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Monthly Archives: September 2007

On the eve of his first birthday…

This post is all about Michael.Michael_17

His dad works with my husband. His parents would come over and play games with us while his mom was pregnant with him. Dave and I would warn them about how their life was about to change, for the better and sometimes for the worse. But definitely, a lot of things would change.

We tried to tell them of the good and the bad, help prepare them for what was ahead. Only none of us had any idea what was ahead.

When Michael was born, they noticed his skin was a little raw in a couple of places. The doctors took him to the NICU and taped all sorts of monitors to him. As Michael moved and kicked, blisters formed in his skin, and eventually his little heels were raw. And any time they removed the tape, the skin came off along with the tape. Lots of damage was inflicted on poor Michael those first few days before he received the correct care and diagnosis.Michael_14_2

They discovered that Michael has EB. That stands for Epidermolysis Bullosa, a genetic skin disorder where his body doesn’t produce collagen 7, which holds the skin together. I can’t help but think it is one of the most horrible diseases there is. He is in pain much of the time. His parents have to be so careful, because the simplest things can cause damage to him. He wears bandages on his hands and feet all the time, because without them, his fingers will scar together and become bent and mittened and eventually, he would lose use of his hands. Much of their lives revolve around daily bandage changes, which is a very delicate process and take two people about an hour to perform. They have to pop his blisters as soon as they are discovered, because they can travel through his skin and inflict damage along the way. He’s had blisters everywhere, including on his eye and in his mouth. And it doesn’t stop with skin on the outside of his body. He’ll never eat solid food because of the damage it would inflict to his mouth and throat. His entire digestive system is very sensitive and prone to damage.Children with this disorder are sometimes called "butterfly children" because their delicate skin is fragile like a butterfly’s wings.Michael_05

Michael and his parents are such champs. They have handled this year with a strength that I cannot even fathom. They have pulled together in a situation that causes a 75% divorce rate.

I think about those days before Michael was born, as we were warning them about how hard it would be, but also reassuring them about how all of it would be so worth it. It never occured to us that this would be the scenario. This year has turned out so different than they planned. But even with all that, they love their child more than anything. He is a wonderful spirit with the funniest personality.Michael_12

He’s tough. REAL tough.

Mweb And so are they. This picture I took a few months ago really speaks to me… it illustrates, more than any other picture I’ve ever taken, the love of a mother for her child. A tear in his eye, the random clutter in the background of their once immaculate house, the bandages on his hands and feet, and his mother. Peaceful. Strong. Loving him through it all. Letting her world revolve around the son.

(click on picture for a larger version)

Happy birthday, Michael. I hope the coming year is easier than the last.

September 28, 2007 - 6:04 pm Joanna - Oh, that makes me cry too! Such beautiful photos of such sweet love. I love the spikey hair!

September 28, 2007 - 6:07 pm Rachel - oh man :( poor little buddy. A girl at our church has this same thing, and I met her mom this summer. They are so amazing and inspiring! But, these pictures are beautiful. he is beautiful! Love what you captured here.

September 28, 2007 - 7:23 pm Lisa - Wow already a year old, hard to believe. Great pictures, and you're right, those two are champs!

September 28, 2007 - 8:11 pm kimberly lough - Can't read through the tears. Makes me stop and think...

September 28, 2007 - 8:22 pm Michele - Wow-that just breaks my heart. But seeing and hearing about the love these parents have for their child is also so heartwarming. I cannot imagine what they go through on a daily basis. My thought are with them and especially with the little guy who suffers so much. Beautiful pics. I can't say enough about the emotions they evoke.

September 28, 2007 - 11:10 pm Tina - Heartbreaking and hopeful. This miracle baby and his loving parents are in my prayers tonight. Thank you for sharing their story and their photos.

September 29, 2007 - 7:44 am Hilary - Amazing what parents would do for their child, and what good ones they must be!

September 29, 2007 - 11:20 am Brenda Miles - You really captured it Shannon. They are truly amazing.

September 29, 2007 - 1:02 pm Moriah Bettencourt - What a sweet face. He's absolutely adorable. I don't think anyone can prepare you for becoming a parent, there are no words to describe that love. But becoming a mom to a little person who has more needs than you ever imagined is a powerful experience that will change ever fiber of your being. I once wrote that I feel like I was born when Alex was because that person who occupied my skin before I could rattle off a list of 30 surgeries w/o taking a breath, no longer lives... I'm a new person now. It's like being a mother bear on steriods which is shocking in that first year, I can report though that (almost) 9 years later I am still that pumped up momma bear, I will do anything tp help this little person be who he is. (((HUGS))) to his mommy.

