Highlights of Home

I think I don't post as much now that we're back in Salt Lake because the majority of the people I was writing for in Boston live here and are now a part of my everyday life. Nonetheless, here I am sharing some of the highlights that we've been enjoying since moving back to our hometown.

 The girls got big-girl beds! We took down their cribs for the move from Boston and never reassembled them! I completely dreaded this transition, but I think we've essentially got the hang of things. The girls LOVE their beds! They don't, however, like being made to stay in them instead of jumping around, playing with books and toys instead of sleeping. We're working on this.

Sophie wanted to help take her new bed upstairs!

My amazing hubby spent an afternoon getting these assembled. We bought bunk beds that don't need to be assembled that way (our girls are still too little for that, I'm afraid), and everything has worked out great with them so far!

 Of course, I heard giggles after having put these guys down for their nap. I came in and found this happening! The photographer in me naturally whipped out my camera to take a photo before scolding them and making sure they were separated for sleeping.

Being home has meant that the girls get to see their grandparents--a LOT! (These photos are with my parents, but we see Matt's family occasionally, and Jeff and Kathy about once a week.) Matt and I aren't complaining though, this awesome set up has worked out to where he and I get to go out on a date night 2-3 times each month. Oooooh my goodness, I so look forward to spending that alone time with my husband! Having twin toddlers drives me crazy in ways I'm not even aware of until all of the stress from parenting these energetic little ones leaves me literally breathless! I do love their sweet little faces though...

Olivia was barking at the "white dog" during a reading of Eric Carle's "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?" 

Grandpa must have made it through 3 or 4 of these Curious George stories before they lost interest! That's 3 or 4 more than I've ever managed with them!

Believe it or not, a huge factor in the enjoyment I derive from living in this area again is that I get to watch ALL of the Broncos games again! I no longer have to wait until the Patriots have a bye week or until Denver heads out to play some East Coast rival! Sophie sees a football game on (no matter who is playing) and shouts "Go Broncos!". Yep. I'm one proud mama!

The onset of having cereal for breakfast has been quite an event at our house. The girls love eating their cheerios! Hearing them shout for "seer-yul! seer-yul!" first thing in the morning is adorable--it's the perfect way to start the day!

Matt taught the girls how to drink the milk out of their bowls....oh boy.

The girls miss being able to play outside--when we lived in Boston we went to the park all the time! Now that we're here, granted, it has been an incredibly frigid winter, we just haven't made it out all that much. Besides the severe cold, we really don't have a good excuse especially  now that we have a playground on our townhouse's campus within walking distance! Yesterday was sunny/warm enough that I felt like if I bundled the girls up well enough we could head out for a good 20 minutes of play. They were THRILLED! 

The girls played on the curb surrounding the perimeter of the playground--leave it to them to find the one thing playgrounds didn't have in Boston! Sophie is hugging Olivia in this photo and it was taken a split second before Olivia figured out what was going on. Apparently she didn't want to be seen hugging her sister in public because she made it crystal clear that she wasn't having any of it!

Who knew that walking on a 5" piece of concrete could provide so much entertainment for these kids?!

It always amazes me how much my girls have grown in such a short amount of time! They seem so much older than they were even when we moved back in December. They are starting to come out of the Terrible Two's and be much more interactive, sweet, and verbal, although they are still the queen of tantrums. I do love this age though, and these guys make my day entertaining at the very least. I love their kissable cheeks and their beautiful eyes and the way the say "I wuuuv woo!" when I leave to go somewhere. Gah! Melts my heart!

Magic Hour Foundation

Oh where can I start? I feel like the only appropriate way to describe how I'm feeling right now is to explain how excited Olivia gets when she accomplishes something by herself. She stands up and looks at me and says "I dih-yit!" (I did it!) and then she hops up and down and bangs her hands together over and over again while shouting "yay! yay! I dih-yit!"

Her excitement is so pure and innocent and it's so real and she's so proud of herself. That's where I'm at right now. I'm so excited and so proud of myself--I have to share it with you all!

If we're friends on Facebook, you may have noticed me blowing up your news feed with something called Magic Hour Foundation. This is a national charity that pairs photographers with cancer patients and survivors and that allows them to have free photography sessions in order to make sure their memories are treasured for a lifetime. Last Saturday I submitted my application for consideration to participate with the charity as one of their photographers and this morning I received my acceptance email! I was ecstatic to say the very least! While the organization isn't incredibly selective about the photographers that are chosen, they do have several distinguishing criteria that a candidate must meet, and it's so rewarding to be acknowledged as a professional outside of your own mind. When someone who doesn't know you and only knows your work accepts you, you know you've made it! I've had this feeling a few times, lots when I book new clients who have come across my work without a referral from a previous client, and I definitely am feeling accomplished right now!


