Shawn & Maria: Future Mr. & Mrs. Leonard

Our friends, Shawn and Maria drove down from Ithaca to spend some time with us on Sunday.
I met Shawn ten years ago as we went to Dryden High together he was a senior and I was a freshman. He was a very kind and a great friend when I was going through one of the hardest times I've experience in my life so far! He graduated 1999 and was off to Germany. I lost track of him but every now and then have kept him in my prayers. Then, January 1st of this year I received a phone call around noon and it was him, telling me that he was getting married!
Most of you who know me, know that yes, I squealed.. ALOT!!
I probably blew out poor Shawn's ear drum!
I am so excited for them, I'm happy giddy and as I type this my knee is bouncing!!!
They are getting married Aug. 1st of this year and I am so very happy to tell you, they picked MEEEE!! to document their day photographically speaking!
AHHH!!
I cannot wait for this!
Maria is going to be so gorgeous and thinking of her on her wedding day I am already getting teary eyed! Weddings are so very special, oh jeez the waterworks!


I am back and dry!


Shawn just got baptized this morning, we were supposed to go, however I woke up with a nasty nasty migraine! GOOD news: I have been getting less of them ( YES! ) bad news: when I get them, they are so painful, puking and I have to take two Imitrex before the pain resides. I am so bummed we missed the baptism this morning but, I was there in thought and prayers and I promise you two, we'll make it up to ya! Aiva misses Maria and Shawn and keeps asking when they will be coming back to visit! She is quite taken! Maria is so very sweet, sensitive, and soft spoken! But, get this, she totally rocks the highest heels, and SHE DRIVES A MOTORCYCLE! HOT!!! I KNOW!!!
Ok, this was not a session, I am still working on convincing them to let me do a shoot for them pre-wedding, so I can make them a photo guestbook. Both of them are extremely shy of the camera and I will have to remedy this w/o being to pushy.. we all know Julie G is not pushy! 'o)
Enjoy and come back to visit 30 images on Aug. 4 from Shawn & Maria's wedding day!
Much Love, delight and appreciation,
Julie G

The Marsh kids & Jenna!

I'm typing this up as fast as my fingers will go because there is a huge T-storm getting ready to unleash on us..{ clapping hands furiously with excitement, these are the things that excite me! }
Here are some photos I took of My brother's two kids Braden & Jordan and their great friend Jenna.
I'm so glad we could get together in between all the rain and hot temps we've been receiving. Hope these make you smile! These guys were so excited to be photographed and were so enthusiastic & cooperative! It was great, I wish all sessions could flow like this date did!
Happy weekend my friends!!
* stay tuned mid-late July for pics of my sister, her husband & son as they are coming to visit! yaaaaay!*









Aidan jumped in for a photo op!
No, I don't bring my kids to a shoot,
they came to our house! 'o)

Aidan graduated!

it's 10am, it's my birthday...
AND TODAY IS ALREADY THE BEST DAY!!
I woke up to Aidan's face 2 inches from mine.
His eyes wide and smiling, the bedroom was so bright with sunshine it actually gave me a insta-headache, but I still appreciated it. We snuggled, snuck downstairs, he bathed.. the girls slept in.
Aiva came down and told me she wanted to make me breakfast.
"You stay here.."
SO I did, wondering what she could possibly make, knowing she cant reach the cereal boxes, or touch the stove.
She came in with my favorite coffee mug, filled with water.
and someone had sneakily stashed OREO cookies..
She is my kind of woman!
Yes, it's my birthday, and I have ate 18 Oreo cookies this morning! I dont care, I'm already bloated...
It's going to be a beauty, we're going to leave and go pick flowers up in the field, and come home and arrange some bouquet throughout the house.
I think since it's my birthday, I might take advantage and by some balloons ( for the kids ) and stuff, and take some fun pictures of my most precious gifts later on!
who knows.. im happy, im healthy, roseeeetta has not made her appearance yet. LIFE IS GOOD!
Aidan keeps talking of his teachers, and school, but ive managed to keep on hugging him and snuggling him and picking him when he asks.. HE LOVES THEM SO MUCH!
He is not sad today, but, when cars go by he will randomly ask; "Is that _______'s car <----insert one of the 5 teacher's names there! 'o)
here are some photos, they're undedited and straight out of the camera I hope you dont mind!
Aidan Graduated from First Friends Preschool, Horace Mann Elementary in Binghamton on Thursday June 18th!



