i Heart faces: Bust a Gut

The I heart faces challenge this week is "Bust a Gut." I captured this moment of these sweet, amazing ladies cracking up over something (I have no idea what it was) at my favorite 4-year old's Princess Party. I have a series of hilarious pictures of these ladies on an older blog post.

Check out the other great entries here....

i Heart faces: From a Distance

The challenge this week from i Heart faces is "From a Distance." I love the picture of these 2 sisters, how when left to their own devices, just sat and laughed. Fun, goofy, little girls. If ever there is a time to stand at a distance, this is it. When little girls are just being themselves, completely oblivious to the camera.

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i heart faces: Yellow

Little L rocking her yellow shirt while having some cake at her "colors" party. Actually, this was our pretend party because I missed the real one. So we put on the outfit, made a little cake, and reinacted the whole thing. Luckily L didn't seem to mind.

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i Heart faces: Flowers

It's spring now (though today's weather in Chicago could have fooled me) and the flowers are blooming and the sun is hiding shining. The challenge at i Heart faces this week is flowers (no faces for this time).

Go check out the other great entries!

i heart faces: Motherhood

When I saw this weeks challenge at i heart faces I immediately thought of this picture. For those of you who don't know, my paying job is as a labor and delivery nurse. I spend my days taking pictures and my nights coaching woman through labor. I've talked about this here before, but this past January I traveled to Uganda to help deliver my dear friend's baby. I snapped this picture of her and her hubby as she labored. I have seen a lot of labors and a lot of deliveries, but none as amazing as this woman. She suffered through 36 hours of labor in a foreign country where the luxury of an epidural or any pain medication is not available.

This picture was taken about 20 hours into labor as she worked her way through contractions. This here is the picture of motherhood, of suffering and enduring enourmous pain for your child.

Happy Mother's Day T!

  Go check out the other great mom pictures at i heart faces...

(see previous posts for pictures of baby K)

i heart faces: Soft and Sweet

This week at i Heart faces that challenge is soft and sweet. Who better to show off than sweet Karis?

This lovely little girl was born in Uganda to two amazing parents and also has two super cool older siblings who were recently adopted from Uganda.

Not only is Karis super adorable, but I love how her life started. I love that she came into being in the process of this family's quest to adopt. I love that I got to fly half way around the world and help deliver her. I love that she gets to start her life in such an amazing place with amazing people. I love her!

Go check out the other entries...

Baby, take a bow

Jonas is proud that he won 2nd place in his first photo contest. He would like to take a bow, wave to all his fans, and remind his mother that sometimes his antics are worth it. And he would like to be let out of his cage and take his time of freedom to chew some furniture.

i Heart faces: Pets

This week at i Heart faces it's pets. I usually use my cat Mudles for anything pets, but I figured it was time to give Jonas a shot at fame.

This is my sneaky, naughty, misbehaving rabbit who thinks it's hilarious to knock over his water dish, jump out of his 2 1/2 foot high pen, eat everything in sight, lick my nose, sit at my feet and beg for food, and sprint through the house and leap into the air.

He's quite a fellow.

Hop over (get it... a rabbit... hop?) to i Heart faces for some more great pets...

For those who now think rabbits are good pets and are tempted to get one... CLICK HERE! You can't say I didn't warn you.

i Heart faces: Wind

This weeks challenge at i Heart faces is wind. I love this picture of Langsea and her hair blowing in the wind. This picture was actually one of those "oops" shots that I almost deleted. Thank goodness I didn't because when I got home and looked at this on my computer I loved it!

Run over to i Heart faces for more great photos...

i Heart faces: March Face

This week for i Heart faces it's favorite March face... so here's Lucy from her 2nd birthday party (more on the previous post).

Voting starts Tuesday (I think). I'm #148.

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i heart faces: Slice of Life

My grandma is one of those people who hates to have her picture taken. She fights me every time I pull out my camera so typically I have to steathily sneak around the house and whip my camera out at the last minute for a shot. By some miracle she decided to be a good sport on her birthday (probably because we had company) and even wore the ridiculous party hat my mom had purchased. The pictures of my grandma smiling are few and far between, so it's such a treasure to have this picture of her on her 90th birthday.

i Heart faces: Sun Flare

I adore this picture. Actually, I adore the entire photoshoot that went along with this picture. I got to snap some pictures of a friend from work's kiddos. We found this wonderful farm to explore and happened to be there in time for a beautiful sunset.
This is what I've learned... kids are beautiful. No matter how hard you try to stuff them into some posed frame you're envisioning and no matter what cute headbands and skirts and props you've given them, they are most beautiful when you allow them to just be themselves.

Go check out the other entries...

i Heart faces: People's Choice

It's the people's choice awards at i Heart faces this week.

Head over to i Heart faces and vote (I'm #366)

i Heart faces: Everything but a face

One sweet bottom....

Hop over to i Heart faces for more entries...

i Heart faces: Pet Faces

This weeks challenge from i Heart faces is pet faces and those of you that know me at all know that I of course jump straight to a picture of Mudles. I have had this beloved cat since I was 10 years old and he is my dear and wonderful friend. And of course, the most beautiful cat there is.

Head over to i Heart faces for some more awesome pet pictures.

i Heart faces: Silhouette

This is one of my most favorite pictures, taken in Jinja, Uganda almost a year ago. All of the amazing girls in this picture live at a children's home for children with HIV.

i Heart faces: Fall has come

Last weekend Eric and I went on a fall adventure... on it, we accidently stumbled upon this beautiful wood with it's shining yellow leaves and not a soul around. This place was quintessentially fall, one of the most picture perfect represetations of the changing of the seasons. And I loved every minute of it.

I heart Faces: Smirk

Who beter to demonstrate the "Smirk" than a group of pre-teen girls?

check out these other entries at http://www.iheartfaces.com/

i Heart faces: The Story of Uganda

This week the i Heart faces photo challenge is photojournalism...

This collage tells the story of a beautiful place called Jinja, Uganda and the children that live there. It's a place where children are abandon. Where kids have to care for other kids. Where children with HIV can link hands and joyfully walk down the road on their way for a swim. These are the children that I love, whose names and faces are ingraved in my heart and whose stories I love to tell.

Top: Jonah, Left: Cathy and Gloria, Right: Rachel, Esther, Chayla, Stella, Aly, Daphne

i Heart faces: Over my Head

i Heart faces weekly photo challenege is "Over my Head."

This is a picture I took about a year ago of sweet L and her daddy playing 'catch the moon.' I love watching these two interact. Even after a long day of work, this girl's dad still muster's up the energy to toss her into the air so she can try and catch the moon.