December discount

We're feeling the giving spirit move us, so we are offering a 25% off discount on all enlargements! Better hurry, though - the sale ends December 7th, so orders must be placed by then. Discount does not apply to canvas prints, albums, or any other specialty items and cannot be combined with any other offer. Hurry, hurry, hurry!!

thankful

Raw food class

In conjunction with my cleanse and changing diet, my sister Michelle came over a few weekends ago and taught a raw food class to me and Gil's mom, Eva (blogging had to take a back seat while we were rounding out the state soccer tournament - more on that soon!). You can check out her website here. We had a full day of chatting, chopping, mixing and blending yummy creations. We get stuck in such a rut eating the same things over and over, and I really want to diversify our diet so we are sure to get well-rounded, nutritious meals. So we jam-packed a handful of recipes into a day in the kitchen. Keep in mind that everything we made is raw. Yup, raw! Rah-rah-rawsome!

So, our day began grabbing a few things from the garden that we would need for the day's recipes. Ethan, armed with his Monkey Scissors, is ready for action.

Not all of this came from our garden - I sure wish we had a mango tree!

Chopping a mango for the mango pudding...

Seeds, beans and grains soaking for sprouting.

This is a kale salad with miso dressing. We also added some pine nuts and raisins for a little twist.

Corn chowder soup...

Here we are using a spiral slicer a zucchini, a beet and a carrot.

Zucchini "spaghetti"...

Wouldn't that look cool on top of a salad?!

Mung beans to sprout...

This was one of the favs from the day - berry cobbler. This was blueberry cobbler and we put it into the dehydrator for a while so it was warm when we ate it. Yum!

And this is a raw taco, with "beans", savory filling, and homemade guac and salsa on a corn tortilla made in the dehydrator.

Ethan approved the berry cobbler (and no, he didn't eat those other two portions!).

What a fun day! We made so many things that I didn't photograph, but we had a blast and sure learned a lot. We have been making so many raw things and the boys are getting into it. Just the change I was looking for!

Changes

Things are a changin' here at the Villarreal household. Some of you know, some of you don't know the big changes that we have decided on for our family. As of a few weeks ago, we have decided that I am going to step away from our photography business for an indefinite period of time. Things are just too crazy for me trying to be a mom (a home schooling mom, at that), a wife and a home-based business owner. Way too much. Tired. Impatient. Fried. Not gonna do it anymore. Nope. My boys' childhoods were flashing by at the speed of light before me and I didn't have time to see much of the show, let alone be an active participant. And the stress level in my life was off the chart and I know that had to be a factor in my recent miscarriages. So it was the I'm-at-my-whit's-end-crying-session that produced our decision. And I'm thrilled. Of course, I literally grieved for a day because photography has been a major part of my life for almost 20 years (yes, I am that old). So it was like letting go of an old friend. BUT, I feel so free and I am hopeful for what the future has in store for me as a person because of this decision. And I know I will be able to do it again when I am ready.

So, on with the story. I will now be doing more blogging about my family than about other people's families. And that excites me. So whether you like it or not, you are going to get a little deeper glimpse into our little home here on El Diente Way. Hopefully accompanied by photos, but it does take a ton of work to get photos up based on my work flow (once a professional photographer, always a professional photographer).

Oh yeah, on with the story. I am on a new journey for the way that I eat and inevitably I am dragging my family along with me. No one is kicking and screaming yet, so that is a good start. I have been doing some consulting with a nutritionist from Boulder (check out her website here) who is helping me fill some wholes in my diet so that I can gain some weight and better prepare my body for any future pregnancies that God may have in store for us. I also just started a three week liver cleanse with Dr. Benson from Two Rivers Natural Health and I am excited to see what that can do for me as well. So I've decided to chronicle my three week journey here on my blog. That's my intention, anyway. I won't blog everyday, and I certainly won't always accompany my posts with photos, but the first day I will.

I wanted to throw in a few photos of Ethan playing with these great gel cling leaves that we found. That's how our day started. And he loves to help me make my smoothie in the morning. He loves to grind up the flax seeds in the coffee grinder, and he reminds me "coconut oil" if I haven't put that in yet. And then it's "Go get kale, Mom". So it's off to the garden we go.

