I was reflecting on everything that happened and how it effected me. I started to write and this is what came out.

Everyone is asking, “How are you really doing?”
My tiredness is slowly fading
My emotions aren’t ruling
And my thoughts are turning
Towards thankfulness.

In the midst of shaking i felt nothing,
Afterwards I’m still moving,
I keep going back re-living,
Stop second guessing,
And starting to listen.

I needed you more than anything
In the midst of pain I was floating
On the prayers of those caring
My burdens you were carrying
So I could rest and hope.

You were there in the shaking,
And now, I’m still standing,
My heart you were holding,
Keeping me, trusting
The one who held me through it all…is the one that holds tomorrow.

This week started like any other Sunday included church, home and rest. Clara was warm when she went to sleep but, that wasn’t cause for alarm. Monday she woke up with a cough, the kind that doesn’t do anything but annoy, and she coughed all day. Monday night I put her down and every 30 minutes or so she’d wake up coughing, crying herself awake and breathing weird – very unusual. I did all I knew to do…put a mist machine in her room, did a neb treatment with last year’s leftover Albutiral and gave her Tylenol for her fever. She seemed to settle. When Matt came home he checked on her and he didn’t like the way she was breathing so he slept with her. At 5am I took over and he got some sleep. I did another neb and decided we needed to go into the Dr. that morning. We got in at 11am, he checked her oxygen and found out she was low (85 instead of high 90′s) and he gave her adrenaline mist and her levels came back up. She had a fever of 101 and tested positive for RSV. He explained what the virus was and sent us home saying most cases they get better on their own but if she sounds “worse or different” to come back that afternoon. Now I was sooo annoyed by that…what does worse sound like? And what is different? How am I supposed to know her oxygen levels at home? Very frustrating.

When she got up from her nap she was whimpering with every breath…that was different enough for me. She fell asleep on the way to the Dr. and I was scared…if knew something wasn’t right. We got into the office and they tested her oxygen levels and they were back down to 85, they did the same adrenaline treatment and she didn’t improve so the Doc suggested admitting her to St. Francis. He made it sound like it was just a precaution so I wouldn’t have to keep guessing through out the night cause kids usually are worse at night. So I agreed.

We got settled into our room and the Respiratory Therapist came in looked at her for 3 minutes and said, “she should be at Children’s Hospital.” Matt and I looked at each other and I thought, “That’s a bit over the top!” But, after trying two different types of oxygen masks and neither bringing her levels to normal they ordered an ambulance to take us to Children’s. At this point, I’m just trying to keep up. You have to remember that morning I think my daughter has a cold Tuesday night I’m riding in an ambulance to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at one of the best children’s hospitals in the country…it’s a bit of a leap right?

Clara was limp, white and breathing hard the whole way there. I kept re-playing the doctor’s last words in my head, “She’s working really hard and at some point she’s going to stop working.” Not possible. She’s MY baby. Needless to say, I was praying, crying and praying some more. I reached out to friends and family through Facebook…asking people to join with us. It was so encouraging to read everyone’s comments. I’d talk to the doctor, text the update, and read about people praying. Amazing! Matt and I knew we’re weren’t alone.

When we got to Children’s 5 doctors and nurses were waiting for us…not a good sign. We had x-rays and blood drawn immediately and everything looked very bad but not awful. The lead doctor came to talk to Matt and I to tell that if she got any worse she would need a breathing tube and she would have to be sedated. I didn’t understand want that meant until later…he was talking about putting her into a coma so they could regulate her breathing. Now, things are getting very serious and still all we could do was pray and wait. All night she woke up in a panic from the strange room and tubes attached to every limb. She hated the oxygen mask and kept pulling at it. I slept in the same bed with her and cried. I felt that feeling…the one where I want to take her pain on myself so my precious baby wouldn’t hurt anymore. But, I was powerless, all I could do was pray.

Wednesday she improved so much that they downgraded (or upgraded depending on how you look at it) us to a ICU room down the hall. She wasn’t critical anymore. AND they had started weaning her off the oxygen. Still not eating or drinking or sleeping…she wasn’t a happy camper. At the end of the day they let her have liquids and I was so relieved to see her doing something “normal.” That night Matt came and I went home. I hadn’t slept since the whole thing began and I was emotionally spent. She needed her daddy and I needed to go home and hug my other babies.

