House Update II

We received the CD of images with the 2nd phase of the house yesterday.  I could write something insightful or descriptive about the house process but pictures are more fun!

Exterior as seen in the evening sun.  Gives it a bit more of a red look.  The garage door will be painted a dark brown and the front door will be a shade darker then that with 5 horizontal window inserts

Back of the house in the living room looking toward the front

View of the Kitchen

Aww sweet counter space.  The pictures show the cabinets being darker , almost black but the right side is a more accurate representation

Lake view from the master

My vanity next to the tub.  Beau's is on the opposite side of tub.

Closet facing in (Beau's side), Lower Left my shelf for purses and what not (Closet rod on left), Lower Right The other side of my closet space with a shelf for shoes

               

Looking below from the rec room.  I can almost hear Jude yelling "Mom, when's dinner!"

Rec Room at top of the stairs (with my beautiful niece already playing in it!)

View from the Rec Room to the rest of the upstairs.  To the front left is a hallway (not shown) that leads to Jude's bathroom and bedroom.  In the back hallway  is an extra bedroom, then guest bath, and the guest bedroom.  

Jude's Room

Potential Nursery

Guest Bath

Guest Room

                   

View of the back of the house with a more neutral lighting

Sigh...Just a few more months and we can officially call it home.  Again, thank you Debra and Randy for all of your help.

Una Familia Bella

The other day I had the absolute pleasure of spending time with my neighbors, The Rodriquez Family.  Gama, Marisel, and little Ema will be moving from our little community in Wiesbaden to South Carolina in the coming weeks. I was lucky that I was able to take their photos before they left as Mother Nature has been a bit unpredictable these past couple of months.  We had to reschedule once and had a pending appointment on Saturday.  When we learned the weather was going to be "picture perfect" on Thursday, we jumped at the chance.  And I am so glad we did. 

The temperatures reached to the mid 80's, the sky was filled with soft, filtering clouds, and the light was perfection.   Ema, a 6 month old little beauty, was dazzling in her ivory lace romper, turqouis flower headband, and adorned in a simple strand of pearls; I swooned when I saw her.  Marisel and Gama looked as if they stepped out of a  magazine, and moved with the camera like this was an every day occurance.

The biggest challenge I'm facing as a budding photographer is giving my clients direction.  I'm a visual person so telling someone how to move is a bit tricky for me.  I probably invade their personal space a bit too much as I actaully try to position them.  With this family, however, it was as if they were reading my mind.  I would begin to ask "Could you..hmm..put your hand, um...wait" and without me having to complete a thought, a flick of her hair or a turn of his shoulders, they did exactly what I envisioned (if only my husband can learn their trick). 

Their family is full of warmth, love and beauty and their session was filled with song, laughter, and dance.  The slightest whimper from Ema would result in both Mom and Dad attentively swooping to her rescue.  It is apparent when first laying eyes on this family how well they support one another.  As Puerto Ricans living in Germany, surrounded by Americans, it would be expected to feel lost in translation.  In this little family, however, it is as if they are in their own precious little world where everything makes perfect sense.

Gama, Marisel, and Ema, it was a joy to be your neighbor.  Les deseo muchas bendiciones y mucha en su proxima adventura.  

The Moran Family

I met Melissa days after moving to Germany.  We were both traveling on the military base bus trying to navigate this foreign environment we were to call home.  I was eight months pregnant with my first and she was an experienced mother of two.  As strangers, we helped guide each other through this strange territory with the little information we had.  This chance encounter would be foreshadowing our soon to be friendship.


I've mentioned before how good friends are hard to come by.  Melissa and her family are one in a milion.  During my first anxiety filled months (er... 2 years and counting) as a mother, Melissa was a calming voice full of understanding and encouragment.  I owe it to her and her recommended literature that my little boy was sleeping through the night by 5 months and thus making my life a bit easier.  For her, I was able to be a sounding board as she learned to adapt to a dreary and sometimes isolated climate.


It took time, and a helpful nudge from Melissa, but our friendship soon expanded outside of the safe confounds of our apartments and we began to enjoy life in Germany.  Coffee/play dates turned to outings with our families, PWOC sessions, photography classes, holiday gatherings, date nights with our husbands, girls nights, and a reliable babysitter for our children.  


When I learned my husband was deploying, Melissa was full of experience and advice from when her husband deployed two years before.  My motto of deployment was one she shared with me "You don't have to succeed in deployment, you just have to survive it".


During the deployment Melissa and her family invited me to countless dinners/holidays and even on their family vacation to Croatia.  Her children began taking Jude under their wing and he began to idolize them as brother and sister.  Jason was a father figure to Jude when his father was at war.


When my husband returned, we experienced a little more freedom and were able to go on more girls outings and share family vacations together.  Even better, we were each able to take two child free weekend trips.  See what I mean by one in a million friends.


Our time in Germany is coming to an end but before they left I wanted to add their family to my growing portfolio.  Their family was as easy to photograph as it was to befriend them.  They are beautiful inside and out and I am so blessed to have them in my life.


Thank you Melissa, Jason, McKenna, and Myles for letting us be a part of your family.  I look forward to meeting up in the great state of Texas and getting our families together again soon.