Olivia Leigh Photography

Brand New Blog!

2008-04-18T15:31:00.002-05:00

I'm super ecstatic about my brand new blog. The images are much bigger and make everything look better. To visit my new blog type in www.olivialeighphotography.com/blog

Let me know what you think!

Chad

2008-04-15T21:15:00.004-05:00

One of the most awesome seniors came out to our land the other day to get some pictures with his truck. He has the coolest truck and is quite proud of it. Guitar is also one of his hobbies and I was so glad he brought it along. Check out these amazing pictures...

Thanks, Chad! It was so nice meeting you and your family. Hope you enjoy this little preview!

Landon and Nikki

2008-04-15T15:01:00.005-05:00

Tractors are Landon's favorite. Kitty-cats are pretty fun, too. Needless to say, we had a great time yesterday. The entire shoot was fun but the end was definitely the most entertaining. You'll soon understand why. Meet Mr. Landon:

What started out as a peaceful tree-watering event turned into a bath for the cat. It was hilarious!

Landon is going to be a big brother very soon. His mom, Nikki, decided to document this special time with a couple photos. Here are a few pictures of Nikki and Landon's baby brother:

Thanks Nikki and Landon! It was so much fun getting to know you. Can't wait to show you more!

Lauren

2008-04-13T21:27:00.007-05:00

What a fabulous weekend! Mom and I flew to Tennessee to check out Southern Adventist University in hopes of narrowing down my options for next school year. We had a great time together and enjoyed some fabulous weather. Before flying home this afternoon, we met one of our life-long friends, Lauren, for a photo shoot. It was so special to have that time with Lauren and the shoot was a blast. Downtown Chattanooga was our location of choice and, boy, was it a good one. The shoot spots were endless and made my job easy. LOVE the variety. Not to mention, I had a gorgeous model to work with...

This red wall was naturally this glossy! Shiny, red bricks. How fun is that?!

Lauren begins her treacherous journey

The end result was definitely worth it

Love the color!

Isn't she gorgeous?Thanks, Lauren! We had so much fun with you. Miss you lots. Come home soon!

Torrence and Barbie

2008-04-11T18:10:00.006-05:00

No time to journal right now but wanted to get these up. These two are like family to me and it was so much fun to photograph them. Enjoy!

Love you guys!

Preston is ONE!

2008-04-11T07:34:00.005-05:00

Preston is one of the Stewart clan. Talk about a photogenic baby! He is just super content and doesn't mind "posing." I tried to eliminate enough of this series to include them in the family post but his expressions were just too funny. And these are just a few of the great ones we got! Amy picked up a little birthday cake and Mr. Preston had his first sugar experience in front of my camera. It was quite comical. He was all into tearing that thing apart but had no interest in eating it. In fact, when he did try it he discovered that, like his big sister, he is not a big fan of sweets. What a blessing! Anyways, Preston meets Sugar:

The destruction begins...

It's amazing how much cake fits in one little hand

As I said, Preston is NOT a fan of sugar

I can't wait to show you the rest, Greg and Amy! They are so much fun!

The Stewart Family

2008-04-10T19:45:00.005-05:00

One of my favorite things about being a photographer is turning clients into friends. The Stewart family is a good example. Greg's mother attends the same church as my family and I and my parents have worked with his. Upon a referral from Lynda, his mother, Amy called and set up an appointment with me last fall. We had so much fun together that she booked me again for this spring. Through shoots, previews, picture deliveries, and emails the Stewarts have become more like friends than clients. Once again, I have incredible clients.

Two Generations of Friends

2008-04-09T20:15:00.008-05:00

Many of you will remember two of these cuties. One of the pictures from the girls' last photoshoot won the OLP Best of 2007 contest. Kate and Allie's mom, Patti, is always a blast to work with. She is so creative and her girls are extremely photogenic. Not only did we get to shoot the girls, we were also privileged to add another cute kid to the mix plus throw the two momma's in for a few photos. This was my first time to meet Laura and Caton and I'm so excited to have found new friends. We had a blast. Check out these cuties...

