other exciting news and the averys

i only did a brief post last night about getting my licensure, and those of you who aren't facebook friends may not have understood the "good" day comment.

yesterday was rough. i had a super-long, tense, emotional meeting that was physically draining. i drove all around to help out another client, and it was just one of those crazy days that wears you out.

which was pretty ironic considering the first few days of this week were way easy. i mean, i've had client cancel on me, go out of town, have schedules end up so that i couldn't work with them. our team will be making up for it next week (our calendar looks CRAZY already!) but it had been a fairly low-key week.

and i had come home every day earlier this week, just hoping and wishing that that certificate would be in the mail. to no avail. i was getting impatient, but i would just continue on with my low-key day and figured it would come the next day.

so yesterday, the day where i worked my tail off and dealt with very high-stress, unplanned appointments--the day that i needed that validation and affirmation that i AM a LCSW and have earned this credential the most--that's the day it arrived.

and brought a big 'ol smile to my face and sense of completion, accomplishment and pride.

AND my brother got a new awesome high-school band director job (hunt high school in wilson, for those of you in the area) on the same day.

and as my dad said later that evening, "y'all did it. you each had a goal that you wanted to reach, and on the same day, you did. LCSW and a high school band director."

i have to admit, God has a pretty great sense of timing.

so, as i was reveling in my new-found sense of accomplishment, i went off to photograph the avery family :)

they have some great land just one county over, and i loved the scenery and backdrop it created. chris said in several cases, "it looks like one of those fake backdrops that you see in the studio!"

they were very easy going and we had fun getting the kids to smile and look at the camera (though not always successfully, as you'll see.)

lily... well, lily was having some diva moments. and i love this photo.

amanda had shared some pictures of the land beforehand, and i LOVED this log and it's potential for creating different layers for everyone.

well, first it had to be checked out for any "law-abiding" snakes that might be hiding there. and as we discussed the possible conversations to emergency room nurses about getting bit on the butt by a snake for the sake of a picture, they deemed the log safe and amazingly--everyone got on it.


it was worth it. i'm also a sucker for old sheds and broken down trucks. they happily obliged.
and bulldozers. (backhoes?--not up to date on my construction equipment.)
the light in the barn was pretty amazing. i think i might tweak this one some more...
we finished off the evening with some confiscated fireworks that the fire marshal said must be "gotten rid of."

lily's not a big fan of fireworks and watched from the safety of the truck.
then, while we had the blow torch out, we got rid of some pesky fire ant hills. those averys know how to show you a good time...
but at the end of the evening, we just enjoyed dusk and the falling mist over the land... (felt like pioneer woman with this shot--except she's just amazing and i couldn't get the horse to come closer)
and headed on home.

thanks, averys, for a wonderful evening and some awesome pictures. i hope you enjoy them :)

(and thanks to jessica for being my fabulous assistant! she did a great job, too)