 We’ve had quite a month. Sometimes I debate what I should share here about our personal life, because 1) it’s a business blog (sort-of), and 2) I’m never quite sure just how much of “us” you really want to hear about. But what we’ve been through this past month has shifted my perspective so strongly…    Like… a really big day. Jonathan and I high-fived each other this morning as we realized that we’d FINALLY gotten all three of our little ones out of diapers. All. Three. (It was a big, big day) : ) (keep reading for the prize!!!) Here’s some sweetness for you… I photographed these three beauties a… show 19 comments One of my favorite movies as a kid was Mary Poppins and I watched it with my kids before we saw it on stage downtown. It was so much fun, and I went right back to being a kid thinking Mary Poppins was the coolest and wishing I could just snap my fingers to make things clean up ;) However, as a kid, I didn’t remember the movie being as trippy as it was… It was still magical though, and seeing it downtown was amazing!! Love! Mary Poppins. Lena is 2 1/2 now, and I’m wanting to rent it to watch together….I guess this is my chance! Thanks for the encouragement! My favorite movies as a child were Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and Wizard of Oz. I have watched them thousands of times. They are still my favorites to this day!!!! My favorite movie as a kid was Annie. My sister and I used to watch it over and over and sing and dance to it. :) Beauty and the Beast was one of my favorite movies when I was a kid and I still love it to this day!!! Amy, I can’t get over the potty training thing! Ben is a year older than Maggie and still NOT potty trained. Our household has been in diapers for 8 years! I’m so jealous! :-) BTW, I loved the Wizzard of OZ! :-) Bedknobs and broomsticks was my favorite : ) Our absolute favorite & you can definitely agree is the wizard of oz. Not only was it my absolute favorite movie growing up, but I got to play Dorothy in that play in 8th grade! So laughing at myself right now. I do have it on video however I haven’t had the nerve to let Sadi or Dennis for that matter, watch it yet. Hahaha maybe one of these days! I loved the Muppets take Manhattan. I always loved the dancing rats and how miss piggy swooned over Kermit. I was a romantic nut from the start Tough call…but my most vivid movie experience as a kid was ET, in the theater. Equally scared as totally in love with that movie!! Didn’t get a VCR at my house until I was older, and the movie I rented over and over was Swiss family Robinson! Bednobs and Broomsticks was one of my favorites as a child. My sister and I used to sit on her brass bed where the nobs came off and pretend we were flying through the sky. I just received the movie as a Christmas present and can’t wait to watch with my boys. While the brass bed is long gone (and thank heavens for that) we can make a pretend journey all our own! My fave was The Wizard of Oz even though it scared me to death! For the holidays though Ive always looked forward to Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer…to this day. Who can resist the adorable dentist-wannabe, Herbie. My favorite was Wizard of Oz. I’ve just started watching this with my daughter and she loves it too! One of my favorite movies as a child was Grease. I couldn’t get enough of it. The songs still stick in my head to this day. What a timeless movie, even my kids love that movie. I would have to say my favorite movie of all times was A Christmas Story. I would watch it all year round- that was until my parents told me they couldn’t find it anymore. It is a tough call but I think my favorite movie growing up was Bedknobs and Broomsticks. I have not seen it in years!! Thanks for this post, I will have to get that movie and watch it with my kids. A close second is Wizard of Oz that I have watched a bunch of times with my kids, so awesome to experience it wtih them. Way to go Maggs!!! ;) Gone with the wind! My little guy is only 1 so he won’t sit still for this movie! The Parent Trap. Still one of my favorites. The Princess Bride was always one of my favorites!  