideas for homeschooling our children in a natural way.

Our troop's first family campout is October 1st. I'm hoping we can make it, but we probably won't be able to. We've got a lot going on in October, including a trip to North Alabama! The trip will be part vacation and part checking out the area to see if we want to move there. I lived in the area for 5 1/2 years as a child, and have wanted to move back ever since we moved back to Texas. Even though I was born in Texas, and have lived here most of my life, North Alabama is my home. It's a wonderful place to live and to raise a family. My most precious memories are of living there. So, depending on how we feel about it when we're out there this fall, and trusting in God's guidance, we hope to move there within the next year!

I'll end this post with a shot of my adorable Tiger Cub:

The Griffin Four

2010-08-22T16:02:00.000-05:00

Wow! I can't believe I haven't written in this blog since we got back from China! As with many others who have gone to China to adopt, the trip was quite a whirlwind! In fact, sometimes when I think about it, it almost doesn't seem like we even went. It's that surreal. But, of course, I know we did, because we now have this fourth person living with us. In fact, in my opinion, we brought home the best part of China!

The first week back was one of the most difficult of my entire life. I was suffering from extreme anxiety and depression, as a result of all of the changes, and not quite knowing how to deal with them all. The biggest change of all was having two kids now instead of one, which honestly made having just one feel like having none at all! :) While I'm still learning to deal with having two, I'm now at the point where I'm starting to enjoy it, which is such a blessing. Some days are better than others, as it is with all moms of young children, but those "better" days are getting better and better all the time. We do have our bad days, but they're no where near as bad as they were at first.

Hannah has had very little problems adjusting to her new life. Aside from the language barrier, she is doing great. And the language thing is getting better as she learns new words and phrases. She understands way more than she can speak, so there aren't a whole lot of problems with Chip and I communicating with her. She does have tantrums, though, when I don't understand her, but it really doesn't seem too different from a typical 2 or 3 year old whose language hasn't fully developed. So life is pretty normal around here.

We have really embraced being a family of four. It's as if adding that fourth person suddenly made us more of a family. Of course, we were already a family before, but the dynamics have changed so much that it makes it that much more fun to do family activities together. For instance, when we go to the playgound, the kids each have an instant playmate. And in other things we do, Miles and Hannah interact with each other in ways only kids can. At other times, Chip and Miles share experiences while Hannah and I do. I love that our family is now even in the number of people in it. It's nice that everyone can pair up and no one is left out.

If you've read our adoption blog, you know that I was seeing a therapist and taking a low-dose anti-depressant. Well, I switched to a different therapist, a hypnotherapist rather than a traditional therapist, one who helped me with anxiety and organization last year, and I haven't taken the anti-depressant in a few days. I've only had one session so far with the hypnotherapist, and she's already helped me so much! I may not need to go back on the pills, but if I do, it won't be forever. For me, hypnotherapy is so much more powerful and effective, that I may not need the medication again. She gives me instant solutions that work, and that's what I've needed for the past few months.

Well, that's all for now. I'll do my best to post again soon about what's been going on with us since May. I'll leave you with a few favorite photos:

We Need a Little Help

2010-04-10T20:50:00.000-05:00

Chip and I talked it over, and although we didn't want to ask anyone for money related to the adoption, we've decided we need to. We've already saved (and gotten loans for) everything for the adoption itself, but now we just need funds for expenses while in China. These expenses will include food, transportation (taxis), other miscellaneous expenses, and/or emergency or other unforseen expenses. Also, Chip recently got a paycut, and that combined with saving for the adoption will leave us with very little left when we get back home. Chip will get a paycheck about a week after we get back, so we'll need just enought to get us through that week.

We're unable to take out any more loans, so we have no other option than to ask for the money from our friends.

If you can give anything at all, please do. Just click on the "ChipIn!" box, and it will take you to PayPal to make a donation. It will all add up, and EVERY BIT will help. Thank you so much!

It Won't Be Long Now!!!

2010-04-10T07:12:00.000-05:00

Exactly one month from today, on May 10th, we'll finally meet little Shi Lin face to face. I can't wait for that moment! I know there will be lots of happy tears on Chip's and my part, at least. I'm praying for Shi Lin; I know that at the same time that it's happy, it will also be a very sad day for her because she'll be leaving the only family she's ever known. I hope she can come to feel someday that we are her family and know how much we love her.

On May 10th, our family will finally be complete. I've had this feeling, a feeling I couldn't even describe for so long. It felt like something was missing, event though I wasn't even consciously aware of it. Something just seemed wrong, and I couldn't put my finger on it. Now I know there was a hole, a hole that was meant to be filled by Shi Lin. I am so aware of that hole now, and I seem more aware of it the closer we get to getting our daughter. I can't wait for her to fill in that hole, so that our family can be whole at last.

Please keep us in your prayers as we prepared to meet our daughter. We have so much preparation left to do. Getting the house in order, packing (LOTS of packing!), mental and emotional preparation, not to mention physical preparation. About four days before we get on the plane, I plan to start getting Miles and myself on China time. The plan is to get us up a couple of hours early, then take Miles to the playground for a few hours to get him really tired, and come home, have some supper, take some Benadryl, and go to bed two hours earlier than usual. The next day, get up earlier, maybe 3 hours, then go to bed 3 hours earlier. Then the next 2 days, continue to get up and go to bed earlier until we're on China time, or close to it. They're 13 hours behind us, so hopefully we can adjust to that before we leave so it won't be quite so hard on us when we do get to China. Poor Chip won't be able to do this, since he'll work up until the day we leave.

We're going to shop today for things we're going to need for the trip. I'm so excited! Every step we take makes it seem more real!

Happy 6th Birthday!

2010-02-20T14:18:00.014-06:00

A few weeks ago, we had Miles's sixth birthday party. We did it a week early, since my brother was getting married the next weekend. We kept it really low-key this year. Just us, Granny and Grandaddy, Meema and Jason.

