Living With a Purpose Everyday!

Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one’s youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate. Psalms 127:3-5

God has been too good to me, by giving me such a wonderful family. Look at my adorable children! Just looking at this picture makes me smile and thank God. I took this picture this morning before we went to church. Sienna really wanted to hold Eli. Soon he will be too big for her to hold. He's growing so fast!

I praise God for two healthy children and thank Him everyday for giving me the opportunity to raise them. I count them as my most precious blessings and hope to honor God in the way i raise them. Praise God from whom all blessing flow! I could never thank Him enough for the honor He has given me in being Sienna and Eli's mother.

Today i got to take some sweet photo's of my new nephew Jacob. I love being able to give my sister the gift of capturing these moments. Children grow up so fast and soon it will be hard to get him to sit still and take pictures. So these times are precious. As always my favorites are in black and white, i think it creates a timeless feel.

I loved taking these pictures! Thank you Cristal and Jeff for letting me share your beautiful son with with world.

Today i got to visit Cristal at the hospital and see my new little nephew again. And take more pictures of him.  Cristal looked amazing, you would have never known that she had a baby. It was great to see her up and doing so well. When she had her first son Josh she needed a C-section and had a harder recovery. This time is so different and I am so happy for her to not have to go through that again.

I loved getting to spend the afternoon with Cristal in her baby bless. Can't wait for Jacob and Eli to grow up together!

Last night around six o'clock i got a call from my sister Cristal that her water broke. I had the honor of being with her and her husband while she was in labor. We got to the hospital around ten o'clock and Jacob Robert Rice was born at 11:36pm! Only an hour and a half after we got to the hospital. GOD IS GOOD! Cristal was amazing and Jacob is beautiful. Jacob was born on February 22, 2010, he was 7 pounds 10 ounces and was 20 in a half inches long. It was amazing to be there for my sister, to encourage and to pray for. I was also in charge of taking pictures and video taping. Don't worry I will not be post the video. hehe :)

I loved getting to be there to capture such an amazing memory. I love being an Aunt. And I love my brand new nephew Jacob!

Tonight I got to celebrate my sister Cristal's 30th Birthday. Family and friends met up to have dinner and celebrate a wonderful women. Cristal and I are blessed to be more then sisters but friends and I loved getting to be with her one this special night. Coincidentally, today is also her due date. He son Jacob is due any moment and we are laughing and eating. hehe :) However Cristal wanted to be able to celebrate her birthday before he came, and she got her wish.

I missed Daniel tonight, he wasn't able to go because he has a guys night with our youth group boys. He is an amazing man, really wanting to make a difference in teen lives. I love him.

Although i was flying solo I had a great time and wouldn't have missed it for the world. Love you Cristal hope you had a wonderful night!

Tonight i got together with a few of my old friends. These girls used to be in my youth group and now they are women, working, going to school and living their lives. It was a blessing to spend an evening with Elyse, Jessica and Aimee. Aimee made the trip out from Vegas to celebrate Elyse's birthday and to see family. I have gotten to spend time with both Elyse and Jessica, because they live and go to school near by. But i LOVED getting to see Aimee, i hadn't seen her since she moved to Nevada in August. I think it is safe to say that i was closest to these three girls over my five years working in the CLCC youth ministry. They are each very special to me and I cherish that we are now friends. No longer teens and youth leader, but friends. It was a lovely evening talking about their lives and laughing about all the good time we have had.

Working in Youth Ministries is such a blessing, you get to be a part of peoples lives forever. You can make a difference and be there for people. Although they are grown up and no longer in my youth group, they still want me to be a part of their lives. Now that's special. I guess i must have done something right. Thank you Jessica, Elyse and Aimee for letting me be a part of this evening. It truly meant a lot to me.

I haven't done any baby photo shoots. And i would really like to do some. I have taken pictures of baby's but it's always in a family shoot. So i decided to take some baby portraits to add to my portfolio. So this afternoon i took my beautiful son outside to take some fun photo's of him. The day was stunning 75 degrees and sunny. How awesome is that in the middle of February? The lighting was lovely and Eli was in a great mood.

 After about an hour of shooting these are the photo's that I liked best. I also have been playing around with different editing techniques. So let me know what you think.

I love hiking! I've been hiking ever since i was a kid and I was even out hiking when i was eight months pregnant. I haven't been hiking though since Eli was born. But today a beautiful February day was just right for a family hike. Daniel and I packed up the kiddo's and drove out toward Malibu to go hiking. We ended up on the Backbone Trail headed to a beautiful water fall in Newton Canyon. I carried Eli in a BABYBJÖRN and Sienna hiked along side her daddy like a big girl. I was surprised out how fast we could go and how easy it was to all be out together.

The first two thirds of the trail were easy enough for Sienna to walk and for me to carry Eli. However the last third was much more then we bargained for. Having to climb down a steep hill side, then through trees and rocks, and then we had to found our way up stream to the falls. However the hard part was worth the lovely water fall that we got to see. I love the sound of water and this water fall was a good thirty feet high and was rushing with all the rain we had received over the past few weeks. I could have sat there and took pictures all day. But the sun was setting and it started to get cool so we headed back through the brush to the trail.
After our time at the falls Daniel, Sienna and I all took out our cameras and took pictures of the beautiful landscape around us as we hiked back. It was so wonderful to all enjoy two hobbies together, hiking and photography. Once we got home, Daniel put all our photo's together on the computer and we got to look at them. It was so neat to see the different things we photographed and how the same trail could look so different through the eyes of a three year old, a photographer, and novice. If you would like to see Sienna's and Daniel's photo's check out their blogs www,siennamilner.com and www.danielmilner.com.

It was a wonderful day. I had been in major need to get out of the house and be in the fresh air. It was a blessing to be outside with both my children and my hubby, getting to enjoy nature in all it's beauty.