hayden kate • newborn

I got to photograph my newest niece's newborn portraits yesterday. She is just the sweetest, sleepy, squishy little girl and did such a great job for us. When your auntie is a photographer, you get the special "privilege" of an extra-long photo session while I try out new ideas :).

Sweet Hayden was 9 lbs. when she was born and came with all the rolls I had prayed for! We are thankful she is healthy and is doing great. It has been really neat to see my sister and brother-in-law transition to parents- we already knew they would be great, and of course, they are. Here is our Hayden!

milestones

Our baby is growing up right before our eyes. I have to be thankful though- this new season- we were ready for it. Knox can be very shy, and he's a rule-follower like his mama, but over the past couple of years he has really loved going to pre-k and socializing with friends. So, when we dropped him off for his very first day at the "big school", I only had one little I-might-break-down moment. 

He sat at his desk after taking pictures in from of the school, hanging up his backpack and greeting his teacher. I squatted down to say, "You are a man of God and Truett Knox Anglin. You are brave. You do not need to worry. God is close, you can talk to Him, and He will be with you all day". I barely got through the last sentence. 

Knox, on the other hand just said, "I know", and waved goodbye with a smile. And we parents went out to breakfast- because holy free time batman. Liv and I came home to a quiet house and she walked around saying, "Bubba? Bubba?" for a while. I think we will get used to this. :)

Just a week or so ago Knox decided he was ready to ride his bike without those training wheels. It didn't take long and he was wiggling down the sidewalk, but staying up nonetheless. By the time I got my camera out, he had even perfected the smile as he whizzed by. 

It's crazy to watch your kid grow. I really thought I would hate him getting older, but each new milestone has been amazing. I am consistently taught by my children and my selfless husband. I couldn't be more thankful for my friends at Knox's school who have made the transition so easy for us. I know that was ordained and no accident. I am starting to accept change more willingly in life because I know I'll need to depend on the Lord to do it. 

my littles

Time goes so fast. Last week I realized Liv was working on crawling and I had not yet photographed her even holding her head up. So, miraculously, everyone was in real clothing...and I took a few quick photos of the kids. 

This girl...6 months old in just a few days. Her expressions always crack me up. They are just so full of life and excitement. I feel like she has such a fun-loving personality already.

Thank goodness for headbands. Just like her mommy, she doesn't have much hair. It's there, but you can hardly see it, haha- which has made me more adamant about getting something on her head.

If you follow me on Instagram, you may have noticed the bump on the top of Liv's head. It's something she was born with, called a hemangioma. Apparently, they are pretty common- especially in girls. It was tiny in size when she was born but has grown in size and height in the months since. Hemangiomas tend to shrink away on their own eventually (they usually start shrinking around 1 year of age). There are says we think it's shrinking, and days it looks like it's growing- which is crazy, because it can- it is literally a collection of extra blood vessels. 

I really don't mind talking about it at all- sometimes it seems people are afraid to ask- in fact, it's been the funniest to see kids react to it. Knox calls it her "polka dot" or her birthmark. It's totally touchable, and yes, it will bleed just like any other part of skin if touched, but so far it has really been a non-issue.

Poor Knox. Already mildly annoyed at posing with his sister, who loves him oh-so-much.

This kid. If it were possible for me to love him more since having Liv, I do. On the hard days, he's been my helper, giver of hugs, forgiver of a distracted mommy, an excellent cartoon-watcher, and just so smart. 

Goodness I love these babes. So different. So amazing to see life through their eyes- I hope I get to for the rest of my life!

having a baby with samaritan ministries • updated real-person review

It may be that with a new year, many people are updating/changing their healthcare plans, or that our government just instated a rickety healthcare plan of its own (cough, cough), but I have had a ton of questions about Samaritan Ministries lately. So, I figured it was time to write a little update. I'm going to do my best to include some of the specific things people have been asking me along with my personal experience (the only thing I am really the expert on). With this season of life, we are expecting a new baby in March (yay!), and so this review will focus heavily on the maternity need we have submitted. Hopefully I will answer many of your questions as to what that looks like.

For those just hearing about Samaritan, you may want to check out my previous blog posts first:

When we'd just signed up + when we'd been with them about a year. 