The proud six-year-old:
Making a wish:

Miles and Jason enjoying the birthday cake:

The official Birthday Jedi Knight:

Meema and Miles:

I ask Miles every once in a while, "What happened to that tiny little baby I brought home from the hospital?" He usually answers, "I grew!" Then I'll break into pretend tears and crying, saying, "I want you stop growing and stay my little baby." And he'll say something like, " No, because then I would have to stop eating healthy foods and then I wouldn't be healthy!" So I say, "Oh, ok, I'd rather you be a big, strong, healthy boy." I also say often to him that no matter how big he gets, he'll always be my baby.

Oh, I almost forgot, around the time of his party, we also discovered Miles has his first loose tooth! And if I remember correctly, it's the very first one that came in when he was five months old! So many exciting Milestones ahead!

Christmas

2010-01-14T16:03:00.011-06:00

It's been a few weeks, but we've all been sick off and on and I'm just now getting a chance to get some Christmas pictures on here. This was very much a homemade Christmas for gifts for extended family. Above is a jar of hot cocoa mix I made. Below are ornaments made with cinnamon and applesauce.

Miles making sure Santa has a snack:

Checking the next morning to see if Santa was thirsty:

I loved that in our Christmas pictures this year you can see our White Christmas outside!

Just what he wanted!

Fun in the snow:

Oh, and I almost forgot, Miles's visit with Santa!

Early Garden Preparations

2010-01-12T15:01:00.003-06:00

I'm normally the first one to complain that right after Christmas, even though winter has just begun, everyone starts thinking about Spring and gardening. But this year, although I'm enjoying the colder-than-usual weather we're having lately, I'm also ready to get a jump-start on gardening. So yesterday I got out in the back yard and plotted out where I want the garden to be and began to loosen up the dirt. Today Miles went out with me and helped me pull weeds. He asked to have his own garden, so we chose a spot for it.

My plan is to get all the weeds out early and get some lettuce seeds started inside in egg cartons and yogurt cups. Then in a few weeks, we can plant the lettuce seedlings, since lettuce likes cold weather. There's nothing like fresh lettuce for a salad! I want to grow enough this year to have a fresh salad every day if we want it, while it's still growing. Once it gets too hot, it won't grow anymore. Too bad you can't freeze it!

Feeling Like Fall

2009-09-23T13:49:00.004-05:00

The past couple of days have really felt like fall! Sometimes where we live it's still summer at this time, but this year I'm so thankful for the cool weather that gets me so excited about the magic of this time of year. Miles and I enjoyed a nature walk today and seeing mallard ducks, along with LOTS of turtles and some cranes. It was so nice to do all this and feel the gentle, cool breeze. What a blessing!

Below is a collage I did today using digital scrapbooking files from shabbyprincess.com. This is MY kind of scrapbooking--no getting out tons of supplies that I later have to put back up, or attaching something that later I decide I don't like and not being able to move it. Sometimes I love technology. Anyway, the photos are from almost 3 years ago, from my favorite of the family sessions we've had done. I can't believe it's been so long. He looks so much more like a baby in these images than he does now!

First Days

2009-09-05T08:57:00.018-05:00

Well, this week marked two firsts for Miles. On Monday, he started kindergarten at the Sonlight program, then on Tuesday, we started our homeschool. He loved Sonlight and even made a new friend, Corbin. His teacher, Mrs. Wilson, gave him a Hershey's Kiss for good behavior all day. I walked him in in the morning and then went in to his classroom in the afternoon to take a few photos and pick him up. But if I want to, I can drop him off and pick him up without ever having to leave my car! They have teachers there to walk the children to the door, and some to walk them to the car in the afternoon. I have a car tag to hang on my rear-view mirror with a number and Miles's name on it so they know I'm there to pick him up. Also, I'll soon be given a card to swipe to get into the children's area if I ever need to come in during the day. I'm impressed by the precautions they take to keep the children safe.

A few shots from his first day of kindergarten:

A close-up of Miles's custom backpack, designed by Mommy! Our first week of homeschool was great! I had so much fun printing out all the activities for Miles's lessons. We studied robots this week. I read a few robot storybooks to him, as well as went over the definition of a robot, parts of a robot and things robots can do. Miles colored robots, colored robots, practiced handwriting by writing things robots can do, and even built a robot! We also studied Genesis 1 and learned all about the days of creation and did various activities related to it. The other subject we did was Mandarin Chinese. I checked out a video from our library that teaches Mandarin to kids and we watched it together. On Friday, we went to a local park for a "Naturalist Club" program sponsored by the City of Denton Parks and Recreation. We learned about the life cycle of butterflies and Miles got to make a caterpillar and butterfly. Then we took a walk on a nature trail and learned to identify poison ivy (which, I'm ashamed to admit, I didn't already know).

Here are all the projects Miles worked on this week.

His very first assignment, to make a creation book:

Working on a robot collage: Building a robot:
This is serious stuff!In Miles's own words, "The coolest robot ever!!!"His robot "lapbook".My proud kindergartener:
Wow, we did a lot this week!

We had such a great time! I know every week won't be this full, but every week will have opportunities for Miles (and myself!) to learn new things together.

Kindergarten Update

2009-08-14T05:12:00.005-05:00

When I last posted about Miles going to kindergarten, I had registered him for a half-day program at a church. Plans have changed since then as a result of so many other changes in our lives lately. We have now decided finally, that we will start out homeschooling Miles, but we're not giving up "going to kindergarten" completely. I found a wonderful program at another church that offers classes for homeschoolers! They are on Mondays and Fridays, and you can choose either or both days. Fridays were already full by the time I called them, so for now, Miles will go on Mondays. I was so thrilled to find this program! I knew of other similar programs that are actually co-ops, so the parents have to assist in the classrooms, but I found myself wishing there was something more like the Mother's Day Out program I've had Miles in since he was 2 and a half. And that's just what this program is. They call it "Sonlight," and I'll drop him off at 9 and pick him up at 2, which means 5 hours all to myself! I have really needed this kind of break.

