One of the big things I have struggled with over the past year is taking personal photos.  I started my business because taking pictures (especially of my family) is was what makes my heart sing.  Somewhere along the way it became work.  Getting the camera out to document my own life became a hassle.  Not to mention the trouble of downloading and editing and then blogging the photos.  AHHHH.  Makes me tired to just think about ALL that work for a photo of my daughter.  I mean, she’s standing right here.  I can look at her.  Then I remembered that there are those whose love her that are not so lucky as I.  They don’t get to see Mia everyday.  It’s definitely not everyday that is snows as much as it did today in Texas!  The main thing that got me bundled up and moving this morning was the thought that NOW is the time to record this.  NOW is the time to tell Mia’s story of a snow day.  She will NEVER again be 5 years old on February 11, 2010 with a sparkle in her eyes because it’s snowing.  Time is fleeting and I was suddenly panicked that I might miss it.

I made the time, and my heart sang.

This was such a fun session.  Just hanging out with the girls!  A special session to celebrate 3 big birthdays, someone is turning 5 and you’ll just have to guess the number for the other two lovely ladies.

On Thurs. evening I had the honor of capturing the last moments of a young man before he officially left the nest.  Kevin was headed to begin his college career the next morning and I was truly honored to document the moment for his sweet mom.  I wish him the best at OC!  With a personality like the awesome one he has that boy, (I mean young man) is going to do great!  Some of you may know that I used to teach high school and believe it or not not EVERY teenager is pleasant to be around, but Kevin certainly is!    The moment wouldn’t have been complete without some photos of Sam, Kevin’s younger brother, he was a trooper and quite the model too!  It was a joy to capture these two guys laughing and smiling and enjoying each others company. I can’t help but smile as I look at these photos.   I hope that these photos will always bring a smile to Kevin and Sam’s parents faces too!

First I’ll start off with my Dad…of course, since he is the first Dad I knew. My Dad is always good for a laugh and usually up for a good time.  It’s fun to watch him tease Mia with the same jokes that would send me into a giggling fit when I was her age.

Here we are right before my Senior Prom:

And a couple of years ago at Thanksgiving.

And my favorite…..Dad swinging with Mia

Then, there is my Grandpa.  He was very special to me.  I miss him so much and even now that he has been gone for seven years this month sometimes a smell or just the right song in church will leave me with a lump in my throat and tears in my eyes.  I don’t have very many photos to share of him since most of them are still part of my mom and dad’s photo collection, but here is one that I have and love of him holding me as a baby.

And my Dad with Granny and Grandpa.  I’m not sure of the year.

Then of course, more recently some important Dad’s in my life are my husband, Saylor,

and my father-in-law, Jay.

Everyday I thank the lord that I am lucky enough to have had ALL of these wonderful Dad’s in my life!  They are all special in their own ways and they have all contributed something to making me and my daughter the very lucky girls that we are!

Thank you for all you do! Happy Father’s Day!

A couple of weeks ago I met up with a dear friend from high school, her sister and their adorable boys for a quick little session.  I haven’t shared these yet because I didn’t want to ruin the mother’s day surprise for their mom!  Their mom got her present and I hear that she loved it.

FAVORITE!!

One of my favorite memories from growing up is of taking pictures in the bluebonnets every spring.  I’m sure people from other states think it’s an odd tradition, but us Texans get excited over a field of bluebonnets.

There is a BEAUTIFUL field of them that I know of….it’s a secret, but I’d be happy to take you there for a session if you want. wink. wink.

Today, Mia and I dropped by to get a few photos.  I haven’t done a mini-session with her in quite awhile.  She went through an uncomfortable smiling phase.  Like the episode of “Friends” where Monica and Chandler go to have their engagement photos taken and Chandler makes that terrible fake smile……..that was Mia.  Anyway, she seems to be over it (mostly) and was very excited by the blanket of blue flowers as far as the eye could see.

It really is amazing and beautiful to see so many bluebonnets in one field.  Tradition passed on.  You can rest easy mom!

I am so thankful for yesterday.  I had the opportunity to have lunch with two of my closest friends from high school.  As fate would have it I get to see Deanna all the time.  We get together often for lunch and go to the same church.  This is after many, many years of having lost touch with each other.  I feel so blessed to have this friend back in my life.  Sadly, the other friend, Jessica, I haven’t seen since 1994.  She moved before graduation and I was never able to see her again and we completely lost touch.  I didn’t realize until our reunion lunch yesterday just what a loss that was.  For most of the three years we went to high school together I picked Jessica up for school and sometimes dropped her off afterward.  I practically lived at her house most of my Sophmore and Junior years!  I even went on vacation with her family.  That was a fun trip!  We shared clothes so often it was hard to remember who the original owner was.  I’m sure our parents hated that!  Anyway, Deanna and I had the opportunity to have lunch with Jessica yesterday and it was such a blessing to get to meet her sweet husband and adorable boys.  3 boys! It was a short reunion, but it was like a day hadn’t passed.  We started chatting immediately like we were having lunch in the cafeteria at Comanche High school again.

So on a Monday morning, when I normally am kinda bummed that the weekend is over and I have a pile of work and errands to get done, I am instead feeling nostalgic and VERY, VERY lucky to have so many wonderful friends in my life!

Me and Jess in high school. Look at those ugly earrings I'm wearing!

Me, Jessica, and Deanna.....New Year's eve 1994...I think. :)

I JUST got home from lunch with a dear friend of mine from high school.  We met a little early and squeezed in a quick mini-session of her son beforehand.  Houston is just the CUTEST little thing.  I am in love!  Mia has a little crush on Houston too.  She loves to make him laugh and she’s pretty good at it.  Better than her mommy and the giant camera anyway.

Despite the high winds today we managed to get some precious photos of Houston.  Here are my favorites so far!

The next is my FAVORITE!!!!

I had another session at the Dallas Arboretum on Sunday.  If you haven’t ever been this is definitely the time of year to check it out.  The pumpkins are everywhere and I do mean EVERYWHERE!  I love pumpkins.

So I met up with a repeat client.  It’s so fun to photograph the same people each year.  I like really getting to know my clients.  It is especially fun when I get to watch the kids grow up before my camera.  Carson is a natural in front of the camera.  I mean who WOULDN’T be with those blue eyes.  Watch out mom and dad you will be fighting the girls off with a stick before you know it!

Love the next one!!!!

On Saturday I had a fun and EXHAUSTING session…..with 5 boys. They ran, and they played with sticks and threw rocks and before the evening was over they had all waded through the creek too. See I told you it was exhausting.  I don’t know where they got all that energy, but they sure gave me a run for my money! I’m glad for all our hard work we got some awesome images of these 5 cuties. I had a hard time narrowing them down to just a few so here are my favorites so far:

LOVED this little guys spurs. Aren’t they adorable?

Color….or Black and White?