These ladies were all such a blessing in our lives.
I really didnt like the idea when Aidan had to go to the program a year ago, I just felt like a failure, i didnt know what to expect and I was just an overprotective mother.
The teachers were beyond what I hoped and *prayed* for. They love Aidan, they're like his other mom's. We're going to miss them.. we already do! Best wishes to all of you, and we do hope you keep in touch!! 'o)
Love, Shawn & Julie, Aiva, Aidan and even Scoots!

A toad

I feel you dude!
Today, I feel soo grumpy and tired. I am squinty bloaded and my cycle starts tomorrow.. on my birthday..
happy birthday to me..
I don't like this part of life. 3 weeks out of the month I'm happy and energetic and nothing can get me down, no migraines, i love life.
This week, the kids seem so loud, rambunctious and destructive. I hate doing dishes twice a day, sweeping the floors, mopping and folding unending piles of laundry.
I want to be like Mr. Toad and hide under a rock.


I feel you Mr. Toad
Maivey reached to pick him up but I freaked because well, Maive likes to squish things in her little hand. Mr toad is safe in our rock wall. Later I think I might go join him.
On a lighter note here are things about me


1. Speaking with a British accent in the morning helps me function, makes me feel smart and sophisticated, and okay.. Sexy, but also it makes Aiva laugh, she’s got great impersonations skills to.. We so dig JO JO from Supernanny.

2.I love deep conversations, ridiculous ones too. Ones where you’re laughing so hard-then you ask, what were we laughing about? Or even talking about for that matter?

3. I have this habit in the morning, I have to smell the scent of lemon before I can pursue the task at hand, which is why I have a lemony scented candle next to my bed.

4. I want to go back to school and become a pediatric nurse, or work with the babies in the NICU!

5. I daydreamed about my husband, then made a list about how I wanted him to look, what his personality would be like, and values,.. I always thought I wouldn’t get married until maybe my early 30’s, but Shawn walked in to my bible study 18 days later after praying over my list. As we walked up the steps into the house I said “NO WAAAY!” and everybody turned…. Yeah my face was red. But my heart was like whoa!

6. I worked for Abercrombie for a wee bit, and I used to get so annoyed with guys wanting to take you our or what not.. so i would pull my "Jesus Card" no disrespect to the J man but it worked..

7. I was born premature and sustained a spinal injury.

8. I wasn’t supposed to walk or ever have feeling below my waist. And I did and do

9. My eggs were fried from countless numbers of X-rays and other tests in an attempt for dr.’s to figure out what this mysterious spot was on my spine. I was told I’d never have kids. And I have THREE!!

10. I used to daydream of a little girl with long blond bouncing curls chasing butterflies and a little redhead with bibs and I hoped this dream would one day be real, even if it meant adopting. I even wrote about it one snowy afternoon on the computer at work… then I got pregnant with my oldest…. This past summer, I sat in our yard watching Aiva chase a little yellow butterfly, and Aidan sat next to me in bibs playing with his truck.. God totally tapped me on the shoulder and smiled in my heart…. And I cried remembering…
* I never dreamt of Maive, but I’m glad I didn’t, she was the best surprise… a newborn with a red Mohawk!

11. I wonder why God loves me so much… to give me all my hearts most desires, and no long waits…. Maybe it was those painful 15 yrs of childhood and still knowing there was something bigger out their watching over me…. Always… hoping..waiting.. trusting.. crying... There is a GOD, and is a blast!

12. I was Homecoming Queen too.. Just no dress or crown,…..damn it!

13. I collect old cameras

14. I twirl my hair or bounce my knee when nervous. And if I’m pondering something I hold my right hand on my right cheek. When I'm scared ( rollercoaster ) I sing That's Amore!

