My New Adventure...

Here is the most recent adventure we have started...

If you are in the Asheville area and need a chicken coop builder, I have the guys for you!

It has been a while...

A while back (over the summer) I took a few months and took out my dreadlocks. I thought that some of you might be interested in the process and how it worked out for me!

I have had 2 sets of dreads, one that were truly dreadful because they were done extremely poorly and not sectioned by Adorn Hair Salon here in Asheville. I actually ended up with balding spots from where they didn't section the hair out, it was a mess. To fix that, I went to Eclipse Salon and worked with Jenn, who did a wonderful job with a dread perm. We were able to hide the bald spots, and I had exactly what I wanted for almost 5 years!!

This past summer, I needed a change, and decided to comb out the locks, it took me about 3 months, 6 combs, and LOTS of time. When I was done, I went back to Eclipse to see Jenn and after it all, I had a ton of hair left and was able to end with should length hair that was healthy and full of life.

During the process, I discovered a few things:

Dry combing to remove was better.
VO5 in the tube smoothed it out and helped keep it from re-tangling.
Go slow.
Don't expect to be done quickly.
A TON of hair comes out, and that is ok... I seriously think there was enough to knit a quilt, lol.

No matter the reason for, or how you start your dreads, they become a part of you; your energy, life and ... well... everything go into them, and when you brush them out, a lot of energy comes out too, it was really neat to feel the release of some negative energy and the good that came from the removal process.

Here was the process in photos:

Flying with the Bean...

I flew out of Asheville without much incident. Our flight was cancelled, and I had to go through security twice with all of my breast milk, but it wasn't much of an issue. We got to IL in plenty of time for Grandpa's viewing.

The trip was as expected; it was wonderful to see everyone, but it was not the most wonderful reason to be there.

The flight back was... interesting. My mom decided to fly with us, which was a good thing because the Indianapolis Airport TSA decided that my breastmilk was cause for concern and I earned myself a full search of all of my belongings and a full pat down... It was quite a pain in the butt and it was sad that this is how they choose to use our tax money... it took almost an entire hour to search every item I had, take my camera apart, and to rub down everything in my bags for explosives.

Anywho... I grabbed a few quick photos of my mom and Evie on the plane, not the best, but cute nonetheless! (How could they not be cute with Evie and my mom in it?!)

Remembering...

I am spending today remembering the long and beautiful life of my grandfather. I received a call yesterday morning letting me know he had passed over night.

I miss and love him.

Here are a few photos of him with my kids; he got to meet all but Everleigh.

She and I are leaving for his funeral tomorrow.

Thinking of ...

My Granny Eva and Grandpa Lovett today. I am going to mail this photo to both of them.

Melt my heart...

It isn't often that I think another baby is as cute as my own kids... (I think we moms can all honestly say we think our children are the cutest...) But this baby, oh my goodness! She is just the definition of beautiful! With those pouty lips and big eyes, she is going to be something else as she gets older!!

10 Months...

How can this be? My little baby is already 10 months old!!!

She has started standing on her own unassisted (but of course only when there is not a camera on hand), crawling out of her walker and is just chatting up a storm! The child is still a camera ham, and love as much attention as she can get... I have no idea where she gets it... ;o)

Happy New Year!

With the new year comes new promise, new life, and new ... well, everything!

2011 was a good year for our family. All of our children are healthy; Our marriage is stronger than ever; Carl's company is doing really well; My photography skills are slowly growing... but more than anything, our family is happy. I really couldn't ask for more!

Happy New Year to all of you, and I hope that 2012 brings you as much happiness as 2011 has brought us!

May your year be blessed.