Not being one who likes change and longing to be needed by my ‘babies’, another year gone by almost always felt more like a loss than an opportunity. This year feels different. Exciting, if I might be so bold. 
I’ve tried to pinpoint this change of heart, but just can’t nail it down. Maybe it’s that I’ve finally accepted my babies are growing more independent by the day as a good thing. Maybe it’s because I’ve been able to find more comfort in memories of my mom instead of feeling such loss when I think of her, all these years later. Maybe it’s because I’ve come to appreciate all the changes I’ve not only handled fairly well, but grown from tremendously. Whatever the reason or reasons, it seems 2012 is going to be an amazing year.
Lillybelle Rose is growing steadily and running smoothly. Lillybelle Rose Boudoir is taking off at a rate that makes me giddy! Our girls are thriving in school, their social lives, and all of their many talents. Our oldest will be getting her driver’s permit (gulp) soon, and I’m actually excited for her. She’ll celebrate her sweet 16th this year, too. Our monkey in the middle has “found her voice” and is singing in public with more confidence than we’ve seen from her in her 13 years of life. It’s THRILLING to see! She will be graduating 8th grade and becoming (oy veh…), a high-schooler! Our littlest lady is more in love with dance than before, and watching her develop as a dancer warms our hearts. She will become a middle-schooler this year, and is quiet excited about it! My husband’s company (Roberts & Ryan) is pulling out of this never-ending recession and his mom is fighting her cancer like a champ. Yes, 2012 is going to be a great year.
It seems like months since I’ve updated the blog! lol… We celebrated the holidays with Rob’s family out of the country. Internet service on a cruise ship is (understandably) so slow it took one guest 10 minutes to send a short text-only email, so we spent the week disconnected from our technology. It was wonderful to watch all the eye contact happening during the week as people usually bent over their devices smiled at one another in the fresh ocean air. We are definitely going to be setting more limits on phone usage around here! For the trip, my husband encouraged me to leave my pro equipment behind and enjoy a vacation as a “mom with a camera”. I left my 6 lb set-up behind and spent seven days one-handed shooting with our Sony Nex-C3. This little peanut allows you to shoot in RAW format and Manual Mode! It’s full of limitations compared to my D3s, but it was a delight to pop it in my little purse as we toured the Mexican Riviera! hehehe!
January will continue to be *too* quiet as I finally take care of some minor surgeries that will help make 2012 amazing. You just might see me rockin’ some cute shoes, or at least being able to wear socks, this year! Instead of new sneak peeks, I’ll be keeping the blog alive by sharing some favorites as well as family vacation images. Hope you stick around through this slow month for the fun ahead!
Happy New Year to you all! And thank you for continuing to share Lillybelle Rose Photography!
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