welcome to the world

Noah, I have some things I want to tell you. First of all, do you know that your mother has known me longer than any other friend I know now?  Since 1st grade...its true.  We went to elementary school, middle and high school together, and university together.  We have always been very different from one another.  But, the most important things...well, we have those in common and that is what really matters.  I love her and subsequently I love you just as much.

Also, your father is one of the funniest people I have ever met.  I know, he may not seem funny and hip now...but that is only because you cannot appreciate his humor and intelligence yet. Give it time.

Yes, your grandfather will cry at every milestone in your life.  But remember, he is no wimp.  He is just that confident and comfortable in his manhood that he can shead a tear with pride. 

Listen to grandma Betty, she knows her stuff. 

And when you get older, we will go on adventures.  I will teach you about what good music is and give you the best books to read and show you how to draw beautiful pictures.  But most importantly - I will tell you lots of secrets about mom and dad, I promise.

a crawfish boil

My family has created a new family tradition.  And I am pretty sure everyone is on board.  I mean, how could you turn down sweet corn, sausage, red potatoes, Cajun seasons, lemons, shrimp, and fresh crawfish.  It doesn't matter that we have no Cajun ties or history.... Kentucky's got crawfish and a history of big family gatherings...thats all we need.

on the farm

The Kentucky country side is the most beautiful land I will ever see.  I have driven through almost every state in this country, and I know that there are some amazing views and picturesque landscapes.  But the tie that I have because Kentucky is my home will trump all other rolling hills, evergreen forests and rocky shore lines.  This weekend I was able to look out at the green Kentucky farmland from the front porch of an old farm house in Cane Valley.  Some of my closest friends met me there to spend a weekend together before I leave.  My heart had a hard time handling the combination of the joy of such love and beauty and the sadness of our soon separation.

 

vulnerability and sappy professions

As I think about leaving the country, a weight seems to settle on me.  This weight, I think, may signify the dread of loneliness that seems to be inevitable within the context of what I am about to do.  I have made a community here and I am now leaving that community.  Who knows what it will look like in 2 years time.  People will have moved, made different friends, gotten married, had children, fallen out of touch.  The Louisville I will come back to is not the Louisville I will be leaving.  This thought at times is overwhelming.

BUT

There is one group of people that I know I can come back to where time, change, failure, achievement, or need will not separate, rift, or break the relationship that we have established.  They may live in different cities, they may live at different stages, but they have stayed my close family for over 5 years now.  I hope that 2 more will be no big deal.

I have taken many portraits of these wonderful people over the years. My aim is to post some of them over the next few weeks.  Here are the first: some images taken of Marissa and Jordan before they got married in 2008.

a very first birthday

Scenes from Miss Mary Grace's First Birthday Party.

the water from the hose always tastes better

How come the kids get to have all the fun?

This one was taken by Bet - see that pink sleeve?  That's me.

cool cool baby

So this is pretty much the hippest kid in town...

I mean...what is she going to do when her cool cool auntie moves to Africa and no one is around to buy her apple sun-glasses, tutus, and high-tops? 

family tradition

While I was growing up, it seemed completely normal for me to be taken out of school for at least one Monday and Tuesday every mid November.  It was not until I hit Junior High that I realized I was the only kid at school that thought the deer hunting season meant no school.  It made sense for education to take a backseat to the gathering, securing, and processing of food necessary for survival right?  Well, maybe not essential to my or my family's survival...but it sure was a lot more economical and healthier than buying store meat.  I have so many memories of the whole Weber clan (mom's side) gathered together to butcher the men's catch (or trophies, if you will).  As youngsters, my cousins and I took lessons from our grandfather in the art of carving meat off of a thigh bone and how to get the last bit of scrap off of a rib.  We learned how to ground meat, encase sausages, and dry jerky.  We became apprentices to a dying art, a vanishing tradition.  It did not even register as gross to us - this was food, it was art, it was natural.  This last year, only my mom, dad, my aunt and me were there to clean, carve, and process the deer.  It was bittersweet to have lost so much family, but glad to be around those who were left. 

family at the holidays

My life has been void of a large family for many years now.  Most family gatherings only involve my parents, my two brothers, a sister-in-law, and a niece (9) and nephew (11).  The holidays just tend to be really quiet in the Miller household.  I miss the hustle and bustle of the Christmas of my youth, when there were grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, gingerbread houses, card games, and holiday dancing.

But at the Kinnaird house... 

One of my best friends, Bet, and her family have been so gracious to invite me to family get-togethers and treat me like one of their own.  I love spending time with all of them because 1. there are so many of them 2. there are a bunch of little kids 3. there is so much noise and action going on and 4. everyone is full of joy and love.