Happy Father’s day to me from Daphne.

There cannot be enough positive adjectives to describe how I feel when I say how happy I am to have Daphne in my life. She brings me so much joy. Without shame or pretense, I have to say that she is the cutest baby I have seen. Ever. I think Wonderwife & I did a pretty good job and we thank God for giving her to us.

She and Wonderwife got me some really neat/practical/cool presents such as the Wolverine all-in-one media reader and the Wacom graphic tablet. These will both help when processing photos. Thanks girls!

I want to wish a special thank you to my own father. He likes to quote Bill Cosby a lot in saying: “I brought you into this world & I can take you out. It doesn’t make a difference to me because I can make another one look just like you.” I owe a lot of who I am thanks to him, both good & bad. Happy father’s day, dad. I love you.

Yesterday we said goodbye to Allie, our 7 yr old family dog. We had her since she was a little puppy in Missouri. When we decided to move to Texas next month, we knew we could not take her with us and it broke our hearts to give her away.

What makes this easier for us is knowing that she is with a really nice family now. She has 3 girls and another dog to play with as well as loving parents. We couldn’t be happier in our choice to give her up. We know she will be loved and cared for. Thank you, Esmans, we appreciate this.

Goodbye, Allie, we love and miss you!

The weekend after we found out we are moving to Houston found us sorting our basement & garage into nice neat sections. This is our 4th move in twelve years and it never ceases to amaze me how much stuff we bring onto ourselves. This time around we’re blessed with baby stuff. Her stuff may very well take up half of the moving van itself.

It was surprising how easy it has been in deciding which of my possessions lived, died or find new homes elsewhere. We’re hosting a moving sale on Friday/Saturday and placing items for sale on Craigslist. There can’t be too much worse than having a sale where people pick over your stuff, ignore the sticker price and offer half of the already deeply discounted price.

Okay…back to work.

I cannot believe how big she is getting. Daphne is 9 months old and she amazes me everyday.

The Change Agent: Wednesday afternoon was when I found out that I had lost my job. After Daphne was born, Wonderwife & I decided it was best if the girls would stay at home and still feel this is what is best for Daphne. So the weight of the financial stability falls to the Mojo.

I survived a layoff from the same company 2 weeks before Daphne was born and was laid of from a previous job that was moving to El Paso. No thanks.

This solidified our decision to pack our bags and leave Birmingham, Alabama for Houston, Texas. WW has her parents there and Daphne will get to see family often. For the first time in our entire marriage (12 yrs), we will be living in a city with family in it.

The City:

Houston, Texas is a huge town with almost 5 million people and unlimited opportunity. In fact, I am happy to say that I already have a job.

What We Leave Behind: 

I have been in Birmingham for six years and fell in love with it. The surrounding mountains, the nearby destinations, the people is what makes it difficult in leaving. I’ve met a ton of people here in this city that has made my life better & I won’t be able to name them all here. I have grown so much from this network of people who in true Southern style, embraced outsiders and made them feel welcome. Thank you.

Here are a few snippets of well wishes from friends/contacts:

rock & roll mojo!

wow. big news. bham will miss the mojo

What? Wow! Geez. That’s great? I guess? LOL. Surprise, surprise, surprise. I didn’t see that one coming but wish you great luck.

We will miss the anecdotes that only the mojo could bring

But who’s gonna take my pictures from now on??

Congrats… Big change, which is fitting since isn’t everything bigger in texas?

wow! Congrats on your new job! Sucks for Bham though, but good for you. Best of luck!

 

Moving Out & Moving On

We bought our first home here. We had our first child here (do we classify her as a Southerner or a Texan)? So many numerous occasions and memories to take with us an yet we are happy to leave. It is time to go. Onward & upward. Closer to family and to make new friends while still embracing our current ones. The internet makes this possible.

Our target date is the July 4th weekend so we have about a month left here in the deep south. We look forward to getting the most out of Birmingham while we can.

You stay classy, Birmingham!

 

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or what is holding me back from writing down the words in my head. Pride?  I want to produce something full of wit and epic in it’s own right.

Fail.

I tease Wonderwife about her bag obsessions which has blossomed even more since we carry a diaper bag around as well now. I really should be careful after I realized that I too carry a purse. So what kind of baggage does the Mojo carry?

1. Magellan eXplorist GPS unit
2. Microsoft wireless mouse
3. Motorola bluetooth headset
4. ipod data/charger cable
5. moble phone data cable/charger
6. Sony headphones
7. 30GB video iPod
8. Leatherman micromini tool
9. Swiss army knife
10. Moleskine notebook
11. Photo Mojo business cards
12. Flash drive case with 10GB storage total, an SD/miniSD card reader, SD adapter
13. ATT 8925 Tilt smartphone with Windows Mobile & Office 2007, wifi, camera, video etc
14. Dell Vostro 1500 and power brick
15. Flip video camera (not shown)
16. Nikon D50 w/ 18-55 kit lens (taking picture)

So yeah, I got a lot of crap I carry with me in my man purse. Just everything a mobile professional needs and nothing I don’t. What’s in your wallet?

 

 

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What another busy, fun, productive weekend! I hope yours was equally fun. My mother & her husband went to the Oklahoma panhandle to shoot at prairie dogs and jackrabbits. The cattle farmers appreciate this because the critters burrow holes that the cow’s hooves fall into. I’d share photos of some of the kill but that’d be gross.

Just found out my father is on vacation this week to the Colorado Rockies. I’m jealous.

OK, back to me. I got to shoot the beautiful people attending Art on the Rocks vent at the Birmingham Museum of Art on Friday. Good times, music, drinks and culture. Happy times.

The girls and I did a photo shoot with Daphne on Saturday and then raced downtown for the annual Do Dah Day parade with dogs dressed in costume.

Sunday was another portrait session with a fun family. They have a gorgeous 17 y/o and two 9 y/o twins that were rambunctious.

My girls and I enjoyed a lazy Sunday after the shoot and then gorged ourselves on margaritas & fajitas. We’re detoxing this week, I promise. I’m going to roll into work an exhausted, bloated but content guy.

What’d you do?

“I’ll love you forever. I’ll like you for always. As long as I’m living my mommy you’ll be.”