I have alot of freckles!
15. I love to travel, and love to drive fast…. ( w/o kids )

16 I cant afford Adobe Photo Shop, I use Corel Paint Shot and some software I downloaded 2 years ago off shutterfly.com
( but I do now have Adobe Lightroom.. Sooo, I’m moving up! )

17. Is bummed Aidan's school is done, he loves it and talks about it all the time, mostly the other women in his life, his teachers!

18. I actually really miss Montana our Border Collie….

19. My favorite place to be, is in the woods, winter, spring, summer or fall… mostly summer. I love to explore and god always sends me some cool happening, or little treasure.. He always has.

20. My husband and myself rededicated our lives to Christ recently!

21. I thought at 25 I would be a successful photographer living in London, or Boston with a huge studio apt. Huge windows and 2 Great Danes.. And I vowed to never marry….

22. I get excited when we add new books to our kids library and they’re 4 and under.. I cant help it, I love to teach and read…and we read alot in this home, so I get bored memorizing them all. Aiva cant read but she recites them all perfectly.

23. I eat really really unhealthy… it needs to chaaaange!! ( also I end alot of sentences with an operatic flare!)

24. I am not a morning person, but Aidan is slowly changing this..

25. I am grateful to be Shawn Gendron’s wife, and the mother to three healthy beauties, to live in a house* in the country*, have an abundance of food in our home, hot water, soft blankets and a whole lot of love flowing around to each other… this life is all I dreamt it to be, hoped for and is soo much more!

rain rain go away.... thank you..... oh wait, you're not done yet? i think i'm jinxing myself by writing this post!

So today, was a little scary!
It started out fun. Maive and I had the house to ourselves last night and we both managed to sleep in until 8:30! Can you believe that???
I still can't!!
We hopped in the car with a bag full of pancake mix, sausage, eggs, bacon, syrup and other breakfast goods and made our way down to Brandon's cottage.
I made breakfast and then had Shawn and Uncle Brandon go out to fish in the kyaks in the rain.
We left around 1pm and on the way home it poured and poured.
All the way up intil 3:30 it did not let up!
We check our creek and it was roaring.. seriously, that's what it sounded like!
I took some shots and it made me soo very sick to my stomach, mostly the smell... the air just stunk! And it brought back memories.
Nov. 16, 2006
Aiva & Aidan were sick! Aiv's just turned 2 and Aidan 1.
All day long they were miserable and I had my hands full. So full that I didnt even notice all the rain that came down allll daaaaaaaay loooong!
I finally got them down for a nap around 5ish and plopped myself down for a deep breath. I too was coming down with something.
Then I heard water....
I got up and looked out to see a river of coffee colored water instead of my front yard, and Pierce Creek Road.
I opened up the window to get a better look, and it smelled soo very bed. I didnt know from what yet, and I panicked thinking about what if something could explode, I remembered the house I saw on the local news floating down the Susquehanna...
I'm not going to go into the rest, but we did get "rescued" via a large construction/farm type machine/vehicle. We slept up at the Hart residence. here are some photos.


Ironically we put on Winnie the Pooh, and the episode is where the Hundred Acre wood gets flooded.. "AND the rain rain rain came down down down.."
I was traumatized!
Here are some shots from today, Shawn and I were on high alert. Our home is between two bridges, when it flooded in Nov. '06 it was because of debris and two root balls/trees clogging the pipe underneath the road. The water just built up and up until it overflowed our way, taking with it neighbors propane,gas,fuel tanks, wheelborrows, furniture, beagles..
The DEC thankfully later that spring came in and took away all our contaminated soil.
All winter long Aiva would comment when we had puddles.. "rainbows mommmy!"
We had our well fixed immediately as it was contaminated! I'm thankful we also had the garage to block us from the tanks and such.
So yeah, us, and the neighbors were a little panicked, we had walkie talkies and the works! But, God answers prayers and the rain had toned down, not stopped, but at 6pm tonight the water level thankfully was down about 2 feet from what you'll see in the pictures I took around 3:45ish.

GOOOOOOOOOD Night!!!! Keep warm and dry!