I’ve been a little MIA for a variety of reasons lately – one, we are on vacation.  Well, my hubby is on vacation so that means I am on vacation and am required to keep the schedule to a minimum for camping and mountain adventures.  =)  And you know what?  Even though I wasn’t so sure I wanted or needed a break mid-summer, it has been entirely refreshing and incredible to have some downtime.  My mind works overtime constantly and so to take a step back requires a great deal of effort.  But it was perfect and I need to do it more often!!!

The hubby is heading back soon and I have two shoots over the weekend, which I’m really excited for.  But until then, it’s movies, sunshine, errands and getting acquainted with my new computer.  ;)  I’m officially a Mac girl….and am still adjusting.  =)

But onto what else I indulged in over the past month.   (My taste buds are always tempted by the adorable bits and pieces of babies – these piggies were no exception!)  =)  I think little ones are by far my favorite subject for obvious reasons…I attended a retreat with the lovely Barb Uil of Jinky Art, and truly, it was an experience of a lifetime.  I believe in bettering yourself, no matter what stage of the game you are at, and this was truly inspiring for me.  I’m ready to take my business to new heights, new ventures, new looks and in new directions.

A huge, HUGE thank you to Barb, who is such a kind, generous and incredibly talented woman; I feel blessed to have met her and her sweet family.  I loved every minute of it!!!  Here are a few images from a few of our many shoots – I haven’t had time to process everything we took, but this will give you a small sampling.

Another huge, HUGE thank you to Teresa, our lovely host and owner of the beautiful Meadowbrook Farm.  It was not only a gorgeous location to shoot at, but SHE was amazing.  We got to chat more on our last night there, and honestly, she’s one of the people that stick out most in my mind.  She exudes all kinds of loveliness and is one of those genuinely adorable people.   =)

I’ll be back with sessions from this coming weekend!  (or maybe a few of my own babies before then…)

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Just a little sneak peek at some of the fun we had in Montana last week!  The retreat with the world renown Barb Uil of Jinky Art was incredible, incredible, incredible (did I mention it was incredible??!) and not only did I adore meeting her and her family, but I also met some very talented, wonderful ladies from across the country.  It was so fun to be surrounded by people who are as passionate about what they do as I am; I absolutely loved every minute of it!

Just one image for now.. but many, many more to come along with so many details from the fabulous retreat!  =)

Sisters are one of the greatest things God ever invented.  Truly, you have uncontrolled access to another closet full of stylish clothing (case in point: she actually wore my clothes for this shoot, haha), a collection of makeup that seems to work just right with your complexion and back in the day, a variety of male friends to choose from.  Seriously though, they are a friend to rely on when others let you down, a believer in your dreams and someone to grow old with.  I am blessed enough to have two of them, both of which have become even more invaluable to me as time passes and we acquire more lines and wrinkles and the battle wounds of motherhood.  I adore them both for different reasons and at the risk of sounding entirely sappy and overly sugary, I am so grateful to have them in my life and to call them my best friends.  At the end of the day, family is all that matters.

My oldest sister was here last week and we squeezed in a quick family session the night before they left.  We didn’t get much light to work with, but when it was all said and done, I do think we captured some sweet memories.  My other sis will be up next!

Here is where the cuteness begins…Yup, they’re darn cute together…but we’ll come back to them later.  Onto their sweet family of four…and their adorable littles…the kissing pictures were cracking me up….because that’s when my brother-in-law actually enjoyed the shoot.  =)  And so, I decided to photograph quite a few of them together…And one last one of the little miss that I took on her 10th birthday…To my sister: I hope you love these.  I miss you so very much and can’t wait to see you again!  To my other sister:  I love you more than words can describe and am so grateful to have you just a few minutes from me – you are next girl.  Here’s to many more years of sharing clothes, sharing secrets and sharing sisterhood.

xoxo

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Just a quick little post for these two – loved every minute of this family session, probably because I have a huge place in my heart for this girl.  She is the one I always looked up to.  The one who stuck up for me when I was little.  The one who actually wanted to volunteer in my kindergarten class when she was in junior high.  The one who was the coolest big sister in the entire universe to me.  And the one I now call a best friend.   Even though she is now a Texas girl, she will always be a country girl to me.  She and her family headed back this morning, and as I go through their family session from yesterday, I’m already missing her.  And even though we didn’t have the best lighting during our shoot, I think we pulled it off anyway, raindrops and all.

Regardless, these should put a little jolt in your morning.  A little steam in addition to your cup of coffee.  =)

I’ll be back later with so many more!

Yesterday I met up with this little darling and his parents – and while I admit, smiling was not something he cared to do (unless mom and dad were kissing each other, LOL), we happened to get some very beautiful shots anyway before the melt down.  I had to laugh a little because usually I make friends with little people fairly quickly, but this little man was determined to give me a run for my money.  I’m not quite sure I can honestly say we are buddies yet. 

I photographed this little peanut in the womb and when he was brand new, and was floored to see how adorable he has grown up over the past 18 months!  I love me some chubby cheeks, blond curls and the biggest blue eyes I’ve ever seen.   Speaking of his eyes, I honestly did no isolated enhancements to his eyes – they are that INCREDIBLE!!he was pretty happy to just be sandwiched between his mom and dad, and so we stuck with what worked:and of course, I couldn’t help but capture every sweet little face he threw my way…even if it wasn’t pure elation.  =)  He’s darn cute no matter what look he’s giving…

Again…he was most happy when his two favorite people were locking lips…

or providing the human swing…but then we hit rock bottom and he just wanted my camera to disappear into thin air…and so I let him off the hook and snapped a few of the people responsible for all this cuteness…and I’m sure you can guess what got the little man back in the game…and the world was right again…  =)Thanks to this sweet family – I’m so happy we got the perfect evening to capture your beautiful family!!!

xoxo

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I just love babies, and am realizing that I love my job all that much more when I get to meet, hold and snuggle these tiny people!  This little one was just 6 days old and so completely perfect that I think I’m going to have a hard time controlling myself in the blog post.  =)

She was BEAUTIFUL.  And so was her big sis.  And her parents.  I truly enjoyed meeting this family and spending a few hours documenting what is truly the most monumental moment in married life: the welcoming of a child.