This is truly a perfect fit for me. Magic Hour Foundation provides sessions to patients who are children and adults, and this was something that was important for me. Most of you also know that I was invited to blog for the Huffington Post in their GenerationWhy section which focuses on how young adults face the experience of cancer (and as soon as I have my login you'll be hearing a lot from me there). Of course cancer is a terrible thing for anyone of any age to face, but I also have an incredibly special place in my heart for young adult cancer patients, as that is what my experience with the disease has been. I was so happy to have found this charity that would allow me to work with cancer patients of all ages.


All of you who read this blog know how much it means to me to be able to give back in this way. You all know my history with cancer and how it has affected my life. Sean always hoped that if his time here on earth was cut short that his story would live on and that those who loved him would find ways to keep the hope that he felt alive in whatever ways we can. And of course, I have Matt with me now, and if it weren't for his battle with cancer and his willingness to face and overcome the disease, I don't know where I'd be. As strange as it sounds, and as strange as it is to say it, my life has been blessed by cancer, and it's not a difficult thing for me to recognize this. Magic Hour Foundation is the perfect avenue for me since photography is what I love. A few months ago, while still in Boston, I was feeling that I wanted to start giving back to my local community and I struggled with finding a way to do this. I came to the decision that I wanted to start donating a few sessions each year to cancer patients and their families, and after looking into how to do this, I discovered that I was not the only one (thankfully!) who had come to this decision and that there were many organizations and charities that I could work with to provide this service to these deserving families. Even though I had found what I wanted to do, trying to accomplish it all right before our move to Salt Lake didn't seem like the right time, so I shelved it for a while until last weekend. I finally felt like I was settled again and in a place where I could start giving of myself. One application, 4 days, and 1 acceptance email later and here I am! What a blessing it is to be able to provide hope to these families in this way that I am able!

Mid-Winter Blues

The last time I posted was right before we left Boston. Since then life has been a whirlwind of settling down again. :)

We left Boston with my mom joining us for the trip. It went as smoothly as it could have gone, I suppose, except that all 5 of us were sick with what turned out to be the flu. The girls had it first, then me, then Matt and finally my mom. I think she's still trying to get it all out of her system. The rest of us have finally got our health back, but we were sick all of the month of December and then some. What a nightmare.

We landed at my parents house in Murray and took over their basement. We weren't there long though, we found a townhouse to live in off of 7200 South in Midvale in less than 2 weeks. It's a great place so far. We love having 2 floors (some separation between the girls bedroom and our living space) and we have a 1 car attached garage which has been so nice especially with this ridiculous cold and horrible air the valley has been experiencing. The complex was built about a year ago I think, and we managed to snag a unit that had never been occupied. We have had zero trouble with the neighbors so far which is awesome.

The holidays went off without a hitch. We really loved being able to spend so much time with our families and it's like we never left! We did have to say goodbye to Stephanie though. She moved to Florida to start her life there at the beginning of January so we didn't cross paths very long. We miss you Stephie! The girls were spoiled rotten at Christmas by all of their grandparents (what else is new?) and it's always amazing to me when I realize how much they've grown since last year. We even made it through an entire movie with them on Christmas day--we saw Wreck It Ralph, which was so cute. The girls enjoyed their giant tub of popcorn that Matt bribed them with and we all got to sit down and relax for a couple of hours, which was a much needed break, at least for me, from all of the running around and chaos that that time of year typically brings.

When we moved into our new place Matt was in between out-of-town clients. He had East Coast trips bookending our one weekend move-in. I did the best I could unpacking while he was gone, and as soon as he got home, it was like he'd never left. He got right down to building our furniture, setting up our electronics, and basically getting the house in order. When it finally came together we were both so exhausted, pleased, and so ready to never move ever again.