Thursday morning I came back and she started to get mad which medically speaking is wonderful but emotionally is so hard on me. They wanted her to scream and cry because she has loosen everything in her chest but I wanted to comfort her. AND I wanted to do was walk up and down the halls explaining what the doctors said to all the other parents taking care of sick kids listening to my almost 2 year old scream bloody murder! Plus, she would have a full on temper tantrum and pull at every cord attached to her body. It was awful. She was better but not well enough to take the tubes off. Eventually she calmed down and slept. I kept asking them to turn down the oxygen knowing that if she could prove she didn’t need it we could go home sooner. She did went without oxygen for most of the day…and then into the night. People were praying and so was I.


At 4am the nurse came in to check on her and because she’d been off oxygen for so long I asked about removing the tubes. It was a wonderful moment to see my babies face again.

Friday morning I saw the doctor and he signed our release.
They said it would 5-7 days…we were out in 3.
Prayer works.

The last image is Clara playing the Doctor…waiting for Daddy to drive through the show storm and come get us.

At home Friday night she slept 13 hours straight and today she took two 2 hour naps. She is on the mend and being home is the best thing for her.

We’re laying low for the next week so we don’t spread this nasty bug. I don’t mind. This will be a week of resting, cuddling, and thanking the Lord for all my blessings.

I know there are mom’s who have suffered worse and my heart goes out to each one. It is truly painful to watch your child in pain. I was so thankful for the network of friends and family all over the world who stopped for a minute and prayed for Clara. What a gift.

This is our story. Thank you for reading…blogging is therapy for me. Someday Clara can scroll back and read about her trip to Children’s Hospital!

And even though I know it’s very important in the world’s standards to be “busy” and “success” means making more money every year…I find myself thinking differently. Weird right? I’m a fairly driven business minded person so this is a surprise to me to.

I find myself saying, “slow down” and I’m enjoying my day more because I did.

I found this cool video from one of my photographer heros DANE SANDERS. Have a look and tell my what you think.

I know I am and always will be a photographer. It’s what I do and it’s a part of me…but, there are so many other things in this life that are important to me. Maybe this year is about slowing down in some ways so that I can focus on other things. My kids are almost 7, 4 and 2. They are changing so fast and I don’t want to miss it. They need me. Hmmmm. So much to think about.

This won’t be easy for me cause I’m kinda a people-pleasing girl. But, as I look at the calendar filling up I’m wanting to slow down and think things through before it becomes too full and this is another year that flies by in business.

This isn’t a normal blog post for a Wedding Photography during booking season but, I’m not your normal photographer. I pour my heart into everything I do. I’m honest and straight forward. My blog has always been about sharing my heart. I’m not changing anything dramatically but I will be tweaking things so I have boundaries on how much I take on. (It’s sound advice I’d give to someone else but, rarely take seriously myself!)

I’ll keep you posted.

Merry Christmas! Looking back on 2011, we know that we are blessed. God has been so good to us, and we cannot speak enough of his love, his faithfulness, his mercy, and his kindness. At this time of year, we pause to reflect on the greatest expression of his love and kindness that the world has ever seen. Our Heavenly Father sent His Only Son Jesus Christ into the world – to come as a man, to take on flesh, to live a sinless life, and to lay down that life to pay the penalty for our sins. In the Book of John, we read of Jesus when it says, “The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world… to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” For the Hedrick family, 2011 has been a year of seen more and more of the glory of Jesus Christ.

Here are some of the highlights from this past year:

