Julie Chen Photography

Well, HELLO THERE! Long time no talk, eh? There is a good reason for that… it’s been my busiest season yet & I am so grateful, humbled & honored to be providing you with meaningful gifts & memorable photography.

 

My kids LOVE Christmas. The excitement over here is quite high & we’ve had loads of fun decorating, baking, shopping {ahem. my least favorite thing in the world}, wrapping, singing & dancing. Above you will see their gingerbread houses. First year we have ever done gingerbread houses & one of the best parts to my hubby was the fact that these sugar filled beauties were not created inside our home, but rather at a local architecture firm who generously hosted the event. It was SO COOL… so fun in fact that we stayed for 3 full hours building & decorating! The architects had cut rectangles, squares & triangles out of styrofoam and then gave you a sleeve {or 2!} of crackers & you went to town. Then there was an entire table filled with bowls of candy. It was fun to watch the kids’ personalities & creativity come through.

 

My Favorite Little Mister actually won the contest & his house was fully landscaped & thought out to the “T”. {He already has plans for next year!} {I wish the prize was a one-on-one mentoring session with an architect so he can really see how they work! But, I’ll probably just knock someday & ask if one of them can share with my son their knowledge.}

My Sunshine Girl was very intricate & reminded me of a Swiss chalet with so many of the unique triangle pieces used & of course, she was the one who was constantly giving help to her siblings.

Pumpkin-Poos designed a castle {of course!} I think her design was the largest of all we saw!

Last weekend we spent the day baking. Every year we do cut out cookies & peanut butter kisses for Daddy Bear. It was fun. I think it was the first year I did not end up yelling or frustrated, so you know, that is a success right there. The older they get, the more fun!

 

That ADORABLE plate is courtesy of my good friend Sara over at Sarah and Abraham who creates THE CUTEST personalized gifts for your entire family. You can head on over, choose a product & build your child’s likeness. We also have plates, bowls, & pillows for the kiddos & they TRULY love them. {Thanks again Sara!}

 

I hope you are having a wonderful holiday season. Next up… Christmas pictures!!!

 

Grace & Peace,

Julie

My little Pumpkin-Poos turned 7 today! SEVEN?! Yes, seven. Where the time goes I will never know. Her given Chinese name means “The Lord’s Peace” as I honestly just really wanted a peaceful baby who would sleep soundly & go with the flow. Daddy has renamed her into “The Lord’s Joy” & she only answers to that when called by her Chinese name. I think these photos explain why we call her full of joy.

Her nickname “pumpkin” came along because the day before she was born we were at the arboretum & there was a 500 pound pumpkin & I took a photo next to it as I felt like I was as big as that pumpkin. “Pumpkin” turned into “Pumpkin-Poos” which turned into “Little Punkins” which turned recently turned into “Li’l Punks.” {Either that or sweets.}

Oh, and sometimes I call her my little hippo as she loves cold water & mud. Other things she loves: DOGS! Of course I am allergic, so no living doggy in our home, but you will find 32 stuffed puppies. We read the breed guide book often & she can probably name more breeds of dogs than most people can! She is totally smitten with her brother & sister too. Anything to get their attention & affection {such as covering herself with mud since it is soooooo funny.} The birthday girl even picked out the gift she knew her big brother would love, and so he would gladly play with her. So sweet.

 

And, talk about creative! She is constantly playing house, school, library or restaurant and she LOVES art.

Pumpkin’s life has taught me so much. The first & biggest lesson is that God has bigger & BETTER plans & they are not always our own. {You might call her our love child or our little surprise blessing, ahem.} She’s rocked my world as my “life plan” exploded for the better. It was because of her that Life Verse Design even began. {You can read more about that here.}

 

She has also taught me the wonder & appreciation for language. You see, Pumpkins has a speech disorder & the things we take for granted in speech & language has been a learning process and a TON of hard work for her & still is. Our language is so automatic & it’s a fascinating thing to really think about how we developed it or when we will choose to use a pronoun or the required question word, but she has to think about all of that & more. I am so thankful for how far she has come & I love to hear what is on her heart. {My favorite phrase lately is bedtime when she blurts out every night, “I LOVE YOU MORE!” before I can say it … my not-so-favorite but very funny phrase she used all summer was, “You’re NOT the boss of me.” Ummm… little spit fire just like her mama Sam would say.}

Happy Birthday Sweet Girl! We LOVE you.

 

Grace & Peace,

Mommy {aka Julie}