NEW BLOG!

Hi Everyone!

I'm SUPER EXCITED to annouce my NEW BLOG!

You can now visit my blog, erinLphotobLog,

as I'll be posting from there.

Be sure to update your Bookmarks and your RSS Feeds to stay updated!

www.blog.erinlphoto.com

See you there!

Preview: Erica + Chris!

They did it!

Chris & Erica are gettin' hitched!

We had a fun morning cruising around downtown

taking engagement pictures!

Aren't they adorable??

Erica is beaming.

Just the way she should be!

There are a lot more pictures in progress,

so stay tuned for more!

Thanks for looking!

Remembering

I recently returned from a month-long trip up to Idaho.

It was a long time to be away, especially with the new baby.

At the same time, it was necessary and rewarding.

My Dad passed away the day after Christmas this year.

He didn't like funerals.

We asked him if he would like us to have a Memorial Roping out at his place instead.

He said yes.

We told him we would give away one of the saddles he had won as the top prize.

He teared up.

We knew this is what he wanted, and that made it all worth it.

Here's Dad, years ago, winning a saddle at Garwood Arena:

We set up his truck that he bought new and drove for 20 years

with pictures of him throughout his life.

We had a guest book and candles for friends and family to light in his memory.

One of his great friends, George Richmond, led us in paying honor to his memory.

Then, we all took turns telling funny stories about him.

He was a pretty entertaining guy!

Then, his Grandsons each took a lap around his arena on their motorcycles.

He loved watching them ride.

My Brother did a burn-out in one of his old Camaros...

And then my Sister led a horse around with his saddle he had made by hand,

with his boots in the stirrups backwards,

and his dress up coat that he loved so much hanging from the horn.

While I followed her spreading his ashes.

We also turned out the first steer alone,

nobody following it,

just for him.

Then, it was time to have fun - his way...

with about 300 of his friends from all walks of life.

Here's my Sister enjoying herself after a fast run down the arena:

Jim being silly:

I even made some runs.

This is with Wayne.

He was Dad's Best Friend since before I was born.

At the end of the day,

we awarded his old saddle - now stamped with

"Hippie John Memorial Roping 2010" -

and a breast collar stamped the same,

to the high-money winners.

We were sure to hold a beer in the picture - just like him.

It was a day of remembering,

laughing,

roping,

enjoying old friends,

and making new ones.

We'll miss you, Dad.

Lookin' Up!

It's official,

Creston can hold his head up!

He'll be 3 months exactly tomorrow,

and I can't even believe it.

He is so engaging and fun!!

And, THEEE sweetest smile that lights up his face while melting our hearts...

'Scuse me, I gotta run, gotta go hold my baby boy!

Brian + Tricia: Engaged!

I've said it before, and I'll say it again!

Brian and Tricia are adorable!

They are two of the nicest people you will ever meet,

and they are so in love!

I looove the intensity in their eyes wen they look at each other!

It made me swoon just being with them!

Did I mention that they're fun too?

We had a great time with lots of laughing!

Love this!

LOVE!

and, CAN-NOT get over how perfect Tricia's smile is!

Brian is awesome at helping her bring it out:

And, how cool are they?

Snuggers!

There's that look again!

It's like he has never seen a creature as amazing as Tricia!

They're pretty stoked about getting married!

and, I'm stoked for them!

Brian & Tricia,

You are going to have the most amazing, love-filled Wedding Day,

and the rest of your lives will follow in it's footsteps!

Love You Guys!

Creston!

Hi Friends!

OK, OK, So I haven't blogged about having a baby yet!

I've written this blog twice, then deleted it twice.

How can you put words to this experience??

I just can't.

So, without further ado, fuss or muss,

here is our beautiful Son,

Creston Victor Langevin

Born April 7, 2010

8lb 8oz 22.5 inches

Within an hour of being born:

About 5 hours after being born:

1 week

On our 8th Anniversary
Creston was almost 2 weeks old:



More to come as we go!

Brian + Tricia: Engaged!

Brian & Tricia are ENGAGED!

They are SO adorable together.

I can't even tell you how sweet they are to each other,

and the way they look at each other is enough to make you want to fall in love RIGHT NOW.

Here is a preview from our session on Saturday.

We had a BLAST!

You two are SO CUTE!

More to come soon!!

Showered!

As I am waiting to bring our new little boy into this world,

I'm thinking about all the wonderful women who surround me in my life.

There are so many, I feel truly fortunate beyond compare!

Almost two months ago,

my dear friends Janna & Kristen hosted a baby shower for me.

Many of the sweet, beautiful women in my life came to bless & support me on this journey.

I am grateful to all of them.

I am also grateful to all the friends who couldn't come, and have still sent their love to me.

I'm grateful to my wonderful family, who even across state lines, make sure I know I'm loved.

Thank you all, I love you, and truly would be a MESS without you!

Here are a few fabulous pictures from the Shower, thank you Kristen!