In the Sonlight program, Miles will have classes in music, Spanish, art, P.E., social studies and history based on the Bible. Also, if I'm able to get him into the Friday class (he's on the waiting list, in case something opens up) he'll also have a class in science. They'll even send home worksheets that are optional for them to do for extra credit. I'm so excited because it's like we're getting the best of both worlds--we'll get to homeschool, and still get the benefits of "going to school." I must admit that right after signing him up, I couldn't wait to get to the store, school supply list in hand, and experience the excitement I enjoyed as a child getting all the things I would need to start a new school year. It was so fun getting the crayons, markers, pencil box, backpack, manila paper, scissors, etc. I even let Miles pick out a lunch box and Thermos, which are Transformer themed! Next week we'll get to go to open house and meet his teacher and see his classroom. I'm really looking forward to that!

At home, we've decided on the Five in a Row program. It is a wonderful program based on literature. In my research in different ways of homeschooling, I've come across the idea of using "living books" for teaching, as opposed to dry, boring textbooks, and I love it! Charlotte Mason has been a big influence for me, and I plan on incorporating some of her methods as well. She encourages getting outside a lot and learning through nature, and she also talks about using living books. The Five in Row program goes along with her ideas. What we'll do is read the same book five days in a row, each day focusing on a different aspect of the book. One day may be a lesson in math, another history, geography, art, science, and so forth. I think a flexible and laid-back program like this will be just what Miles and I will both need to prevent homeschool burnout. And we'll also be taking field trips, getting together with friends for playdates, and another weekly class called Zooniversity, where they will explore animals and their habitats from around the world, and the teacher will bring the actual animals for them to see and touch!

Needless to say, I am very excited about our choice for Miles's education. It's very important to me that he have the best, and this will be the best for us. I know it's not for everyone, but for us, it will be more than just "school." We'll be using the world as our classroom and our lives as our curriculum, which to me is real education, and something that I don't believe can be experienced while cooped up in an ordinary classroom day after day. I also know that the picture of Miles's eduation will likely change from year to year, or even from month to month. I'm keeping all the options open because I've learned from my research that there is no one standard or typical way to homeschool. Every family is different with different needs and ways of educating that suit them. In fact, I think it's really more about taking charge of your child's education rather than "homeschooling"; whatever decision you make for you child's education, I believe it's important that it be an informed decision about how you want your child to be educated instead of going along with what everyone else is doing just because it's easiest or because you're not informed of all the choices available.

Anyway, Miles's Sonlight class starts on August 31st, and then we'll probably start our homeschool the next day. We're both so excited! Miles asks me ever so often when we're going to "start homeschool" and I keep telling him "in a few weeks." I'm still working on lesson plans and getting materials together for projects, etc., but I can't wait to start myself! Please keep us in your prayers as we start this school year.

In the Mountains

2009-05-19T19:32:00.024-05:00

Last month, we took a trip to the mountains, although not the same mountains we had originally planned. We were literally on the road for about 1 minute when we got a call from the people at Beaver's Bend saying that the park was being closed due to flooding. Of course I was devasted; I'd been looking forward to this trip for so long. But it didn't last long. We turned around and went back into the house and got on the internet. I immediately thought of the Arbuckle Mountains, only a little over an hour away. So instead of the Kiamichis, we went to the Arbuckles.

I think it was a blessing in disguise that are plans were changed. We got a much better cabin than we would have gotten at Beaver's Bend, and there was no comparison to the view outside our window. Our cabin, rightfully called the "Mountainview". The view was so amazing, I didn't believe that could be our cabin when we pulled up. There were literally mountains right there, almost as if you could reach out and touch them. There was also a path that led down the mountain to a pond. It was so peaceful down there.

We didn't really do much all weekend except stay around the cabin. We went into town a couple of times to go to the store and eat, and we even drove about 20 miles to Pauls Valley to visit the Toy and Action Figure Museum (Miles had a blast there!). But for the most part we slept late, took walks, read (at least I read, lots of "Country Living" magazines) and ate. Oh, yeah, and although we didn't actually visit the Turner Falls park, we did go up to the lookout point where you could see beautiful waterfall.

I know the Arbuckles are hardly big mountains; to some, they are probably just big hills, but I was so touched by God in seeing their beauty. They brought me so much peace and reinforced my desire to live in the country surrounded by God's creation.

Needless to say, I did not want to come home! Two days just wasn't enough time to spend in that wonderful place. We will definitely have to go back sometime when we can spend more than 2 days.

It's Been a While!

2009-04-01T12:43:00.004-05:00

I can't believe I haven't posted since November! Needless to say, it's because I've been very busy. While I'm still busy now, I'm happy to say I've made some important changes. All that "busy-ness" was getting to me. I was running my portrait business from home, but felt like it was running me. I decided I wanted to really focus on Chip and Miles and the rest of my family more. Chip and I discussed it and decided I needed a long, indefinite break from my photography business. I've done a few sessions so far this year, and will have a few more later this year that were already scheduled, but other than that, I'm done for now!

This has been such a relief to me. I'm exporing areas of my life now that I didn't have time for before, like reading for pleasure, cooking, eating healthier, gardening, and most importantly, focusing my mind and my time on Chip and Miles. I hope now that things are not so chaotic that I'll be able to write more on my blog too.

This past Monday I registered Miles for kindergarten! I had posted several months ago that we had decided on public school, but the closer it got, the more I didn't feel comfortable with that decision. Instead, he'll be going to a private school at a local church. Their program goes from infants to kindergarten, so next year he'll be at a different school for first grade, a "University-Model" school, which is Christian-based and is kind of a combination of private school and homeschooling. I'll talk more about that school later. But for now, I'm so excited about Miles starting kindergarten! I'm thrilled that his school is a half-day program, Monday through Friday. He'll go from 8:45-12:45, and when I pick him up everyday, we'll go home and have lunch together, and have the rest of the day to spend together. I love that! I also love that one of Miles's teachers is a photography client of mine, and I feel really good about leaving him in her care. His other teacher seems wonderful too.