October 1, 2007 - 8:03 am Mindy - Okay, I was already teary before I read Moriah's comment. Bawling now. Strikes a chord with me a little. Thank you for the tender words about Michael and his parents, and the amazing pictures. I wish the very, very best for them as they deal with their challenges.

October 1, 2007 - 11:48 pm erin yamabe - omg. thank you for sharing his story. their story. i'm choked up, and i don't even know them. my heart goes out to them. i will say a special prayer tonight for them. what an inspiration of strength and courage they are.

October 4, 2007 - 7:03 pm tara pollard pakosta - that is horrible awful and so so sad. but i really really am so in awe of the family and the parent's in what they are going through. God bless them and that precious boy! tara

October 21, 2007 - 2:47 pm kadee - My son has rdeb and someone I know told me about your blog. Thank you so much for taking the chance to bring about awareness. Your pictures are beautiful. It isn't easy to take a picture and not have the wraps be the focus.

I’m always in awe of this…

From this:Rizzi_17_2 Rizzi_08 Rizzi_12_2 Rizzi_09_2

Came this:Img_7322b Img_7308b Img_7358b

Img_7335c Miraculous. Incredible. Wonderful. Every time.

September 24, 2007 - 5:51 pm Hilary - Beautimus.... Have you seen the pictures of the babies in tulle? It's kinda weird, and kinda cool, gives you an idea of what it's like inside....

September 24, 2007 - 6:22 pm Rachel - these are AWESOME Shannon!! I am just in love with that first maternity one and the last baby/family one...but they are all fabulous.

September 24, 2007 - 7:11 pm Joanna - I love those, and yes, such a wonderful, amazing miracle!!

September 25, 2007 - 6:56 am Lisa - What a cutie!

September 25, 2007 - 7:57 am Brenda Miles - Look at that hair! Are you kidding me? Babies are delicious!

September 25, 2007 - 1:20 pm dana - What great photos!!! Dana

September 27, 2007 - 2:26 am kristen - Beautiful. You do such amazing work.

Sugarfree Mentos

I was so excited when I found a new product at Target today. Sugar Free Mixed Berry Mentos. I had to buy them. I suspect sugar gives me cankers, and while I’d usually rather suffer with the cankers than cut sugar out, this seemed the best of both worlds. Yummy, chewy candy… hopefully without the cankers. I got out to the car and quickly downed half the box. They were delicious. Wonderful.

Since I’m trying to be a little more health-conscious, and since this was more healthy than other candies, I turned the box over to read the nutrition information. I noticed the serving size was one piece of candy. What? Seriously? One piece? Right.

And then I noticed in small but bold print under the nutrition information box: excessive amounts may cause a laxative effect.

Oh man. If I could have spit out the half-box I’d eaten, I would have. I’m hoping that 15 servings isn’t excessive…

But don’t expect an update on the situation. I’m much too dignified for that. :)

Edited to add:
I was surprised I had never heard of this phenomenon. So after I posted this entry, I googled "sugar free mentos laxative" and found I wasn’t the only person surprised by this effect. I found two stories that  had me laughing with tears literally running down my face.
If farting stories make you laugh, you have to read this.
And this.
From the looks of these articles, the prognosis isn’t good for me. But you know… it was worth the laugh!

September 22, 2007 - 9:27 am Jeff Caldwell - Nice. I was laughting out loud at those stories, too. Just the mention of the work "shart" is enough to set me off. If what happened to you was anything as great as these two stories, you will have to share it next time we have a late night chat among family.

September 22, 2007 - 11:57 am Jimmy Moore - Hey Shannon! THANKS for linking to those two "farting" blog posts I wrote about the "laxative effect" of sugar alcohols like maltitol. I also spoke of these ill effects in my recent YouTube video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gefzTGM20tk) on sugar alternatives. GREAT blog you have here! KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK! :D

September 22, 2007 - 11:59 am Jimmy Moore - Hey Shannon! THANKS for linking to those two "farting" blog posts I wrote about the "laxative effect" of sugar alcohols like maltitol. I also spoke of these ill effects in my recent YouTube video on sugar alternatives at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gefzTGM20tk . GREAT blog you have here! KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK! :D

September 24, 2007 - 6:45 pm Tina - Oh my God. If I'd been drinking anything while reading that first story, it would have spewed forth and shorted out my keyboard. I took your warnings to heart and made sure all was clear before proceeding. My keyboard is fine. I totally needed the laugh. Thanks!