Caton and his Daddy love to fish so his Dad made these pretend fishing poles specifically for these pictures... great, huh?

This picture cracked me up!

Isn't he so handsome?!

A classic
Caton, Allie, and Kate... You guys are too cute! I had a blast with you. Laura and Patti, enjoy this preview and we'll be in touch regarding the rest when we get home. God bless!

All the Way from Weatherford

2008-04-09T19:49:00.006-05:00

I am blessed to have the most wonderful dentist around. He always takes time to inquire into our personal lives rather than just get the job done. Last November at my visit he asked what I was up to which lead into talk of my photography pursuits. Many of the staff started asking questions and before long I was out of business cards. You never know when you hand out a business card if anything will ever come of it so I was pleasantly surprised when one of the dental hygenists, Roni, gave me a call. She has an incredibly beautiful family and I feel honored that they drove all the way from Weatherford to have me take their pictures. Here are a few:

Thanks, guys! Enjoy the preview! God bless!

Megan and Mara

2008-04-07T14:03:00.004-05:00

Megan, Mara, and I spent countless afternoons together baking, swimming, playing games, face-painting, and all else girly. Watching the girls grow up into beautiful little ladies has been such a blast. When Michele called wanting pictures of the girls I knew we were going to have a blast. Sure enough, they were so much fun! I am crazy about these two lovely ladies...

I love you, girls! Hope you enjoyed your sneak peek!

Hannah

2008-03-25T22:10:00.006-05:00

Miss Hannah turned four at the beginning of this month. We waited until today to take her pictures in order to insure that we had the "twully skurts," as Shaylee calls them, to use during her session. I'm so glad we waited! Are these adorable or what?!

Thanks again, Mark and Karyn! Hope you love them!

Shaylee is Three!!

2008-03-25T21:43:00.005-05:00

Three years ago yesterday morning I was waiting in Kim's hospital room to meet Princess Shay. What an amazing experience that was!! Now, as it usually does, time has flown by and our little Shaylee is no longer a baby. Yesterday, her birthday, I paid my girls a visit and snapped some photos to document the special day.

The outfits they have on are the beginning of the Olivia Leigh Photography wardrobe. We are so excited to finally have them!! Enjoy!

Chali

2008-03-23T09:53:00.007-05:00

Wow. I cannot believe Ms. Chali is already graduating 8th grade. Where does the time go? It's been over five years since Endersons moved here and while it's hard to believe how fast it's flown by it feels like we've known each other forever. The girls are dear as sisters to me and we always have a blast together. Our shoot was no exception. Here's a sneak peak of Chali's 8th grade pictures...

Of course we had to include her beautiful older sister, Chelsea, which contributed to the fun element

Brand New Website!!

2008-03-22T21:10:00.003-05:00

It's up and working, folks! I am so excited to present my new website to all of you. To see my amazing new website visit

www.olivialeighphotography.com

Leave me a comment and let me know what you think! God bless!

Michelle: Bridal

2008-03-20T22:42:00.006-05:00

It is extremely late and I don't have much time to write but I think the pictures say plenty. Michelle is not only a beautiful person on the inside but model gorgeous on the outside. We had an absolute BLAST today. I've always wanted to do pictures like these and I couldn't be happier with the results.

Thanks, Michelle! You are so much fun! See you tomorrow.

The Cheneweth Family

2008-03-18T09:45:00.005-05:00

Gusting wind and a cloud-filled sky greeted us as we trekked outside to begin shooting. While these were by no means helpful we still managed to get some great photos. Guess it comes back to having awesome clients. Zachary and Hannah spent lots of time with me summer of 2006 while their mom and dad were at work so it was great to spend some time with them again. Enjoy the preview!

Thanks again, Mark and Andrea! You have such a wonderful family. Have an awesome week!