I have recently gotten interested in what I'm calling "real food" based on a book by that title that I'm reading. It's all about reducing or eliminating processed food from our diets and instead eating fresh foods like vegetables, fruit, nuts, etc., as well as meat, milk and eggs. The author, Nina Planck, says she believes that as far as milk goes, raw, unpasteurized milk, fresh from the cow is best, and I've found a local dairy that provides it. I plan to replace at least half of the milk we drink with this if we can afford it. I've never tasted fresh milk and can't wait to! I'm buying fresh eggs from a sister at church, and they are wonderful! I love opening up the carton and seeing different shades of brown and all different sizes. And the best part is seeing that rich, golden yoke inside, so different from the pale yellow from store-bought eggs. I'm planning on going on a tour soon to see the dairy and get my first taste of fresh milk and I'll post about how it goes.

We're making progress on the adoption. You can read about it at http://ourjourneytohannahclaire.blogspot.com/.

Chip is doing great. We got the Wii Fit game last month and doing that, along with changing his eating habits, he's already lost 4 pounds! I'm working on my weight too; recently I gained 3 pounds, then lost it, so I'm back where I started, but I plan to lose about 13 pounds. Supposedly it is easy to lose weight eating more natural foods and staying active, so we'll see!

Family Portraits 2008

2008-11-09T18:47:00.008-06:00

I decided to try to do our family portraits myself this year, with some help from Chip, of course. Here are a few of my favorites:

This black and white one is my favorite one of Miles:

That's all for now, but I'll try to post some more later.

October

2008-10-28T07:03:00.073-05:00

While October was a very busy month for us, it was also very wonderful! So much happened!

We found the best pumpkin patch ever in Celina:

Miles loved feeding the goats and cows!

This was my favorite of all the pumpkin patches we've been to because it didn't have all the bounce houses, etc., but instead focused on old-fashioned fun. It was an actual pumpkin farm, with a real pumpkin patch. The hay ride was a really nice one, going through and around the farm. It was fun getting to feed and pet the animals too.

Amanda and Steven delighted us with a visit to north Texas. We met at my sister's house and we all went on a train ride.

That same weekend we gathered after church to witness the baptism of my niece.

We celebrated Chip's 35th birthday with a cake and presents. Miles and I made the cake together. Not the best looking one, but by far the best tasting one I've ever had! We made it with Hershey's Special Dark cocoa--I highly recommend it!

Miles and I discovered a new playground last month. It's a little different than the other ones in town. Miles loved it!

Chip, Miles and I have started taking walks once or twice a week at a beautiful local park. When we're done with our walk, we usually let Miles play for a little while on the playground.

I took a few fall portraits of Miles. Here are a couple of my favorites:

A couple of days before Halloween we carved our Jack 'o Lantern.

Our very proud pumpkin-carving assistant!

Halloween was a blast! Since my nephew's birthday is the day after Halloween, we celebrated on Halloween before trick-or-treating. He got his own little Superman cake and once he figured out it was something to eat, he dug in! Then the kids took turn hitting the pinata and filled their Halloween buckets half-way already with candy from it!

Virginia and Paul were adorable as Lara-El and Jor-El, Kal-El's (Superman's) parents!

Taking the kids trick-or-treating brought back so many good childhood memories to me. Seeing all the kids out in their costumes and seeing Miles do outdoor trick-or-treating (as opposed to at the mall) for the first time was one of those times that gave me that feeling of "these are the times that matter" and "this is what life is all about." Those times when you get to be there to experience the fun of childhood with children are priceless and I thank God for every one of them.

Adorably scary!

Spreading Wings

2008-09-04T20:13:00.010-05:00

Miles started pre-k yesterday! I was so excited for him, but at the same time sad, and unprepared for how emotional I would be about this day. I mean, it's only pre-k, and still only two days a week, but it is somehow different than before. This class is in a different building than the other mother's day out classes; they have to actually sit at a table and do worksheets; the play area is structured: they draw straws of various colors, which correspond to different stations. They stay at their station for an allotted amount of time, and when time is up, they move on to another one. No more naps either.

It seems like Miles has picked up on all of these new "big boy" changes and has embraced them. When arrived at his school and were getting out of the car, he handed me his auggie (what he calls his blanket) and said, "Mommy, I don't need this anymore." I was taken off guard; I thought I might have a hard time convincing him to leave it with me, but was planning to try anyway, and he didn't even wait for me to! Then inside, I documented his first few moments of pre-k with my camera, then hung around for a little while. I was standing behind him as he colored at the table as he turned around and said, "Mommy, I want you to leave now." Wow, I thought, is this the same child whom I held constantly for the first 3 months of his life, then carried around in a sling for the next two years because he wanted to be with me every waking moment? Feeling proud and dejected at the same time, I kissed and hugged him goodbye and made my way out of the classroom. While there was a little sorrow in my heart, a wonderful sense of accomplishment, satisfaction gratefulness won over as I realized my prayers had been answered. From the time Miles was a baby, I wanted him to be strong and independent, courageous and secure. He has been that way for a while now, but I saw it all growing even stronger in him yesterday. He depends on his Mommy for love and support and knows I'll always be there, that I will be there to pick him up in the afternoon. He is so secure in this that he is able to be away from me for a few hours with such ease; he makes friends very easily and is so comfortable in social situations, so different from myself as a child. I am truly blessed seeing him blossom and grow into the confident boy his today.