Things have been really slow for me as far as work goes. I had 1 photography client right when we returned to Salt Lake and absolutely nothing since. It's been disheartening to say the least, and I try and talk myself into believing that the below freezing temperatures and the disastrously unhealthy air have been to blame for my lack of clients. I'm hoping that when spring gets here and the earth starts warming up again that I can get back down to business. My poor girls are so tired of me taking photos of them, and if I'm being honest with myself, I'm getting tired of photographing them as well. I mean, I'll never stop doing it because I always look back and what I've shot and appreciate how much they've grown and how little they used to be, but everyone has their limits and I'm fast approaching mine. I'm at a point now where I don't pick up my camera most days, and if I do, it has been to photograph my super-slow-growing-possibly-almost-dead plant that my mom brought me a couple of weeks ago. I thought it would be fun to photograph it in stages and then to create a story board to look back on to see its progress, so we'll see how this project ends up. I had a friend and fellow photographer tell me she had fallen to the point of photographing icicles so I guess I should be grateful I haven't sunk that low yet! (Love ya Lou Ann!) If the plant doesn't die before it blooms (I have a serious serious black thumb--like, can't even keep an aloe vera plant alive), I'll maybe, sadly, post the storyboard here for you all to see, even though nobody really cares about my plant. 

One interesting ray of hope that I have happened across has been an invitation from the Huffington Post to blog for their Generation Why series. The section is a spotlight on young adult cancer patients and survivors. I read an article in the section back in November and contacted the editor about my story. It took them a couple of months, but they finally responded and extended the invitation. I've submitted a post to them for review, and who knows how long it will be before I hear back from them, but if it's accepted, it will be published and they will set me up with a blogger account so that I can post as frequently or infrequently on the subject of young-adult cancer (and related topics) as I choose. I'm always on the lookout for a platform to share my story from, and I hope that someone somewhere out there will read what I have to say and be inspired by the things that I share. I'll let you all know how that pans out.

Bye-Bye Boston!

I'm continually amazed at how much can happen in the course of a year. This past year of my life has been spent in Boston. We moved here right after Matt and I got married last December, and our last day in this town comes this weekend. It's bittersweet to be leaving, that's for sure. Of course we are thrilled to be moving back to our hometown. It will be so nice to be surrounded by friends, family and loved ones again after what has felt like a year of near solitude. But this is an amazing city, and a wonderful place to live, if you have what it takes which is apparently a social network of peers, lots of disposable income, and a high alcohol tolerance! 

The best part about living in Boston has of course been our family here. Matt's sister Joni and her wife, Laura have been amazing to live around. We have loved every moment we've spent with them, and have made a lot of lasting memories together over our time here. Sophie and Olivia get so excited when we tell them we're going to "go see Linus"! We will miss them terribly when we leave! We are constantly encouraging them to come visit us in Utah. 

This past year, the girls have grown up so much! I look at photographs of them taken when we first lived here, and they are so different now, yet so much the same. It's amazing to watch their personalities develop, to see their abilities expand, and to see their knowledge grow! They are the greatest daughters I could ever ask for, and having been able to spend so much time with them this year has been the biggest blessing.

We'll miss doing all of our favorite things here when we move! We'll miss going to the science museum, the north point park, the "park in Somerville" aka Hodgkins-Curtin park. We'll miss Rudy's and Panza and Mike's Pastry! Oh Mike's Pastry! We'll miss the scenic and picturesque drive between our apartment and Sudbury where Joni lives. We'll miss Crane Beach, the Cambridge Side Mall, the view of the Charles from Storrow and Memorial Drive. We'll miss all of the local restaurants, shops, and businesses that make Boston feel so welcoming. 

But we won't miss Chelsea.

Living in Boston has been a wonderful experience and we certainly aren't writing off returning here in the future. For now, we're going to set up camp back in Salt Lake, and see where life takes us! We hope it lets us settle for a while at least, though!

Bye Boston. Thanks for the memories. 

Election-Season Social Media: A Lesson for My Daughters

Yesterday I voted in my second presidential election, the second that I have been eligible for. It was the first time I voted in-person at the polling locations since I had to submit an absentee ballot in 2008. What a difference 4 years makes! I don't mean politically, because I personally believe that 4 years is an incredibly short amount of time to try and turn an entire country around, I'm talking personally!

4 years ago, I sat in a hospital room, next to my husband who was in the middle of a stem-cell transplant and high-dose chemotherapy. I lived off of grilled-cheese sandwiches from the cafeteria, and diet coke (because some things don't change :)). I held Sean's hand and we watched the election coverage together, wondering how our lives would be effected by either outcome.

Fast forward 4 years, and so much has happened/changed in my life--Sean has passed now, I have twin toddlers, I am remarried to a brilliantly amazing man, have a photography business, live in Boston, and a myriad of other things!

