Deklend and the Art Festival

Deklend performed at the Salt Lake Arts Academy Art Retrospective Arts Festival on May 24, 2012.



Exhibit by my 8th Grade Photography Students.




Exhibit by my 8th Grade Photography Students.



On to the Weekend...

This week has been a busy week for the Montrois family!

Last Thursday during a field trip, Aliya witnessed a man commit suicide by jumping off a building to his death; something no mother ever wants a her child to experience. The event sent our family into support mode as we gathered around her to help her through her trauma. The first few days after the event were touch and go for her. I took Friday off of work and we were attached practically at the hip. Late, Friday afternoon her best friend came over. I was in a fairly overprotective mood, but Steve convinced me it would be a good idea for her best friend to spend the weekend with us.

He was so right! The distraction proved to be just what Aliya needed. Steve and I came up with a bunch of activities to keep the two goofballs busy. We took them to the zoo and Steve took them to a ball game. We picked them up some crafts from the craft store. By Monday, she seemed to be herself again.

On Monday, Deklend auditioned for placement at the Salt Lake Performing Arts (SPA) High School for next year. I cannot believe my baby boy is heading off to high school, but here we are. When we arrived, we learned his guitar teacher had called in sick; the voice teacher would be running his audition. Deklend missed an F#, but the rest of the audition went well. The voice teacher also auditioned his voice. Deklend has a natural tenor voice; this brought a tear to my eye.  The voice teacher said he was making a recommendation that voice be part of Deklend's music conservancy program, along with his guitar and piano.

Wednesday was Deklend's 14th birthday. Steve and I surprised him with a new bike and new dresser for his room. Ironically, his only request for the coming year was that I allow him to get his first job. I love my son! Absolutely!

School for me is going well. This term has been a little tough, because I have a difficult professor. But, what doesn't break me makes me a better photographer. The class is almost over, so on to the next one. Steve's call center is becoming a business hub. He has been in new training for his path and he is excited for what is to come.

We are in the process of closing on our land in Pittsburgh. Hopefully in the next few months we can get a shovel in the ground.

Happy 14th Birthday Deklend!

6-Months

14 Years

My sweet little boy is growing up. He is becoming quite the young man. I am so proud. This week, he auditioned for the Music Conservancy Program at Salt Lake Performing Arts School. He did so well. The school is looking forward to having him in their program for guitar, as well as voice and piano.

Happy Birthday Buddy!

Giving Back...

I have recently been approved as network photographer for Shoots for a Cure. I am really excited about it and looking to do my first Survivor Story. Below is the announcement off of our business blog Magic Mirror Images Photography

Magic Mirror Images Is Proud To Announce...

Magic Mirror Images Photography is excited to announce a partnership with Shoots for a Cure (formerly known as Think Pink Photography). Think Pink Photography was founded in October 2007 to support individuals and their families who have been touched by breast cancer. We are a charitable organization that serves two main purposes – celebrating life and supporting the cause. Recently, we changed our name and our support. We now want to support ALL cancer patients, not just breast cancer.

Through our professional photographer network, we are helping cancer patients to celebrate life with charitable photography sessions. Individuals may choose to document their fight against the disease before or during treatment, or prefer to capture their victory by scheduling a session within 12 months after treatment is completed. Photographers world-wide are now available to donate time and talent to celebrate life and support the cause. There is no cost or obligation to the cancer patient. Clients participating in a Shoots for a Cure session will receive a complimentary photo session, as well as a set of 10 small prints from the session. They will also receive a discount on any additional portraits they wish to purchase, although there is absolutely no purchase required at any time.

To support the cause, we donate and fundraise for The American Cancer Society and the Susan G Komen Foundation. All funds generated through donations and various fundraising efforts are paid directly to The American Cancer Society, the Susan G Komen Foundation, in our name, or used 100% for marketing and awareness of our program.

Please subscribe to our blog (on the Shoots for a Cure website) and tell your friends and family about Shoots for a Cure. Awareness is everything and we can’t be successful without you.

I encourage you to view our website, make a donation, or hire a photographer that supports Shoots for a Cure! If you hire me, mention Shoots for a Cure and I will make a personal donation to the organization. If you, or someone you know, would like to schedule a Shoots for a Cure session, please contact me for details.

