I have an new product that, as a Wildcat Cheer Mom, I know I'm very excited about.
This is a sterling silver photo necklace, with a hand-stamped medallion and two beads in the Mesquite High School colors:
I have one myself, to wear to football games this fall to support my favorite Wildcat cheerleader. I also have one with all of my kids pictures on it, that I wear almost every day.
I'm doing necklace mini-sessions for the next couple of weeks, so please don't hesitate to let me know if you want to get one for yourself. The cost is $100 if you simply want the necklace, or $150 to get a necklace and a CD of the images I take. And no matter which session you want, I always include a few files for your Facebook page.
Here are the images I took last night of Kenzie, who's mom is now patiently waiting for her necklace:
These are great for any sport or school activity, so if your son is in the band or your daughter is in volleyball, you can show your support and look good while doing it!
Well, this is a hard post to write. My grandfather passed away early this morning. I only met him once, three years ago on Father's Day, and it was one of the most significant times of my life.
I had traveled to Georgia with my mom and dad, my sister Andie and my oldest daughter Devon to meet him. My mom's cousin had been doing some geneology research and discovered that my mom's dad, whom she had always been told had died long ago, was actually alive and lived in Georgia. After a few weeks of sitting on this information and not knowing what to do with it, my mom nervously picked up the phone and called what turned out to be one of her five half-sisters.
Months of phone conversations followed, and other members of the family were slowly let in on the news that Jesse Ross had another daughter. One of the very last to know was his wife, because no one knew just how to tell her, or exactly what to say.
Finally, one day, they told her. I think she was upset at first, but she is a very strong and wonderful lady and before long she began to insist that my mother come to Georgia so that everyone could figure things out.
So we all went a few weeks later. It was Fathers Day 2007 when we pulled up to the most adorable log cabin I had ever seen. There was a yellow ribbon tied to the tree, to let us know that we were home. We met my grandfather, who we now know as Pop, and his wife Thelma, who became Granny to my sister and me, Mama Thel to my mom. We also met the sisters- Francine, Nancy, Kathy, Sherry and Donna - and dozens of other family members. They had a huge barbecue with more food than I've ever seen, we exchanged gifts (Texas aprons for them, necklaces for us) and felt more welcomed than I can possibly explain. It really was like going home.
I took pictures of the entire weekend, and now these pictues are the only ones I have of my grandfather. He was an extraordinary man, truly loved by everyone. His daughters worshipped him, and I am completly heartbroken that my mom didn't have the opportunity to be raised by him. She had only three years of knowing him during a handful of visits, but even that was something truly special.
My mom has been there for the past couple of weeks, called to Georgia by her sisters and Granny Thel because Pop was in the final days of his life. I'm happy that she had the chance to say goodbye, and I wish I could be there with them as they lay this great man to rest.
The slideshow below begins with my mom and dad pulling into the cabin driveway for the first time, three years ago:
This session reminds me a lot of one I did last year for the Moore Family, and the reason is no surprise-the families are friends and co-workers, and even the girls in both families are best friends!
It was a fun and relaxed shoot, in spite of the fact that my favorite shooting spot in the park was completly blocked off. I was forced to find a new favorite spot, and now I'm so glad I did. Just across the street, there was a tiny little stream that I had never noticed before with the most amazing light.
We started off with a group shot, including their two adorable dogs. I truly love it when my clients bring along their pets. It adds a personal quality to the images that I can't get enough of:
This is Malori with her beloved doggies. Are they just beautiful together, all in white?
Love this sister shot:
Raegan is sooo sweet. She loves having her picture taken, and we discussed doing another shoot just for her sometime soon.
Total adorableness.
I just had to get a doggie portrait.
Love, love, love:
Thanks for a fantastic time at beautiful Landa Park, guys. It was such a fun shoot, and I hope I get to photograph Raegan again soon!
Not sure if I've mentioned this before or not, but I have another blog! Its a decorating blog that my sister and I are doing together. I can be found over there today. Go to:
Project Bride is an online wedding resource that brides can use for inspiration when planning their own big day.
Last week, I attended a seminar to learn the submission process. That evening when I got home, I sat down and applied the techniques I learned to choose the right types of images that the various publishers are looking for.
Within a couple of days I learned that Project Bride accepted my submission, and today I found out that it was posted. So cool!
Now that I'm familiar with the process, I'm hoping that I'll have more weddings published soon. Also totally cool is that I can cross this off my 101 in 1001 list. Whoohoo!
This past weekend was the weekend from hell. My 5 year old puked her brains out all day and into the night on Saturday. I thought I'd never see then end of dumping out her bucket, wiping her little face, and washing endless loads of laundry because she didn't ALWAYS make it into the bucket.
Sunday, bright and early, one of my sons took over the vacant position of puke master. By noon, my husband and I joined in, and later that afternoon, my other son decided he didn't want to be left out. Have you EVER had to take care of three kids, two of them alternating throwing up with diarrhea, while experiencing the same thing yourself?
Cruel. It was just so damn cruel. I cried for my mommy.
By today, Monday, everyone was recovering nicely, except my husband, who still did not leave his bedroom the whole day. What is up with that? I would have LOVED to spend the day (two of them, actually) simply being sick in bed with no other responsibilities. Was this on the mommy job description? I'm pretty sure I didn't initial that line.
I pray that in the future, we are allowed to vomit our guts out one at a time. I can handle days and days of taking care of sick kids, as long as I am allowed to lay my own puking head down for more than 5 minutes.
Last week, during my Krause Family Lifestyle session, Suzette told me that she would love to be able to take better pictures of her son and asked me if I would give a her a lesson. Well, it just so happens that giving photography lessons was one of the goals I made in my 101 in 1001 list a few weeks ago, so of course I jumped at the chance!
We decided to meet early (6:30 AM)on Saturday morning for a few reasons: it would still be cool enough for her to be comfortable (she is pregnant and due in just a few weeks), the park wouldn't be crowded at that time so there was no worry about having other people in the background, the early morning light would be beautiful, and because her son wakes early anyway and would be in a great mood and thus a fantastic photo subject.
We scored on all points, the greatest being our fantastic photo subject! Suzette's son is A D O R A B L E and he was so well behaved.
I was able to demonstrate the best way to ensure consistant results when shooting in overhead sun, how to look for the best light, what to do if you can't find good light and what the best settings are for general shooting.
I hope that Suzette walked away with some new knowledge, I know that she will walk away with some great shots of her son:
I am beginning to consider giving individual lessons on a regular basis. If anyone else is interested, please let me know! It will help me if I know how much interest there is.
Thanks Suzette for being my first student. I had a blast and hope that you learned some things you can use.
Have you ever met someone that made you feel so comfortable it felt as if you had known them for years? Thats how I feel about Suzette, a new friend and client. I had the chance to do a maternity session for her and her beautiful family, and the entire shoot was fun and relaxed, because that is how Suzette is.
I love how the slideshow turned out. More specifically, I L O V E the shots of Suzette in her backyard:
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Suzette, I can't wait to do your Family Session once your baby is here.
Mom of four fantastic, funny kids. Freakishy addicted to hot tea and cold cereal. Fantasizes about a future in photography. Loves to death her fun friends, funky family and football (just ask anyone).
This has been brought to you by the letters "Ph."
