Here's a sneak peek of Sandra & Joe's fabulous wedding at Cobblestone Farm in Ann Arbor.  More to follow...

I'm back from my wedding and just getting into the swing of things again.  I have so many things to post, and yes, my own wedding is one of them.  It was more perfect than I ever could have hoped for, but I'll leave the details til that post. Today's post is about William.   He turned one this summer and we finally got some one year shots of him.  There were so many that I loved I really had a hard time picking which ones to blog, so you are going to see quite a few here.  Once you see him, I think that you will understand.

If you look at the two frames below, you will see in the first one that William is kinda smiling and you can see Murphy's nose peeking in the left side of the frame.  The second frame was taken exactly 9 seconds later.  Right after Murphy grabbed the 1/2 bagel out of Williams hand.  Look at that look on Williams face, he's not quite sure what to make of it!  Is it wrong to smile so much at my own photos? :)

I love this series of photos.  If you look at Lucy's face in the first one, she's a little unsure.  By the third frame, she's smiling!  Love it!

The photo below of William dancing makes me laugh EVERY time I look at it!  EVERY TIME!

We have had Murphy now for 8 months and it's hard to imagine he was ever not a part of our family.  He is definitely a perfect fit.  Here's some recent pictures of him and Lucy in front of our house.  We are working on teaching Murphy to stay in the front yard off his leash like Lucy does and he is actually doing quite well.  That is, as long as his buddy, Muffin, our five year old neighbor doesn't ride by on her bike, cause he loves to run with her down the sidewalk!  Or as long as his collie buddies, Mac and Sisco, don't step out of their house, because that sends him running down the block to see them.  Okay...he needs some work, but he's doing great considering! All right enough jiber-jaber (Did I just type that?, Is that even a word?  You get the idea, right?)

Seriously?!?!  Look at the look on Lucy's face!  Love, love, love this picture!  Love it too much!

Tim calls Murphs our cartoon dog in this photo.  He could be in a Pixar film!

Driving home from Caro. ISO 1600, f/1.8, 1/60.  Out the window.

When I was 24 years old, I broke up with my boyfriend whom I was living with and with no where else to go, moved back home for awhile.  It was a hard transition for me, leaving my own home.  Changing my day to day life so much, not having my own space, breaking up with a boyfriend, I felt a little lost.  My parents welcomed me back and didn't seem to mind at all that I was there, but it was still hard.  Rudy became my buddy during that time.  He started sleeping in bed with me every night, something he had never done with anyone before.  It was like he knew I needed to be comforted and... it worked.   Obviously I eventually got over it, but Rudy would still sleep with me.  Then I moved out again, my parents got a divorce, my mom moved 2 hours away, and I didn't see Rudy as much.  Luckily for me, he had been there exactly when I needed him.  Just like he was for me, he has been there for my mom when she has needed him.  He was by her side through divorce and moving.  Rudy was with her when she fell in love again, and then by her side when her fiance became sick and eventually passed away.  Nothing can make all of that okay, but I know that having Rudy around gave my mom a sense of comfort. Tim and I eventually got our own dogs and we would take them to go see Rudy and his new sister Rosie.  Even at 16 years old, he would get excited and run with them some.  He was patient and tolerant of their "puppy-ness".  He actually seemed to enjoy having them around making him feel younger again.

My mom's birthday was July 21 and we took the dogs to her house to have dinner.  While I was there I took some pics of Rudy, but on the way home I thought to myself that I needed to make a special trip to get some good shots of him because he was getting older and I wouldn't have much time.  Unfortunately I didn't make it back in time.  One week ago today, Rudy passed away.  His passing was mostly calm and peaceful, I am so thankful for that.  But it was still so sad.   Rudy was my buddy, he was the last "family dog" my family will ever have.  He was loved and cherished.   He will be greatly missed.

I never had my official photo shoot with Rudy, but here are some photos I have taken of him over the years.