Samaritan Ministries is a "biblical, non-insurance approach to healthcare needs". Basically, it is a large group (over 38,000 households) of like-minded (Christian) people who have committed to sharing and meeting their healthcare needs by pooling their funds monthly, instead of sending a premium to a traditional insurance company. We've been with Samaritan almost 3 years now and though we would not consider ourselves "sick people", we have shared 9 needs- one emergency room visit for our son, several miscarriages, bronchitis, and now a maternity need.

There are several things you need to know before you jump ship with your traditional insurance company and sign up with Samaritan. 

It is a different mindset. You can't treat Samaritan like your traditional insurance company, because it isn't your traditional insurance company. There are very specific things they don't cover (which are clearly stated in their Guidelines- you can read them all here). They do not cover medical treatment that is not need-based. For example, my family was required to get routine physicals when we were applying for adoption. Because none of us were sick, and the physicals were not a result of any sickness, Samaritan did not cover those. The good news was that we still got a self-pay discount for them- we were just not able to submit them to the group. 

Samaritan members as a whole have a proactive view of how they handle medical costs. Essentially, we are self-insuring, which has shifted our perspective on how we consider medical needs. I do feel more like a steward of our funds- sending our monthly share to a real person, considering costs and different types of treatment- whereas when we had traditional insurance, I always felt the victim- heading to the clinic in panic mode and then after all was said and done making phone calls to our insurance company to see how much they were going to cover. 

You must be able to keep a savings account (I would suggest around 300.00) to help with the cashflow of your medical costs. Samaritan does not accept needs less than 300.00- which means if I need to take Knox to the pediatrician, I know I will be paying a 50.00 co-pay plus whatever medicine he is prescribed. These visits would not qualify for submission, and so having that small savings account makes a huge difference and lends this momma some security knowing I can take care of my son should he get sick.

I love lists, so to keep it as short and sweet as possible I'm going to do some more pros and cons like I did in my last post.

CONS:

• As I mentioned before, certain things are un-shareable. When we submitted our maternity need for this baby (more on that in a second), we had about 1200.00 in bills for genetic testing (i.e. bloodwork that looks for down's syndrome and other genetic defects). Because this was optional for us, and not testing that was specifically prescribed by my doctor because of a concern she had, they weren't able to include those bills. Samaritan did say that if I had a letter from my doctor stating a concern and a need for getting those tests done, they would then be considered need-based and submittable. The silver lining is that we were still able to get a lower self-pay rate from the lab that did the testing and Samaritan is going to include those bills as a Special Prayer Need when our other bills are submitted for those members who want to give above and beyond their monthly share- so we could end up having a portion of those paid for. 

They also do not cover conditions that exist before you become a member. This can be a major let-down for people with diabetes or other conditions that require regular medication/maintenance. Again, they will submit those pre-existing conditions as Special Prayer Needs.

• The need submission process can be straight-up frustrating. Perhaps it's pregnancy brain, but I had one hell of a time getting our maternity need submitted- not necessarily because of Samaritan, but because our medical providers aren't used to working with groups like Samaritan. Because we are self-pay, my doctor and hospital both require full payment before delivery. Thankfully, Samaritan allows us to submit needs before the baby is born (this is actually a pro, not a con), but holy moly- it was rough. As I said before, we have two hospitals in town- one that is very self-pay friendly, and one that is not. Of course, my OB-GYN, whom I love, only delivers (and offices) at the latter. So, when it came time to collect receipts and bills for routine OB visits, it was a pain. Samaritan requires that all bills have 1) my name, 2) an itemized listing of what I paid for (lab tests, ultrasound, etc.), 3) any self-pay discounts received, 4) the total before the discounts. The receipts I was given by my OB's office were essentially credit card receipts that only had one payment amount and the date. After attempting to get the type of receipt I needed from my OB office, I called Samaritan in frustration. They were very helpful, and I ended up making a special trip to my OB's office where I had to have an office worker write out the missing information by hand on every bill. Yeah- not for the faint of heart...because every medical office worker wants to be interrupted by that "self-pay lady" who needs you to hand-write every discount on her receipts. :/ But we got it done, and Samaritan accepted those bills.