I am very proud to be a network photographer with Shoots for a Cure, and am anxious to get the word out about this amazing program. For more information, you can contact me, or you can visit the Shoots for a Cure website at http://shootsforacure.com

Happy Spring!

Happy Spring! First, we want to wish the Hahn Triplets a Happy 2^nd Birthday, we love you. It seems like yesterday we were getting the call they were coming and now they are two. We miss them so much and look forward to being home permanently next year to spend more time with them.

Speaking of the house, we are ready to close on the land finally. All we need now is to sign the paperwork and for the City of Pittsburgh to send us the deed.  We have sent our plans to the builder for cost analysis. We made a couple of adjustments to the plan the engineers will need to fix on our architect’s original draft.  We added a nursery to the top floor in anticipation we will eventually be pregnant. Apparently our architect felt the need to put our laundry room in the kitchen, so we are also having that removed.  The way things are going, the first shovel will go in the ground in June or July. We are so excited.

So, I am preparing to retire next year. I have been taking a certification class through Arts Institute of Pittsburgh for Portrait Photography. The classes have been challenging, but I feel more and more prepared to make the leap to full-time photographer. My certification will also allow me to hold seminars and teach workshops to junior and senior high kids for photography as well. This is something I am already doing here in Utah at the Arts Academy.

As for baby news, Steve and I met with a specialist on Friday, March 30^th.  I am a good candidate for tubal reversal. However, it would a major surgery and I would be under general anesthesia for three hours while they re-connect my tubes. Following surgery, I would be off my feet for ten days. I am not even allowed to drive. 

Eight weeks after surgery, we would be able to start trying to get pregnant. Our rock in the road is financial. We have dumped most everything we have right now into our property and getting the house built. The cost of the surgery is $6600; they will not even schedule the surgery until the fee is paid in full. Another factor is I am running out of time. I turn 40 in August; my probability to get pregnant drops drastically and the risk for Down Syndrome goes up. We are looking at creative ways to get around the issue, but so far we are stuck. After a lot of discussion, we have decided to do one more round of IVF in June instead of having my tubes re-tied. Our IVF doctor will allow us to pay slowly and the risk factor of being under anesthesia would not be as bad. IVF is under ten minutes as opposed to three hours.

Steve learned recently his call center will be the hub for the West on business accounts. He will no longer be servicing the regular customer.  He seems very excited about the change. It is a new adventure for him. He is also continuing his education and preparing to test for his CISCO certification. He plans to have this completed by the time we move to Pittsburgh next year.

Deklend and Aliya are thriving; they are both having a great year. The kids are currently in Kentucky to spend Spring Break with their father. They just learned their Dad has Military orders for Germany. The kids will not see him for three years.

Deklend was recently accepted to the Music Conservancy Program at the Salt Lake Performing Arts High School. This week, we completed his registration.  He is taking Piano I, Guitar II, Elements of Music, Honors Math, Honors Language Arts and Geography for his first term.

Aliya has made fantastic improvements this year. Her artistic ability to draw amazes me. Specifically, when she is drawing dress and clothing designs. She has a fantastic imagination. Her drawings are very well proportioned as well. I imagine a day will come that I will have one of her drawings made. I can visualize myself wearing some of her outfits.

I hope you are having a great Spring and soon we will be home for good. 

An Overdue Update...

Here I sit watching my Detroit Red Wings take on Nashville and it crossed my mind that I have not posted an entry on our family blog in a long time. I am a slacker, a busy slacker, but slacker nonetheless.

These last couple months have been non-stop for Steve and I. We are steadily preparing for our move to Pittsburgh in one-way or another. Steve recently received news that his call center will become the new business hub for Verizon.  He will begin working with IT divisions of business clients instead of standard customers calling in from around the West. He is very excited about the change.

Steve and I have decided when we leave next year I will make the jump to full-time photographer. I will “retire” from law enforcement. I am terrified and excited at the same time. It feels like a huge risk. I am forced to evaluate my skill as a photographer and determine if I can make a living in the new field. My current clients lately have been reinforcing the move is right, but I am still very nervous.

