As a person, I am pretty private. I don't have a ton of close friends and I prefer to be at home with my family dressed in my pj's and snuggled on the couch than out. I'm also not a very transparent person. I don't like to let other's see when I'm overwhelmed or struggling. I'd rather keep it to myself than let someone know what's really going on with me. So I'm going way out on a limb and being totally transparent in this post. I've been thinking over the past few weeks on what to write and how I want this to all come across and I'm going to begin to attempt to put all of this into words. I'm sure it may take a few days to get this posted (my ADD kicking in).
I've struggled this past year juggling being a newlywed, having two very active daughters, running a business (that while I love the creative side of, I totally fail at the business side), managing a household, working part-time, staying in shape and keeping with a healthy diet and managing some my sanity. As a mother and wife, I've bought into that belief that the house has to be clean and perfect, the meals must be good and nutritious, I should never loose my cool and heaven forbid, yell at my kids! I should greet my husband at the door after his long day at work with a smile on my face and never resent the fact that his day is over at work but my day never ends. I'm still waiting for the dryer to finish so I can fold the clothes before I can go to bed because Gracie needs those shorts to wear in the morning and I don't have the time in the morning to get it done on top of the 100 other things that I have to do. You get me? It's overwhelming! How can I be a Proverbs 31 Wife, a mother, a friend, a business owner and a Follower of Christ? Can I really do it all?
This is where I have discovered that my priorities were all wrong. I know the Sunday School answer. God first, your husband and then your children...yea right. Who can really do that? When I have a million things to do and the live people in my house are all clamoring for my attention, how can I not give it to them? When a client calls me at 8:00 at night and I know that she works outside the home and this is probably her first time alone in the day to call me, how can I not answer her call? When there are twenty things to do on my to-do list and I haven't done a single one and it's 2:00 in the afternoon, how can I relax enough to focus on my Bible Study? I can go in my bedroom and shut the door, but inevitably the girls will get in a fight or the phone will ring or my mind with drift off (my ADD again). At night...well I'm asleep before my head hits the pillow most nights. Why is this so hard?
I decided a few weeks ago to let Crazy Love by Francis Chan be my study for the summer. I've read this book many times in the past but I really wanted to study it and let it sink deep within me. One thing that has really stuck with me is that "our greatest fear as individuals...should not be failure but of succeeding at things in life that don't really matter."
UMMMMM...what??? That is one of the most freeing things that I have ever heard! Seriously? I'm almost 40 years old and I'm just now getting that? Wow! How much time and energy do I spend daily at things that don't matter? I want my life to matter. I want my girls to grow up knowing that they were loved unconditionally and supported. I want to husband to know that I appreciate him and am thankful everyday that he works hard for us. I want more time with my family and more moments! This is my new direction. I know there will still be stress and worry! Another great quote from Crazy Love is "Worry implies that we (substitute 'I") don't quite trust that God is BIG ENOUGH, powerful enough, or loving enough to take care of what's happening in our (MY) lives. Stress says that the things we are involved in are important enough to merit our (MY) impatience, our (MY) lack of grace towards others, or our (MY) tight grip of control." Double WOW!!
From all of this, I am putting it out there that I am human. I can't do it all and I don't have to do it all. My renewed focus is putting God first, My Husband second, My Daughters next and then all the other stuff. This will be a journey and I know it won't be easy. I'm all about simplifying and I'm beginning that right now.
So here come the business announcement .....(if you're still with me....I hope I didn't lose anyone...ADD again). I've been going over this in my head for several weeks on how to make things simple for my clients and for me as well. So as for now I am introducing All Inclusive Digital Packages. I've gone back and forth on this and I've talked with a lot of people and I think this may be the way to go. Things may change slightly as I work out the kinks but this is what I've come up with to simplify my workflow, to offer more for my clients and to alleviate some of my business stress. These packages will be effective immediately to any future Regular Session. Existing Baby Plan clients will also be able to join in this package as well and I'll have those details next week. I'm working on a new brochure that will detail everything and that will reflect my new pricing for Fall of 2013. I'm hoping to have this out by next Friday (I work better with deadline). So here is the 411:
**I've also thought about past sessions. If you have placed an order from a past session, I will offer your digital images for $125. I will keep this offer on the table until August 31, 2013. After that, digital files will not be for sale on any previous session.