Hank

2008-03-16T22:05:00.004-05:00

When Hank showed up at my house I knew I was in for a treat. For those of you that don't know me, I LOVE babies. Love to hold 'em, squeeze 'em, kiss 'em, watch 'em and talk to 'em. Needless to say, I had a blast getting to do all those things AND take pictures, my other favorite thing to do. Hank did such a good job in spite of a couple of face plants and lots of gusting wind. Here are just a few pictures of the handsome Mr. Hank:

Thanks again, Dayne and Jenny! You sure have a precious little boy. Hope you enjoyed the sneak peak and can't wait to show you more.

The Three Mitchells

2008-03-16T08:20:00.008-05:00

These three are a lot more like family than friends to me. Ashley was in my brother's kindergarten and first grade classes so we go way back. More recently, they were part of our Honduras mission trip over Thanksgiving. They were so much fun to photograph and spend time with. And now for the preview:

Thanks for the fun memories, guys! Hope you enjoyed your preview.

WEBSITE DOWN

2008-03-14T08:07:00.002-05:00

Hi everyone,

I am in the process of getting a new blog and new website. Due to this fact, you cannot currently reach my website by going to www.olivialeighphotography.com

For the time being, visit THIS LINK to view my website.

Sorry for the inconvenience!

Miss Abigail

2008-03-12T17:22:00.014-05:00

Talk about adorable. Miss Abigail was, at one point in time, one of my precious babysitees. It’s been a little over a year and a half since I last watched her so I was delighted to spend the morning with her yesterday. Her mother, Aimee, has grown to be one of my many treasured friends and having her along was a definite bonus. Here’s a look at the description of adorable:

Thanks Piotrowskis! Your family is super special to me! God bless!

The Rosales Family

2008-03-12T16:10:00.009-05:00

Have I mentioned that I'm abundantly blessed to work with the people that I do? The other day I got to work with another great family. Not only were the guys a blast to work with they just happened to be incredibly good looking, as well. Picking just five images was extremely difficult. Hope you guys enjoy the preview!

Thanks, Rosales! I sure enjoyed spending time with you guys. Can't wait to show you more...
God bless!

Family

2008-03-08T21:28:00.002-06:00

God has blessed me with an incredible family. Click HERE to take a look...

Lily's Room

2008-03-07T20:26:00.005-06:00

My cousin Jesse and his wife Carrie had their first baby this past Tuesday and today we were privileged to meet Ms. Lily Jane. She’s quite the little princess and is settling into her palace quite nicely. When we walked into her nursery I was so glad that I had my camera. I think it’s one of the cutest nurseries I’ve ever seen. I wish I’d had my nicer camera but the point and shoot at least captured some of the adorable details. I present to you Miss Lily’s quarters:

The walls look very blue in these pictures but are actually more of an aqua blue

Lenoir City, Tennessee

2008-03-07T19:58:00.006-06:00

Our trip has definitely been fun so far. We made it all the way to Tennessee last night instead of having to stop somewhere for the night. Morning came all too early (especially because of the time difference) but thankfully our anticipation of hugs from much-missed family members made waking up a little easier. By 9:00 we were seated at a Cracker Barrel table-for-ten with Uncle Dave and Aunt Donna. Jesse, father of the lovely new Lily, joined us shortly afterwards. After what seemed like hours but was in reality probably only 30 minutes Uncle Mike, Aunt Wanda, Caj, and Blu assumed their positions at our table. The food was delicious and, boy, was it wonderful to catch up with family!

We spent the rest of our morning visiting different houses. The majority of my mom’s family are extremely artistic and it is always so interesting to see their latest projects whether they be houses, vehicles, or another piece of artwork. And since several of our extended family members live in Lenoir City there were tons of neat things to check out.

By noon the guys (minus Jesse who’d gone back to help with his baby) had taken off to look at cars while we girls did the grocery shopping. I’ll admit I spent more time entertaining Caj and Blu than I did picking out food. Those girls are PRECIOUS! And, yes, that deserved all caps.

After reuniting with the boys to unload groceries at the cabin we all headed to Jesse and Carrie’s house to meet Lily. What a darling baby. That little girl is sure one loved little doll.