A few shots from his first morning of pre-k:

Martian Child

2008-08-30T11:07:00.004-05:00

Chip and I watched Martian Child last night on our dvr's Video On Demand. It starred John and Joan Cusak as brother and sister (which was neat to see!). I was so moved by how patient John's character was with his adopted son, 100% committed to helping him overcome his fears of abandonment and teaching him to open up and learn to love.

Here is a synopsis from imdb.com:

What's the nature of being a parent and of being a child? David is a widower grieving for two years. He writes science fiction and was considered weird as a boy. He meets Dennis, a foster child who claims to be on a mission from Mars, stays in a large box all day, fears sunlight, and wears a belt of flashlight batteries so he won't float away. David takes the six-year-old home on a trial. His sister and his wife's best friend offer support, but the guys are basically alone to figure this out. Dennis takes things, is expelled, and is coached by David in being normal. Will the court approve the adoption, and will Dennis stay? Can a man become a father and a child become a son?

This movie touched me more at this time in my life than it would have before, because of our own pending adoption. It encourages me to have a positive attitude toward raising our future adopted daughter; that we may very well come up against problems associated with abandonment, but that we will face them together, and we will get through them.

Bible Class in Public School

2008-08-27T06:37:00.004-05:00

I just saw a story on the news that Lake Dallas High School offers a new Bible Class this year, and that other schools in the area are considering doing the same thing! The report said Lake Dallas had 160 students enrolled for the class and that they are excited about it. While the guidelines for the class are that it be taught in an objective manner and without supporting religion, I think it will be a great influence for a lot of kids who know nothing about the Bible. And, while it's a controversial issue for many, I think it's a step in the right direction.

This is important to me because, after a lot of deliberation and prayer, Chip and I have pretty much decided to send Miles to public school. Before even considering the idea, we had decided we would move next year into a certain neighborhood in Denton we like, not realizing the best elementary school in Denton is there in the middle of it. I run into moms all the time at that neighborhood's park, and always get rave reviews of that school. We both feel very good about our decision, and even better now with the possibility of the positive influence of a Bible class at Miles's future high school.

Choosing a method to educate your child is such an important decision and has been a hard one for me. So many people in my family and church homeschool, and for a while I thought I would too. But all along, I did not feel in my heart that it was right for me, or Miles. So right now, public school seems to be the choice. Denton schools started back yesterday, so here we are at the one year mark; one year left with Milesy at home with me. I'm a little sad, a little excited, and the closer it gets, the more I think, "Well, maybe I'll just keep him home for kindergarten, and he can start school in first grade!" I'll probably go back and forth on the issue over the next year, but I think in the end he'll probably start kindergarten as planned. Please pray for us that we will make the best decision.

We're Expecting!

2008-08-17T18:56:00.007-05:00

"daughter"

About two months ago, Chip and I decided to adopt a little girl from China! Since then, we did research, chose an adoption agency and we just now finished filling out the application, which we’ll be sending in tomorrow.

We are so excited about our decision! I have always wanted a daughter; someone to share all the fun “girly” things with. I’m already dreaming of the dolls I’ll get for her, pink birthday parties, having our nails done together, decorating her bedroom… Needless to say, I wish we could go get her right now! Unfortunately, the process to adopt from China is a long one—two to three years. We ask for everyone’s prayers and support as we begin our journey to our daughter.

Chip and I created a website all about our journey, and to help us raise money for adoption expenses. International adoption is very expensive, and we will be contributing every dollar we can to it, but we will need help from others. Please visit our website, http://www.bringhannahhome.org/, and help us if you can.

To read more information about the Chinese adoption process, visit our adoption agency’s website: http://www.gwca.org/.

I’ll be writing about our journey, either here, or I may start a new blog just for the adoption. Be sure to check back here often to follow our progress.

In The Garden

2008-05-21T13:08:00.009-05:00

Last month Miles and I started a garden. It's a tiny little garden, but we are pround of it. We planted bib lettuce, cucumber and tomato seeds. The lettuce is doing wonderful, the cucumber plants are starting to do great, but we don't have one tomato plant that came up. I heard after we'd planted them that it is hard to grow tomatoes from seed, so we'll probably go get some plants soon. We're also planning on planting carrot seeds too.

Miles is so excited about getting to eat cucumbers he grows later this summer! I can't wait to make "refrigerator pickles", my favorite kind! I've made them before, but never with cucumbers I've grown myself!

The lettuce is almost ready to start picking, so we'll soon have a salad made with lettuce we grew ourselves--how cool!

Miles truly loves plants. We can't go outside without him stopping to pick tiny flowers for me. Sometimes he wants to bring them in and put them in a vase on the table. I love that we have the chance to grow our little vegetable garden together and that he is learning that vegetables don't just come from a grocery store.

NO MORE DIETING!

2008-04-11T20:41:00.004-05:00

Has anyone been watching the new show, "I Can Make You Thin with Paul McKenna"? I have been, and it has changed my life! Ever since Miles was born, I haven't been able to get back to my "pre-baby" weight, and stay there. Please don't laugh, it is only about 15 pounds, but for my height that is a lot, and I was beginning to have no clothes to wear and refuse to start buying bigger sizes. But now, Paul McKenna has come to my rescue.

I've been on his plan for 2 weeks now, and have already lost 2 pounds! And I'm eating whatever I want! And I do mean WHATEVER I WANT--foods I haven't eaten in so long because I didn't want to gain weight--but I still gained the weight anyway. The key is eating consciously, and paying attention to the "full-signal" your brain gives you to let you know you should stop eating. Following this and other techniques of his, sometimes at supper I get full on half a hot dog and a few chips! Unbelievable! And I'm eating full-fat icecream, cream cheese, crackers, pizza, etc. that I used to shy away from. Of course, I haven't abandoned all the healthy foods. I've just taken away the restrictions I used to put on myself about certain foods. Essentially, it is the concept of moderation. You can eat whatever you want, as long as you eat it in small portions. I've alway known this, but I didn't know how to go about doing it. Now I know, and it really works!

