Week 11 and ortho updates

Week 11. March 29, 2009

I had my consultation at the orthodontist yesterday. I have 2 options-braces and surgery or just braces. If I just do the braces, it should make it about 80% better than what it is now. With surgery and braces, about 97% better. Right now, I'm thinking I'll be happy with 80% better and so I probably won't do the surgery (which is not covered by insurance. Neither are the braces). My next appointment is the 15th, for "records"-x-rays, photos and models. After that, I'll need to get 2 teeth pulled to make room and then get the braces on. I'll probably only have to have them on for about 2 years.

Play Ball!

Softball season has also started and my good friend Bobbie coaches her daughter Taylor's team. She asked me to come and take some pictures of the games and the first one was last night. Here is Taylor pitching.






A little encouragement from mom.

You did great Taylor! I had a great time watching you and the rest of the team :-)

Linda came down yesterday. We had a great time together and got some great shots too. It was opening day for baseball as well so we got to watch Matthew play for awhile. I did NOT take the baseball pictures. Linda did. Thanks Linda!







"Where'd the ball go??"




Just a few of my favorites. I got a lot of flower pictures too but my favorite is my new blog header.

Can't wait to do it again Linda!

Lake House

I took the kids to Clemson Extension this afternoon. Can't wait for my session there next week!

Giant leaps

The birthday boy on Saturday.

Friday evening I got an email together and sent it to local Facebook contacts, offering a certain number of free photo sessions and then giving price details for when the free sessions are taken. I almost didn't press the "send" button and then just about panicked when I did click on it. I went to bed that night praying that I did the right thing. I asked God to give me a clear response if it was really what He wanted me to do. If it wasn't, I asked that no one would respond at all. I got a response. I got a really good response. In less than 24 hours, all the free spots were taken and 2 people want more than one session. Everyone who emailed me back or talked to me in person said how proud they were of me, how excited they were for me and that I would do great. I've never felt so much love and encouragment in one day. Wow. It's almost overwhelming.

All I can say is Thank You.

Getty and an update

So back in January, I was contacted by Getty Images through Flickr. Getty Images is a stock photo site and they were looking to launch a new set with photos from Flickr. They invited me to include 6 of my photos in their set. Because the photos they picked were taken with my old camera and before I shot in RAW and/or I didn't have the original, only 2 of them were big enough to use. The Flickr collection went live earlier this week and my two pictures are now for sale along with 6000+ other photos from Flickr. You can see them here: http://www.gettyimages.com/Search/AdvancedSearch.aspx Just type my name (Amy Kitchen) into the search bar and select photographers from the pull down menu below it. Here are the 4 that they selected but were too small.









The review of Joshua's IEP went well. Everyone agreed that he has improved a bunch since the beginning of the school year. He has more work to do but he's definitely going in the right direction. He will start 1st grade going to the Developmental Therapy program but will hopefully "graduate" from it sometime during the year. He should be able to be a part of the magnet program (if he gets in. We find out on Monday). If it's too much for him, we can move him to a regular 1st grade class. Overall, it was a really good meeting.

week 10, cupcakes and my camera's back.

Week 10/52 March 12, 2009


Cupcakes for Joshua's class at school.

I got my camera back! And the auto focus works! Both of these pictures were taken using it. I'm taking the cupcakes up to Joshua's school later for his birthday. Then we have the IEP meeting this afternoon. Today his class gets to dress up as what they want to be when they grow up. Joshua went to school dressed as a firefighter.

So now that my camera is back and working correctly, I can start working on "the plan." I need to get an email ready to go out. I already asked Joe to help me with a website so we should probably start that. I also need to get Matthew's baseball schedule so I can work around that. I'm very, very nervous about this whole thing.

Week 9, orthodontists and birthdays

Week 9/52. Taken on March 8, 2009

So...4 or 5 years ago I went to see an orthodontist about braces. I was told at that time that I would need surgery to move my lower jaw forward. Insurance did not cover the surgery and it was going to cost $10,000+ so I gave up on that. Last week, I finally made it to a dentist down here. One of the first things they did was comment on the fact that I hadn't had braces when I was younger. I told them what the orthodontist in MI told me. He referred me to an orthodontist here, saying that things have come a long way since then and I may not need surgery at all. I have an appointment on the 30th for a consultation. My dentist has already spoken to the ortho about me and the othro. said he loves cases like mine. LOL. I'm trying not to get excited about it because it still might not happen but I sure would love it if it does.

Josh is very excited about his birthday on Saturday. He's invited a few friends to a party at the house. It's so cute, watching him talk about it all. He's very expressive, that boy. Can't believe he's going to be 6 already.

Camera estimates, IEPs and love notes from my boy.

I got the estimate for the repair of my camera today. Actually, Joe got it since it was faxed to him. The mirror box and the shutter need to be repaired. It's gonna be about $200 including the shipping to get it back. That's more than I wanted it to be but it needs to be done. Hopefully it won't take them long to finish it and get it back to me. They didn't say on the estimate how long it would take.

We have a meeting with Joshua's teachers next Friday to go over his IEP. His teacher in the DT program has already told me that he will be with her again for at least the beginning of next year (1st grade). They will gradually reduce the number of days he's with her instead of just throwing him back into his regular class full time. That sounds like a good plan. I was just hoping he wouldn't have to go again next year. He will probably not be able to be a part of the new magnet program I applied for because of that. But we'll see. That's something I'll be asking about next week.

Joshua told me yesterday that he was going to write me a note. He went into the dining room and wrote it all by himself. This is what he handed me.

Is he adorable, or what? He even drew a heart around the V in Luv. I'm going to keep it forever.

I <3 spring

I love spring. I love the warmer weather. I love the trees and flowers in bloom. I love the freshness.

Yesterday Joshua and Matthew only had a half day of school. I had a lot of fun hanging out with them in the afternoon. We went to the park so Matthew could practice baseball. It was so sweet-Matthew was helping Joshua try to hit the ball, showing him how to stand and holding onto the bat with him. I didn't take my camera with so no pictures :-( Last night, Josh and I got to hang out and play Mario Kart together. He's so funny when he plays.

We're looking forward to a warm weekend, though it will be pretty busy. Hopefully we can get outside for at least a little while though.

week 8

It was rainy and cold all weekend so I ended up getting out the black fleece blanket for a background and sitting Em in front of the big window in the kitchen with the reflector. I had to figure out how to use the old camera again. I miss my camera.....