It’s late afternoon and everyone is doing their own thing to get ready for Sabbath. Some people are cooking while others are napping. I’m going to share some nursery pictures with you in a while but for now I want to share a few of Caj and Blu. These were taken with my point and shoot. I wasn't thinking and left my 5D in the hotel closet.

Blu loved petting the puppies

Caj, on the other hand, preferred to stay in Daddy's arms

The girls kept almost falling asleep so Cousin Livy played entertainer and got the girls hyper so they'd stay awake. The result...

Randomness

2008-03-06T19:55:00.007-06:00

Just thought I'd share my wackiness with you all. Came across these today while enduring a 14-hour car ride. Hope they add some laughter to your day! Here's to randomness...

God of Wonders

2008-03-04T20:52:00.006-06:00

During worship this evening my family and I were commenting on how many miracles we've seen lately. Some people may consider them lucky outcomes to seemingly terrible circumstances but we believe they are nothing less than full-blown miracles. There is one in particular that I'd like to share with you.

My cousin, Matt, and his wife, Larisa, adopted two children, Hannah and Judah, from Uganda about six years ago. These kids have been so awesome that Matt and Larisa decided to add three more to their crew resulting in the adoption of three more Ugandans, this time all boys. One of these boys, Levi, had a fairly serious heart condition that they knew would need repair upon his arrival to the states. Once three year-old Levi's surgery was completed things began to go down-hill. He was put on a breathing machine as well as all kinds of other tubes and his prognoses did not look so good. They found out that, not only had the surgery been the wrong kind for his sort of problem but he also had pulminary problems. A reverse surgery was in order and a heart transplant eventually needed.

While all this was going on my other cousin Jesse, Matt's brother, and his wife were counting down the days until their first child made her entrance into the world. Of course the excitement was building but with all of little Levi's problems there was a heavy cloud of worry surrounding this anticipation.

Prayers for Levi were lifted constantly from all parts of the world. People everywhere were waiting and trusting, trusting and waiting. Carrie's due date, February 25, came and went. We all hoped for baby news every day.

Monday March 3, exactly one week over-due, Lily Jane Brass made her appearance. News had reached us several days before that Levi was doing very well after his reverse surgery. We were already praising God for these blessings when we read Larisa's blog and discovered the most incredible miracle: At the exact hour that Lily entered the world Levi was being released from the hospital. Isn't God amazing? If Lily had been born while Levi was in the hospital the excitement would have been hampered by Levi's condition. So God, in His providence, chose to bring Levi's cousin into the world at the hour of his release.

All I can say is: Praise God from Whom all blessings flow!

To read more of Levi's incredible story visit Levi's Heart

Precious Little Lily(Pictures compliments of Lily's and Levi's friends and family)

Abigail: Anytime

2008-02-29T08:11:00.007-06:00

Yesterday I had the privilege of baby sitting little Miss Abby for the first time. She is such a sweetie which made it easy for us to have a blast together. Our fun began outside, transitioned into a nap, and ended with lots of awesomely fun dress-up. Of course I couldn't resist capturing some of our fun to share with you all. Here a couple pictures from our afternoon:

Probably my favorite image of the day
Click HERE to see Abby's slideshow

Mickynzie and Brenna: Anytime

2008-02-25T16:47:00.014-06:00

Okay, okay. I know it may seem like I'm always posting pictures of these two but I just can't help it. They love posing for my camera and my camera loves them. So if you're sick of seeing these precious faces go ahead and book a shoot with me to get some new faces on here. But for now, enjoy:

Can you tell it was dress-up day?

We had a minature "spa" day

Edited to add: I am super excited to present my brand new slideshow program. This new format allows me to send you a slideshow of your images after your initial viewing with me, letting you share your images with friends and family everywhere. Enjoy!