To prepare, I have enrolled in a photography certification program through Arts Institute of Pittsburgh Online. I have also been working on a business plan to put in place once we move.  I have so many ideas and fairly good idea how to put them together to be successful.

In addition to school and work, Magic Mirror Images is picking up and I am teaching photography/yearbook to eighth graders at the Arts Academy. The Arts Academy is in the middle of their Gala preparation. So, I have spent some extra time at the school working with students to take pictures for the newsletter and playbill for Gala. I have to say I am pretty moved every time I see the work my student’s produce using the skills I have taught them. I believe I will continue to teach when we move to Pittsburgh; workshops and such for parents and kids.

On the baby front, Steve and I are waiting for an appointment this month to have my tubes untied. My doctor has cleared me to have the procedure, but we are waiting on a specialist at the University of Utah to set up my appointment to do the procedure. The process to have this done has been a little frustrating. There is only one office in the State of Utah that does the micro-procedure called Reanistimosis. The office lost my records the first time they were sent and my doctor had to resend them. When I called to set up the appointment for the procedure, the office manager said the specialist had my records and it could be two weeks before we received an appointment. So, now we wait.  A month after the  procedure is finished we can start trying.

Last month, we thought I might be pregnant due to some obvious symptoms. Even though my home test was negative, my doctor was convinced I needed a blood test to confirm. After a week late, nature let me know I was just stressed out and needed a break.

Deklend and Aliya are looking forward to spring break. They are due to spend a week in Tennessee with their father before he deploys to Germany.  The break will be good for them. They have both worked very hard this year to do well in school.

Deklend has recently been accepted to the Salt Lake City Performing Arts High School for his music. The school only accepts 300 students a year. He is pretty excited about going to the school.

I have decided I am also going to take a vacation that week by staying home and doing nothing, but stuff around the house. I am noticing lately that I am overly critical about little things. Steve and I agree it is most likely related to my job and a break would do me some good. 

We Have Moved Our Family Blog to a New Home

So much to tell, where do I start? The last month has been full of triumphs and challenges. In January, I tested for Supervisor in my office. I was pretty sure that I was a solid candidate for a position, but things did not turn out the way I had hoped. In short, I was devastated. It became very clear I was not as appreciated by my agency as I would like to be. The process is more to blame than the panel. The process does not take into consideration what your achievements are over period of time or amount of experience you have to offer. It is all about hitting the keywords the panel wants to hear. Therefore, where I fell on the list of applicants had nothing to do with how I do my job or what I have done for my agency. It is what it is.

After a great deal of processing my feelings hovered over a receptacle of some kind, I was ready to evaluate what is next for me and my family. What is our ultimate goal? What do we want and need more than anything else. Steve and I had many discussions about our careers, family, the impact of my career on our family and our inability to have a baby. 

We decided more than anything else, we wanted to be back in the Northeast. We wanted to build our home and be close to family and friends. We evaluated what will it take for us to get back to Pittsburgh by the summer of 2013. 

To start, we authorized the build on our home. Hopefully, we will break ground in August or September of this year. I have begun researching employment opportunities in Pittsburgh in my field. In order to get a position in a higher salary bracket, I will need to complete my Masters; I have a thesis and math class to do and I will be finished. With that being said, I am starting school on February 19th. My estimated graduation date is September 21st, provided I can get my thesis finished by then. Once I finish, I will be hitting the job search hard for telecommuting investigations positions with the court system in the Pittsburgh area. I hope to do this until our photography business is thriving, then do contract consulting from there. 

Since our new studio will be built into our home, I am spending some time getting great business experience running Magic Mirror Images out of a shared studio; it is a lot of work. The idea of walking away from my retirement is nothing short of scary. But, my family is the priority. I want to work to live, not live to work.  In the end, I am not walking away entirely, I will take what I have vested when I go. 

Steve and I have also decided to have my tubaligation reversed instead of doing another round of invitro-fertilization. I have an appointment on February 17th to schedule the procedure. According to what we have been told, it will be a micro-surgery and within 4-6 weeks after the surgery we will be able to start trying; with the assistance of fertility medications I am sure. Here is where we find out if triplets runs in the family or if Julie is the lucky one. :O)

Here starts the countdown to going home and having the things in life we really want.