Small Style and a Change of Plans

Due to my busy schedule, Small Style will be transitioning to a once a month link-up. After today the next Small Style will be June 7th. I hope you'll still join me and link up on the first Thursday of the month!

On Samuel: Hat, gift from my mother in law, Phineas and Ferb shirt, Zulily
On Silas: Hat, gift from my mother in law, Shirt- Renegade SF (I really wish I could remember the seller!)
On Finley: Dress- Target, gift from my mom

A few nights ago we went over to my grandparents' house for dinner and to watch the Solar Eclipse. No trip to their house is complete without driving around the orchard in the power wheels truck and golf cart. We also played a few intense rounds of Uno. I'm so thankful for them and the time we get to spend with them.

Link up here:

Sweet Baby Chick

Right now we have several baby chicks living at our house. We raised them from when they were 2 or 3 days old and now they're escaping out of the plastic baby pool and flapping their wings trying to fly around the yard. Finley loves them and several times during the day she says, "I need to go see my baby chicks." The boys love them, too, and are so good at catching them and holding them and helping me out when Papa's not home.

We plan to give away all of the roosters (you can't tell if they're hens or roosters until they're older), give several of the hens to friends, and maybe keep a few, if we get the house. Which, by the way, we still don't know if we're getting it. There have been a few unexpected things come up. We are supposed to close in mid-June, so I'm anxious to know if we'll be moving or not.

Also, Finley girl really loves her Papa. I wish I would have the video camera ready yesterday when Eric came home from work. Finley was in the backyard when she saw her Papa through the gate. She started squealing and laughing and waving her little hand at him saying, "hi Papa!" Sweetness, that girl.

VW Style Family Photos

If we're Facebook friends, then you've probably already seen these pictures, but for everyone else here's a few photos from our recent photo shoot with the talented Katelyn of Katelyn Owens Photography. I love how they turned out! I had a vision for this shoot and Katelyn completely captured what I was going for and made it even better! It was hot outside and I was having a bit of an allergy attack, but you wouldn't even know it by looking at them. Thank you SO much, Katelyn! (Oh, and I took these pictures from Katelyn's Facebook page, so thank you for that, too, my dear!)

I'm going to be second shooting with Katelyn for a few weddings this Summer and I seriously cannot wait!

Myers-Briggs and Introspection

ENFP

Do you know what those letters mean? I'm an introspective person. I love reading books on giftings and personalities and then analyzing myself and my family and friends (and anyone else that will talk about it with me).

When Eric and I were first married we took the Myers-Briggs test with our pre-marriage counselor. I hadn't thought about it much since then until the pastor talked Myers-Briggs at church on Sunday. After the sermon I came home and gave Eric and I the mini version of the test (you have to take the full-length one with a certified Myers-Briggs assessor or I think you can pay and take it online).

Myers-Briggs is basically a personality assessment with four letters that stand for four different characters. There are two possibilities for each of the four letters and altogether there are 16 different personality types.

The first is Eextrovert and Iintrovert. This is about how you get filled up and re-energized. Is it alone(I) or with other people(E)? Extroverts still value their time alone and introverts can be friendly and social people, but when you come home from a party or with a group of people are you tired and drained or excited and energized?

The next characteristics are Sensing or Intuition. Do you like facts and to get to the bottom line (S) or do you see the big picture and read between the lines (I). Intuitives are visionaries and Sensing people are implementors and they get things done.

The next set is Thinking and Feeling. Thinkers make logical decisions based on facts and are task-oriented and logical. Feelers are people and communication oriented, compassionate, and make decisions using their heart.

The last set is Judging and Perceiving. Judgers (it doesn't mean you judge people) love lists, plans, and schedules and Perceivers like to go with the flow and are open-ended waiting to make plans in case something better comes up.