My sweet little Bub in his apron. He is such a little kitchen guru already. I love that about my boys.

Armed with his monkey scissors, he's ready to grab us some kale.

So here's our creation. Banana, peaches, mangoes, blueberries, kale, coconut oil, flax seeds, hemp seeds, chia seeds, goat milk kefir, usually a packet of Emergen-C and some olive leaf extract. Yowza, that's good for you.

And fast forward to lunch. Yummy salad with wild caught salmon, cucumbers, celery, hemp seeds, and a little avocado with lemon for dressing.

Wild rice with sauteed zucchini, asparagus and mushrooms for dinner. I'm full.

My precious boys

I spent all morning in the kitchen. Ethan and I made carrot juice. He loves to make it, but we're still working on getting him to actually like drinking it. Today, he had three or four drinks before he said "no more". A few days ago, he had one drink and made a face and shook his head no. So, we're getting there.

We needed the pulp from juicing the carrots to make our sunburst burgers for tonight. So after I cleaned up the mess from the juicing project, we dove into the next mess. He just wants to help with everything. Stirring, scraping the bowl, scooping, washing. So here's a few pics of him helping me make the patties and put them on the racks to dehydrate them. You can't see it very well at all, but he actually has his own apron that my sister Shelly made for him. He'll bring it to me and say "need apron on". I think you can tell which patties I made and which ones he made while I was dashing off to get the camera.

And then there's my sweet Lucas. My heart is overjoyed with the precious little man of God he is becoming. I sent him to his room this morning for making useless noises (for the fiftieth time). A few minutes later I went in to talk to him, and he had tears in his eyes. He told me that he had already asked God to forgive him and that he told Him he was sorry. I hugged him and told him what a good boy he is and how proud we are of him.

Yesterday, we went out to lunch at a restaurant that gives out those little Wikki Stix. They are basically little strands of twine with wax on them, so you can shape them into fun things. He asked me what he should make, and since I wasn't feeling very creative, I just said "I don't know" and really didn't pay that much attention to what he was doing (I had my hands full putting out fires with Ethan's messes). A few minutes later, Lucas held up his little creation and said "Look, Mom - It's Jesus on the cross!". My heart melted. Lucas is beginning to have our Saviour on his mind throughout the day, and it is a wonderful thing to behold. I love my boys dearly!

Lyndee and Dale

Apparently these two kids have known each other for a while. Like since-they-were-eighteen-months-old-a-while. Isn't that amazing? Families growing up together is a wonderful thing. I still have friends today that I knew when I was little. They foster life-long friendships, and you can tell these two have known each other for a long time because they ROCKED their senior sessions together this past week!

We had a great time and had a lot of beautiful backdrops to choose from at Dale's family's property outside of Rifle. We saw deer, elk, and a cute little family of turkeys during our shoot. No bears, though. Good thing.

I don't really know Lyndee very well, but we photographed her brother, Ryan, last year here. I hear she's quite the gymnast. She is looking at division 1 schools for gymnastics, so I think we'll be hearing more about this young lady in the near future. And she has the. most. gorgeous. green eyes. Beautiful! So, ladies first...

One of my favs...

She looks so much like her mama here. Young ladies don't like to hear that, but it's true!

Love this one, too...

Doesn't this look like she is just on top of the world? Well, we were. This dropped off into a huge valley behind her. Gorgeous.

Dale and Nicholas have been playing soccer together for a few years. And this guy is a huge defensive presence on the Coal Ridge team, who is now 11-0 and still ranked 5th in the state! Oh, and did I mention his offensive presence? He has scored a mess of goals and is the favorite go-to guy for our corner kicks. He is tall and has a big head, I guess, 'cause he's the king of headers!! And he has a great smile. Totally natural. It is great to see such a happy young man.

See that smile? See what I mean?! I love it!

I can't say that I've ever photographed a senior on a hunting blind made from a broken-down backhoe. But I guess I can now!

Thanks, you two, for a great, great session. I had so much fun! Hope you both enjoy your sneak peek!