Hello everyone!!! I’ve been seriously stalling on this post for awhile because… well… I’m never completely comfortable sharing about personal accolades. After all, I’m always telling my kids: 1) not to be so darn competitive, & 2) not to brag about their accomplishments. In true hypocritical fashion, however, I’m about to do both. Couldn’t be… show 4 comments Can I get a woot woot?!?!?!?!?!!!!!! You did it! You did it!! Now I guess I have to take my own advice & start cleaning. Boo! Ok. Here I go. Yes, it’s 10 pm but when else am I going to get to it? Lol very proud of you girl. You got this! :) Oh very cute! I love the Summer Blondies shot. Congratulations! Congratulations! For the awards, GORGEOUS! and also for making the treadmill GO! Great job on all of the awards! You are such an amazing talent :)  Being a child and family photographer means that I’m continually blessed to witness some of life’s most precious seasons. One of my absolute *favorite* stages to capture is the last few weeks of pregnancy. Often, when we ask expecting moms if they’d like to come in for the complimentary maternity session that comes every booked… show 9 comments Amy, Ok, This is what I say. You’re a STRONG women! I know that stupid treadmill is sooo intimidating. But here’s what you do (I hope Jonathan’s reading this too)! Go in that room, stare at that sucker and say out loud, I’m not afraid of you & step on it. Then, just simply walk away. The next day, go back & do it again. But the key is to have Jonathan there to just give you a little nudge. He’s not allowed to let you walk out of that room until you step on that bad boy. I bet you’ll want to turn it on :) Btw, was that me that won? One more thing, those pictures are absolutely undeniably breath taking! I teared! I HIGHLY recommend investing in a heart rate monitor…it will help you so much to get right into the proper pace. I hated to run before getting one, but once I started using it, I learned that I’d been working too hard at too fast a pace…once I toned it back to keep me in my target heart rate I was able to cruise through a 5k and (dare I say it) I really started to enjoy running. In fact, I developed plantar fasciitis while I was pregnant and it has made me sad to know that I may never be able to run again! (Seriously, ten years ago, I would never have guessed I would ever write that.) Amy – As for running…spend an hour or so and make yourself the most awesome playlist on your ipod. Only put those songs that when you hear them you just have to dance! I did this and I enjoy my time at the gym so much more now! I never know what song is coming next, but I know it will keep me motivated. I have found myself turning it on when the boys and I are playing and we all get up and dance. Good luck…running is a tough one to get started. It is a pretty amazing feeling though once you get to that point when you are running along on the treadmill and you realize you have gone x far and didn’t even realize it AND can keep going. -Kori I seem to find that if I think about my day the night before, and set out my clothes in anticipation of just getting up and doing it, I kinda go on auto pilot once I am awake. If I just DO IT and don’t THINK about it, then it happens before I can talk myself out of it. and by the way, my “do it” isn’t running, but gearing up to convince the kids they *really do* want to go to the gym kid center while I work out. It’s harder to convince them than it is convincing myself… by having the treadmill at home, you’ve already won that battle! And maternity photos – LOVE them. So sweet with the girls there and all the belly kissing! If only we hadn’t been in Japan while pregnant… if only. You go girl!!! Amy Tripple you simply amaze me….you are so talented in so many ways…I don’t even know where to start! Might I add I just came from running 12 minutes on our treadmill while both my children were napping…all because I read your blog and thought…”how does that women do it all?!” You get on that treadmill because you can! What’s running?! You can beat this…I challenge you! I’ll be down to see you in April for a sweet shots class and than in May for Ian’s 6 month pictures. I’m hoping to get back down to a size 8…are you in? :) When i have to do something scary or something i just don’t want to do i think about what the worse possible outcome could be then how that would feel and what i could do with those feelings. It may not be the most possitive/optomistic approach but i think, sometimes, we get a little “stuck” in the fear of “what if” that we cannot move forward from that. What is the worse thing that can happen?? You put on the shoes and outfit and get on the treadmill, go 1/4 mile and that is all you got–awesome. The next time it will be easier. Hi Amy – two suggestions from a runner. Get a concrete goal (like a race, maybe a local 5k) and a coach or training group. Someone who has so much on her plate like you has to schedule running into the day, and it is so much easier to have someone/something to be accountable to, then just yourself. And you will make sure not to do too much too soon and injure yourself. I can recommend two great coaches out in your area who have tons of experience with women just starting out in running, if you are interested. If you decide to go at it yourself, just take it slow. Good luck! Once you get the hang of it, running is the best!  Is there anything better than starting the new year with a precious newborn? Um… NO WAY!!! This guy was so perfectly “newborn”. I don’t know how to explain it… you’ll just have to check out the pictures and you’ll see what I mean. The way he stretched out his perfect little fingers, the way he… 