Click HERE to see the slideshow

Mom: Anytime

2008-02-25T10:27:00.006-06:00

Mom is always looking for ways to help my photography improve so yesterday she let me practice shooting in manual mode on her. We got several really cute ones. Take a look:

Thanks, Mom. You're awesome, beautiful, and I love you!

An afternoon of dress-up

2008-02-25T09:02:00.007-06:00

Torrents of giggles flooded my ears as the dress up bins made their appearance. Mickynzie, Brenna, Taylor, and Shaylee were bursting with anticipation as the lids began to come off of the boxes. Throughout the years, Mom has collected wigs, jewlery, glasses, scarves, old high-heels, and much more and stored them in bins for such a time as this. Nearly every time the girls are over they put out a request to get out Ms. Karen's "crazy things," their name for the contents of the dress up bins. It had been quite some time since we had taken the plunge and unloaded all the crazy stuff but this was their lucky day. Before long, all the girls were decked out from head to toe. And then it was time for the parade. With Ms. Karen leading the way (yes, my MOTHER) the girls paraded through the living room to give their father's a fashion show. Of course this elicited more laughter followed by the pounding of little feet headed to put on the next costume.

The girls had a blast and we all got many laughs out of the experience. Here is a taste of our fun:

Probably my favorite shot of the day: Check out those sweet glasses (don't ask me how she walked with them on)

The girls with the leader of the pack a.k.a. my Mom

Taylor thought the old pipe was something else

The sunglasses Mickynzie is sporting were actually worn by my mother in the 90's

Brenna's new do

A final photo (notice the upside down glasses again)

Lessons from a 95 year-old

2008-02-24T17:25:00.008-06:00

One of my friends posted a very inspiring entry entitled "Lessons from a 10 month-old." Her entry explained what a 10 month-old little girl that she babysits has taught her about God. Well, today my mom and I visited 95 year-old Gertrude Hill and I decided to share with you what I learned from 30 minutes with someone on the other end of the spectrum.

Knocking gingerly on the the door to room #22, my mother peeked her head in to see if we had the right room. As we approached the wheelchair, Mrs. Hill turned and asked "Are you here to help me?" For the past couple of days poor Mrs. Hill has not been able to hear due to malfunctioning hearing aids and was hoping we were there to help her fix them. My mom attempted to explain to her who we were but it was mostly in vain. "We're from your home church," she offered. "Burleson," she added only to be met by a confused look. By the end of our visit she had figured out that we were members of her home church but was still confused as to which church that was. "Several people from this place have lived to be 100," she informed us. "I hope to be 100," she added with as cheerful a smile as she could muster. "God has blessed me so much and as long as He wants me here I'll gladly do that," she stated before launching into the second explanation of her children and grandchildren. As my mother said a closing prayer that I'm sure Mrs. Hill didn't hear a word of, I found myself choking back tears. Hugging that frail body, listening to her tell us she loved us, watching her follow us in her wheelchair out the door I felt more determined than ever before to do my part in spreading God's message. My mom put it best as she mumbled under her breath outside Mrs.Hill's door: "Oh, Lord Jesus, please come." That pretty much summarized what we both felt.

So here's what I learned from a 95 year-old:

Family is God's greatest gift

Energy and mobility are not to be taken for granted

God sends people our way with a smile when we need it most

Everyone, yes, even we teenagers, eventually grows old

If a 95 year-old woman who sits in a wheelchair all day by herself can praise God for how good He is, I never have anything to complain about

Laughter is a beautiful gift from God that soothes the soul even when circumstances appear bleak

Last and most important:
Life on this earth is but a breath

My visit with Mrs. Hill taught me many things but most importantly I was reminded of how quickly life passes. God has given each of us the gift of life and breath and we should praise Him every day for these blessings. But God has also given us the privilege and responsibility to spread the Good News to all the world so we don't have to face life on this earth at 95, all alone, fading away. I left that nursing home with a new resolve to share the love of Christ with everyone I meet and I want to challenge every one who reads this to do the same. May God bless you all!