We're all a little bit of each, but we also have one characteristic that is dominant. Different times in life or our families can also influence us and make it harder to see what we really are. We can seem like a different characteristic to compensate for a need in our life, but at our core we're wired one way or another. For example, Eric and I both have Judging tendencies, but are naturally Perceivers. As a mom with little ones it's been necessary for us to live by a schedule, to plan and schedule and make lists when going on trips and just live a harmonious life day-to-day. Eric's parents (at least what I think) are both Js- they're organized, their house is neat and clean, they have schedules, they plan ahead, so Eric has learned to live that. He's neat and (mostly) organized. Part of our life may look like we're Js, but we both naturally like to with the flow and have more spontaneity.

So, like I mentioned above, I'm an Extrovert Intuitive Feeling Perceptive. What are you? (You can take a mini test here and read more about each characteristic here. Just because the test may say one thing it doesn't necessarily mean it's true. Read about them and think about your life and family first.)

Are you introspective? Do you love this stuff as much as me?

Small Style #63 {The Man on the Bench}

On Finley: Bow- Adornme Girl, Dress turned Top- Thrifted, Shorts- Gap, Shoes- Saltwaters On Silas: Shirt- Target, Shorts- Old Navy, Shoes- Converse (entire outfit gift from my mom. Thank, Mom!)

Yesterday, instead of our usual lunch at home we decided to take the kids out for a little lunch date at Chipotle. We like their burritos (Eric and I split one), side of rice and beans (Silas and Finley split it) and chips and salsa (we're cheap dates). Mostly we like when Papa can come home for lunch.

Before eating we parked across the street to take some pictures and to visit our friend, the man on the bench. We drive by him almost everyday and the kids are always excited to see him wearing a new accessory. Sometimes he's sporting a baseball cap, or a Santa hat or one of those headbands with wobbly four leaf clovers on St. Patrick's Day. Today he didn't have anything special on (I think random people just dress him up), but we had fun with him, anyway.

Link up here:

{Wordless Wednesday} The pirates in the parade are too loud.

Summer Beauty Trend: Bright, Pink Lipstick

Thanks to Walgreens for underwriting this post. I was paid as a member of the Clever Girls Collective, but the content is all mine. Visit http://www.discoverbeautywithin.com/ ___________________________________________

During the Summer most of my time is spent outside and near or in the water with the kids. Whether it be swimming at the pool or playing in the creek, we try to stay cool in the 100+ weather that we get around here. Because I'm either sweating or wet I keep my make-up and beauty routine to a minimal. I wear a little bit of foundation and mascara. I swimsuit with a swimsuit cover-up (when I want to look a little cuter) or with shorts and a t-shirt when I'm in a hurry.

Two of my favorite Summer trends are bright, neon colors and something new I'm trying this year is pink lipstick. I think a bright pink lipstick is the perfect way to combine these trends and to freshen up a minimal Summer make up look. Pink lipstick works equally well with a bathing suit and cover-up as is does with a flowy dress on a night out.

I did a little post-pink lipstick and after pink lipstick experiment to show you the difference it makes. In the first pictures you can barely see my lips! The bright lipsticks reminds me of a (fake!) tan. It's not something that stands out a lot, but it makes a huge difference. It makes you look more vibrant and alive.

Minimal make up:

Pink lipstick: (you can actually see my lips!)

The pink lipstick adds a little bit of fun to an otherwise boring look.

What are your go to Summer beauty trends? Have you ever tried bold lips?

Love, Morgan Photography

It's official!

I have officially launched my photography business! My love of photography began with a desire to take beautiful photographs of my children and share them right here on this little ol' blog, so thank you so much for your encouragement and being a part of my journey. I am so excited to be "officially" in business and to take photos of some amazing people.

I would love to have you come visit my new photography blog/website (and see a few more photos of this adorable family!) and you can even "like" me on Facebook.

I hope you had a great Mother's Day weekend! We had a great time...I'll share more later, but as always, my thoughts were with those of you who may be struggling with Mother's Day- those who have lost a mother, a child, or who are struggling to have a child. Love to you!