2011 was a wonderful year for Matt. He is going into his tenth year as Bethany Church’s Senior Pastor. The congregation at Bethany Church has seen a tremendous amount of growth and maturity this year, and Matt is so honored to work with the men and women that he does on the church staff. In addition to his leadership role at the church, he continues to serve on the Board of Directors for a couple of ministries in the Twin Cities area (Transform Minnesota and World Relief Minnesota.) A planned ministry trip to Kenya in the fall of 2011 was delayed to early 2012 because of some of the unrest that has been occurring in that region of the world. In addition to his ministry life, Matt kept busy working on and finishing the basement at our home and also enjoyed his annual trip to the Boundary Waters with some friends from church.
Noemi is learning more about herself and what it means to be a mom and wife all the time. She continues volunteering at Adriah’s school, serves on the church worship team, and leads a Mom’s small group. This year she’s started to attend a BSF (Bible Study Fellowship) group and has loved studying the Book of Acts. It’s been 8 years of developing her photography business, and she loves continuing to learn and has started teaching two different types of Photography Workshops. After a busy season she’s ready to slow the pace heading into winter, allowing more time for family and friends. All of her roles fill her heart to full…
Adriah Liberty is now 6 ½ and almost 4 ½ feet tall! She’s thriving as a first grader at Aspen Academy. She is excelling at reading, math and music! She loves reading chapter books, playing IPAD games, memorizing her Bible verses for Awana, and performing for us on the piano (she’s been taking lessons for almost a year!) She just lost her first tooth and the second one is not far behind. And we are pleased to share that Adriah made a HUGE step in her faith this year! She was publicly baptized in front of her church family. We are so proud of our firstborn! She is our little-love!
Leyton O’Neal is 3 ½ and loves everything with wheels! Trucks and Lego are a big part of his daily play routine. He and Clara are becoming so close and are learning to share their days together while Adriah is in school all day. He continues to amaze us with his happy-go-lucky ways. He loves to laugh and make others laugh…his jokes are actually funny now. He’s been working on potty-training – and hopefully, it will be “mastered” soon. He loves going to BSF with Mom and calls it “his school!” He’s learning hymns, scripture and bible stories. He’s still daddy’s boy and wrestling has become a normal activity in our home! He will start preschool in the fall…but we’re not in any hurry to see him go to school. He is our joy!
Clara Isabel is almost 2! She is talking up a storm. She didn’t walk until she was 18 months… so perhaps she was thinking of all of those words while she sat! She goes back and forth from being “spicy” and being “snuggly.” She really takes the cake on both extremes! We love her “rock-star” hair, her belly laugh, and her willingness to jump right in with the rest of the family. After talking with Adriah about the fact that she was our “Love” and Leyton was our “Joy,” she made the comment that Clara should be our “Peace.” Although we are still getting to know her and learning who she is, we believe that might be a great description of who this precious gift is. We delight in her.

Our children truly are our gift from God! We see Him in them, and we see Him moving in us as we parent them! We enter 2012 knowing that the Lord is faithful to provide for all of our needs…we are rich in Christ Jesus. This year is about pursuing him individually and as a family! We’re thankful for Bethany Church, Awana, and BSF to help give structure to our hearts intent.

Please pray that we will hear the Lord’s voice and will move in whatever direction He leads us. We love you and are blessed to have you in our lives. Blessings from our home to yours – Matt, Noemi, Adriah, Leyton and Clara!

So, I took charge of my inbox. I started clicking “unsubscribe” every day! New emails come and if I don’t open them…they are deleted forever.

I can not tell you how liberating this has been for me.

If you didn’t know you could do this you can. The unsubscribe button is usually at the bottom of an email and if they don’t have one you can right click, select junk and block the email address.

Or you may be like me and you’re thinking,  “Someday you might want to know when the BIG SALE is.” Well, here’s what I’ve figured out. There is always a sale somewhere. If you want to find it on sale you usually can…no email required!

The great news is all the stores you get emails from will not be offended! They love you and would take you back at any moment! You are safe.

I like having less mail and more relevant mail waiting on me.

Whew! Try it! You might like it!

Try it.

Seriously. Right now. Just smile.

When I do it I automatically giggle. Which in turn leads to more smiles.

I take care of my kids every day and I know they won’t remember that…what do I want them to remember? I want them to remember my smile. Because I love them, love being home with them, love sharing the good, the bad and the ugly moments of every day AND I love laughing with them.

(Can you hear the song from Mary Poppins in your head? “I love to LAUGH!” or is that just me?)

So, what I’m saying is, take an opportunity today to turn a seriously frustrating moment…can’t think of any? I’ll lend you some of mine!

“Put on your shoes. Go find your shoes and then put them on. Did you get your shoes on? I asked you to put them on. Can you do that right now please?”

OR

“Pick up the toys and put them away. Let’s sing the clean up song! Can you help Momma put the toys away? Nope. Not playing time…It’s time to put the toys away. Pick up one toy at a time and put it in the bin. You can do this!”