And how lucky am I to capture that?  I think I mentioned I {LOVE} what I do.  And here she is…Miss A.

and with her adoring big sis…and her over-the-moon parents…(the shot on the left made me laugh – doesn’t it look like she’s going to be a ballerina???) =)you can tell this little peanut is going to get loved on plenty.  No worries there.  =)Congrats to this family – I wish you lots of sleep, laughs and love!!!

I’m finally back from my hiatus, and although I loved having a few months to re-energize, remodel our new house and spend time with my family, I’m ready to be back!  =)

Today was my first family session of 2010, and although it’s still super cold and muddy/snowy/rainy here, we managed to land on a very beautiful morning.  I’m so very appreciative to my neighbor who has kindly allowed me to use her property (and my friend who made the connection! =)), and with clients who wanted rural pictures in winter, I think we did our best!  =)

This family was so fun, and truly their kids were the sweetest!  I am around a lot of families and it’s always fun to find a family that genuinely loves to be together.  Their little girl wanted in on every hug and could barely be pried from her daddy’s leg – and you know what?  I love it.  I don’t mind not always having the perfect poses because photography, in my opinion, should be all about interactions, everyday life and simply capturing personalities.  Thank you to this amazing family!!!  I so enjoyed meeting you!  (And it was soooo hard to pick a few for the blog!!  There were so many fun ones!)

And the two responsible for all this crazy cuteness!  =)Thanks for stopping by!  I’m off to Denver in the morning, but will be back next week with newborn photos and boudoir photos!  See you then!

2010 is looking to be a fabulous year, and as the bookings line up and my time becomes less and less available I wanted to provide a way for families who prefer a quick, miniature session of their kiddos this year, to do just that.  =)

Here are the details!  Space is limited, so don’t hesitate to contact me early!

Whew!  I think this will be the last installment of this *little* series – next year I think I’ll just incorporate a slide show!  lol.  I spent the morning trying to get a few snaps of my own kiddos, and well, let’s just chalk it up to entertainment!  I will share those with you tomorrow – photographing my own children always seems next to impossible for me as they never look at me, they have their own agenda entirely, and one cannot seem to open her eyes without squinting!!  Sigh.

Anyway, here is the last installment of my 2009 in Review.  A word to potential 2010 clients, bookings are filling in for Spring and Summer, so if you are interested in a session, please contact me early!

Onto the images…

First off, a family from Montana who traveled here for their session – we had a blast and I fell in love with their little one!!!

Next up was a fun pair of twins and their sweet parents:A very fun senior who made my job so, so easy:An opportunity to contribute to THIS beautiful little organization by photographing these adorable bumps and babes:One of my annual, best, sweetest clients ever!!!:And one of the most adorable babes I’ve ever laid eyes on!!:I think that sums up my year: AMAZING clients and so much FUN!  Thanks again, and I’m looking forward to see what 2010 holds!  =)

I may be back this afternoon with some of my own…or if my cabinets entice me, it may be tomorrow!  Have a great day!

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Sorry for the slight delay…I’m learning I really shouldn’t promise anything on this blog because my life seems to get away from me at times!  At the moment, I’m painting my kitchen cabinets (endless amounts of cabinets) and it is sucking the life right out of me!    Actually, I’m quite enjoying most of it but it is so. very. time. consuming.  I had planned to take January and February off from work and then….well, I created a whole new variety of work for myself.  =)  I’m getting the itch to start taking sessions again though, so hopefully I will finish this project sooner rather than later!!

As for sessions for new and returning clients, I will be posting some new specials and things (in addition to the current special) and will start booking mid February!  Keep an eye out for those!

If you are interested in a spring session, get on the books now as I typically book 6-8 weeks in advance.   I have some new collections and offerings this year that I think will be a huge hit; I’m getting very excited for a new year!!

Speaking of New Year, here is the second part of my 2009 Year-In-Review:

I truly have the most amazing clients!!  I am so blessed!  This sweet lady was one of my first sessions of 2009 and was so much fun to work with!And she had one very cute little man, I might add:

This next family is one of my most treasured clients – I absolutely adore them!  We met early in the year to photograph this handsome little guy:And several months later, he’d grown up a little more and was about to become a big brother:And then his baby sis arrived and my camera absolutely loved her!:This next set is of one of my very favorite clients – I’ve had the pleasure of working with them for years and have enjoyed seeing their girls grow and getting to know their sweet mom:And new clients that I feel so lucky to have met:And another sweet baby girl I got to photograph; love those first few days and weeks (this first one has always cracked me up…it’s like she’s trying hard to answer a question!):Okay, I’m realizing this is way harder than I ever thought possible!!!  Picking just a few from each session feels like torture.    Okay, here we go.  Keep going.  =)

Onto one of my most memorable sessions of the entire year; I seriously fell in love with this family!

Well, seeing that I have another slew of client folders to get through, I will stop for today.  More to come…and hopefully within the week!  LOL.  I’m off to put my painting clothes back on!  =)

Have a happy weekend!