Karen and Barbie: Anytime

2008-02-20T17:32:00.007-06:00

God has blessed me with the most wonderful mother in the entire world. No joke. Not only does she manage our household, find time to do a few things for herself (and I mean a few), and chauffeur my brother around, she is also the best assistant anyone could hope for. My mom's got the silly faces and monkey dances down pat (as you'll see in the following pictures) for when we need a little help smiling. She and her winter coat make a fabulous wind block on blustery days. The poses she comes up with are phenomenal. All of these things are crucial. I would not be doing what I am today if she weren't by my side. But my favorite thing about having her for an assistant is her passion. Whether I'm showing her our most recent photos from a photo shoot, asking her opinion on something I'm designing for my business, or just telling someone about what we do she is always there to donate some extra gush. I love her so much and am so grateful for all she is to me; as a mom and as an assistant.

All the above being said, it was all the more an honor to get to snap some photos of her and Barbie, one of her best friends, during Barbie's photoshoot. They made me laugh so hard I could hardly focus on snapping the photos. It was so much fun and I love what we got.

It wasn't long before their true personalities shone through...

One of Mom's fun ideas

Thanks again, Mom and Barbie. You two are awesome. Love you both so much!

Barbie: Anytime

2008-02-18T20:55:00.005-06:00

One of the things I absolutely love about photography is helping people see the beauty that God has given them. Capturing each persons beautifully unique personality. Barbie is one of my mother's and my best friends and I was delighted when she asked if I would do some portraits of her as an anniversary gift for her husband. Almost exactly two years ago I was blessed to be able to travel to the gorgeous country of Tanzania, Africa. It was Barbie that took on the "challenge" looking out for me on this trip. In fact, she's the one that invited me to join her. That was one of the best trips of my life. Now, two years later, Barbie is headed back on her 3rd trip to this fabulous country. This trip happens to be the same time as her wedding anniversary and she wanted to make sure to have an extra special gift to leave with her husband. So I was extremely honored when she asked me to do these pictures for that special gift. She is such a fun friend and our session was a blast. Enjoy:

Remember, if you're friends with Barbie... Shhh. These are a secret for another week. Thanks again, Barbie! You are such a blast! God bless!

The Best of 2007: Contest Winners

2008-02-18T19:31:00.007-06:00

Thanks so much to everyone that voted. The response was much greater than I had hoped for and it was super exciting. I had a blast watching the polls as they escalated and seeing my photography through your eyes. It is with great pleasure that I present to you the winners of the Olivia Leigh Best of 2007 contest winners.

First Place ~ Sisters
Second Place ~ Giggles of Glee
Third Place ~ Kiss

Contest winners can expect their images within the next couple of weeks. I'll be in touch with you!

Once again, thank you all. Be sure to schedule your session with Olivia Leigh Photography for your chance to win the Best of 2008 contest!

Time to Tally the Votes

2008-02-15T16:52:00.002-06:00

The Olivia Leigh "Best of 2007" contest is now officially over. I want to say a huge thank you to everyone that voted. I had a much greater response than I could have hoped for. The votes will now be tallied and I will post an entry Sunday morning showing the winning pictures... Thanks again! God bless!

Best of 2007

2008-02-08T17:52:00.000-06:00

After much deliberation I chose a few of my favorite images from 2007. I absolutely love all my subjects and the images that have resulted from each shoot so selecting a few was very difficult. I've finally narrowed it down to the following pictures. Now it's your turn to help me! Please encourage your friends and family to vote, as well. Anyone may vote, but please remember to only vote once!

Prizes will be as follows:

1st Place~ An 8x10 of the winning image
2nd and 3rd Place~ A 5x7 of the winning image

Contest ends February 15 so vote away!

1. Bluebonnet Beauty
2. Here Comes the Bride
3. Country Day
4. The Horse and His Boy
5. Under the Sun
6. On the Playscape
7. Fishy Face
8. Giggles of Glee
9. Hide and Peek
10. Just Me and My Swing
11. Classic Cousins
12. Sisters
13. Days Gone By
14. Kiss
15. The Music Man

Thanks again to all my fabulous clients! God bless!

