I love it when I am getting ready in the bathroom and see those chocolate eyes peering at me over the tub.?? So in love with her.
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Tori loves jewelry and (like a girl) always notices when I wear something new.? For Jamie’s wedding, I put on my blue sapphire with diamonds that Grammy gave me years ago.? Tori and I have discussed rings and their meanings because she has been really intrigued about marriage in light of being a flower girl.? Every time she sees me get dressed up she says “Are you married now?”.??? A couple of weeks ago she was on my lap and she grabbed my wedding finger and said:
Tori:? Does this say “I love Daddy”?
Me:? Yes.? My ring says I love your daddy.
Tori: (Grabs Jim’s wedding finger) Does this say “I love Mommy?”
Jim:? (Smiles at her) Yes.
Tori:? (Grabs the sapphire).? Does this say “I love Poppy”?
Melted my heart.? I had told her sometime before when she inquired about the ring that Poppy bought the ring from Grammy and that Grammy later gave the ring to me.? The little connection she drew was precious.? I haven’t taken the sapphire off yet and I don’t think I will because now every time I look at it on my finger all I can hear is my baby asking me if it means I love my Poppy (and Grammy).
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I did post that Ty lost a fourth upper tooth didn’t I?? For real.? Four top teeth missing at once.? Remember that whole post that I wrote about being jealous of Stacey Weiss in the first grade because two of her top teeth were missing at the same time and I thought it so cute?? Well Ty has taken that to a whole other level of cuteness!? One of his adult teeth is now growing in so it looks like a 3 tooth gap now but at one time there really was a four tooth gap.? Crazy.?? Speaking of teeth…
I love it when the boys ask me if they can just have a breath mint instead of brushing their teeth.? HA!? As if…
Tori found a penny this week and asked me if she could keep it.? Then she told me she was going to buy a tooth with it.? :)?? What a little entrepreneur we have.?? Noticing the transactions taking place between the Tooth Fairy and her brother, she was inspired to get in on the action.? She realizes a hot commodity when she sees one.? So young to recognize the laws of supply and demand and get a leg up on it.? We are so proud.? 😉
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She is so glad that my restrictions are being lifted post surgery.? She insists on sitting on my tummy now and not my lap because she (apparently) wants evidence that I am not going to deny her because of my “owies”.? She was really good about it though and would often get after me if I picked her up.? “You can’t supposed to carry me mommy!? Are your owies off?”.?? The day I told her I could now carry her she told Jim at dinner “She’s fine”.?? LOL
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This weekend Jim and I went on a date (finally).? We haven’t been out alone since last July!? Ahhhhhh…it was so nice.? We waited 2 hours for dinner at Texas Roadhouse but I didn’t mind the alone time with Jim chatting the night away.??? Jim gave me a list of movies he thought I would like and True Grit was at the top of his list so we went and saw it.? I absolutely adored it.? Everything about it.? I fell in love with Hailee Steinfield right out of the gate.? She was incredible.? I love movies with great dialogue and this one kept me giggling through the entire thing.? The two hours went by so fast and I was sad it was over.? As a southwestern girl, western movies are usually a hit with me but this one hit it out of the park.???? While I was watching Hailee, I giggled comparing her to Tori wondering if Tori was going to have a streak of Mattie Ross in her. For example, yesterday I was giving her a bath and Ty came into the bathroom bemoaning the fact that he couldn’t find his AIT shirt anywhere and that it was going to take him FOREVER to find it (very popular Ty line – “Mom it’s going to take me FOREVER”).? Tori finally got exasperated with the whole conversation.? She hiked out of the bath dripping wet, walked out of the bathroom naked as a jay bird and said to Ty over her should “I am going to go find your AIT shirt Ty”.?? LOL.?? She is my “just let me handle this” girl for sure.?? I am going to be sitting back in admiration of her FOREVER aren’t I?? 🙂
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I was reading a blog article on a photography site this week that mentioned 10 things photographers do to derail their business.? One of the items on the list was mixing personal blogs with business.? The author was very opposed (and annoyed) by that.? Hmmmm…..