The table filled with fabulous brunch goodies.

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Adorable Antiques and fabulous fabrics decorated my living room...


Janna made banners and all kinds of decorations from these fabulous fabrics,

that I now have to use to decorate our boy's room.

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I asked for friends to write wishes, prayers or wisdom for us to have and read to our boy.

Here is one from Janna helping set a festive scene.

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The living room filled with lovely ladies.

As I looked around the room, I was totally overwhelmed by it.

It's a rare occasion when you can fill a room with people you are 100% comfortable around,

100% supported by, and 110% grateful for.

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Some of the ladies chose to read their blessing as I opened their gift...

Thank you Shelley!

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Ooooooh, and the gifts!!

I am still AMAZED that my nursery is full of everything we need.

His drawers are full of outfits and rattles and teethers and things he can't even use for a while!

His shelf is full of books and blankets and stuffed animals and gadgets!

Thank you ALL, it truly takes a village!

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A diaper cake (full of goodies inside too), sent from Arizona for the special occasion!

Thank you Kelley & Clay!

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And a special thanks to Kristen (left) and Janna (right),

who are both "with child",

spent their time, and resources, and love to make the day special.

Love you Girls!

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It's been really difficult to get back to posting lately.

I'm 38 weeks pregnant, and have started to really get tired and 'swollen'.

All my creativity has been sucked into the final growth spurt of this Baby Boy!

Alas, I must get this finished so I'm not thinking about it in the middle of the night...

Where was I?

I used to work for a company called Liberty Financial Group.

It was a terrific mortgage company that truly wanted to make a difference,

and BE different than other companies.

They made a 5-year commitment to support the village of Batzchocola

through Agros - www.Agros.com .

The 5-year commitment would take this amazing group of people from

the very first shovel of dirt to start their new village

all the way to self-sustainability.

A few of the Executive Team went for the ground-breaking in the village,

and it was an amazing experience.

They wrote a commitment letter like a contract to the village pledging their

financial and spiritual commitment to seeing them through the process.

My trip was the 5-year trip to see how far they have come and celebrate all that has been done.

The People of the village honored us with a beautiful ceremony

to thank Liberty Financial Group

for all the support they had given over the years.

This is a banner they weaved on looms in the village for us.

It hangs in the office at Liberty to this day.

Being involved in the establishment of this village was SO life-giving
to the culture of the company.
Their pictures hung on our walls.
Annual trips brought regular Employees to the village to experience their love.

We used the analogy of the village all the time in comparison to working as a team.

Everyone looked forward to updates on how the village was progressing.

At the ceremony, the most common saying was
"Liberty is Batzchocola and Batzchocola is Liberty".

They loved to acknowledge how they would not be where they are without Liberty,

but also understood the powerful impact they had on Liberty's culture as well.

I have to say, it was the longest ceremony of my life!

3 hours!

Everything had to be spoken in their native language,

then translated to Spanish, then again translated to English.

They wanted to introduce us to every Committee Member and Leader in the village.

One of the most touching moments was meeting the 3 women who make up the

Banking Committee.

Yes, a Banking Committee.

The village had started giving Macro-Loans to individuals who wanted to start

their own businesses.

The most common were women who would weave and then take

their goods to town to sell them.

This is a HUGE step to becoming a self-sustaining village.

They decorated the room for our event by covering the floor with pine needles!

The smell was intoxicatingly good!

I asked why the pine needles and if it had special meaning...

No, they said, it just adds color and makes the moment feel more special!

I guess that's what one does when there are no helium balloons to be had!

There was a lot of prayer at the meeting.

It was just awesome, I have to say!

They prayed in their native language and except for this one opening prayer,

ever time they pray - everybody prays all at once!

It gets really loud and you can really feel the atmosphere in the room change,

everyone is so intent and praying so fervently.

It's something I will never forget.


One of the next big steps in village development is building latrines...

There were a few in the village already,

but this is the newest one, and they are only used by one family each.

Can you believe - this latrine was finished for THREE WEEKS before our visit,

and they didn't use it because they knew we were coming and wanted to

have a proper latrine-blessing ceremony!?!?

We had even been in the village for 2 days before the ceremony,

and they still waited patiently!

Just going off in the woods like they have for years,

waiting for their new latrine to be blessed...

I have so much to learn from them...
Ribbon cutting ceremony:


On the last day, we spent hours playing with all the kids.

They are so full of life and ZIP!

Here, I'm blowing up a balloon to set loose flying about where they all try to catch it!

They just CANNOT wait!

Don't you LOVE the intensity and joy on their faces?

Then, it's MANIA!

The balloon goes whizzing through the air,

the kids run manically to be the ONE to catch the balloon.

They would tuck them right into a pocket to play with later...

What a special time.

I'm so so grateful for the opportunity to go,

and for the change that happened in my heart while I was there.

Batzchocola is a truly special, remarkable, and blessed place.