First Shoot in 2008!

2008-02-07T17:47:00.000-06:00

"Let's make a song for Daddy and record it!" Taylor enthusiastically suggested as we made our way back to the cars. With Russ's birthday fast approaching Tay was excited to find something special to add to the pictures we'd just taken. Ang had been wracking her brain to think of a unique gift and then thought of me. And I'm so glad she did! We had an absolute blast and got some fabulous pictures. Their aqua shirts looked amazing with their gorgeous eyes. In most all of these pictures there eyes are untouched. It's their natural color. Wow. In fact the one I messed with was only for fun and looks the same as the original. Check these out:

Thanks so much guys! I had so much fun with you. It was next to impossible to narrow down favorites to post on here. And Happy Birthday, Russ! God sure has blessed you with a beautiful family, inside and out. I love you all!

The Joys of Hands-on Education

2008-02-03T11:13:00.000-06:00

God continues to bless abundantly. Just when I think it's as good as it gets, He throws something else in there. A couple weeks ago I was working around the house when I received a phone call from Kurt Adamie. Kurt has worked with my Dad since I was a little girl so I've grown up watching him photograph different hospital events. Come to find out, Kurt was calling about MY photography. He had some questions for me and also wanted to help me with his expertise. By the time we got off the phone I was ecstatic. Not only does Kurt have some great pointers regarding my work, he also has some amazing photoshop experience. For months I have been trying to figure out how I can learn photoshop. I never would have guessed that God would drop an experience like this into my lap. Friday afternoon Kurt and I had our second "lesson." I am so excited about what I've learned so far and can't wait to learn more. Here are the first two projects I've worked on:

Very subtle changes. Enhanced the eyes and skin.
This one was a blast!
Thanks so much, Kurt! I'm having a blast. God bless!

A "Legal" Adult

2008-01-29T15:55:00.000-06:00

Well, it happened. I am now officially “legal.” Yesterday I celebrated my 18th birthday.

The fun began Sunday evening around seven thirty with homemade strawberry cake. Mmmm…. I came home from a meeting to find a freshly frosted, heart-shaped cake waiting for me. Following this delicious treat we headed into the living room for presents. Dad had to leave Monday morning, the day of my real birthday, so we decided to do all of this early. My favorite gift I received was the new Bible I’ve been wanting. It is just the right size, my favorite translation, and the perfect thing for years of use. A close second was a gift I received from my Dad. He gets us something special every year and this time it was money for… a GPS! I guess he finally got tired of me calling him continually needing help getting somewhere. ☺ As we were finishing the gift giving, Dad asked me what I had planned for my “big day.” I told him not much. I was still pretty worn out from traveling home, Alyssa, Mary Jo, and him were all going to be gone and I thought I’d just chill. “Nothing too special,” were my exact words.
Me being a goof
Monday morning began with a text from Ryan asking if he could take me to lunch. Only five days older than me, Ryan and I have grown up like brother and sister. Then, my family and I headed for breakfast at Mandy’s. As we were pulling up, Jackie called asking where we were. “My boys are at your door and no one’s answering,” she informed me. I apologized for not being there and told her to tell them how grateful I was that they tried. It was just as I was saying “Wow, I sure appreciate how much trouble everyone’s going to in order to make this day special for me,” that I looked out the window in Mandy’s parking lot and saw Uncle Dale pull up. He and Ryan had come to join us for breakfast!

When I arrived home, I found a lovely bouquet of hot pink roses waiting on the front porch. Justin and Devin had hoped to give them to me in person, but I was still super excited to get them. I spent my morning marking my new Bible with the Bible study guide stickers. Around noon, Mom took me shopping for a few needed items at the mall. We had a fun time together and found a few nice things. Just as we were leaving the mall, Sharon from Heart’s and Flowers in Keene called. “Are you going to be at home soon?” she asked. “We’ve got a delivery for you.” So mom and I were greeted by a gorgeous bouquet of 18 pink roses from, guess who… my bestest friend in Arkansas, Mary Jo! Mom tried to take pictures of me with them yesterday only to discover that there was no memory card in the camera (after we’d taken the pictures). They sure are fabulous!