I have spent some time thinking about it and I get the authors perspective but I still don’t feel so inclined to separate into business and personal blogs.??? In the first place, I started this blog WAY before blogging was cool.? This website has been up (www.jimanddoni.com) for a decade.? Adding photography to it was an after thought and something that developed over time.??? Because of this, I wouldn’t ever let my business take over this blog.? I could separate my business onto a different blog.??? In considering my market though, I realize that because I am doing nothing to market my business (I need to keep it small while raising my babies), my only marketing is word of mouth which means almost all of my clients are friends of friends.? As time goes on, that is extending to friends of clients but as I have great clients – they quickly become friends and we are back to friends of friends.??? That being the case, is it really any big deal that this blog is still primarily a personal one with business on the side???? Thinking on it…
4 responses to “Rings”
There are no hard & fast rules, so no, I don’t think it’s any big deal. What you are doing is working, CLEARLY!!! Part of the reason people fall in love with you & your photography is because they feel a sense of connection. I wouldn’t change a thing:)
I agree with Aimee! I love when I see your “babies” in person because I feel as if I know them just from reading your blog. And it is just bonus land to see your beautiful work and other beautiful families. I like it just the way it is 🙂
i like it the way it is too. if you had 2 blogs i would CERTAINLY be checking both. but why bother? for myself, business will be separate, but thats because family blog has gone private… not sure if i would still separate it or not… for me, probably would because i have far less to blog about on the business side. YOU, on the other hand, don’t leave those interested in photos hungry for too long. even your personal posts include GORGEOUS pictures of your family. SO, by sharing your personal world, you are giving living examples of some of your journalistic stylings. if people aren’t interested in the personal stories, they won’t read them, they’ll be scanning through the pictures anyway. no harm done. and as your business FOCUSES on families, i think the real life stuff you include does connect with most people who check in here, even if for business reasons. i think you are the exception to SO many rules. i love you, i love the way you do things, i love what inspires you in every way – and i learn about you when i SEE your inspiration AND when i read about it.
the ring convo – oh my sweetness sweetness sweetness. (and the i love poppy? good gravy does that girl hit the mark or what? – sidenote – you said poppy bought it FROM grammy – i assume you meant FOR) tori is going to amaze us all for life. i’m one of her biggest fans. i can’t wait to see who EACH of your children will become. because i don’t have a daughter, she’ll get a little extra girl attention from this auntie though. 😉 and besides, we seem to be gaining more in common by the day! we both ADORE you 🙂 she loves puppies AND guitars and singing and even making jewelry with me! well, i think we’re on a roll! she might just be my apprentice one day. 😉 (wouldn’t THAT be super cool? hey, an auntie can dream!)
i’m anticipating what it will be to see tanner next time – his new and more mature self. he is going to grow into a man we respect and admire – i just know it… like his daddy. tanner is a deep well and i imagine that when he speaks, we’ll all sit up and listen carefully as his words will have been thought out and important to hear.
ty – now that boy and his teeth… what are we gonna do with him! 🙂 he will be as beautiful a man as he is a child. those eyes will always melt our hearts and his happy ways will challenge us to see the world through thankful eyes, as he does. he is endeared to me forever too. i can hear him right now “aunt heidi…” i love the way he says it. 🙂
i just love all of your kids. i’m hooked… and it won’t matter what child comes to you next, they will wrap me up down to the heart in an instant… and we will ALL celebrate a new level of beauty that grows in the brinkman home. ooo sister! what if you’re “pregnant” right now? 🙂 🙂 🙂 yipppeeee!!!!
Oh tears!!! So many TEARS!!!! The connections little ones make are amazing. If I were you….I would probably still be wearing the ring too! So tender and precious. My heart sank and rose at the same time when I read this section.
Love you!