I have really been struggling recently with the balance between documenting my own life and the life of my family with documenting other people’s lives. I LOVE my job! Maybe, I love it too much because I’ve been so busy lately that I’m starting to feel a little uninspired. Especially when it comes to taking photos for myself. I use to be an avid scrapbooker and had a strong desire to document the little things in life. All the mundane, day to day, little moments that when all put together make a life. If you ever want to waste some time go back to the beginning of my blog and you’ll see what I mean. I had the time to document what Mia was having for breakfast on a Tuesday or when she got into the Ovaltine and ate it with spoon. Now, it just seems that all I have time to do is work. Don’t get me wrong, I truly LOVE what I do. I get giddy over bridal portraits and ecstatic over a great wedding reception capture. The struggle is…….how do I keep up the enthusiasm about photos that I take for myself?

So what am I doing about it? Even though I don’t really scrapbook anymore I have continued to religiously read the blog of Ali Edwards. She is so talented and I really love her style of design. Lots of simple graphic elements and just the right words. She is currently walking her readers through a great project and I decided that I needed to MAKE time to do it. It’s called “A week in the Life” and the assignment is to document a week in your life through photos and words. It’s a bit of a challenge to drag the big camera everywhere I go, but so far it is SO worth it. I realized just how worth it when I got this photo this morning on the way to Mia’s ballet class.

As for being inspired??? I’m feeling it!

I had a blast with Maria at the Arboretum capturing her bridal portraits. All I can say is THANK goodness for the shade and my assistant (Maria’s sister) or it would not have been near as fun! Have I said before how much I love my brides? If I haven’t let me tell you I LOVE my brides. Maria especially, because not only did she want to pose with the pumpkins…..she laid down in the hay with them. LOVE HER! The pumpkin images are my favorite and I think they are perfect for an October bride. Can’t wait until the wedding next month!

Can you say…..HOT!

I love the next 3 in a jumping up and down, clapping my hands and screaming kind of way!

Thanks Maria! You are definitely Vogue material.

This was such a fun session!  I absolutely love senior sessions.  There is something that feels so important about capturing a person at a moment in time when they are coming to an end and nearing a beginning.

These two are getting married in October and I can’t WAIT for the wedding! If we have half as much fun as we did doing the engagement photos the wedding images are going to be AWESOME.

We met up in Los Colinas and had a fun time getting some great images of Maria and Christian. I thought we were all done then Christian suggested we go over to take a few by the mustangs sculpture. I am so glad we did because I think they are my favorites of the day! Thanks guys for trying out my crazy suggestions. Can’t wait until the wedding!

LOVE this next one!!!! Favorite.

This past weekend was a first for me…..a two day wedding event.  First was the small, intimate, immediate family only ceremony on Friday evening and then on Saturday morning was the reception.  Even though rain due to hurricane Ike threated to spoil the reception it was still fabulous!  The ceremony was held at the Trammel Crow Asian Art Museum in downtown Dallas.  I highly recommend it for a wedding.  It is an awesome location!

Debbie and Travis you have been a great couple to work with.  You are both great and your families are so sweet!  Thanks so much for choosing me to document your special day(s).

My FAVORITE!!!!

A sweet moment during the toast.

Yummy!  Great party!!!!

A photographer whose blog I frequent, Millie Holloman, recently wrote a great article on family portrait sessions.  It has some awesome tips for what to do, what to wear and HOW to get those natural feeling photos.  If you have a session coming up or are thinking of scheduling a session check out this article for some GREAT tips:

How to Create Fun Family Portraits 

Another idea for a fun family portrait location…….mini-golf anyone?

Mia started her ballet lessons today.  She was BEYOND excited about it.  We grabbed a few quick photos before leaving the house (notice the car door is already open in the background).  She looked so cute in her little ballet outfit with her new haircut.  So grown up!

Check out that funny face.

When we got to class the teacher shooed the parents out into the hall and we were able to watch through the windows with blinds on them.  It wasn’t easy to get photos THROUGH the blinds.   I tried anyway.  Mia was a little bored with the stretching and kept getting up and looking out the window.  While the teacher taught the class first position Mia twirled in the corner.  While the teacher taught the class how to point their toes Mia pointed out to the teacher where her car was in the parking lot.  She leaped and made faces in the mirror while the other girls walked around on tiptoes.  But when they went to the ballet barre…….she loved it.  I guess in her mind NOW she was finally a ballerina.  It was really SO cute with all the little girls pointing their toes!

Mia and I had a girl’s salon day today. Not really, we just got our hair cut, but she acted SO grown up. She quietly “read” a magazine while I got my hair cut and then when it was her turn she crawled right up in the chair to get her hair washed. No crying or screaming or arguing! She was a big girl! She had enough hair cut off that she was able to donate to Locks of Love. I explained it to her, but I don’t think she quite grasped the concept. Mia’s new cut is SO cute. I can’t wait to see if she’ll let me try styling it so I can get some photos with the REAL camera.

We had a little excitement around here last night. Around 5:30 Mia was entertaining us with her dancing skills which tend to include a bit of gymnastics also. She attempted a handstand which turned into a side roll and came up crying. She did something to her arm and we still haven’t figured out what happened exactly. We think she landed on a My Little Pony. Anyway, she hurt her arm and by 8:30 it was still hurting enough that Saylor decided it was time for a trip to the Dr. I’m glad I didn’t have to make that decision. We went to Acute Kids Care and spent about an hour and a half freezing in the little exam room. Mia had an X-ray done on her arm and luckily it was NOT broken, just sprained so she still got a sling for it. She has to keep it on until Monday….then we start ballet on Tues. It should be a FUN weekend! She has complained about it still hurting this morning but still wants to go to playgroup. What a trooper!

Here are some photos of our little adventure. Taken with my iPhone (excuse the quality)

And her X-Rays……..

I’m not sure why but being able to see my child’s bones like this was a little emotional. It makes her look so tiny and fragile. I’m so thankful she is o.k.

My sister-in-law and her family visited this weekend. Mia and her cousins played and played and played until we were ALL exhausted. We don’t get to see them very often so it was a really fun weekend of catching up and playing (for the kids). Shellee and I discovered a new passion for Sprinkles cupcakes, the kids and Nana danced the tooty-ta (don’t ask) and the guys went to the shooting range. I think everyone had a wonderful weekend. I grabbed a few pictures of the kids together just before they had to say goodbye.

This one is getting printed BIG for Mia’s room.

My nephew….he just lost his first tooth!