Tracy Calhoun Blog

lifestyle and photography blog

Valentine Cards for Kids

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Are you one of those moms who creates Pinterest-worthy valentine treats for your child’s class?  Well, I am not.  But I don’t really like the generic Valentine cards that they sell at the big box stores either.  So what do I do?  I order semi-custom cards online, of course!

We get our Christmas cards from Minted each year and I love the quality.  Did you know that they carry Valentine cards as well?  They have custom photo cards, but I like the classroom valentines.  You can customize them with your child’s name printed and then they just fill in their friends’ names.  I’ve rounded up some of my favorite designs to share with you.

Back Home to Alaska

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I’m not sure how many of you already knew this, but my husband and I are both from Alaska.  We haven’t lived there since we were young adults, but we still consider it “home”.  Last summer (August 2015) we took a trip back up there and got to play tourist.  It’s fun to go back to a place that you once lived and experience it as a tourist.

We spent the first part of our trip in Talkeetna, which offers up some of the best views of Mount Denali.  Since our kids are growing up in the plains of Oklahoma, they thought that the mountains were pretty spectacular!

We were able to see some amazing wildlife while we were up there too!  There is an amazing wildlife sanctuary south of Anchorage that is home to several species.  Many are there because they were found injured.  We also visited the Alaska Zoo in Anchorage and the Alaska Sealife Center in Seward.

A family friend took us out on his river speedboat one day and the kids had a blast!  The view wasn’t too bad either.

On the day that we drove down to Seward to check out the Alaska Sealife Center, we decided to hike up to Exit Glacier.  It has melted back quite a bit, so the hiking part is a little longer.  But it was so cool being able to get that close to a glacier.  I definitely want to take a glacier cruise out of Seward during our next visit and see some bigger glaciers!

G R O W

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I don’t believe in making New Year’s resolutions, because I always break them.  One of the pastors at my church encouraged everyone to choose a word for the year, instead of a resolution.  I loved this idea!  So I came home and thought about it for about a week.  What did I want for myself?  What did I want for my family?  What did I want for my business?  I prayed about it every day.  Then one day, God spoke to me and whispered “Grow”.

So for the year 2017, I am focusing on growing.  Growing relationships as a wife, mother, and friend; growing in faith; and growing my businesses.  Yes, I said business(es).  While I have been mainly using this platform to share snippets of my photography business, I am going to switch gears and make it more of a lifestyle and wellness blog.  Two years ago I bought an essential oil starter kit from Young Living and now it has turned into a business.  I have been sharing my passion for these oils with everyone I know and the business side seemed like a logical step.  So now I have two businesses that I am running and I’m still learning how to balance it all!

I have a team of people under me in my oil business that require time and attention so that we can grow as a team, so I will be scaling back my photography business a little.  Photography is still one of my passions, so I will never be able to give it up completely.  I just don’t have as much time to sit at my computer and edit photos anymore, so I won’t be accepting as many clients.  I will be offering limited dates, so make sure and book your session with me in advance to secure your spot.  🙂  And if you’re interested in learning more about my essential oil business with Young Living, click on the WELLNESS tab at the top of my page.