Introducing my family!

I'm blessed to have six "children". They are mostly grown-up now, but I thought I would introduce them all anyway. The two boys are gone and making their own way now. I'm happy to still have my four girls at home with me. This photograph is the most recent "family" photograph; it was taken shortly after my husband died and I wanted a family photograph of just the children that year. It's dated about five years ago.

This photo happened in a funny way.... The kids were all home for once, so I said, "Well, we should take a family photograph!" Moans and groans issued from the couch in the living room where everyone was laying around. You have to understand what it is like to be raised by a mother who is a photographer.... Someone said, "Aw, Mom! Why don't you just take it here on the couch!" So I said, "Okay boys - pick the couch up and take it in the front yard!" Everybody got into it then and we had a blast. If you'll notice, Tomas' t-shirt says, "You say redneck like it is a bad thing!"

This was the last image I took with my professional old-timey film camera (a Mamiya 67). It had developed a light leak, which I didn't know until these images were processed. Alyssa is a whiz at photoshop and she managed to save the portrait, but it really took some doing. So you could say this portrait propelled me into the digital world of photography because for what it would have cost to fix my old camera, I bought a digital Nikon.

My Sons - Tomas

Tomas is married and separated and has a little boy, Alex. He just got out of the Marine Corps after serving a tour through Iraq. Currently he is attending a university in pursuit of his aeronautical engineering degree. He doesn't get home much, but he was able to make it home for Sara's Civil War Ball last December. He learned the dances in one day! We were blessed to have him home.

My Sons - Aron

Aron is now 19 and is currently in Iraq. He is a paratrooper with the Army Airborne Infantry. He should be back from Iraq in December, and will then have 2 more years to serve in the military. Afterwards, his current thinking is that he will get a metallurgical engineering degree from the University of Texas in Austin. That is where his father got both of his engineering degrees. He would be close to aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, and grandparents. This is not a real current photograph (he was 17), but when he showed up for his mid-tour leave he had a badly executed Mohawk which I didn't feel like photographing....

My Girls - Alyssa

I can't talk about my oldest daughter, Alyssa, unless I talk about her "boyfriends", her horses, as she calls them. She's had a horse since she was 12 and she's now 21. The gelding in these photos is "Dallas", one of three that she currently owns. She trains horses for other people as well using the John Lyons' method of training. She would like to gain enough clientele that she can train horses as a career, and so she's working to that end. Alyssa has also become proficient in the method of "barefoot trimming" so that her horses don't require horseshoes, which is an interesting concept.

My Girls - more of Alyssa

Alyssa is also a gifted seamstress, although she wouldn't admit it. She made both her civil war ball gown and the black blouse she wore in the horse photos. Incidently, Ana made the necklace Alyssa wore with the black blouse. The ball gown was amazing! It had a 600 inch circumference at the hem! Later Alyssa said it made a pretty picture, but it wasn't a very good dress for dancing!

My Girls - Sara

Sara is my second oldest daughter (17). Her passion is history and in particular historical clothing. She watches movies to check out the dresses. She's also a very gifted seamstress. Here she is in a few of her historical dresses. The pink is a pioneer dress; the blue is an "imaginative" regency era. She usually sweeps the county fair sewing division.

My Girls - more of Sara

Sara hosted a Civil War era ball December 2008. This is the silk ball gown that she designed and made for that wonderful event. She also made both Ana & Noemi's gowns.

My Girls - Ana

Ana is my lovely 14 year-old. She's a bit of a free spirit and often has her head in the clouds. She loves to sing and dance (all the girls love historic dancing), and she enjoys making jewelry. She's blossomed into a bit of a 'neat-nik' and keeps our great room as well as her room very orderly and pleasant.

My Girls - Noemi

Noemi, now 12, is the baby of the family. She's an animal lover and is saving her money for a horse. She's a bit of a tomboy, but she 'cleans up' nicely and has a winning smile that gets her plenty of dance partners at the balls the girls frequent. She has eleven sheep and next spring we could have 16 lambs, YHVH willing.