show 39 comments I wish I were so much better at everything! I wish I did not need a nap! I wish I said all the positive things I saw in a person rather that just having those thoughts rattle around in my head. New Year’s resolution….tell the person what beautiiful eyes they have, how perfect their smile is, how much I value their friendship, thanks for the phone call, instead of just thinking the good thoughts inside my rattled head! I am really terrible at taking pictures off my camera. I have a friends wedding from November I still haven’t done because I find the task of editing and uploading too daunting. I bought Lightroom and 2 of your classes (Sweet Shots I & ABC Elements) this year to hopefully get my act together!! I wish I was better at laundry management! I loathe it more than any chore at home, and we end up living out of laundry baskets way too often. Maybe in 2012 I’ll finally have one day where all clothes are put away in their proper locations…doubt it, but maybe! I wish I had more patience when it comes to listening, and just enjoy the moment instead of going on to the next thing. I need to enjoy the moment, listen to others stories and talk to people. I’ve never been good at writing Thank You notes, either! But I’ve been TRYING to get better at that over the past couple of years. I wish I were better at sticking to the schedule I created for myself. My schedule includes things like studying photography, blogging, studying business. But I’m so project minded that I usually just start the morning working on some project like editing photos or working on my website and I just spend the entire day doing that. Which means none of that other stuff EVER gets done! The only way for me to get to those things that always get put off, is to write it in to my schedule. So I did. But now I need to actually follow my schedule! That. is. ADORABLE!!!!!! I wish I wasn’t so shy about taking pictures of people! I love taking pictures and do it all the time, but when at a party or function it’s hard for me to say “can I take your picture”?! I wish I was better at time management. I am inevitably late to nearly everything (although I’ve never been late for preschool drop-off, ha!) I want to better about remembering and acknowledging birthdays! Facebook has made it too easy to not call or send a card or even a text or email! Who doesn’t want to get a card in th mail!? I want to be hat person! I wish I could wake up earlier in the morning. Instead I wait for my kids to wake me up and then rush around. Always leaving the house for work in little to no make-up, just hoping I don’t run into a familar face enroute to and home from work. I keep setting my alarm but have yet to open my eyes! I wish I kept better files. I have all the stuff to do it – I just don’t! I am so terrible at calling people back! I used to talk on the phone all the time especially as a teenager :) Email and texting have made it too was for me to shoot a reply back to a voicemail. I’ll admit I even sometimes screen my calls if I’m too tired I talk :-/ not one of my better admissions. This year I hope to be better calling people back. Ok, really, I have to admit this? I’m such a procrastinator with cleaning my house. I wait until I absolutely can not take it anymore! Don’t get me wrong, the important things like the toilets & sinks get cleaned every week, but the rest I just can’t find the energy to keep up with! Ugh! It’s my goal this year to try to COMPLETELY clean one room every day. Top to bottom. Including all the dog gone dusting!!!! I just hate it! Maybe I should just hire a cleaning lady. Does that count? Btw, Bethany, I do the exact same thing every single day!!! If I didn’t have a 3 yr old & a new lil puppy, I literally would’t wake up until 20 mins before walking out the door! I wish I was a better mom. I wish I could freeze her giggles, her expressions, and the way she says “ought-o” after flushing the toilet when I have no idea what it is she flushed. Can you say missing make- up brush? Most of all I wish to always remember her excitement when I pick her up from the babysitters’ after work ~ it melts my heart as she hurriedly runs to me shouting “momma, momma.” I wish I could spend more time with her. I wish I had more patience when she stands on the dishwasher door just trying to “help” unload it. I wish to never forget how it felt to hold her for the first time. I wish to learn the secrets of motherhood and pass them on to her one day. I wish