Family

Christmas is important in many ways.......As we celebrate the birth of our Lord (that is why I refuse to abbreviate it, it is and always will be CHRISTmas that is the reason for the season, right?) it is also a time to reconnect. Reconnect with family, friends and relatives. I guess relatives can be friends?(depends.. on what kind of family you come from!) Fortunately for me, I do have wonderful family, yes we fuss at each other, but hey...who doesn't?
We all get together several times a year to reconnect. Find out what's going on in each other lives. Birthdays, summer cook outs, pool time and any other reason we can find to reconnect.
I am doing something out of the ordinary for my blog this time.
I am giving you a glimpse into our family celebration. This is my husband's side of the family as my side has slowly passed away. (Yes, sad I know but like I said I am fortunate.) So have fun and take a peek at our day

This is my son, Brandon and his grandma. I captured a truly wonderful moment. If I could just get that beard off him....arg!
Side note.........he gives the most wonderful hugs, big strong bear hugs, one of my favorite things in the world. I love you bud.
Edit- he just came by and the beard is gone......woohoo!


After dinner and time for random discussions, everything from family, world finance........yada yada yada boring, think I will head to where the fun is, gameroom.
This is Tanna and Shane, my niece and nephew, so cute together and expecting their first. I know they will make great parents. Congratulations if I didn't tell you earlier.
Kassie, Tanna , Logan and Lauren

And of course the girls are always up for photo op. I must say I do believe they are some of the prettiest girls around, can I say that? Yes I can, it's my post and I have literary license...lol.
They also don't mind piling on top of each other, and are always up for a challenge. (watch out guys they refuse to let you win at wii)
New and uncharted waters for my daughter. She brought "the boy"(my nickname for him, not his choice I am sure) home for the holiday. She has never introduced a guy she is dating to the whole family, and much less on Christmas day!
Turns out Todd is already friends with some of the family from college days, small world? But boy did she surprise everyone! She likes to do that type of thing ........
We are not a quiet group by any means, as the games get started the competition and the noise level gets stuck on "loud".
I think my mother in law laughed the most as she watched all the grandkids be "kids" again.
The boys get very competitive, BJ and Justin are wii boxing and I had to keep reminding them to step back from the tv. They were getting carried away as guys do.
And of course there is always the Christmas ham! BJ one of my fave's.
Thanks to DeNiece and Randy for allowing us all to reconnect and have a blast on Christmas day!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all!

Watch them grow..........

Oh my gosh! I can't believe it, I shot this little one when he was just 3 weeks old. And I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw him this last weekend. In just 6 months he has become a little man, with the prettiest eyes and you just want to squeeze those cheeks!
I am posting one from his newborn shoot, and one from this weekend in similar positions ...doesn't look too different, but then look again!! All I can say is.... the girls are gonna go crazy when he grows up.
I also had the honor of photographing Miss "A" this time around. This little beauty is his cousin and the sweetest thing you have ever seen. She is 4 years old and very intelligent, Mom tells me she watches " Hanna Montana" and mimics her expressions, so we had to sneak in some of our shots when she wasn't expecting it.
I know you can't wait to see the images, so hopefully these will hold you for a little while longer. Thanks for a beautiful Saturday evening with you.

Daddy's girl

Three posts in one evening! I know many of you are waiting for your sneak peeks and I apologize for taking so long...
I have been blessed with being busy with photo shoots but unfortunately that puts me behind in posting.
You would think by looking at little Miss "P" she could be a child model.......only one thing wrong with that is ........she does not like the camera, nope, nada...not gonna have it ! She had no interest in it at all, as a matter of fact as soon as she saw me, the tears started. So we played a little and as soon as I thought ok...it's safe to try a shot, she would turn the other way. Ok...I thought, this may be a little harder than I thought. Hmmm , she likes caterpillars and lets her Aunt Ashley take her pics, so I tried "lets go look for butterflies" so far so good. She and daddy headed down the road to look for butterflies and thought walking on the yellow line was "cool"..when I got in front of her to try and capture her, well she was smarter than I was and went the other way...lol. Anyway, here is your sneak peek and if you want to know more of the story ...ask dad. She is definitely "daddy's girl". Don't think I didn't enjoy my time ...I did, especially when she crawled up in my lap (after the camera was down) and said...."thank you for coming out to take my picture today"....I melted.

