This weekend....

This weekend we went to Kearney and I did detail pictures at a friend's wedding. This weekend she wore the most amazing shoes I've ever photographed or seen a bride wear.

This weekend I photographed a Memorial Day Service at our local Veteran's Cemetary.

This weekend I was reminded of how thankful I am for those who have served so selflessly.
This weekend I found headstones of people who I knew in my youth. This weekend I missed my brother (serving in Kuwait) even more than I did before.
This weekend I watched my dad bagpipe at the ceremony.

This weekend I posted a give-away on my facebook fan-page for Free Range Photography to honor military members.

This weekend I found my Leebot CD and will plan on finishing this giveaway later in the week.

What did you do this weekend?

Spring Fever...

It's spring(ish) in Western Kansas, and the SillyHille family has been pedal-to-the-metal with all our activities!

In random order: we have a new nephew, Wyatt! Road trip to KC to meet his adorable little face and I have this to prove it:

I also spent the past weekend in Nebraska doing 7 photo sessions for clients. WHEW!

We've also managed to squeeze in another (big) item: we are homeowners again! We've been hard at work removing wall paper, painting, taking down and putting up window treatments/ceiling fans/ chandeliers/ etc. We haven't moved in yet, we are putting the finishing touches on our hard work, and I have a whole post in regards to renovations, and my lack of ability to decorate! Before & after post will come when it's complete....

The giveaway is still going on, mainly because I have packed up the CD to be given away and I can't find it at the moment. We DO have Madigan's copy, but you're not going to pry that out of her peanut-buttery little hands! So feel free to leave a comment on the post below if you'd like to put your name in the hat for a chance to win.

On a final note, I had the chance to travel to Wichita recently to meet (in person for the first time!!) a friend of mine that I have known for several years (via the internet). She and her husband were dealing with infertility at the same time Brett & I were doing treatments, and we met in an online forum/support group. After we conceived (and so did they!) our lives got busy with little ones and we lost touch of each other. Thanks to the modern miracle called facebook, we found each other again, just in time for me to follow along with their adoption story. I couldn't resist the opportunity to tell a story with pictures, and we had an adoption session in Wichita. Here are my 2 favorite pictures from the shoot:

"All you need is love.... and a TON of patience!"

Kinley knew right where baby brother was!

Our timing was perfect- the CD of pictures got to their house just days before they got the phone call telling them they could go get their son. As I type, they're in South Korea with their arms full of sweet baby Griffin! If you'd like to see the handsome little guy, check out their family blog and leave them a note of congrats! I'm hoping that they'll be willing to travel back to Wichita this fall for pictures of their family of four! :)

That's about all I have for now... I'm HOPING my next post will be pictures of our completely FINISHED home project....

A GIVEAWAY!!

Is this a SillyHille first? A giveaway?? It might just be...!

But I am inspired and excited, and I hope you'll participate.

What are the goods? It's the third CD from Mr. Leebot- Madigan's favorite musician! She's been a fan since she first viewed his music video for "Twirl" (click on the link to see it). If you don't find yourself singing it for the rest of the day you're a stronger person than I am!

Leebot's music is hip, funky and fun! It's perfect to rock out in your living room to, or crank up the volume and jam in the minivan... um, not that I've done either. *cough* Ok, maybe a few times.

So besides the fact that the tunes are addictive, what else might motivate a mama to become Leebot Groupie? Just the fact that proceeds from the sales of the CD's will help Mr. & Mrs. Leebot bring their baby-bots home from Ethiopia, as well as provide much needed goods for the orphans waiting for their forever homes.

It's fun music for a fantastic cause. Life does not get more perfect than that!

So if you have kids, know kids, or are a kid at heart, this CD is perfect for you!

Each of the following will enter you once:

1- leave a comment on this post. Any old comment.

2- mention this giveaway in your facebook status, and link to Leebot's page. Come back and leave a comment letting me know you did it!!

3-Become a fan of Mr. Leebot on facebook. Stop back and let me know you "liked" him.

I'm leaving the contest open until I feel like closing it. Because I'm totally random and non-deadline driven like that.

Enter to win!!!

Edit: First- the proceeds of the sales will go to provide goods for the orphans in Ethiopia. The artist and his wife are funding the adoption personally/privately.

Second- This CD was purchased by me and will be given to YOU! I was not (a) given the CD or (b) asked to promote it in any way. Yes- yours truly is over the moon for Leebot purely on her own! I believe in the totality of what "Leebot Enterprises" (<--I might have just made that up?) is doing personally and professionally, and want to support it 110%.

Thanks!

Full Race Report

Ok, so as seems typical for runners who blog, I felt the need to write a race report from today's half marathon.

I got there with enough time to warm up and stretch, and meet up with my sister-in-law's sister-in-law Jess (follow that?). She has run some big races, including a full marathon, so it was good to chat with her and keep my nerves in check.