to always be thankful and grateful for the beautiful gift I’ve been given. She is a treasure to cherish. I have to admit some nights I don’t want to read a book to my girls before bed. Being a first grade teacher I know that I should make sure I read a book every night but getting three girls ages 5,3, and 1 to bed is tough enough, and some nights I just wish I could just skip the book so I could have 15 minutes to do nothing but stare at the tv, check FB, or sit and enjoy the quite! Here it goes… I am an email hoarder! My work email has 600+ emails in the inbox and my personal email isn’t that much better. I guess that goes for my SD.cards on my camera, too. I have a hard time with the permanency of deleting. :) You amaze me Amy! So much talent all wrapped up in one sweet person! This would look AMAZING with my new camera! Amy- when I was a little girl my mom would never let us play with any of our gifts until we had written a thank you note– within reason of course (you cannot slow a kid down on Christmas morning!!). I reallllly wanted to play with the new toy so I got the notes done right away and now I feel bad if I don’t send a thank you!! How’s that for mother guilt?!? My kids are too small to write just yet but I take pictures of them playing with the new gift, include a note with something silly, cute or fun they said about the gift and pop it in the mail- done! There are a zillion things I could do better- but I would really like to exercise more and dress better- I am kinda lazy with both. I wish that I could jump into the photography business! I LOVE taking pictures! It is hard to make the jump from a hobbyist to a professional. I don’t even know where to start! Amy, I am a teacher like you used to be! I just finished writing my 23 thank yous for Christmas gifts. It is SO time consuming:-) Oh my wish…I hope that this year I will get better accepting help. I guess not just accepting, but losing the guilt. Just had our fourth, and as tremendous my family and friends are, and knowing that I would do the same in a heartbeat for them, I just haven’t moved past the, “I can do it myself,” phase, similar to my 3 year old!! ;-) Wish I was better at putting my pictures to use. I still haven’t ordered my photo from all of my sessions with you or finished/started albums or scrapbooks of my own photos I’ve taken. At least I have captured the memories! I wish I was better at doing things with my photos. I still haven’t printed pictures from my sessions with you or finished/started scraobooks or albums with ny own photos. At least I captured the moments I guess. I need to get better at not keeping one veeery extra large tub of GFS gummie bears at my desk. They are way too good to not grab handfuls at a time. In related news, I need to get better at keeping one of my resolutions: No sweets ;) I wish I were better at going out by myself at night. I could get so many errands done without 2 kidlets at my side, but once they are in bed, I can finally breathe. Last thing I want to do is get in the car and drive to the store. Even though I could knock it out so quickly… I hear ya on the thank you thing! I want to be better at Birthday Cards too… And the thing I really really want to get better at? Sewing! I got a machine for Christmas, my first ever, and I want to be able to make things (that actually look nice!) I wish I were better at printing all of the photos I actually take instead I find it easier to upload and sit in the digital world! Unbelievable, but yes, I too am TERRIBLE at writing thank yous! Actually, the only ones I do write are the ones to my mother-in-law who always gives me that all-judging look when it comes to things that you’re “suppose” to do. ERRGGHH! Okay, people, so embarrassing. Seriously. I MUST get better at cleaning my sliding glass door. It’s so gross. On the inside..(all of these from the past week or so)…smashed peas, dried peanut butter, milk kisses, and other things I can’t name (thanks Quinna). On the outside, nose prints, paw prints, frozen (and thawed and frozen again) dog slobber (thanks, Henry). All in the name of love. Amy – I can relate to your post all too well. The want to…the anxiety behind writing the perfect note and for me…I actually like to make my own cards…so it’s another added burden of something that I should do. This year I’m trying to be on top of it. I also need to get my photos in order and get them on the walls! Happy New Year! I am a preschool teacher and coming home at the end of the day, even on the weekends, I am tired! I have an almost three year old and I wish I was a better teacher to her! I do a great job, I feel as a mother, but there’s so many fun things I do with my class that I wish I had energy for her to do at home. Summer is another story…then