The hospital has been another thing. When I inquired about the process of having a baby there and being self-pay, they said they'd mail me the "maternity discount packet". I literally laughed out loud when I received it in the mail- it was a stack of papers, typed out entirely in ALL CAPS, that read "MATERNITY DISCOUNT PACKET", with no hospital logo or even an organized cost schedule. It simply listed the amount I'd pay were I to have a c-section, and the amount for a vaginal delivery, along with some other procedural information. I was skeptical that Samaritan would accept it- but they did! Praise the Lord. 

PROS:

• New Online Member System. Recently, Samaritan got a new online member system that will allow me to log in and view our needs, shares, and lots of other helpful info. Here's a screenshot of our last need, when I had surgery for the gynecological condition that had caused several miscarriages. 

Just an interesting side-note- with this need we actually had about 900.00 in overages that were paid to us after additional self-pay discounts we received, so we got to send that money to other members. It was such a neat experience to send the money we'd saved to other people we knew needed it.

 I really like the system so far and have found it very handy for updating when we receive checks and send our shares monthly.

• Submitting a Maternity Need. One of the biggest reasons we had for considering Samaritan was experiencing the birth of our son, Knox, with traditional insurance, and also seeing some close friends also have a baby weeks later without maternity insurance (they were self-pay, and not Samaritan members). I so appreciate our friends' transparency in this aspect- we had the same OB and delivered at the same hospital just weeks apart. I was shocked to realize that in the end, we paid over 3,000.00 more for our birth than they did- and we were the ones with "great insurance"! Seeing that difference really made us question why we were doing what we were doing and really prompted us to start looking into other options.

I stated before that because we are self-pay, both my doctor and hospital require pre-payment. Thankfully, Samaritan allows you to submit a maternity need before the baby is born. We were able to submit all of our bills for regular OB visits, bloodwork, and an estimate from both doctor and hospital for the actual delivery in September. Our need will be published in January, which is when we will receive checks from other members. It's at that time that we will work to pay any currently un-paid bills along with the pre-payment for the doctor and hospital. There will be additional bills after the delivery, and we will just add those on to our current need at that time. 

• No increase in "premium" with a new baby. It's incredibly relieving to know that our monthly share (or the equivalent to a monthly insurance premium) will not be going up after we have this baby. Because Samaritan members get to vote on share increases, and we are already at the highest share bracket (currently 405.00 per month for families with 3 or more people- you can check out current rates here), we know exactly what our share amount will be. We do participate in the Save to Share program, which takes care of needs greater than 250,000.00- and have only had to add an extra amount of 10.00 or 20.00 per month a few times for those needs. 

• Reduced Shares. Likely because of all the new members signing up, we have experienced a reduced share amount for the past couple months. Essentially this means that the amount of member shares coming in has been greater than the needs submitted, and so as a result, Samaritan reduces all shares that month by a percentage. This month, our share was reduced by 8%, which was a 32.40 savings for us. That is a reflection of being a part of a not-for-profit organization- when was the last time you heard about a traditional insurance company lowering premiums because they could?!?

• Again, the Karis group. Samaritan employs the help of the Karis group (at no cost to members) to help seek additional reductions on bills from medical providers. Basically, when we submitted our recent maternity need, Samaritan identified the bills where we did not receive a self-pay discount and contacted the Karis Group to advocate with those providers on our behalf (with our permission). They take care of the scary negotiating and work out a plan for you. It is amazing. This does not mean that I don't still have to ask for a self-pay rate and/or different payment plans. But in the case I receive a bill from a provider who has not offered a discount, it is really great. 

• It really is a blessing to give. I really can't overstate the difference it makes mentally and emotionally to send your monthly share to a real family and a real need. We know every month to whom our money is being sent and what need it is meeting for them. I'm not sure it gets much more biblical or practical than that. Our need this month will be going to cover the costs of a one-year-old's ear tube surgery (something we were very close to needing for Knox a couple of years ago)....and, the check I'll be writing is to a mother named Liv (the name of the babe currently growing in my belly). Coincidence? I think not. :)

Considering signing up? Here's what I would do:

Call your regular doctors/hospitals. One of the most popular questions I get about Samaritan is how the self-pay system works. It is different for every provider. For the ones you frequent (like your pediatrician), I would just call and ask "what if"? We have two hospitals in our city, and while both provide excellent care, one is significantly more self-pay friendly than the other. What I mean by that is- they are more willing and more used to dealing with people that do not have insurance, and already have billing systems and self-pay discounts set up so that payment is clear and easy. 