The best part about what McKenna's plan is that it is not a diet. If you haven't heard of this way of losing weight yet, you will be amazed at how different this is from dieting and how such simple concepts can make such a significant difference.

Exercising is also so different from what I have heard from anyone else. Don't worry about joing a gym or using a lot of fancy exersice equipment. He recommends just taking more steps during the day. Wear a pedometer and keep track of how many steps you are taking and increase them by parking farther from the store, taking stairs, etc. Today my goal was 10,000 steps, but by really making an effort to walk as much as possible, I took over 17,000 steps!

Paul McKenna has a website, http://www.mckenna.com/, but if you can find the reruns of his show on TLC, I highly recommend recording them. You'll get so much more information than on the website.

Just wanted to share this information with anyone who has been struggling with their weight, in case this might be the thing that changes your life too. I will keep you posted on my progress.

Catching Up

2008-03-26T15:52:00.028-05:00

I'm going to try to catch up on some posts I've been meaning to do, so their will be a lot to read and lots of photos to look at in this one.

Miles's birthday party was a blast at Chuck E. Cheese last month. I can't believe my baby is 4!

Miles with Stuart Little. We were reading the book at that time. Now we're reading Peter Pan.

After I took the photos on the last post, I took some more later when the rest of the snow had fallen. We got a lot, about 7 or 8 inches, I think!

Getting ready to make snow cream!

Yum Yum!

Week before last was Miles's spring break and we spent the weekend down in Huntsville visiting family. Easter day was nice. Miles got to see his cousin, Garrett for the first time in almost a year, and the two became instant buddies.

After church, the boys had an Easter egg hunt.

No Signs of Stopping!

2008-03-06T15:04:00.007-06:00

We had a little snow earlier this week, but nothing compared to today! We got out earlier this morning before it was very thick and played and built a snowman. Now, a few hours later, we've got at least a few inches and no signs of it slowing down!

It's nice living here in North Texas. I've always loved the snow, but we just didn't get much of it down in southeast Texas. And surprisingly, we didn't get much even when we lived in North Alabama! But we've gotten snow every single winter since we've lived here, usually just enough to have fun with, and not so much that it causes a lot of problems. And it only sticks around for one or two days, which is fine with me!

I know Miles doesn't look happy here, but he's actually singing!

Catching snowflakes on his tongue!

Our little snowman:

Guardian Angel

2008-02-19T16:06:00.003-06:00

I was going to post about Miles’s birthday party today, but something happened that I felt impressed to write about today (I’ll get to the party in a later post). I’ve always believed in guardian angels. I think sometimes God sends actual angels from Heaven down to protect us. Other times He simply uses a person here on earth, sent at just the right moment to help us. Well, I believe the latter happened to me today.

I wanted to take advantage of the spring-like weather we’ve been having and take Miles out to one of the many playgrounds we have here in Denton. I picked one we haven’t been to literally in years. I think I took Miles one time when he was younger and the playground equipment at this particular park just seemed too dangerous for his age, and I decided to wait until he was older. So today I decided to give it a try again. As soon as I drove up to the park, I got a strange feeling. The only person on the playground was a man with a camera and he was moving something around on the slide and photographing it. It seemed odd to me, then I saw that it was a stuffed animal. Well, I thought, he might be a photography student at one of the universities. I’ve seen stranger photo projects in my years in art school, so I didn’t think too much of it. I got Miles out and we headed toward the main playground. As we were walking toward it, there was a grandmother with her grandson, about Miles’s age, ahead of us, already on the playground by this time and swinging. Great, someone for Miles to play with! I also noticed a second man a little distance from me walking toward the playground. He was alone and sat on a bench facing the playground.

The first man with the camera moved to a smaller playground nearby and put the stuffed animal on the slide and snapped away. I kept my eye on him and the other man on the bench. Then when Miles and the other boy ran to the other playground, the man with the camera left. I sat down on the seat of a picnic table next to the grandmother and we began to talk and she commented on the man, and said she wondered why he was photographing that stuffed animal. I told her how I’m a photographer myself and I’ve seen lots of strange projects in school. We were both glad he had left.

Then the woman’s grandson said he wanted to go down to the lake, so in spite of encouraging him to stay here and play with Miles, they headed to the lake. Miles played for a minute on the smaller playground, then ran and climbed on the bigger one, so I followed him. Then the second man on the bench spoke to me. He asked me how old a kid needs to be to play on that playground, which seemed an odd question. My guard was up, but I answered him, saying I thought it was best for older kids. Then he got up from the bench and started walking toward me, still talking. Then he stopped. At this point, Miles went back toward the smaller playground. I turned to look at him and he had a strange look on his face. So I walked toward him and asked him what was wrong and he said “Nothing.” At that moment, the grandmother seemed to appear out of nowhere beside me. She was looking at the man, who had went back to the bench, and she asked me, “Do you feel safe?” I said I wasn’t sure and told her about our conversation. She said how they come to this park regularly and have never seen such creepy people there, and that she had come back up there from the lake because she was worried about me. She said they were leaving because of that man, and would be walking back to their house in the neighborhood, and I said we were too. She asked if I was walking and I told her I had my car. She said she would wait there until I was safely in my car and I said thank you. I went and got our stuff from the picnic table and got Miles’s hand. As I walked passed her, she had her cell phone and said quietly that she was pretending to talk to someone, and that as soon as she had started doing that, the man on the bench got up and began to leave. Very suspicious. I looked and he was heading back the direction we had come from. I picked up Miles and went as fast I could to the car and got us inside and locked in.

I don’t know what that man might have done had that nice grandmother not been there to help me today. I was feeling like something was not right about a man sitting by himself at a playground, but wasn’t listening like I should to my intuition and should have just left right away. That’s when God came in and sent that woman to knock some sense into me. I’m so thankful God has mercy on us when we are foolish about things, like not listening to that still, small voice He gives us. I think He used that ordinary woman as an angel for me today. And it’s appropriate that her grandson’s name was “Gabriel.”