it’s all energy towards her :) I wish I had the ability to get myself to just stop…..let things go….and enjoy the kids. I am busy working part time…cooking…cleaning…laundry. No time to truly play. My husband gets to do that. I wish I was better at making things. Papercrafts- I can do. But, I want to make adorable clothes for my kids and stuff that requires me to sew! I love looking at fabrics and I can envision how I might use them, but I am deathly afraid of my sewing machine and patterns!! Sigh… I get so annoyed with myself on almost a daily basis for not putting my laundry away. It piles up all over my closet. I have no problem doing laundry and folding it – but a huge mental block about putting it away!! Oh my- I wish I were better at making meals!!!! My poor family eats the same things over and over and some nights it’s a sad sad bowl of popcorn or something equally sad that we munch on. Must improve! i wish i were better at cleaning sounds ridiculous right??? who wants to do that right?but i need a plan I am so super unorganized. i need a list of when to do what. people come over and always so my home is clean but really i see all the dirt and it makes me crazy… I am a horrible procrastinator with anything I need to mail, so whether it’s a Thank You note, a birthday card or a I am the WORST at putting clothes away after they are all nicely washed and folded and placed in laundry baskets. We live out of laundry baskets. And sadly enough, I have gone out and bought new baskets to get dirty laundry to my basement…..I know, really lame! So I am really bad at remember dates, birthday, and anniversaries of any kind! I had an inkling I was bad at it when my friends would have to remind me of their birthdays year after year but I noticed it was truly a problem when THREE years in a row I planned a work trip on my wedding anniversary. I mean, who does that! And I didn’t even do it once; I have done it THREE times. I have called my besties multiple times apologizing profusely because I have forgotten their birthdays only to find that it is actually their birthday that day! So embarrassing. So here is the WORST scenario at how bad at dates I am…. (Hopefully, this will make you feel better): I went to my ONLY child’s one-year check up and the doctor asked me when Lucy’s birthday was while he was scanning her chart. I blurted out June 25th. Our “Oh-So-Sweet” doctor looked up and said, “Well, it says here on her chart, she was born on June 30th!” Yep, that’s right, I mistaken my daughter’s birthday for my own. I actually was born on the 25th and Lucy was indeed born on the 30th! It’s bad Amy! Surely that makes you feel a little better! -Natalie |
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Cindy Meisch - Thank you for sharing your story, your beautiful family and your amazing images!
Laurie Wyent - Definitely Yay – for happy endings!!! So sorry for what you have been going through! But a really good message for all of us! Thank you for sharing!
Angela - I am very happy to hear that all is well with your husband. What a scary time that must have been for you!! Another reminder to cherish all of the time you have together. Love the pictures you posted. He looks like an absolutely wonderful man. Congrats to you. :D
gloria - Similar thing with my hubby… he’d been complaining to the Doc for at least 1.5 years about unusual symptoms…hot flashes, debilitating fatigue, inability to hold/grip (so he was always dropping things, including full cups of coffee). And all these things resulted in frustration with himself and some depression because he didn’t know what was going on and the Doc dismissed his complaints.
Long story, short: we changed pharmacy and at the first refill, the new pharmacist gave me a “severe interaction warning” sheet. Turns out 2 of his meds were interacting. I did an Internet search and found LOTS of info on this. When we told the Doc, he did a search on his “medical website” and found NOTHING about interactions!! Say WHAT??? Why was it so easy for me to find info, but the Doc didn’t/couldn’t? Hubby stopped taking the meds, but it has taken him longer to recover because he’s 61 years old and had been taking the meds for YEARS!!
We liked that Doc (notice the past tense!) and now we’re doing a LOT of questioning of the pharmacist and doing research before taking any meds.
The Internet might be full of crap, but at least it can help us form questions for the med “professionals.”
So glad your hubby had such a quick recovery!!
stephie - Yay! Oh sweet Amy! Praise God for his healing and for your amazing husband and kiddos. For a few minutes this morning at the mall, we lost Beano. Terrifying. Yet what a perspective change! I can only imagine how exponentially more it has been for you! Love ya.