Download the Application Packet.  You will need to fill out the application packet that asks some interesting lifestyle/personal questions such as how often you attend church and how much you consume alcohol (remember- different mindset! One huge benefit to this group is that they can say "no" to an applicant, which keeps the group healthier as a whole and costs down- unlike the new Affordable Care Act). A pastor/staff member at your church will also have to sign your application (like they will with every need you submit). 

I'd love to answer any questions this post may have spurred in the comments section- so don't be a stranger! If this review has helped you at all, we would love to be listed as your referral when you join. Thanks for reading!

he put a new song in my mouth

Shawn and I are not the same parents we were 4 years ago when we were expecting Knox. We had no idea what an honor, a challenge, and an adventure parenting would be! We have struggled the past couple of years to get pregnant and stay pregnant, and though it has been a rough season in our lives, we wouldn't take it back- God had taught us so much. Beyond my nagging, pushing, trying to do it myself, God has patiently refined my heart and taught me to fully trust Him with this area of our lives (and we still get to re-learn that every day). I have a new level of thankfulness in my heart, a new perspective on God's plan vs. my plan. It's hopeful. I was thinking on this the other day and this scripture came to mind: 

“He has given me a new song to sing, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see what he has done and be amazed. They will put their trust in the LORD.”

— Psalm 40:3

That's really what it's all about. I'm hoping you'll see my story and realize how perfectly impossible it is without God.

What's exciting, though- is that not only did He put a new song in my mouth, he put a baby in my belly! That's right- I'm pregnant, and just entering the second trimester! 

We will still be pursuing our adoption as we welcome this baby girl. It is amazing to us how God has worked out his timing in this aspect. As our wait has gotten longer for our adopted child, God brings another in the meantime!

A few words on her name, Liv Caroline:

• Liv means "life". It is a simple way for us to utter our thanks to God for the life of this child! 

• Caroline means "a song of joy and happiness". A perfect description of how we feel. Carrol is also my middle name, as well as my mother's and grandmother's. We love a good family name, so this is our way to keep the tradition alive. Plus, we also love the Neil Diamond hit, haha. 

Thank you to all who have prayed for us in this journey!

what have we been up to?

Amazingly, as wedding season and the weather heats up, we have been able to have many special moments in the past couple months. It's been a growing year for our family- one where we've consistently had opportunities and responsibilities and more time than money and sometimes more money than time! As parents, I know we'll look back on this season as one where we established a lot of things for our little family of 3…there have been times where we've needed to huddle in close together, or go on an adventure, or remove all pressure and just be. Here are a few of those "soak it in" moments we've had in the past month or so...

Knox's school had an Easter egg hunt, and though I remembered to bring candy and eggs, I forgot his Easter basket. So, my kid had to hunt with a plastic bag. I know, Mother of the Year. But honestly, he could have cared less. :) They also got to hold a real bunny. I can't express to you how precious it was to visibly see how much he loved that little bunny. Upon placement of the bunny in his lap, he said, "Mommy, he looooooves me."

One of Knox's friends, Barrett, invited him to a very special birthday party where they got to ride horses! Barrett is obsessed with farm animals and barns and this was such a neat idea. I started to worry Knox may have some hesitation about it, but he jumped right on and soaked it up. This mama was loving all the photo opps. Love these sweet friends.

Last week we got to journey with the Pedroza family to Crested Butte, Colorado. It was a long (14 hour) drive, but amazingly the kids did great, and we got to enjoy time talking on the way. The Pedrozas live in Germany and are church planters- the last time we got to see them in person was a couple of years ago. So face-to-face time was wonderful! Of course, the Anglin family did not check the weather when packing, so we ended up with absolutely nothing to wear in the winter wonderland we ended up in. :) Thankfully, the cabin we stayed in was fully stocked with 80's-style ski suits and accessories, which we embraced with some sentiment, knowing this wasn't the first time in our lives we'd worn neon puff and played in the snow. 