September 25, 2007 - 2:25 pm Lisa - ROTFLMAO!!! I read both stories. I hope you didn't have an episode like they did, oh my! All that stuff irritates my system awfully bad, just as too much sugar does. Fun post!

September 26, 2007 - 2:34 pm jenniferL - that's so funny!

Weddings make me sick.

Ivyweb Sick as a dog.

Not really… just a crummy cold that makes me tired and that hit my voice, so no one can hear me talk. Which also means I can’t yell at the kids. Not good, come bedtime. :)

Anyway… this is Ivy. She was the ringbearer at the wedding and Sarah and Ryan’s "baby."

The wedding was lots of crazy fun. I felt like I was running the whole day, from one thing to the next. And the memory card always chose the best moments to fill up… But it was such an honor to do this. I loved shooting for friends. It made the whole experience just that much more special…

I’ll share images sometime in the future… I have a lot to sort through at the moment!

September 19, 2007 - 5:36 pm Hilary - I'd be sick if I did a wedding.... I think. :)

September 20, 2007 - 5:12 pm Brenda Miles - So sorry your sick. I'm anxious to see the rest of the wedding pics! Get better!

Some of my favorite people in the whole wide world.

This is my Ironman brother Steve.Caldwell_23

And his lovely and awesome wife Mindy.Caldwell_19

And their adorable little munchkins.Caldwell_36

They are total pros in front of the camera. I swear, none of them take a bad picture!

Well, maybe except this one.Em

But that was a lucky catch. I mean, blinking AND looking up at opposite sides of her head? What are the chances! Luckily, I also got some pretty adorable ones of her, if I do say so myself…Caldwell_51 Caldwell_50_2 Caldwell_52

Caldwell_09 Man, I love these guys. 

Caldwell_07 I want to put all the pictures up. But instead, I’ll just link the slideshow:

totally awesome family

September 12, 2007 - 10:04 pm Michelle Adams - OMGosh - she is just sooooo cute, Shannon! I mean - they all are - but she is way adorable - funky shot and all!

September 12, 2007 - 11:18 pm Brenda Miles - Their little boy looks just like Layne! Super cute family!

September 13, 2007 - 12:18 am Hilary - Amazing photos Shannon, they are most definiately an adorable family! Everyone was fawning over Kimberly's photos at work, you may get a few more O'Connor calls. :)

September 13, 2007 - 8:19 am Lindsay - Gorgeous pictures as usual! They are such a beautiful family.

September 13, 2007 - 9:28 am Jami - You are right, they all look beautiful in all of the pics. Mostly, I am in love with the pics of Emily. :)

September 13, 2007 - 8:33 pm Andrea - Makes me wanna reach out and hug them all!!! Stinkin cute family. Props to Steve and Mindy!!! xoxo from Philly!

September 15, 2007 - 10:10 pm Mindy - Shannon, we LOVE these pictures so much. MORE than so much. When we first saw them, we cried. When we saw them again, we cried. We especially love the amazing shots of Emily. Some of her unique and darling expressions are captured forever. THANK YOU for using your amazing talents to make us all look good. We are visiting my Mom in Nauvoo. I'm sorry for taking so long to respond about these photos. I've thought of you a few times today, hoping that the wedding shoot went well. Thanks again--we love you!

September 17, 2007 - 9:13 pm kent - Wow - another great family shoot! The colors are so vivid and the family looks so cute!! Awesome!!

September 18, 2007 - 10:15 am Leigh Ann - Wow! so adorable! What a treasure for their family to have these wonderful shots!

September 28, 2007 - 9:52 am Mike Caldwell - Shannon you are truely gifted those are fantastic pictures. I am constantly amazed and blown away at what all my incredible talents and things my siblings are doing. You all make me feel like the deadwood of the group! Miss you-

Glad it’s not me right now…

Krista_01_3 Krista_07_2 Krista_13

Krista_25 Krista_29 

But I’m so happy for them. :)

September 11, 2007 - 8:50 pm Hilary - Loved those shots, esp. the sun glare. Nice job.

September 12, 2007 - 7:08 am Erica - Awww, you don't miss it? I do!