One thing remains the same, though, and that's is that Barack Obama has been re-elected to serve another 4 years as the President of this country. My aged and worn memory doesn't reach back to 4 years ago to the comments being made on social media about the outcome of the election, but last night's posts are certainly fresh in my mind. 

All of you have seen them. It doesn't matter who you are or if you yourselves are the ones who are posting about the end of the world, the evil takeover from a sinister dictator, or your nausea induced by the campaigns, everyone has these sorts of posts constipating their news feeds on Facebook and Twitter. 

Yesterday I voted in my second presidential election, the second that I have been eligible for, and I took my daughters with me to do it. I have made it a goal of mine to take my children with me to vote each and every time. If I have to pull them out of school to do it, so be it. I have decided that as a parent, I need to be proactive about introducing this system to my children. It's not to say that my parents didn't do that for me, because I think that they did, but I do believe that my political influence came primarily from forces outside the home, from places such as school, my friends, and social media. Obviously my children will be exposed to my political beliefs. It's a hazard that comes from living with other people. I do hope to be an example to them, politically and otherwise.

Like many many others who have succumbed, I have great and sudden temptations to post my diarrhea-of-the-mouth on my timeline. I have refrained (amazingly, since I am extremely opinionated) from doing this, though, because I don't want to use Facebook as my platform. This is one of the examples I hope to set for my girls. If I want to make a statement or do something to make a difference, the way to do that isn't to gripe about how I feel to all of Facebook (after all, that's what husbands are for!). I hope to show them that if I feel the need to take a stand on something that is important to me that I will do that with civil action, and democratic decency. And even if I feel too small to physically make a difference in this vast nation, I will still exercise self-control and keep my bickering to myself. 

I want to show my daughters that it's okay to be upset that things didn't go your way. I want them to know that it's okay to experience true emotion, and that their emotions are valid. I do hope to teach them, though, that name-calling, berating, belittling, being publicly disrespectful, and shedding outright slander against those who are elected to the presidency is not acceptable behavior. And this lesson has started already, people. My twins are 2 and are the queens of tantrums and throwing fits. They are learning now that it's okay to be upset that they didn't get their way after mommy told them 'no', but that it's not okay to scream and throw a fit about it. They're learning that it's okay to be angry that sissy took their toy, but it's not okay for them to hit or push.They're learning to use their words, to share, to love, and to get back up on their feet. And they're 2.

I want my children to learn from my experience in this election--even if the outcome isn't what you had hoped it would be, it's not okay to behave like a 2 year old. It is only appropriate to behave like a 2 year old, if you are in fact, two-years old. If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all. If you claim Christian values and can't behave as God calls us to, pray for yourself instead of for survival from the "apocalypse". Choose your words carefully and realize that there are people in this world who have lived through actual dictatorships, and many, many, many others who did not survive. Remember that there are plenty of things in this world that are far worse than to ask that every citizen of a country provide help and assistance to every other citizen of that country. Remember that God's message to his followers is to love one another. Not love the person who has the same skin color as you. Not love the person who has the same sexual orientation as you. Not love the person who voted for the same person you did. Everyone. Good. Bad. Right-Wing. Left-Wing. Hipster. Preppy. Toddler. Mother. Period.


You get the idea. 

2012-Sewell Family Photos

As a photographer, I find it difficult to get pictures taken of my entire family together. I have a million bajillion photos of the girls but very few of just Matt and I, and even fewer of all of us together!

Fortunately, when we moved to Boston, I met another photographer in the area who was looking for someone to take maternity photos for her. We arranged a swap--I'd take her maternity photos if she'd take family photos for us. I did her session back in April, and we finally got around to doing our family session a couple of weeks ago. 

We picked the Charlestown Navy Yard as our location. It's really an amazing spot full of Boston's rich history. As chance would have it, we did our session the day before hurricane Sandy hit, and got really lucky to find an hour before the winds really picked up. It was overcast, but bright outside, which made for some really great, even lighting. The girls were a little chilly but didn't let us put them down for most of the session so we all kept each other warm. The lady who photographed us suggested that she just give me the unedited files and let me edit them myself, and I agreed. So....here you have photos taken by Amie Larson, edited by yours truly. 

I think they turned out great, really! I was worried about how the girls would be with a stranger all up in their faces for an hour, but they managed to give us a few smiles and to provide us with not-completely-sour-faces in the rest of the shots. In the very least, we now have our little family documented for the year of 2012!