It’s sad that we have to worry about things such as taking our kids to the playground, but I will definitely be more careful about my surroundings and plan to go out when I think more people will be out (although I did think more people would be out today because of the nice weather).

After we left the park, we went to the library, then another playground on the other side of town, the one we usually go to. I think I’ll stick with that one for now, with my guard still up, of course.

Happy Birthday, Boo!

2008-02-13T07:08:00.015-06:00

I can't believe my little "Boo" is 4 today! ("Boo" is just one of my many nicknames for Miles, which include "Milesy", "Milesy-Boo", "Booh-ba-doo". Don't ask me how I came up with them; I've just always came up with affectionate nicknames, beginning with ones for my cats as a child!). Miles has reached some "miles" stones by his fourth birthday including major progress in progress in potty training and reading (he started really reading back in November). I am so proud of him and absolutely amazed at how smart he is. What an experience it has been to watch this miracle develop from a tiny baby to a "big kid." Without a doubt, the most amazing (and most challenging!) experience I have or ever will have.

Today is Miles's Valentine party at school, so he'll get to have a party on his birthday, but we're officially celebrating this Saturday at Chuck E. Cheese's. Here are some shots from past birthdays:

1st Birthday:

2nd Birthday:

3rd Birthday:

After Saturday, I'll post the photos from his 4th birthday party.

My parents always made our birthdays so special when we were growing up. I hope Miles will feel the same way about his birthdays.

Definitely a Monday!

2008-01-28T21:55:00.000-06:00

Wow! How time flies! I can't believe January is almost over!

We are all doing great here in the Griffin household. While everyone around us seems to be getting the flu, the most we get is the sniffles, which goes away very quickly thanks to Airborne (we swear by this stuff!). They even have a version for kids now that we give to Miles.

With Miles's birthday fast approaching on February 13th, we are planning for a small get-together. Before I had Miles, I thought in planning for a February baby there would be lots of time between Christmas and his birthday, but there really isn't. I mean, I still keep finding Christmas decorations around the house that I forgot to pack away with everything else!

My business is doing well; I'm already so busy, there just aren't enough hours in the day to get everything done. With my business, Miles's Mother's Day Out, playdates, housework and cooking, no wonder our kitchen table is covered with portrait packaging supplies (along with trays that have been there since Christmas Day). Needless to say, we have not eaten at the table much this month!

I was reading my cousin Amanda's blog about the crummy start to her day today, and I totally identify. I use Microsoft Outlook to plan my days and I had everything so well laid out for today. After dropping Miles off at school, first on my list was to go pay for this year's vehicle registration stickers. When I got there, as prepared as I was with my paperwork and insurance card, I was informed that they do not accept credit cards for payment, and of course, for some strange reason, my checkbook was not in my purse. No big deal, I'll just run home real quick and get it; it is just down the road, after all. So I headed home, ran into the house, threw my purse and keys on the floor, and quickly checked the balance of my checking account online. I had planned on paying with my PayPal card, which I knew had enough to pay for my tags, but since they wouldn't take the card, I had to be sure. When I was done, I grabbed my checkbook, which was right there by my keyboard, grabbed my purse, rushed to the door, locked it and slammed the door behind me. As soon as I did, I realized I did not have my keys in my hand! Inside I was screaming "No! No! Nooooooo!" There are few situations that make me feel more helpless than being locked out of my house. I knew my only option was to call Chip and have him drive all the way back from Dallas to unlock the door, so I searched for my cell phone in my purse, and of course, I had left it inside too! Again, screaming inside.

I still had hope, though, maybe the back door to the garage was unlocked--I prayed so hard as I ran around to the side of the house and opened the gate, but of course, the door was locked. So I ran into the backyard and tried the bedroom window, locked. I then pried the screen off of Miles's window, and again, locked. I only had only one choice at this point, with no keys and no cell phone. I walked across the street and rang the neighbor's doorbell and used their phone to call Chip. Thank goodness he wasn't mad at all.

After thanking my kind neighbor, I headed back to the house and sat and waited on the chair right outside our front door. I'll be ok, I thought, it's not that cold today. But I guess it only seems that way when you're not in it for a long time. As the cold began to set in, I pulled the hood of my jacket over my head and just sat there huddled up and ready to cry. That didn't last long though, because I began to think of what I'm thankful for in my life. I hate wasting time, and any time I'm sitting in traffic or any time I'm in a situation with absolutely nothing to do but wait, I try to use it as a chance to think positively and thank God for His blessings. One thing I will definitely be more thankful for is the warmth and comfort of my house. I complain to Chip about it that it is too small and I want to move into a bigger house. Although I still feel this way, I will remember what it is like have to sit in the cold for an hour with no way to get into my tiny little house, and try not to complain so much.

Chip eventually made it here, unlocked the house and then left to run some errands, while I left to pay for my stickers. The rest of my day was pretty uneventful, although I did book a portrait session for next week, which is always nice! Then I did a portrait session this evening in my #1 client's home. I've been to their house so many times, photographing them for maternity, then their daughter for newborn, 6 month and one year portraits, their son's 3 year birthday, etc. Most recently, the dad has called me back several times to photograph each of his new employees he hires for his website (pretty cool!).

Anyway, I can't believe how long this post has gotten! I really need to get to bed!

A Merry Little Christmas

2007-12-26T11:47:00.000-06:00

We had such a great day on Christmas yesterday. It was so nice to have my loved ones around me. I hope they all know how precious they are to me.

A shot from Miles's visit with Santa:

Hope everyone reading this post had a Merry Christmas too!