September 17, 2007 - 11:37 pm erin yamabe - beautiful of k and z:) tfs.

September 25, 2007 - 2:37 pm Lisa - It's all so pretty. I just love your view.

back at it.

So, in the spirit of trying to make myself awesomer, I went back to the gym today. I told myself all summer that the reason I wasn’t working out is because I felt bad for anyone else trying to work out who would get turned away when I filled up the babysitting quota with just my kids. Plus, since I have to pay for the kids, it would cost eight bucks a workout (in addition to my monthly dues). So, I stayed away all summer.

What I want to know is… was summer really five months long? Because that’s how long it’s been since I was there last. Some time in April. Hmmmm….

While I was there I remembered why I like going… because it makes me feel awesomer. I’m always proud of myself for going, even if I went just to shut Franklin up because he wouldn’t stop asking if we could go.

And I also remembered why I don’t like going. I get really self-conscious. Not because I everything jiggles when I walk or run, not because I look gross after sweating, but because every once in a while, I’ll catch a strong breeze filled with the odious scent of body odor. And even though I’m flanked big hairy men on each of the treadmills next to mine, I worry that the awful scent is not them, but me. Today, it was bad enough for me to have to breathe exclusively through my mouth, which made me really really thirsty really really quickly. While it was probably that big, hairy, sweaty middle-eastern dude on my right, I couldn’t be sure it wasn’t me. And I couldn’t decide which was worse… having to smell someone else, or the possibility that *I* was that incredibly stinky.

September 7, 2007 - 9:57 pm Hilary - And that is why I workout at home. :)

September 8, 2007 - 10:23 am Lisa - Good for you getting back to the gym. And believe me, it really is the big hairy sweaty guys. Ick.

September 9, 2007 - 8:01 pm kellicrowe - the road to awsomer is paved with smelly bricks.....eeew:)

September 10, 2007 - 6:23 am Julie - awesomer people don't stink. i think you are safe. :)

September 10, 2007 - 8:02 am Lindsay - I hate the gym! I love summer because I can exercise outside. Eliptical machines and spinning bikes are so boring! It is pretty gross to be in such close proximity to really sweaty people, even if I am one of them ;)

A wedding in the works…

So. One of our good friends is getting married. They asked me to be their photographer last year, and I freaked out. I was worried I wouldn’t do it justice and I would screw up and they’d have nothing good from their wedding, so I said no. This was during my "I’m not sure I’m cut out to own a business and the whole idea freaks me out and what have I done and can I meet expectations" phase. Since then, I’ve come to realize that I’m not going to completely screw it up, that I am fully capable of doing it, that I WANT to do it. And I’d missed my chance.

But by now, they’d hired another photographer. I tried to make my peace with that. But then, after their engagement shots with the other photograher, they were less than pleased with what they got. They took me up on my previous offer of a free engagement session.

Here’s the slideshow of the session.

We had so much fun. And the pictures show so much more of their personality and beauty. She ended up cancelling her other photographer (and losing a huge deposit) and asking me to do it. By now, after comparing myself to a "real" wedding photographer head-to-head and being more pleased with my work, I’m totally stoked for this opportunity. The nerves are still there a little bit, this is a huge event for them, but now, it’s more excitement than fear. I can’t wait for September 15! :)

(for the too-lazy-to-click-the-link, as I so often am… here are some of the shots)

Ryansarah_18 Ryansarah_05 Ryansarah_25 Ryansarah_29 Ryansarah_02 Ryansarah_41

September 5, 2007 - 6:43 pm Rachel - you will do awesome Shannon! Congrats :)

September 5, 2007 - 6:47 pm Joanna - Oh, how cool that you're going to shoot their wedding! Yay for them!

September 5, 2007 - 9:32 pm Hilary - Look at you doin' slideshows... fan-cy. I'd be taking and prozac if I booked a wedding. Good luck!!!!!!

September 5, 2007 - 10:13 pm Brenda Miles - You're amazing. Your pics do/will show their personality and are better than any other lame-o photographer. Who can compete with Super Shannon? BTW am I crazy or does Sarah have the best eyebrows?

September 6, 2007 - 2:41 am Jami - Brenda- I totlly noticed her perfect eyebrows too :) Shannon- I think you will do awesome. I wish you did my wedding. :)

September 6, 2007 - 11:17 am Lindsay - Gorgeous pictures Shannon! I was looking at all of our engagement shots the other day- I love them. I also love the pics you took at our wedding! I told Jeff that we need to start saving our pennies so that next time we see you, we can schedule a family photo shoot. I would love to do an urban location!

