I told you I had more to share...

So, ummm... remember, like, a month ago when I mentioned that I had more pictures from China to share with you all? Well, I think the time has come.

I've been INSANELY busy with school starting back up & all. It's just a whole new dynamic for our family. Fun stuff. Nonetheless, it's kinda taken me away from photography some. As much as I thought I'd hit a plateau with my photography, looking back, I think August was a great photography month for me. I just feel like I've got several shots from the month that I LOVE. That makes me happy.

But, now we're into September, which, in and of itself, is CRAZY busy for our family every year. There are a billion birthdays in September. No. Seriously... a billion! At least it seems that way! Haha! So, we're running around most of the month going to parties, you know? Then, throw school & preschool in the mix... ay yi yi. I've been terrible about everything. I just can't seem to get anything done. My email correspondence is suffering, BIG TIME. Sorry Mom & Craig. (And Chelsea, too! Wednesday will be GREAT, by the way! I'll email you!) My photography & post processing is suffering. My blogging is suffering. Obviously.

Anyway, tonight I was sitting around thinking that I MUST get outside & take some pictures. I was gonna force myself out. But, Curt & I were watching an episode of The Office (an absolute RIOT of a show. Stanley is my FAVE - so cynical, so serious, so blah... LOVE it!) The guys had gone to Benihana for lunch. There they were sitting at a table where the chef just cooks it all up right there. It made me think of China. Annie took us to a fabulous restaurant one of our last evenings there...just before the girls set out for the $2.50 foot & back massages! (Did I tell you about those? Yet another thing I miss.) Anyway, I had taken pictures of the chef, and I realized I hadn't done a THING with them. Well, there are HUNDREDS of pictures from China that I just haven't touched yet. I want to. It's just...the task seems insurmountable. I'm SUCH a procrastinator when it comes to tasks like that. Plus, we've been busy.

Inspired by The Office, (has that show EVER inspired ANYone to get ANY work done? I can't imagine that. Whatever. I digress...) I sat down at my computer to check out the pictures from that restaurant in China. You know... see if there are any gems in there? Well, there weren't really any fantastic pieces of art in those pictures, but there were some fun ones. I just processed two quick, though, before I was sidetracked & pulled away by the wedding couple, Julie & her husband! (More on that later.)

So, here's the two from the restaurant...the restaurant that got me to sit back down at this computer & work on some pictures! Finally!

And, once I opened the China pictures folder... well... there was no looking back. At least for a while. From the restaurant pictures, I moved on to Julie & her husband. We took LOTS of photos that day, in the rain. And, well, I haven't processed many of them AT ALL. They are such a fun, sweet, gracious couple...why haven't I gotten this done before now!?! I had the BEST time photographing them. Anyway, here are a few more from their day. :-)

I wish the big ol' red banner wasn't running right smack behind them. Oh well. What can you do?





There are more, tons more, just waiting to be processed. Slowly but surely, eh?

And, well, remember way back when... I said I would have more pictures to share from the second day in the villages? Yeah... I never shared those. I've had several more finished for a while, I've just not shared them. Well, lucky, lucky YOU! Haha!

Remember the sweet, sweet little girl in the pink top? Seriously...eyes that are full of life? Remember her? Well, I'm finally getting to share a bit more of her & the special moments we were able to share with her & her family. See, Heather & I... well... we like flip flops. What can I say? I mean, honestly, I think there's no better shoe to wear whilst trucking yourself up the side of a wet, muddy, ROCKY mountain. Right? (I know many of you agree. Flip flops at all costs... that's my motto.) No, really, though, we were wearing flip flops the first day we went out to visit with them. The little girl who I'll refer to as "A" (because I can hear her name in my head but I have NO idea how to spell it other than it sounds like it might start with an "A") spotted our polished toes. It is AMAZING to me that it's just, like, a natural occurrence that little girls are drawn to girly things. It's just part of the natural progression, I guess. You're born, you hold up your own head, you sit, you crawl, you get teeth, you walk, you like nail polish... that's the way it goes for little girls, I swear. At least for my little girls and little miss "A."

So, we visit, she warms up to us, we go back to the hotel for the night. They'd invited us for breakfast the next morning, so we get up & get ready to go. I toiled with the decision to wear flip flops or sneakers. (Love that word. Sneakers.) It was painful, but I decided to go with sneakers. Heather, did you decide to wear sneakers, too? I don't remember. Anyway, "A" saw the polish again...either Heather's toes or fingers. She loved it. It occurred to me that I actually HAD the polish in my makeup bag in the car. I mean, who DOESN'T bring polish with them to the villages in China? (I'm making fun of myself here. Just sayin'.)

Craig & I decide to truck back down the side of the wet, muddy, rocky mountain to the car to fetch the polish & then head back up. Heather sat down to paint her little fingers & toes, and I perched myself behind my camera. It was such a sweet, fun moment to be able to share something so simple with her. And, yet, it made her feel great! You could tell... she took it VERY seriously, just admiring her painted fingers as Heather finished up her toes. Someone told her in Chinese to let them dry, and, BOY...she took that job SERIOUSLY! My girls... yeah, you can count on them accidentally smearing the polish off at least 3-4 toes out of the ten. Not "A," though. She was so, so sweet & dainty about the whole thing. It was another of those moments. Those moments where I was smacked in the face with how blessed we are... how much we take for granted the little things...

Look at her & tell me she's not perfect. I think about her a lot... wondering what she's doing. I think she captured a bit of my heart.


I think she won over someone else, too. They played together for a LONG time. They both loved it, I think. :-) She was sad when it was time to leave...it broke my heart. I've got to say, I can't wait until he's back here, playing with my girls like this. They miss their Pa. They spent ALL of lunch questioning us about when Grandma & Pa would be back to fill the two empty spots at our table. For some reason, they're CONVINCED those spots belong to you two. :-)

Her sweet Aunt, who was also recently married. She sings little "A" sweet songs. :-)
And her grandmother... She wasn't feeling well while we were there. I hope she's doing better now? Mom? Craig? Have you spoken with them lately?
And, here's a random one from around town that I thought was fun.

On our drive home from the villages, we spotted the most vibrant, beautiful, full rainbow! Really... just gorgeous!

And, well, that's all I've got for you right now. :-) I just... I'm so grateful for our trip. It's impacted me in more ways than I could recount. I feel a sadness in my heart just thinking about everyone... I miss them. I miss the way being there made me feel, and I miss the freshness of the impact. That probably makes no sense...