October 2016 Rural Photo Shoot

Maci has some exciting news featured in the October 2016 Rural Photo Shoot!

October 2016 rural photo shoot was full of fun memories. Both girls have changed so much in a month. It’s fun to go back through past rural photo shoots to see their developments. 

If you’re reading Farm Fit Living for the first time, you may not know what the October 2016 rural photo shoot is. For those of you who are new, be sure to read the next couple of sections. And check out previous photo shoot sessions for some awesome blasts from the past!

But, if you are a loyal follower and lover of my blog and the rural photo shoots, go ahead and scroll down past all this mumbo jumbo to the beautiful Fall photos of the October 2016 rural photo shoot.

WHAT IS THE MONTHLY PHOTO SHOOT?

Well, it is a challenge. I started this challenge in June 2016 as a way to capture the growth of my girls. And also to grow in my photography skills as well. I plan to continue this challenge for many years to come as a way to collect memories with my girls.

Now, I’m not just photographing them in a normal day. But I’m actually dressing them up cute like I would if I was taking them to a professional photographer. I always intended to play with props and use natural lighting to capture their best moments just as a professional photographer would do.

I get to use my creative brain and really think of some ideas to make the best photo work. It’s fun, I’m making memories and I’m saving money by not having to hire a professional photographer. This photo shoot is something I can plan and look forward to each and every month. It will showcase our favorite memories and events of that month.

Furthermore, I encourage you to take part in this challenge as well. Why not? Well, I will tell you why I am doing it. Maybe it will entice you to try it as well.

WHY A MONTHLY PHOTO SHOOT?

Seems like it would be stressful to throw in a photo shoot in an already busy rural life. But, when Maci was a newborn, I was starting to believe it to be necessary. I was fighting with myself over the fact that I had not scheduled a photo shoot with a photographer after the birth of my newborn.

So, I took newborn pictures of her. A month later, my mom came to visit and encouraged me to take some pictures of both girls myself. During the June 2016 rural photo shoot, I used Mylee’s Allis Chalmers peddle tractor, rocking chair and trees in our own yard for an awesome first photo shoot.

That’s when the idea popped into my head. I have the cute props and the camera. I have the gorgeous rural scenery. Why not?

So, the monthly photo shoot challenge was born. I had so much fun with our first photo shoot in June that I decided to keep it up each month.

Because my girls are growing up and changing so much, I felt this would be a genius idea to keep track of their growth. And so far, the results of each have been timeless treasures for me and our extended family and friends who want to follow along as the girls change from month to month. 

October 2016 Rural Photo Shoot

October was so busy. One word. Harvest. Also, we were busy moving cows home from their summer pastures. 

And in the farm house, I’m busy decluttering. Eliminating and organizing the past seven years of our life along with two little girls. It seems like one of my girls always needs my attention (which is GREAT). But, it’s hard to stay focus on one task through the interruptions. My mom came over a couple of days to help. And we completed the October 2016 rural photo shoot. 

We took some time (a whole day!) away from the homestead to shoot the pictures. I wanted an October/Fall-ish theme. So, we looked for colors. Golds, reds, etc. Our drive took us first to Benedictine Bottoms, a wildlife reserve along the Missouri River. We also went up onto the Benedictine College campus to find some pretty colors there. 

Finally, I snapped some adorable pictures of them dressed up in their Halloween costumes at their grandma’s house. Here’s some more information about the locations and props used with the October 2016 rural photo shoot. 

Props & Locations

Benedictine College, Benedictine Bottoms, and Grandma’s Front Porch were the three main locations for the October 2016 Rural Photo Shoot. 

At the Bottoms and College, the girls wore pumpkin attire. Maci styled a crocheted pumpkin hat complete with stem. 

And at Grandma’s, the girls trick or treated in simple Halloween costumes. Mylee was her favorite Disney character: Minnie Mouse. And Maci was a simple pumpkin with the same pumpkin hat. 

So, here’s the results of the October 2016 rural photo shoot plus more about what my girls are up to. 

Mylee

My big girl is three years old. She’s in a confused state of mind between a baby and a big girl. While she still isn’t potty trained, we have our good days and not so good days. She still wants to be the baby sometimes. 

But a major win for this month: She finally started sleeping through the night in her own bed. This is huge. She was refusing her own bed every night and bedtime was such a fight. It was horrible. 

And I have been making her go to bed in her own bed as a plea for her to use her potty chair. If she stays dry, she can sleep with us. But if she has an accident, she has to go to bed in her own bed. And like everything else I have tried for the past six months, incentive: 1, potty: 0. But at least she is sleeping in her own bed. 