September 7, 2007 - 9:08 am Susan - You will do a wonderful job. The engagement pictures are fabulous!!

September 7, 2007 - 5:46 pm Shelby - wow Shannon! Those are beautiful shots!

September 12, 2007 - 10:55 am Sara - These are wonderful...stunning. What kind of lense did you use?

Dear Internet,

It’s been a while. I miss you. I used to tell you everything, embarr(ass) myself in front of you constantly. We had a lot of fun for a while. And then I began to keep to myself more, worried about looking like the total geek that I am, worried that I was putting too much out there for who knows what psychopath might be lurking. As much as I love you, Internet, you’re kind of scary sometimes. Sometimes I wish I was the Pioneer Woman (whose blog I adore) out in the middle of the country, where I could be sure the psychopath that might be reading wouldn’t figure out where I live, and if they did, it wouldn’t be worth the cross-country trip to get there. That way, I could do what I want without a care in the world. I need to find that middle ground, somewhere between sharing everything and ignoring you completely.

Anyway, Internet, can we still be friends? Now that the kids have gone back to school, I imagine I’ll have oodles of time to spend with you. I can tell you what I’ve been up to, business-wise, and share some of the embarr(ass)ing personal stuff, as long as I don’t get TOO personal. Right? Got to keep the psychopath that could be around the corner wondering just a little bit. I might even get brave enough to tell you about my adventures with Piper, but I don’t think I’m ready for that yet. Let me just warn you… please keep any and all oversized chocolate bars intended for adventures with s’mores safely out of reach of puppies. Chocolate can be toxic, you know. She’s ok… not that I’m admitting anything or anything… but just as a public service, I thought you all should know… chocolate and puppies don’t mix.

Well, I hope we can still be friends, Internet. I’ll try to do a better job of keeping in touch.
Warmly,
Shannon

One more thing, since I know family members care alot about these people, I made an album for the twins and posted it at Two Peas, in case you wanted to take a gander. Also (ok… that’s two more things…) I wanted to publicly wish this awesome chickAndrea  a happy birthday yesterday. I didn’t get a chance to yesterday because I may or may not have been camping and/or at the vet. And while I’m at it, a third thing… please ignore errant punctuation marks that have naughtily found their way into certain words in this post. It’s so embarr(ass)ing when they do that!

September 4, 2007 - 6:57 pm Hilary - Ahh...the internet. I dunno... I feel more busy now that school HAS started. Maybe not...

September 4, 2007 - 11:59 pm Tina - Welcome back. We missed you. And The Pioneer Woman rocks.

September 5, 2007 - 6:31 am Joanna - shoot -- posted on the wrong entry...how embarr(ass)ing! well, you get the idea... : )

September 5, 2007 - 6:41 am Lisa - Who you calling a psychopath? Welcome back to the internet. From previous experience, he's pretty good at forgiving people who ignore him ;)

September 5, 2007 - 7:34 am Lindsay - Shannon, it has been so long! I have been wondering what you have been up to. Lately, you have been too vigilant in closing your blinds at night. So, I am delighted you back to blogging so I can keep tabs on you digitally. (I can't very well pretend I am a psycho when I've attached my name and email to this comment, huh.)

September 5, 2007 - 10:10 am Mindy - The album of the twins is FANTASTIC. I'm sure that L&J love it. Nice picture of "the birthday girl" as well. She looks lovely. You know how much I love to read anything you have written. I hope you and internet can stay on the up-and-up. I don't know about everyone else, but I've loved it when you've shared personal things. So many times I've said to myself, 'That happens to me, too!' or 'I thought I was the only one who thought that or did that.' You are so real and it is refreshing.

September 5, 2007 - 12:11 pm Brenda Miles - The Album is amazing! Trev and I loved reading your blog at night. I laugh out loud while reading it to myself. You have so many gifts and I'm so glad you share them!

September 6, 2007 - 8:57 am kent - Yeah - you're back! Okay you HAVE to post more links to your 2peas stuff and photo sessions! That was cool to see that stuff!

September 7, 2007 - 8:45 am AmyG - welcome back Shannon!!! :)

September 15, 2007 - 11:37 pm tifsmith - oh shannon, its posts like these that make me smile. i've been feeling a bit shy lately myself. ok, quite a bit shy. but thats ok. its getting better i think. :)