Parker got two make-up kits for her birthday in November and I totally cringed as she opened them. Somehow I had managed to avoid any and all kid make-up for the seven years I’ve had girls. I am ALL about my kids making messes but I just had this fear of make-up being spread all over the place. The couch, their clothes, just staining things I couldn’t afford to replace. I have no idea why, but make-up scared me more than paint, glitter and glue all rolled together!

But Parker and Bailey were SO excited about those kits so we let her keep them.

The day after her party (yes, I am blogging photos from Nov 2012… just wait, Halloween will eventually hit the blog!), early in the morning I came out to find this…

and it made me so flipping happy I can’t even describe it to you! I have no idea why, but seeing Bailey SO into this just made me smile. These are the shots I wish I could take everyday of my kids just being kids but unfortunately school, work, chores, and so much else gets in the way each day.

These shots are grainy. And she’s in her jammies. With messy hair. And I ADORE them!

In case you’re wondering (I just had a Fresh Camera Class so thinking about those just starting to shoot manually…), my settings were 1/400 s (shutter speed), f/2.0 (aperture or f-stop) and ISO 2500 shot with the 30mm 1.4 lens. They were sitting in front of the front door which was open (the screen/glass door was closed b/c it was cold but light was coming in) and I was sitting between them and the door so the light was hitting them.

Parker thought Bailey looked like a clown and was NOT as big a fan of her gift (at that moment… she used it a ton later!) as Bails was. Thank goodness my kids share!

It’s little moments like these, that result in fun/natural play with my kids while also giving me fun/natural photos to keep for a lifetime, that make me want to pick up my camera more often.

If only the sun would come out again! I’m getting tired of these super gray days around here!

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If you are the praying type… I’m going to look at a studio space today and while the financial investment scares me and the business leap scares me too… ultimately I want to go where I feel the Lord is leading me and I would love your prayer for guidance. And a clear decision. I’m really really excited about this possible space for Fresh Art to grow but I want to make sure that’s not blinding me. Thank goodness I have people like Kim and Tricia in my life who can speak to the truth of the situation and be great leaders for this business. I’m not sure what I would do without them!

Happy Thursday!