Stunning Redhead!

"K" is just the sweetest girl...and so beautiful. Her red hair and blue eyes are just captivating. Her mom came along for the shoot and it was so touching to see what a wonderful relationship they had with each other. She will be one of the youngest of her graduating class. She has such a good head on her shoulders I don't have any worries about this one heading off to college. Congratulations mom and dad for raising such a wonderful young woman!.

C and S

Just a little sneak peek for the parents of C and S. We couldn't have asked for a prettier day for a photo shoot at the gardens. "C" is growing taller and taller, last year we were about the same height and now I am looking up at this handsome young man. His little cousin "S" came along for her first official photo shoot, she is a little doll , but honestly I think she was more interested in running up the hill and keeping on her shades! I hope they had as much fun as I did.

Hey girls...........another Sr. guy!

I think the guys are finally getting busy and deciding they like the senior photo op's as well as the girls do. Let me introduce you to "J" here....he's very cute and has a kinda "GQ" look to him, don't you agree? (click on image to view larger)

I just love E-sessions!

It was a perfect day for engagement photo shoot. The park was still green, some leaves have begun to fall...and of course as you can see, a beautiful young couple in love. What more could you ask for? I told you I was a sucker for young love, I have other sessions to edit, but I just couldn't wait to post a few. So hopefully this will last for a little while until I can get the rest done. Congratulations A & J.

September's Beautiful Bride

So you see.... I have these two friends, (who just happen to be very talented photographers), Sara of Sara's Photocreations and Marianne of Sky photography.
Sara was photographing a wedding last Saturday night with Marianne as her second shooter, I was bored so I asked if I could come along and play.
Weddings are very hectic and I very much enjoyed just shooting for fun and no stress involved. I just love to watch Sara work because if she was stressed....you would never know it,
she is cool as a cucumber!
Oh and I must not forget about the bride and groom, they were just perfect for each other and the wedding party was a blast!
I had fun playing and hope to do it again soon.
Oh and by the way, alot of people think photographers are out there competing against one another when in fact usually they are great friends.

Santa Fe SR. '09

I had wonderful time this last Sunday eve photographing "A". Isn't he adorable girls? ........and all I can say is "Lock him up Mom!" I think he got a little embarrassed once during the shoot when a guy walked by and glanced his way, until I told him "he's a photographer also"...lol. So to all you guys out there that think a Sr. photo shoot is just for girls, you've got a lot to learn, those girls would love to have gorgeous pics of you! So "A" here's your sneak peek. (click on image for larger view)

Look closely....step lightly...

...you never know where you might see a little pixie!

I am at a loss for words........

(to which I know many of you can't believe!)...to describe this young family I met at the park this last Sunday evening for their family photo's. As you can see they are a beautiful young family, but I think that what amazes me the most is watching their interaction with one another, having a 13 month old is a lot of work...been there done that, but sometimes after having children your lives kind of get put on hold with each other for awhile. For me the best part of taking the pics that evening was getting home looking at the images and seeing "a look" or " a brush of hands" just that little contact that showed "I care" between them. Their little one was there, and the only word to describe her was pure"sweetness" all the way. So enough words, here is a little sneak peek............for Ashley and Matt.

The Sweetest Girl!

I had the honor...and I will say "honor" simply because this gorgeous young woman chose me to take her bridal portraits.
Most people realize how important the bridal portrait is to the bride, it really is. But to the photographer it could be nerve wracking to get the right shot. Not with "J". I think she was a little nervous at first, but after a short while she relaxed and just "went with it". It didn't hurt that her younger sister and mom were there to joke and kid around with us. This shot was her favorite and it was "the one" she chose for the reception. It was hard for me to choose a favorite, I loved this one...but frankly I think she could put on a trash bag and be gorgeous (oh, you should know, she is just as sweet as she is beautiful!). So to get on with the story, I needed to use my reflector to get some light on her, her sister started fanning it and her dress started blowing which started her laughing...and we got "the shot". Anyway a Big Congratulations to "J and R".