I'm a gal living in Southern Indiana with my husband, Aaron, and two boys, Landon and Liam. If you haven't noticed already, our boys are the main topic of this blog and the reason why I started the blog. Living in a house full of testosterone is never an easy thing (our dog is male, too), but being the only girl in the house is special. I love being spoiled as much as I love digitally documenting our memorable moments as a family.
The title "The Dude Diaries" comes from having two active boys to raise. I am surrounded by all dudes, including our elderly dog, Peyton. We picked him and his brother, Parker, out of a litter of nine. Parker became ill and had to be put down at eight months, which was absolutely heart-breaking, but Peyton has been thriving and bringing so much joy to our lives. With all of these boys, there is never a dull moment in our house.
Update: Peyton had to put down December 29, 2020 due to getting old and losing his way. He was 14.5 years old. We miss him so so much!
(here you can see he could barely stand up)
Aside from being a mom and wife, I am a photographer. I absolutely love what I do and I really enjoy spending time with my clients and learning from other photogs. I never look at anyone as competition. I'm pretty secure at this stage in my profession. I feel we all have so much in common and can learn a lot from one another by sharing tips and tricks and even a few creative ideas. I also feel that photography tells a lot about a person and believe that a photograph is our personal fingerprint of how we see the world.
My family is everything to me. Landon (17) is very bright, nerdy, serious, quiet, creative, socially awkward and sarcastic. He also loves his circle of friends and has a dark sense of humor. Liam (11) is full of imagination, curiosity and attitude. He can also be very funny and sensitive at times. They are your typical siblings. One minute they're fine and the next they can't stand to be in the same room. It's challenging sometimes. Aaron is a workaholic. He's hardly ever home, which is why a majority of the pictures exclude him. But, every now and then he will grace us with his presence and we love every minute of the time we do get with him. Me? I just try to hold it all together without losing it.
Liam has ASD and ADHD. We have been searching for answers for most of his life. We finally got them during the fall of 2014. The question mark hanging over his little head and the "I don't knows" finally disappeared. He is doing great with the help from doctors, therapists, school staff and medication. We are very proud of him and how far he has come in such a short amount of time. We can't wait to see what he does or where he goes next!