Thanksgiving...

...a couple weeks late! Sorry that I didn't get this post up sooner, now that Christmas is just around the corner. But better late than never. That plus I figure Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years all kind of bleed into one another with family, friends, and food!!! (Throw in Faith and you have my favorite four words beginning with "F"!) Those four words are what the holidays are about for me...the forth word, FAITH could be "unpacked" quite a bit more but I'll leave it at that for now.

I wanted to share with my internet family a few photos from our Thanksgiving in a small town in up-state NY. Walton NY is where my cousin and her family live and they graciously hosted 25 of us for the day! It was the first time we had all been together in almost 5 years so the occasion was extra special. I hope you all enjoy these pictures as you reflect on your own families this Christmas. My husband and I will be spending the next two weeks in Ohio with all of his family so I will not be posting again until the new year....BUT PLEASE check back early in 2010 because I know I will have a LOT to share with you all! Be safe and God bless!



My cousin, who hosted the big day is an amazing cook! Of course she did study culinary arts at Johnson and Wales University in Providence RI. and is now a college professor of culinary arts at a small university in up-state NY. She was responsible for this incredibly scrumptious and perfectly cooked turkey!!! Yummm!







Who doesn't like pie!! Graydon was looking for seconds I'm pretty sure!







How beautiful is my cousin's daughter...it's been said many times but I have to say it again...you can't pay for hair that color!







Graydon watching his daddy throw around the football after all that eating!
What's Thanksgiving day without a little football?!?!



The kiddos wanted in on the game too!





I'm so thankful for so many blessings that God has given me though I don't deserve them!

Another Precious Family

So a while back I posted a few pictures of a couple families who are on staff at Excel Church, the church plant that Jeremy and I are on staff with here in Holly Springs. (You can check out the web-site by clicking the link in the sentence above). At the time of that post I had not had the chance to photograph the other family that is also on staff. So here are a couple of my favorite shots of the other amazing family we work with!



Ok, so I realize their daughter probably looks like she has to go to the bathroom here but she doesn't. She's actually holding a small toy between her legs that she was fidgeting with for the first part of this mini shoot. So I kind of wish I had caught that before I snapped the picture but this was one of those now or never shots that didn't really allow time for instruction or I would have lost the genuine happiness and joy in all of their expressions. When photographing young kids you have to take the moment when you see it and just laugh and use the cliche "kids will be kids" when you get something like this. (But between us that's one of many things I love about photographing children!)



I think this one is my FAVORITE!

CHRISTMAS CARDS

YEAH...I finally have up this years Christmas card samples!! (By the way- I realize the first card has the wrong year on it...my bad...obviously if you want that card with the year on it, your card will say 2009).

So you'll notice that each card has a number to the far left and they are numbered #1 through #16. This is how I will know what card you wish to have. That plus I will e-mail you a "proof" with the pictures and sayings you choose to look at before they go to print. There is a wide variety this year and they are customizable...many of them have the option to change the color if you wish as well. Hope you like them and enjoy......

#1

#2

#3

#4

#5

#6

#7

#8

#9

#10

#11

#12

#13

#14

#15

#16

It's been a while since...

...I have done a NEW BORN!!! I was so happy to photograph this little guy. He was so so precious and tiny! Actually his mom said his birth weight was over 8lbs and I think she said he was around 22 in...don't quote me on that. My point is that as far as new borns go, he wasn't that tiny. It's just that you forget way too quickly how small they were when you first met them. Mine is almost 22 months and when he was born he was actually smaller than this guy...but I sure don't remember him being that small!!! THAT is why new born pictures are so special and such a treasure to have to look back on.

I enjoyed meeting this family. This was number three for them and the first time they have ever had professional new born shots done, so I was honored to take the photographs for them. It was a bit challenging for a couple reasons. The biggest challenge was an over cast day late in the afternoon. So I didn't have as much lighting as I was hoping for. (But God was good because at least the rain held off!). The other was that this little baby did not want to sleep! Ideally you want a sleepy baby but he was so alert...so as you can see I shot him wide awake! We eventually waited him out and right at the end of our time he finally fell asleep so we did get a couple sleepy shots. (Those are my favorite so I posted them first) Thank you for the opportunity to capture such a treasured time in your new son's life! Hope you enjoy your sneak peek!











If your wondering about all the hands, I had the whole family place their hands on him. So your seeing two of the mother's hands, one of the dad (under his head), and a little two-year-old hand and a five-year-old hand.







A mamma in love...

How Cute is this...

...little boy! Actually the whole family was just as sweet and fun as their little man. I really enjoyed meeting this family and spending my afternoon with them. Let me just say how hard it was for me to pick just a few favorites to post...man you are all so photogenic. This little guy was such a trooper...the whole time! He was so expressive (as you can see from this post) and such a joy to photograph. Thank you so much for asking me to come spend some time with you and document your love for one another. After a very short time with his parents anyone could see how cherished he is by them. I look forward to a future "play date" with our little men! Thank you again and I hope you enjoy your sneak peek!





I have to say something about this picture. He is just learning how to walk...kind of. He's at the stage where he's walking across the room with the assistance of something he can push. In this photo he was showing me how he can push his wagon across the floor and he was just so proud of himself! How cute is this expression! (I love the little teeth peeking out too)