Family Portraits 2007

2007-12-01T08:11:00.000-06:00

We had our yearly family portraits done a few weeks ago, this time here in Denton. Rhonda Petty, owner of Sunlit Portraits in Sanger, did the session this time. She got permission from a friend of hers to use their land to shoot on. Their land was so beautiful--the whole time I was there it felt like I'd found the land of my dreams--only someone else already owned it! Rolling hills covered with golden grass, a pond with a pier and a little rustic shed, a stone wall, fall foliage, a classic red barn and the road winding through it all made such picturesque backdrops for our portraits. Below are only a few of the images Rhonda shot.

I will be sending out Christmas cards with one of the images on it, but you are welcome to get any of the photos you want through smugmug (Grandparents and Great-Grandparents: don't order yet, because we'll be including portraits as part of your Christmas gift!).

To see the rest of them click here. The password is "griffin" (not capitalized).

Thank you so much for the beautiful photos, Rhonda!

In the Field

2007-11-17T21:39:00.000-06:00

I'm always so busy photographing other people's kids, sometime I neglect taking them of Miles like I want to. Not to mention, he is the HARDEST kid for me to photograph, I guess since he is so used to it that he either ignores me or says "No! I don't want to take pictures!" Anyway, I took him to a field this past week to try to get some creative shots of him and possibly some of me with him (using the camera on my tripod and the timer). I got some good ones, and then he said he wanted to take some, so I put the camera on the tripod and let him snap away while I posed. It was so much fun, and he did a really good job! I'm so proud of Mommy's little photographer!

Our Trip to the Mountains: Celebrating 10 Years

2007-11-07T18:58:00.000-06:00

Chip and I took a trip up to Beaver's Bend in Oklahoma two weeks ago tomorrow to celebrate our 10th anniversary! I can't believe it's been that long! Beaver's Bend is a resort park in Broken Bow and is nestled an area of small mountains. While we were there, we drove farther north about an hour to the larger Kiamichi mountains (these mountains are beginnings of the Ozarks). We drove most of the 56-mile Talimena Drive. The area reminded me so much of north Alabama where I lived a few years as a child. It was absolutely gorgeous! Who knew there were mountains like this so near home!

At Beaver's Bend, we stayed in a cabin in the woods. We walked two nature trails, went canoeing, and mostly just relaxed. One evening we sat by the fire and celebrated with a little red wine. Very romantic!

I'm so looking forward to going back to Beaver's Bend and the mountains. Chip and I are also planning on going a little farther north east into Arkansas and the Ozarks sometime too. I felt so at home there surrounded by those mountains. Some people are ocean people; I'm a mountain person all the way.

A few photos from our trip:

At our cabin:

The Talimena Drive:

Outside our cabin right before we headed home:

Pumpkin Time

2007-10-22T13:09:00.000-05:00

I can't believe how fast Halloween is coming this year! This is the first year I think Miles has a little more understanding of what Halloween fun is all about, so it should be really fun! We've bought several small pumpkins this year for painting and just to have around the house for a festive feeling, and we've gone to a couple of pumpkin patches. The photos below are of the one at Miles's school. He was so proud of the little pumpkin he got earlier that day, which his teacher had written his name on the bottom. I thought this pumpkin patch would be the perfect photo opportunity, so I asked Miles to give me a tour as I captured these shots.

My adorable little cherub!

Finally!!

2007-10-05T06:47:00.001-05:00

Well, I finally got around to creating a blog for our family. I was inspired by Virginia's "Innes Family Post" and Catherine's "Old Spillhouse" blog. So here it is! I will probably redesign it several times as I go along--I'm such a perfectionist and also get tired of things being the same for a long time. Anyway, I hope you will enjoy hearing about what's going on in our lives and seeing current photos, especially for those of you we don't get to see often.

For my first post, I want to talk about one of the great loves of my life, my son Miles. What an incredible human being he is, and what a joy and honor it is to be given the gift of knowing him and to be his mother. He surprises me more and more these days with new things he learns and new silly words he makes up, and other silly things he likes to do that get us both rolling with laughter!

Many of you may know I had a rough start with motherhood, but these days I have mostly settled into it, and have really come to enjoy it! I treasure the moments I have with Miles, knowing this time in his life won't last forever. His favorite thing to do right now is to "play trains" and he loves to play with both me and Chip. He started out as a very clingy baby, but has become more independent lately, catching me off-guard just a couple of months ago when he went into his bedroom and closed the door and stayed in there for an hour playing by himself! It is nice to not have to be there entertaining him every moment, but at the same time it makes me sad, knowing he will only break away more and more time goes by.

What's going on with us right now: Miles just finished his first session of tap dancing lessons! I enrolled him last month because ever since he could walk, he would stomp his feet and dance! There was even an Elmo's World episode where Elmo tap danced and Miles would immitate him. So I decided to enroll him in a class and see if he liked it. He loves it so far! Every time we're done with class and are on our way home, he tells me, "Mommy, when we get home, I'm gonna be the teacher and teach you how to tap dance." Precious!

Miles is absolutely adorable during tap class! He doesn't seem to mind (or even notice!) that he is the only boy in there. I'm hoping that will be the case for a while! I've always loved watching others tap dance and have wanted to take lessons myself, but haven't, so I guess I'm living that dream a little through Miles. I do plan on finding out if there are any adult classes available for myself though. Miles has two more sessions to go this fall, followed by a recital! I can't wait!

In just a few days, on the 18th of this month, Chip and I will be celebrating our 10th Anniversary! We will be going up to the Kiamichi Mountains in Oklahoma for a few days to celebrate toward the end of the month. I'm looking forward to seeing some beautiful fall foliage! I'll post some pictures when we get back.

Chip is taking a class to prepare for the GMAT, and plans to start working on his MBA at UNT in the spring. Please keep him in your prayers!

I am still running my portrait business, and have also launched a second website selling products for photographers. Needless to say, I am very busy, especially with all the holiday sessions being scheduled!

I hope you've enjoyed this first post of the Griffin Family Herald! I'd love to hear your comments on it!