Mylee is a super smart girl. Her vocabulary and story telling skills are to die for! And she could sell a professional salesperson under the table with her bargaining and debate skills. I know she’s going to be determined to be very successful someday. 

We started back into gymnastics classes this month. I restarted her in Parent-tot classes but she is too strong and advanced for this class. So, she’s now in the preschool class (without mom) and doing so great! I can’t wait to see how much she learns. 

But the best thing about Mylee is that she is an amazing big sister. I’m very grateful for her help with Maci, who is changing so much in such a short amount of time. 

Maci

This little girl is seven months old now! Can you believe it? She hit some major milestones this month that I’m excited to share with you in the October 2016 rural photo shoot. 

1. Maci can now sit up completely by herself.
2. She has two bottom teeth.
3. Maci can push herself up and is thinking about crawling!

Things are starting to get a lot interesting around these parts! I told Mylee the other day that she is going to have to start keeping her tiny choke able toys picked up. Otherwise, her little sister would soon find and eat them.

And with winter coming, Maci becoming mobile is going to be crazy. It’s almost that time of year when we start to have baby goats and celebrate holidays.  

Busy Month of Farm Work

We got a lot of farm work completed this month. Including harvest, cows home from summer pastures, and spring calves worked. 

Harvest was both good and bad. Corn yields were very poor and the prices were horrible. But soybean yields were the best ever so it actually evened out. It really proves that getting rain at just the right times during the growing season will make or break the yields. It all came out to be ok thanks to the soybeans. 

But farm work is not all I completed this month. 

And A Brand New Book

I published my first children’s book! The book “Sage Beagle & The Shadowy Figure” is now available on Amazon and Kindle. 

All I ask is that you leave a review of the book on Amazon. Pretty please?? 

Publishing children’s books has been my dream for a long time. And finally, it came to be. The process was painful but I now have a system to publish more. Not only will I be publishing more Sage Beagle books, but I also have plans for a series teaching kids how to grow things and make their own food. 

And, there’s also a plan for a farm fart book. Because fart books are popular within a certain age group. I aim to make it educational and incredibly humorous at the same time. 

Update on PPD/PPA

In the September photo shoot post, I announced my troubles with post partum anxiety and depression. And my plan for working through it on my own. So, how’s it going? 

Not bad! I have found that staying positive and relaxed is the #1 objectives to staying sane. I have made lists and am taking one day at a time. This means, I’m posting new posts on the blog less. But I’m putting more time into creating books and getting my Rural Woman Inspired podcast ready for launch in January. 

It also means creating a good work/life balance. While I’m working from home and taking care of the girls, I’m also working a couple of part time jobs. I get to drive 40 minutes one way to one of my jobs. But this has allowed me some good thinking time while listening to some great podcasts and audiobooks. 

The audio book I’m listening to this month is “Think & Grow Rich” by Napoleon Hill. It’s a classic and you’d better believe I’m following it word for word. I have my end goal set and I’m following all of the suggested activities to reach that goal. And it’s going to be an amazing journey. 

My audio book next month is going to be “Secrets of a Millionaire Mind” by T. Harv Eker. I’ll be you can guess what my end goal is now, can’t you?

On my journey to create my incredible life, I have learned to love life again. Because I have to love myself and my own life before I can love my family. And a happy mommy equals a happy family. As you can see in the October 2016 Rural Photo Shoot, my girls look pretty happy. We are all loving life. 

Loving Life

Finally, I’m loving this life that has been handed to me. I’m living in a dream. This life not always easy but all circumstances help you become better. Believe it or not, poor circumstances and downer days are really beneficial to your life journey. They make you stop and think. 

So, as you watch me on my journey, please think about how you will create yours. I want to inspire you to live the life you want to live. You can. You just have to create it for yourself and tell yourself you will achieve it. 

Some people can’t believe how much I have on my plate. “How can you do it all,” they ask me? Well, the truth is – I don’t. I have a mastermind group, just like all past successful people. My life mastermind group helps me every day. They watch the kids for me while I work. They help me with tasks. And they keep me from going insane. 

And somehow I manage to get important things done. Because I now believe I can. By prioritizing and utilizing my resources, I have found a way to do the things I want to do. And my life is a dream. 

So, how will you live out your dream. Create your dream life. I can guarantee to you that you will if you set your mind do it. And I’m here to help. Keep following me on my journey that is MY LIFE. 

What is the one thing you want to accomplish over everything else in your life? 

~ Much Love ~

 

 

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