OR

“Can you eat over the table? Sit on your bum and eat over your plate. Don’t play with your food just eat it. Sit down. On your bum. You’re doing great on your eating! Can you finish everything before you ask for more?”

I could go on but I’m sure you get the point. When you feel like you’re losing your mind from constantly repeating and getting zero response…smile. Laugh at the moment. Enjoy the moment and the craziness of your life.

You know I’m totally preaching to myself on this right? I hope I hear it!

Yesterday a friend came up to me at church and said, “I love your smile! When you smile the whole room lights up!” I want that in my home.

Have a wonderful day of smiles and laughter.

Love,

N

Anticipation.

Family.

Dressing up.

Snow.

Getting cozy.

Friends.

Celebrating.

Thankfulness.

Spending.

Savoring.

Peace and rest.

Focusing.

I love this time of year. Have you put on your Christmas music, lit a candle, taken a bubble bath, read a book lately? Why not? ‘Tis the season.

Just over 3 weeks til Christmas. Let’s enjoy every minute.

I took some pictures of the vendors. Here’s a few of my favorite things!

Urban Halo Headbands

Wildruffle Accessories

Sewtroplolis Sewing kits

Anna Dvorak Skin Care – She is working really hard on a new website and I’ll be featuring her site in the near future! Sit tight!

This first shot was taken at The Floral Studio table. Christmas is a beautiful time of year and this captures it perfectly!

This is one of my fav's from the Boutique. Simple right?

You've heard me talk about Urban Halo before...I'm not done! I love these headbands!

Wildruffle was there...I love her stuff too!

Anna Dvorak's All Natural Line of skin care products is quickly becoming my daily ritual! A "must have" this winter...unless you like cracked skin.

Everything was done well! The food served was incredible! Yup, I spend a lot of time near the kitchen.

I sang as a child.

I loved listening to my mom’s high soprano voice ring out on top of every other.

I sang alone.

I was drawn to TV or movies that sang.

I sang with my sisters.

I loved singing in a choir…hearing voices all around me in harmony.

I sang with the radio.

And somewhere along the way I learned that my voice wasn’t just for me, but it was a gift and it needed to be shared. I started singing for Jesus…and I haven’t stopped.

Tonight I’m going to hear one of my all time fav. worship bands…Hillsongs Worship Team is performing at Grace Church in Eden Prairie. They don’t know me and I don’t “really” know them, but because we have shared music I feel like we know each other.

I will sing tonight because…I gotta reason to.

(Hope the person in front of me doesn’t mind)

Are we cute?

Shop local. Find creative gifts. Enjoy the festivities. Make a difference.
The 2nd annual Rachel’s Holiday Shopping Boutique will feature more than 40 local businesses and artisans offering a wide variety of unique products and services just in time for the holidays.

* Children’s Shoppe * On-site gift-wrapping * Coat check * Festive food and drink * Chair Massage * Tea Room

* Over $1000 in door prizes!

We can’t wait to see you and your friends on November 12th. Come join the fun!

“For the first time ever, I got all of my shopping done before Christmas Eve. My gifts were special, affordable and unique. Everyone loved them!” – Gail

“My five-year old daughter got all of her shopping done in the Children’s Shoppe, with the help of her very own personal shopper! She also got everything gift wrapped right away, and I opened my present on Christmas morning without ever having known what the gift was, and without having to take her to a mall! So much less work for me!” – Vanessa

About our Charitable Beneficiary: The Michelle Project
Founded in 1996 and based in the Twin Cities, The Michelle Project is a 501c3 organization that mentors and supports families with financial need along their journey toward self-sufficiency. Since its inception, The Michelle Project has mentored many local families—the majority led by single mothers who have faced challenges in providing for their families on their own.

Saturday, October 29, 2011 – 11:00am

Doors Open: 10:30am

Advance: $12.00

Day of show: $12.00

Seated show w/ kids’ dance space ; $7 kids 2-12

At The Cedar

• 
• 
• 

Fun, Cajun, Celtic, Children’s

What better way to spookify your Halloween weekend than coming out to “The Sweet Colleens Second Annual Halloween Monkey Dance Spooktacular,” a not-so-scary kids concert and dance party. If you made it last year, you will know what fun the Spooktacular was.

