Over the long Memorial Day weekend, I got a chance to take my new camera out for a spin and do my first-ever photo shoot! It was HOT, HOT, HOT (and I'm not just talking about the good-looking soon-to-be parents), and we were all melting a few minutes in. That's Memorial Day weekend in the South, I guess. Mid 90s (even at 7:15) and humidity thick enough to bathe in.

However, Anthony and Stephanie were such good sports. Steph and I have been friends since college, when she and I bonded over a love of boys and fear of heights one January. We lived together a semester, then she moved off and got married. When I got married, she was one of my bridesmaids, since she and her husband had moved to NC by that point. They have been such good friends to us, and I'm so excited for them to become parents to little Amos! They're going to do great. They're in a similar boat as we are (although, plus bebe, obviously). Like us, they're in a transition time as they're getting ready to move (before the birth? After?) to Murfreesboro, TN to help start City Church.

Before we move, and before they move, and before she doesn't feel like moving around as much, we all wanted to go out and have a little maternity session! Since it was my first time, I'm really thankful they were such good sports - going to an abandoned building, sitting in awkward positions and maneuvering around whenever the fancy struck me. I have a ways to go with my skills, but I was pleased with the results of this first shoot.Thanks for being patient with me, being flexible (seriously! You amazed me, Steph) and letting me try and capture these final days before Amos arrives in July.

Love you guys!

P.S. Check out their album I put up on Facebook.

High-speed travel it was not, but a long slow day on the train was just what the doctor ordered.

Unless the tick that bit me and maybe gave me Lyme Disease was on the train - in that case, the doctor probably would have advised me to stay off the train. But I don't think it happened that way.

Last Thursday was Train Day. Although I didn't have a jaunty little hat, and although the train wasn't decked out in mahogany, it had a charm all its own. I felt like I saw a slice of Americana that I don't often see: tiny towns that are straight from 1950, historic theater buildings, family graveyards randomly set in the middle of a field, little bakeries with $.85 cupcakes (yum!) and people who ride the train - not on a whim - but as a way of life.

There was a dark-haired, dark-eyed little girl with her mother on the first train. As they settled in to eat the sandwiches they had brought, she whispered, "This feels like a dream. A lovely dream."

I agree. It was a little bit magical, with the sunshine racing between the trees along the tracks, the conductors who wore their blue hats proudly and the anticipation of an adventure, stretching out before us. Here's my attempt to share the lovely little dream with you. Enjoy.

Downtown Raleigh

All aboard!

On my way to Wilson.

This man had a jaunty little hat on :)

Graveyard on the homestead.

Wilson train station

Lovely mural inside the otherwise fairly ghetto station.

My Canon's battery died somewhere in the station and naturally, I didn't have my charger. I'm thankful for my phone, though, which allowed me to keep capturing the memories, albeit at a lower quality.

Historic theater in Dillon.

Off the back of the train.

Last but not least, a little video I made of the journey. Hopefully it loads :)

My disciplined husband has been doing P90X faithfully for a month now. Each time he does it, he makes sure Ben is on the porch before starting, because Benny is a little bit...uh.....helpful.....anytime one of us is on the floor doing something that looks like it could be a fun game. He is both curious and overly playful.

The other night, I was cooking dinner while A was doing P90X stretching, so I left Benny in, figuring I could keep him out of A's way. I underestimated Ben's desire to be in the middle.of.everything. As soon as A got on the floor to do one of the exercises, Ben was there. I grabbed the camera to try and capture what it looks like when both of my boys do P90X together.

Exercise: Through Ben's eyes:

"Hey, wouldn't this be more effective if I provided a little toothy motivation?"

"You think you're flexible? Look at ME! I can stretch and balance at the same time!"

"I'll show you how to turn stretching into playtime!"

"No? Not helping?"

"You do your stretches. I'm going to sleep - what a workout."

 So there you have it. P90X - it's for the whole family!

My how the time flies when you're.....really, really busy.

What? Is that not how the saying goes?

It's been over three weeks since I've posted, and that is a really long time for me. Generally, I find it pretty easy to write about myself and my life - I'm sure you've all noticed this - but isn't that what a blog is for? Lately though, I've been crazy busy, both physically and mentally. Not only have I not gotten a ton of sleep lately for being on-the-go, but I haven't had much of a mental break lately either. Life has been... interesting, and it's keeping my brain all twisted up and working hard.

So, there's my bucketful of excuses. Do you accept? Pretty please? A just read me a prayer about not seeking others' approval, so I'm not really trying to get back in your good blogging graces, buuuuut it would be nice to know we are OK :)

All that to say: I'm back in the blogosphere. We're in Florida currently for the my second time this month. This trip is INFINITELY more enjoyable for two reasons 1) I am with my husband. That makes everything better 2) On this drive, I am allowed to go to the bathroom whenever I need to - a luxury not really afforded me when traveling with a group of 18. We're here this weekend as A officiates the wedding of a friend and former teammate. It's been beautiful weather - sun, 70s and a breeze. Although we're sitting in Starbucks currently polishing his sermon, I have every intention of hitting the beach VERY soon for a wee bit of sun-worship. Ok - not sun-worship. I worship Jesus, but some serious sun enjoyment :) You know what I mean.

So with that said, here's a link (for you, Mom and Dad!) to some of my photos from the first Florida trip. I loved having my new camera and being able to get more familiar with my settings, lighting situations and movie mode. I am getting better with the technical aspects of it, so now I need to work on recovering my "eye." I've been shooting here this weekend already, so hopefully we'll be able to see some improvement soon!

Thanks for hanging with me, and hope you all have had an excellent March!