“The saddest thing about life is you don’t remember half of it.  You don’t even remember half of half of it.  Not even a tiny percentage, if you want to know the truth.” -Donald Miller from A Million Miles in a Thousand Years

I just picked this book up today and I haven’t even read the first page and I’m already captivated by this thought. Can you imagine how many things in your life that you actually FORGET!??  Things or events that at the time seem mundane, but isn’t that what makes up a life?  A series of random events that you are most likely to forget.  That makes me sad.  I want to remember the little things.

Today I was reminded of a little thing.  My daughter had to be picked up early from school today since she has mysteriously developed a sore throat and a fever.  So I brought her home and immediately set to work making her a bed on the couch.  I brought her pillow and blanket from her bed and her favorite stuffed puppy.  I put her favorite movie on t.v. and turned off all the lights and turned on the ceiling fan.  I gave her medicine and got her a drink to keep next to her makeshift bed.  Then I took a deep breath and I FELT a memory.  Not a specific event just the memory of all the times my mom did this for me.  I could practically feel the cold washcloth on my forehead.  Isn’t it amazing how quickly we forget these little moments in our lives?  Perhaps, this is why I am drawn to photography.  I am desperate to save these moments for myself and for others.

This past Saturday Saylor and I got together with some good friends of ours and we attempted to create a memory that we will all file away for the future.  I know that afternoon is one I won’t soon forget and I hope when they view these images they will feel the same way.  I will remember the laughs and the time spent with friends.  I hope they will remember how they looked when their family was just the two of them.  One of my most precious photos is of Saylor and I shortly before we found out our family was about to get bigger.  I look at that photo and I remember the moment vividly.  It makes me smile every time I look at it.

O.K.  Enough sappiness for a Wednesday evening.  Just found out my parents are making an impromptu visit and I have to figure out dinner.

Enjoy these photos of Andrew and Christine!

I think the thing I have always loved most about photographs is the story they tell.  Photos share stories of holidays, vacations and family of course, but they also tell a deeper story.  I believe a portrait tells the story that someone was loved deeply enough by another person that an image was made for that person to cherish.

My grandfather was a storyteller.  Boy, was he!!  He told the same ones over and over, but that didn’t matter to me.  I loved to listen to his tales of football and preaching.  I’m pretty sure not ALL of his stories were completely true.  At the very least they were greatly exaggerated, but I hung on his every word.  My favorite story was actually a song, ‘The Preacher and the bear.”  I used to think the song was about him (my grandpa was a preacher for more than 50 years).  When I remember my grandfather I think of his stories.  I like to think that I inherited a little bit of that special storytelling talent in the form of photography.  When I am editing through a session or wedding sometimes I come upon a photo and get a bit choked up thinking that sometime in the future someone is going to see this photo and it will be very special to them.  Maybe, I will tell them the story of their grandmother’s wedding day or how their great grandfather looked when he laughed.  I am so blessed that people allow me into their lives to capture these precious, fleeting moments for them!

So on this Sunday afternoon I am looking through some photos that we took yesterday (on a location scouting trip for an upcoming engagement session) and came across this one that I had to share.

Mia played model for us as we tested out one particular location.  She was SOOOO not into having her photo taken yesterday.  After every shutter click she would sigh and ask “Can I be done yet?”.  The story I see in this photo is that Mia is growing up before my eyes….quickly.  I haven’t taken all that many photos of her in the past year because we have been so busy, but this one showed me how swiftly time flies.  I will cherish it because she will never again look exactly like she did yesterday, exasperated with how long I was making her model for me.

What story could you be telling?

We are extremely proud to announce that Cindy Mills Photography has been rated by local brides and voted The Knot Best of Weddings 2010 Pick!!!!

New Year.  Ahhh.  NEW year.  There is something about beginnings that make me feel relieved.  It’s like a do-over.  You get to start over.  Wipe the slate clean.  Fresh. NEW year.  A whole NEW year to get it right this time.

I’ve never really liked new year’s resolutions.  There is something about making a goal into a “resolution” that instantly sets me up for failure.  As if the very act of calling it a “resolution”  makes it into something I’m going to quit doing within a few days or weeks.  So I have never really been into making new year’s resolutions.  This year, though, is going to be different (sort of).

