WOW!

These are just a few of my favorites from our wedding in Seattle this weekend. I don't think our bride could have gotten any more beautiful! More to come....

Headed to Seattle!!

I am finding it extremely hard to get excited about leaving my children for 5 days.....

We skipped church, yes I said skipped church to finish up packing and cleaning. ( It really bothers me to leave my home for a few days with hair on the bathroom floor, trash in the trashcan, Cheerios in the high chair and dishes in the dishwasher.) After all that I layed down with Cameron to scratch his back like normal and I found myself clinging to him for dear life with tears falling on his pillow. I whispered "I sure am going to miss you" and he busted into tears.
I can't help it, I AM EMOTIONAL in every sense of the word some times! I did not let him see my tears but as I layed there thought, this could be the last time I watch him fall asleep, this could be the last time I touch him. Then I immediately began praying that if these were the "lasts" I would have with him that Lord you would have to make sure he brushes his teeth everyday and Lord you will have to protect him and Lord you this and Lord you that. What in the world is wrong with me?? I know I am perfectly normal but I've got to get over this!!!
Roger and I are fixing to have an amazing trip. I'm being silly.....but very honest.

While we are eating at the top of the Space Needle, visiting Japanese Gardens, watching raw fish being tossed thru the air at the open market and taking some amazing pictures my children will be just fine and the Lord will watch over and protect all that needs protecting......right? Right!!

Now, I feel much better!

Night, night :)

Kim

We won our first game!

Well we won our first football game!!! And my number 55 did an AMAZING job!! He tackled his little heart out!!!

May I please give a shout out to the grandparents who saved my life tonight?!?!? I would have gone CRAZY without your help!!!

Must I say how nice it was to go to a game and start if off with prayer, not having smoke in the air, cussing all around and people being not so nice towards the coaches. It was very.....pleasant :) Just another blessing from the Lord thru our new church!

Malachi waited in intense anticipation for the moment he could run to his bru-der and daddy...so sweet!

Night, night!!

Kim

This Afternoon

We went over to my grandparents on the way to pick up Cameron from his daddy in Tifton. They live in Sycamore on a huge farm. I love farms....did I mention I love farms? I LOVE farms!
This is the same bucket I took a picture of Malachi in when he was a little older than Elim. I can really see a difference in them in this picture.

He was confused :)
Love candids! He just had to be like his little brother and squeeze his big ole' booty down in that bucket!

Night, night

Kim

Have I mentioned lately....

How madly in love I am with these children I have been entrusted with???? Well, I am.

How much I am in love with our new church home?? Well, I am....my cup runeth over with tears of joy so I cannot express.....
For the first time in my life I enjoyed doing "wee care" "children's church "nursery" whatever you want to call it. When we took those little boys and girls to worship and saw their little faces and hands so intently praising and focused on the Lord it gave me chill bumps.

Then we went into our Sunday school class and had the best, most meaning conversations with these new friends of ours that love my husband. Can I saw how that makes my heart smile?? Well, it does. (Not that he's hard to love) He is just experiencing "church" for the first time in his life. All of the relationships, all of the Bible studies, all of the christian sports activites with men of the Lord that can lift him up and encouraging him in the word. Oh it makes my heart so proud of my husband just as it does when I pick up my precious little hearts from wee care and see them laughing and bouncing all over the place.
Am I typing ok thru these tears of joy???????

Then tonight as I closed my eyes and felt the same vibration in my finger tips that I felt when I used to played my trumpet, tears streamed down my face and my soul longed to play again. I had flash backs of high school and college. I felt those little momments of their stomach's doing flips before the first notes were played and aggony of tiring lips during and after that hour long performance.....I feel like I'm not using my talent. Is it possible right now? With all of these children longing for every spare moment with me and making sure they each get equal time, is it possible to have something only for me?...I guess we will see. After all, I do make the time to sit and edit pictures for hours on end after they are fast away in sleepy town.


On a side note: my almost two year old went to bed with great ease after going to the good ole' McDonalds after church tonight and then having a nice warm bubble bath. No screaming, no crying...I have a feeling a wonderful friend was praying for me and if not I know I was on her mind....so thank you... :)

Well, that's it. I will take a moment to sit and mourn for the ones that soon will loose everything they own and as I sit and type this wish I could run off over there and help do something, there I go with always wanting to "fix." My momma and step-dad read over letters tonight from the past few years they have recieved from a family they helped after "Katrina." Momma too has cried her heart out for those, once again.

Being thankful for all that I have,

Kimberly Ann Russell

Huntsville

We had our first Catholic wedding to shoot last weekend in Huntsville, AL and these were some of my favorite pictures our "assistant", aka "meemee"/ "momma" took of us on the way out of town. They were in front of a kids museam. These are true to color, no special edits. The third picture is my favorite....

I've been inspired to BOLG!!!!!!!!!!!

Ok, as you can see my oldest is going to play football.....tackle football. This is the one that's supposed to be arty-fartsy like momma and play an instrument or paint or take pictures. Malachi is supposed to play football and Elim is supposed to be the bookworm. There, I've planned their path's........in my heavenly mother dreams!

Cameron is soooo excited. He had to put on all of his garb for me when I got home from choir. Yes, choir!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We are now a part of something wonderful, a new church! Sherwood and I have joined the chior! I got to make some new friends and got to know old ones, 40 to be exact, 40 years old not 40 old friends. Ok, that just ruined the joke......

Anyhoo, we are excited to be a small part of a great work that our Father is right in the midst of doing in our church! Cameron will be playing Upward football so our weekly routine will be changed, yet again! Practice and games, practice and games......




And just in case you are wondering why the fence and backyard look the way they do it's because a tree fell in our backyard when the storms came thru. One of the few times I have been thankful to still live in a duplex and to not have had that exspense!



"Good night sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite"

Kim

My baby

Well my baby boy started second grade......
I realize that this will probably be the last year he allows me to take pictures of him, much less walk him into school!
And so begins the colorful year of red, yellow & green :)

Split ends...

So this is the first official blog of the No Dresses or Hair Bows Around here crew!

Tonight I have learned that sometimes it's better to just pray for someone instead of speaking. That sometimes the seed doesn't fall on fertile ground and it has to be cultivated by the ultimate Farmer first.
Praying for rain....and cultivation.

The split-ends momma,
Kimberly Ann