You can look forward to…

* The Sweet Colleens rockin’ songs off their acclaimed kids CD, The Monkey Dance: All the Kids Are Doin’ It!
* The Mini-Mosh Pit, with lots of room for kids to dance and move around
* Interactive musical fun for the whole family.
* A great chance for kids to give their Halloween costumes a “dry run” before the big night.
* Special musical guests the wonderful Madrigals choir from Field Middle School (who promise to show up in full trick-or-treating attire!)
*Special prizes.

Speaking of costumes, all guests, but especially kids, are invited to wear their Halloween costumes (although please no costumes that may be offensive to others).

Last year’s Spooktacular was a near sellout, so reserve your tickets early! We’ll see you there…and don’t forget your monkey-dancing shoes!

The Cedar is now fully air-conditioned for your year-round comfort!

Ticket options and info

• On sale date: now
• Phone: 612-338-2674 ext 2 ($1 fee per ticket)
• In person: From a Cedar volunteer in the front lobby during events (no fee), Depth of Field (no fee), or Electric Fetus (small fee)
• Online: Ticketweb (fees apply) (click on red Buy Tickets button at top of this page)
• All Cedar shows are all ages.
• Students with ID may purchase tickets at a discount at the door.

I wanted to connect with you with just a few details. As a reminder, the shop hours are from 9-1. The room we are in is called Club Prior, and is
right next to the library.

If you are unfamiliar with the area, here are some directions:
From the north or west
Take 169 south to Cty Rd 18
Continue straight, which will turn into Cty Rd 21.
Once you see the lake you’ll know you’re close – take a left at Arcadia, and a quick right will take you into the parking
lot for the library.

From the east
Take Cty Rd 42 West to 13 South
Turn right on Cty Rd 21
Take the first right onto Main St. and a quick left will take you into the library parking lot.

Wondering if anyone is going? I’m not! Our event is being listed in Savvy MN, HerLife TC mag, l’etoilemagazine.com,
Metro Mag, the Prior Lake American, and more! Postcards are being handed out to shoppers at every downtown Prior
Lake boutique, and thousands more are being delivered to Prior Lake and Savage homes. I’ll be shocked if we’re not
swamped with people.

If you haven’t do so already, feel free to share the Facebook event page with all your friends! You can find it at:
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=119127231522953

EVERYONE IS WELCOME!

Learning about these 5 Strengths and how they work together has really helped me as I plan for my business and what I want to invest my time in over the next year or two. Reading through my strengths has really helped me to understand why I love doing Workshops. I like to activate/equip/encourage others to accomplish their dreams. In short, I am a butt kicker!

I love to own and run my own business because I love being able to create, change course, say yes or no to different types of photography, and inspire others!

Here’s what StrengthFinders had to say about me:

How your strengths show up in your life and work You bring a spark of energy to every sphere of influence: family, church and work. People might say you are passionate and while this may be true on certain issues mostly, you are about action. As someone who naturally self corrects when a route doesn’t seem expedient, it is difficult for you to be patient in understanding how someone would elect a lengthier course. This speaks to how innate your gifting’s are. Your deep friendships feed you as well as your coaching and mentoring of others and you are deeply satisfied when your work gives opportunity to take photos which are tailored to help capture the essence of who people are. Of course your ability to use words to inspire and motivate others through stories and exhortation give you a powerful voice.

Aspects of business where you will naturally excel Inspiring, Motivating, Communications, Strategic Planning, Customizing Product

Aspects of business where you should seek support Research and Development, Decision Making Strengths to seek in partnerships Empathy, Adaptability, Deliberative, Command

Activator constantly keeps your feet on the move and mercifully it is linked with Strategic to help keep you moving toward a longer term goal. You learn by doing and may have the  tendency to fire before you aim, this is where partnering with a deliberative or input might feed you relevant information and useful tactics to put into play. Your motivation work hard comes from your strengths in the assisting others category. The amount of needs you see may lead you to sometimes feel overwhelmed or lonely in your efforts to help others.

While the “Influencing Others” quadrant is defined by strengths which promote leadership, your position and powerful combination of strengths give you access and unique ability to inspire and motivate others—a very effective form of leadership.

To understand your own strengths and have someone coach you through with a Personalized Strengths Report please contact my coach and tell her I sent you!

Jen Miller
Life Coach
Furthered Intentions
jen@furtheredintentions.com
www.furtheredintentions.com
952.888.1225