It was beautiful and peaceful. We all had a good combination of quality time with each other and some alone time as well. We also ventured into the town of Crested Butte and found some good coffee. I loved the aesthetics of this place:

One afternoon Katlyn had the idea to paint faces and the kids loved it! We let them paint ours as well. Knox wanted Batman, and after I did his face I asked him if he could fly. You could see the lightbulb go off in his head. His arms popped out perpendicularly, and he went swooshing about the cabin. Of course he could fly.

I feel like this first image is their band photo. 

One of the most incredible parts of the cabin were the two guestbooks there. Because this cabin was built with a missionary retreat in mind, the pages were filled with words from mission workers from all over the world that had retreated to the cabin. Reading their comments and realizing the true enormity of the global work being done was incredible. This retreat was a true gift for us and we are so glad we got to go!

So, those are our latest adventures. It's sure to be a packed summer..so we are doing our best to savor every moment. 

my office makeover • inspiration wall

Wondering what has been keeping me away from my blog the past few days? Clutter. Literally...I could not reach my computer for the junk that covered the floor.

We've lived in this house for a year and a half, and I just realized that the walls to my tiny home office were closing in on me. I was lacking function and a creative space...not ok!

So I decided to go for something truly inspiring. 

I wish I'd taken more "before" pictures. These don't even begin to communicate the mass of mess that I was working in.

I began working on one section, and of course one thing led to another, and voila! Here is the finished product:

A couple of things I have noticed:

1. I like symmetry. And specifically things in two. Perhaps that's why I never get tired of photographing couples. 

2. Clean is better.

My favorite part- the inspiration wall above my desk. I had purchased 14 vintage ivory knobs at a garage sale last year (for ONE dollar!), took out the screw and other hardware, and nailed them to my wall in 3 rows. After that, I hung some coral string between them. Pretty simple!

I LOVE that I can change these bits of inspiration out easily. It's also nice to see an overall picture of "me" as each piece combines to make a whole statement. There are magazine tears, letters, scripture, quotes, travel images, and even some pictures I shot in my first photography course in college.

My bookshelf actually looks decent now. I have a thing for decorative storage boxes. 

I failed to take a picture of what the inside of the closet looked like before I started chunking everything out, but let me tell you, THIS is a MIRACLE. It may not look like much, but the functionality has gone way up, and now all of my gear, files, and packaging materials have a place.

Now for some of my favorite details. On the left, armadillo embroidery I uncovered in a middle school art closet during student teaching. On the right, Manny. He is actually property of my sister, Layne, but I'm hoping she'll let him live here even after she moves. :)

The black and white image is one from the darkroom while I was first learning to shoot. How about that double exposure technique??? Haha. I actually love this image because of where and when it was taken.

The pencil cup on the left is exciting only because it was an ugly mesh and I slapped some paper (purchased at Hodgepodge Design) on it, and now it's pretty! I bought the gray and green boxes on clearance at Target yesterday. Total score- I love the size of them. 

My friend Heather gave me this print for my birthday this year. I just love it! (I have birds all over my house.)

I needed to add two magazine files to my shelf, but could not find any I liked (I already had the black & white and blue ones). So, I bought some cheap ones and covered them with some floral paper. I also purchased a labeler last week, and I don't know how I've lived without one till now. :)

Yes, I have framed portraits of my dogs. This little birdy was in the dollar aisle at Target. I can never avoid the dollar aisle.

In all, I spent 61.00, including the labeler, so not bad! I am totally pleased and refreshed to be operating in a space I love now. 

Since I've spent so much time on this room the last couple days, you should see the other neglected areas of my house. Eeek. 

blogging, business, and believing

I just finished reading fellow photographer Casey's blog about well, blogging. It really hit a place in my heart that I have definitely struggled with, so instead of leaving a ridiculously long comment on her blog, I thought I'd spell out my thoughts here. It is my blog, after all. :)

Casey was discussing the fact that 1) Her blog (as did mine) began as a means to share her personal self in pictures and writing, but 2) is also a great means to share her photography, which happens to be how she and her husband, Aric, put food on the table.

It's a tough place to be- when you want to be able to share what's going on when you're not behind the camera, but also need to make sure you are professional and keep your business flourishing. 

I love the conclusion that Casey came to as a fellow Jesus-lover. I have to keep reminding myself of my own conclusion from time to time, so I thought it worth the effort to write it here. 

I am not in the photography business. I am in the people business. And above that, I believe that I'm a part of something much, much bigger than myself and my world. I know that my business is not really my own.

