10 Good Things

Spring. Spring, spring, spring!

Real hope about future job and lifestyle changes for our family. Pray with me that I will be able to share amazing news with you this summer. Please? (Please!) God knows what's up!

A sweet girl who is enjoying a break between teething molars. One in... the other is hanging back for a little while and I am oh-so-grateful for relief for my little love.

Fresh air and friends who want to get out and about with us.

A new gym membership that combines Crossfit, childcare, AND an indoor family pool! Oh, and a big chunk of savings for us as well.

An invisible fence that finally does the trick and allows our dogs the freedom to roam the yard on good weather days while also staying in their own territory. No more runaway puppies!!

Saving money and getting rid of toxins by making our own cleaning supplies. So far I've made an all-purpose cleaner, dishwashing soap, and laundry detergent!

An upswing on a hormone imbalance. Weaning is no joke on the hormones. Lemme tell ya.

Wedding season is right around the corner... not to be overshadowed by engagement session season in the next few weeks. So excited!

And finally... this Saturday I have the best friend in the world coming to help me paint some rooms in my house. This is like, 2 years over due. And my sweet, sweet friend totally just finished painting her entire house. She is OVER painting, but she is going to help me anyway.

Pictures in this post are from Micah & Katie's wedding. Such a beautiful day that I love to relive over and over. xoxo.

seeing beauty again | #gratituesday

These dogs have been less than enjoyable for me over the past year (maybe two?). I have had little to no compassion for them, very short patience, and quiet honestly, I think they have felt the same way about me. If it wasn't for Tommy, they probably would have run away forever and ever. (Instead they would run off during the day and come home at night to hang out with him. Every single day, guys. Every day.)

We finally invested in an invisible fence and they have learned their boundaries. They have stopped ignoring my commands and what do you know... I happen to give them bones a lot more often than I used to, too! Things are looking up!

And they are pretty good with Sunday, too. Hawkeye can't lick her enough and Traveler just avoids her (which is much better than the other option of telling Sunday how she really feels).

This past week my intern, Chelsea, snapped this shot of Traveler and posted it to Instagram. As I scrolled through my IG feed, it suddenly took my breath away. I forgot... how adorable she is. How much she is very much alive and well... and needs love and attention, too.

So this week we reached out with a little more effort. We've had a lot of doggy cuddling time and extra bones have been given during the day. Our relationship is on the upswing again and I'm feeling really good about that.

I'm grateful for these pups. They are so good... obedient, patient, and loving. Far from inconvenient or a burden - truly. I have a hard time remembering that. I'm thankful for my new perspective this week.

Join us for Gratituesday at heavenly homemakers!

Gratituesday: Sleep

Whew! We had such a whirlwind weekend! Tommy's crazy town race (more on that on Thursday!) started at 12:01am on Saturday morning (Friday night) so after going to bed earlier enough and missing the start of the race, I woke up at 2:45am to crew for him. What crewing means is I drove to the aid stations to be there to support him when he came in, offering fresh shoes/socks/clothes, chicken broth (sodium!), lots of ibuprofen, and endless words of encouragement. Then he would leave the aid station to keep running and I'd gather everything, hop back in the car, and drive to the next aid station to meet him. And so on and so forth. (By the way - have I mentioned how inspiring I think he is?!)

This was following weeks (weeks!) of me getting about 4-5 hours of sleep a night. I know, it's really bad for my body. But with my busy season workload and Sunday's relapse in excellent sleeping habits, I have found myself pretty much wide awake around 4am regularly. I knew it could only go on for so much longer but truly I couldn't figure out HOW to sleep more. My body was just go-go-going!! I had stuff to do! Clearly, I am an insomnia newbie.

My mom came this weekend to stay with Sunday while Tommy ran in his most insane race yet and I crewed alongside of him. When we all got home around 7pm Saturday evening we c-r-a-s-h-e-d. My mom took over Sunday duty (okay - she actually had it since Friday night) and Tommy and I were able to sleep in. Then later in the day we both got naps! What a glorious feeling! Here I am at 5:20am writing this Gratituesday blog post about getting enough sleep while feeling completely rejuvenated and well-rested. (sigh) Turns out all I needed was a night of barely any sleep to make my body crash (finally!).

So anyway, this week? I'm super grateful for the sacrificial love of a mother (and grandmother), and the opportunity Tommy and I both had to catch up on our sleep this past weekend. So amazing it deserves it's own Gratituesday post! :)

Join us for Gratituesday at heavenly homemakers!

It's all about our perspective

Option 1: My child keeps getting herself into nooks and crannies and thinks she is stuck when she's not. It's kind of annoying.

Option 2: Sunday crawls into these places and cries out for help... and I get to rescue her. I am her every day hero!

Option 1: I am constantly picking up the toys in this living room. It gets SO OLD.

Option 2: I'm picking up toys all the time, but at least I am off my butt moving around and the task literally takes less than 2 minutes. It's good for me to move!

Option 1: I am so tired of cooking three meals a day and cleaing up the kitchen 3 times a day. It's like I live in here.

Option 2: For the first time in my life I am cooking a lot more meals than I am buying and I'm really excited because I am eating healthier than ever and saving so much money.

Having the right perspective is something I am constantly working on. There are days when I simply throw in the towel and pout all day. But then there are days when I can easily see the good in situations. I think a lot of times I blog because it forces me to find the good in a situation. I like keeping this blog as a place of encouragement and positivity, but I also don't want you all to think I don't have my bad days or tough moments. I do. Remember this day?

Okay, end of my public service announcement. :)

Happy weekend, friends! I'm off to my last wedding of the season and the kickoff weekend for Fall Family Portraits! I have a few slots left and I JUST updated the availability on the info page. Shoot me a message if you would like to book!

Gratituesday: Rainy Days

It's a rare day when I am grateful for rain. But for three weeks in a row now it has rained on the day when I needed a break the most. So this week, I want to share how thankful I am for the rain.This is a crazy time of year with my work and Tommy's schedule as well. We've basically just been taking turns single-parenting these past few weeks between the demands of our careers. We're tired. (And I really miss him!) Rain is the best excuse to postpone a session (or in Tommy's case, a long run) and hang out together, curled up on the couch. It's also a good excuse to cancel all of my plans and spend a day catching up on work! Both of which have happened the past few weeks and on Mondays no less.

So this week was an easy one - I'm grateful for the rain at the most perfect time. I took Sunday out yesterday and captured a few quiet moments between showers. She loves being outside so much and I love a happy baby!

Gratituesday is a weekly blog post (that I try to keep up with) I got involved with over here. You should join, too! If you do, be sure to let me know in the comments as I would love to read what you write about.

Equipment used for these pictures:  canon 5d mark ii // canon 50mm f/1.2 lens

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Liz Cook is the owner and photographer of sincerely, liz: photography. She is a virginia wedding photographer and virginia portrait photographer who loves virginia weddings, family portrait sessions and couple photography.

To see more of Liz’s work, check out her latest work as well as some of her favorite weddings. To hire Liz, simply fill out this form.