We lined up at the back of the pack and had a cow-bell start (yes- for real!). It didn't take long for the pack to thin out a bit and everyone seemed to fall into their pace very easily. There was a slight head wind running out of town. I hung with Jess for about a half-mile but her pace is a bit quicker and I didn't want to hold her back. I had done all my training alone, so another long run by myself didn't bother me at all.

The course went south of town on a highway, about 2 miles before turning east and winding up a hill and into park and camp area. The park was beautiful and it gave me something to look around at as the sun rose. We ran over a couple of wooden bridges, and one of the water stops was a group of boy scouts who had camped out the night before and stood on the road handing out water and powerade. As we ran out of the park we ran further down the highway and took a couple miles back west and south before hitting the turn around point. The man with the "unofficial" split told me I was at 1:08 at the split, which was well ahead of my goal pace. About a mile back towards town, I passed a guy with a broken clavicle and his arm in an immobilizer! I thought, "if he can do this, so can I!" and we exchanged encouragement as I passed. I turned back into the park and had to do a "system check" as I was starting to feel the fatigue. Head, chest, belly and legs are all FINE, so I kept on running. I attempted a bite of banana but quickly ditched it. Just inside the entrance of the park I hit the 10K turn around point- and someone next to me pointed out "all we have left is a 5k! We can run a 5k!" and that did help a bit. There is a small hill-climb out of the park, then it was back down the hill and onto the main highway for the 2 mile straight stretch into town.

This was the point that the mental hurdles came popping up for me. I realized that every step I took was effectively the farthest I've ever run. I could see down the 2 mile highway stretch and knew that it was a long road back to the finish. I thought about the following things while I ran that first mile back to town: I repeated a few bible verses in my head that help lift my spirits. I thought about TWO friends I have adopting internationally, both of whom are matched with their children, and waiting to travel to bring them HOME forever. I also thought about my sister in law, who is due any day with my nephew. (Why was I thinking about babies? I have no idea! Anything to distract me I guess!) I hit the one mile mark, and I have to be honest: that was the longest mile of my life! I was hoping to have caught a "second wind" by that point, but no luck! I could see that the finish was down the stretch, but it felt really far away. I wanted to stop and walk and immediately talked myself out of it- who runs a half marathon and walks in the last mile?! :) As I hit the city limits, my arms and legs went numb. (I'm not convinced it was a 'good numb' either?!) but it definitely made the last half mile bearable. I kept my eyes on the finish, and as I got to the chute, I saw two of my high school classmates cheering for me (they had run the 10K that day). I also saw Jess rooting me on. I crossed the finish, had my timing chip removed, took a bottle of water and my finisher's medal from the volunteers, and then went straight to the porta-potties! Ha!!

As I came out, I chatted w/ a friend then went looking for Brett- he and my aunt brought Madigan over, and they were walking into the finish area when I spotted them: They had missed the whole thing!!!

My official race time was 2:16.35! Well below my goal of 2:30! I was super excited about that! We stood around and cheered the half-marathoners back in, and saw the winner of the full marathon come through about 2:40 or so! SHEESH! We ate at the pancake feed, then headed home! I will be sure to post pics later! Thanks for all the support!!

It's Time...

(photo credit)

Race day is upon me.

What were nerves and anxiety early in the week have given way to anticipation and excitement now. I'm ready to run. In the spirit of full disclosure, I did not do my entire training- after my bout with tendonitis (which still seems to flare up after runs) I did not do my other two long runs as called for. To date, my longest run completed is 10 miles. Saturday, I'll have a total of 13.1 miles ahead of me. But I have trained- and my training will help me to cross the finish line.

Running isn't a competition for me, at not least in the traditional "me against them" mentality. It's more me against the voice in my head telling me I am too weak to continue.

My GOAL is to finish.

My ideal goal is to run the entire distance, without walking.

My dream would be to finish in 2:30.

I'll have a full race report- good or bad- after the weekend.

Right now, I'm going to bed, I'm packing my bags and I'm preparing for one of the biggest events I've ever participated in.

~Sarah

IHF: Slice of Life...

"Slice of Life" is the theme this week at i heart faces.

To check out more beautiful entries, click on over to their website.

Sun Flare

Another week at i heart faces and I just can't help myself!

The theme is "sun flare" and it's one of my favorite fun photography elements to work with.

I have done several sessions with sun flare, but one of my favorite pictures to date is a candid shot of my husband with my daughter. We were out for an evening walk on a fall day, and she got tired of walking. I was playing with my camera and looked back to see that he had scooped her up and they were cuddling. Sometimes the pictures we love the most are not always photographically perfect, but they hold a piece of emotion that we won't soon part with.

Check out all the awesome entries this week at i heart faces!