There have been many times where I've worried myself out of sleep over the survival of my little business, only to be reminded the next day that the opportunities I've been given through photography are straight from the Lord. Regardless of my abilities or talents, God's gonna do what He wants to do, so I'd better be ready and willing. 

I enjoy writing and sharing my images with the people who read this blog, and although many days I care too much about the number of visitors/comments, I have the need (and the calling) to connect with people. God has promised me that He has a special purpose for my life, and I don't want to miss out on something that has eternal value because I'm afraid of losing something that will only last here on Earth.

Thank you to all the people who take the time to visit my little internet home. I would love to hear your perspective on this topic!

where the heck am i?

I've been "out of the office" for the past few days, so I thought I'd update you all on just what I've been doing.

I flew to Dallas. 

Met up with Stancy, and hung out with my sister for a bit.

We then drove to Norman, OK.

I got to second shoot a very fun wedding with Stancy. It was 4 degrees outside, but I totally enjoyed not being in the driver's seat and getting to experiment a bit.

Then, we headed back to Fort Worth.

I enjoyed many things there. The company of some great people (Josh + Lauren), Pappasitos, Redeemer Church Fort Worth, and Sprinkles! Oh yeah, and we went to a cool yarn shop.

Then we flew to Nashville.

Today we spent a couple hours at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel checking out the trade show at Imaging USA (huge nationwide photography conference). After that, we spent some time hanging out here, here, and here. 

Now we're about to head to a workshop with Jeremy Cowart. I'm excited!

On Thursday I'll fly to San Antonio to catch up with Shawn and the band at a Disciple Now. Should be lots of fun! 

I'll be "back in the office" on Monday. Until then, I hope you all had/have a great week!

advent calendar project

I went to Target yesterday. And like most times, I left with more than what was on my list. :)

They had LOTS of Christmas stuff at 90% off, so I dug through the bins and found these velvet ornaments and ribbon. And then the light bulb went off.

I've been wanting to make a non-traditional advent calendar for our family, and this would be perfect. Yes, I realize that Christmas is now over, but it will be so much fun to pull it out next year and use it! Here's what I ended up with:

I know, I misspelled Micah. I corrected it after I saw this picture. 

The ornaments rang up at .19 each and the ribbon was .50- so project total was 1.26!

I thought I'd share with you how I made it. Here's what you'll need:

Ribbon

Ornaments

White Cardstock

Wire

Glue Gun

Scissors

Tags PDF (below)

I started by making the bows. This ribbon is only one sided and of the cheap variety so it was important to make sure the reverse orange-y side didn't show. Cut 5 12-inch ribbons at an angle and lay them out like this:

Have a piece of wire ready to tie it. Gather the middle of the ribbon together in your hand. Make sure you like how the front of the bow is appearing- it's easiest to make small folds in the ribbon and then squish them together. You can adjust the loops later. 

Then tie it with a wire. Take a 3 inch strip of new ribbon and cut it in half length wise. You'll have 2 1.5x3 inch ribbons. This is what you'll cover the wire with. Bust out the hot glue gun and glue the strip of ribbon over the wire, sealing it in the back, and trimming off excess ribbon.

Before and after.

Then print out this PDF onto some cardstock. Just right-click on the image and download it. (This will be the ONLY time you hear me advising that on my website :). It will not be cut-off when you save it.

Cut the tags out. I decided to leave off the scolloped edge- for huge bows was enough for me. :) 

I attached the number tags with the hot glue gun at the bottom of each ornament. Then I cut some thinner red ribbon to string the scripture tags with. I glued them under the right loop of each bow. 

To attach the bow to the ornament, simply put the excess wire on each bow through the top of the ornament and twist together.

After I had each ornament assembled, I laid them all out to get a feel for how long I wanted it to hang. I cut the red ribbon to size, then found some gray (hark!) that I had left over from another project. I just glued the gray to the red, dotting hot glue in areas that would be covered by the ornaments.

Lastly, I glued the ornaments to the ribbon. Since they are a flat surface, it was more sturdy to attach the ornament than the ribbon.

I hope you enjoyed my little project! There are LOTS of variations you can do with this one- so get to those clearance aisles and have fun! And because I can, here's a random photo of Willy enjoying his new dog bed.