2009 was a rough year for me.  I started it off like many others with a vow to lose weight, by eating right and exercising.  One of those things that usually only lasts about a month.  This time it worked.  Actually, what happened is that I finally embraced the idea that I was just going to have to workout harder than other people to finally lose it.  I started slowly, but I made working out part of my “job.”  If it was a weekday I HAD to go to the gym.  Like it was part of my job description.  There were a few days where I missed.  There were MANY days I wanted to quit, but then all that work would have been for nothing, so I kept going…….  Then a funny thing happened.  It became part of my life.  Going to the gym was just something I did.  Finally, for the first time in my life I actually LIKED working out.  I know what you are thinking “This is good. How could this make 2009 a rough year?”  Well, I tend to put a lot of pressure on myself.  That’s the pitfalls of being a people pleaser.  I was finally doing something for myself, but I couldn’t tell others NO.  I was still trying to be supermom and super photographer and superwoman.  By the end of the year I was drained, angry and about ready to have a nervous breakdown.  So I decided that I would take a vacation, Christmas vacation, just like everyone else.  Sure I had work to be done, but I ignored it.  I tried to also ignore those nights that I woke up in a cold sweat thinking “my clients are going to be upset that I’m taking a vacation and not working on their photos.”  See, told ya, people pleaser.  Anyway, you know what I realized?  It was the best thing I could have done for myself, my family AND my business.

So for the first year in a long time I made some resolutions, although I’m going to call them goals so I’ll actually stick to them. :)  One of the things on this list is to do what I loved most when I started my business: Blogging!  Blogging used to be a guilty pleasure and now it’s a task on a long list of things-to-do and it usually gets lost in the shuffle.  So, I’m going to be blogging. Alot.  Sessions and boring, mundane things about our life and my daughter (after all, she is the reason I started blogging to begin with).   Another major thing I’m going to be doing this year is WORKSHOPS!  I want to learn more.  I crave some hands-on knowledge that I can’t learn on my own so I’m going to be going to some photography workshops this year.  SO excited.  I’ll be sharing my adventures, successes and failures with you all!  The main goal I have for myself is to balance work, family and self better.  I’m going to have to learn to say “NO” to things that I can’t fit into this balance.

So, I’m excited about this renewal.  This do-over. This NEW YEAR that I have to enjoy life.

Thanks to all the friends, family and clients that have been so supportive and have allowed me to put myself out there!  I love you all.

Since a post is always better with a photo here is me and my family at the end of 2008 and again at the end of 2009.  Always, fun to compare where you are a year apart.  Strangely, my Christmas tree looks exactly the same. :)  Happy 2010 everyone!

It’s not often that I’m speechless, but these photos certainly leave me that way. I was beyond honored to photograph the wedding of a dear friend last Saturday.  It made me happy to watch her prepare for the big moment and I even got a little teary- eyed during the ceremony.  I just love these two and I wish them all the happiness that life can bring!  Congratulations Holly and Patrick.

Now on to the photos!

Dear Blog,

I have a confession to make.  This may be hard to take, but I just can’t live with myself if I don’t tell you the truth.  I have been cheating on you.  With Twitter.  I’m sorry.  I didn’t mean for it to happen.  It just did.  Twitter is so easy going and fast and always has time for me.  Twitter makes it SO easy to share photos from my iPhone and always lets me know when my friends have something to say.  I know those reasons are not a good excuse, and I hope you will forgive me for neglecting you.  Maybe this video with make up for it.

Love, Cindy

Here is a little video I threw together (literally) last night.  I videoed and snapped about 20 mins. of Mia playing in our backyard and in about 2 hours had this sweet little video that I have been planning on making for some time now.  I keep watching it over and over and every time it chokes me up.  I can’t watch it without thinking about how someday I will show this to her when she has her own 4 year old.  I’m not sure what it is about the black and white, bubbles and that SONG, but I am just in awe today at how BEAUTIFUL my daughter is.  It makes me forget that she broke my favorite vintage camera and threw up red kool-aid in the MIDDLE of my living room carpet.  When I watch this video all I see is love and happiness!  I hope you enjoy it too.

Mia in the backyard | July 2009 from Cindy Mills on Vimeo.

Oops.  Well, I am a day late, but I wanted to say HAPPY 1st ANNIVERSARY to Joanna and David!

Yesterday was actually their anniversary, but I missed it…..so sorry!  Better late than never. ;)  Hope your first year was a wonderful one!  Here’s to many more!

Not that there were a #1-#246 but don’t worry I will come up with some.

Things that get on my nerves #247:
The lady at my gym that brings her own paper towels from home to keep from having to touch the handholds on the elliptical or weight machine. This is even after she has used an antibacterial wet wipe to wipe down the handles. What the heck? If you are such a germ-a-phobe then just stay home! Seriously!!

I’m sure you have noticed some changes here on the blog.  There are a few quirks here and there.  I’m working on them.  Please be patient if you have trouble with the search function or getting to the archives.  I’m working on it.