Uncle Allen, Auntie Lose, Aaron, John, and Emily joined us for dinner at Antonio’s. It was delicious food and so much fun to spend time with family.

Just a few minutes after we got home, Darrell and Jackie stopped by to deliver a card and a beautiful poem written by Jackie. I would love to publish it on here but am not sure Jackie would want me exploiting her beautiful work.

All throughout my day I was showered with phone calls and emails from friends and family wishing me blessings. The gifts, phone calls, emails, cards and prayers all mean so much to me. God has blessed me far more abundantly than I deserve and I am so grateful for his wonderful mercies and love.

Thanks to everyone that helped make my day extra special. I love you all!

Oh Hail to Thee, Dear Granbury

2008-01-15T18:47:00.000-06:00

“Oh, here it is!” I announced to Alyssa as we caught or first glance of Arbor House, our bed and breakfast of choice. As we pulled into the large driveway we shot each other a smile, our anticipation mounting by the minute. “I’m so glad it worked out for us to do this before you leave,” I said after locking the car and beginning our trek to the B&B’s front door.

“Alyssar? Oliviar? Well hello girls! How lovely to meet you girls! Come in, come in!” Judy gushed in her beautiful Australian accent while ushering us into the foyer. We signed in, were offered a Granny Smith, and then given a brief tour. Judy and John just moved to Texas from Australia a week and a half ago and were filled with excitement and a new-found love for the place. We were offered tea, coffee, soft drinks, juice, brownies, and told to ask if there was anything else we might need. It was then time to see our room: The Lakeview Room. Judy led the way and informed us of how much she loves this room. It was nicely decorated and very cozy. After unloading the car we began planning our afternoon.

So where were we? What were we doing there? Alyssa is leaving January 24 for Amazing Facts Center of Evangelism, AFCOE, and we won’t be seeing each other for six and a half months due to me leaving at the end of May. Because of this, we really wanted to spend some time doing something fun together. Time away from all the business of home. We thought about San Antonio, but it was too expensive. We thought about a camping trip, but didn’t think two single teenage girls should be camping alone. Then my mom thought of a bed and breakfast. After a little searching we decided on Granbury, picked a B&B and booked a room. We were amazed how cheaply we were able to do this.

On our way to Granbury

Lakeview Room

Other side of the room

In the "backyard"

The view of Arbor House from the backyard
Back to Sunday afternoon. Our first adventure took us to The Square, the middle of Granbury. Approximately a four-block walk from the B&B, The Square offered many quaint shops for exploring, several tasty restaurants to choose from, and a unique, small town feel.

Our view as we walked to town

Alyssa making life more interesting
After wandering through several antique shops we came across a gem. Upon completing the first story of this particular shop we debated on whether or not to venture upstairs. We were about to head for the door when Alyssa saw something of interest to her. “I don’t know why but I love quilts,” Alyssa had informed me only minutes before spotting a wall of quilts upstairs. She bounded up the stairs and I followed close behind. After a quick glance at the quilts we spotted the real treasure. Tucked into the back corner sat 20-30 old-fashioned hats just begging to be tried on. I kicked the fashion show off by placing a notably outrageous hat on my head. Before we knew what was happening, the hats were flying to and from the hat rack to our heads. Of course we had to take a variety of pictures so we wouldn’t forget the best ones! Here are several of our lovely adornments:

Finally deserting our glorious “hat room” we perused several more shops before deciding we had seen enough of other people’s old junk (I’ll admit some antiques are cool, just not the ones we were finding). Not yet ready for dinner, we decided to head back to the bed and breakfast to decide what else to do. However, the four-block walk back to the B&B combined with the precious little sleep with had both gotten the night before had worn us out and we ended up just chilling out in our room for a while.

Everything was fine and dandy until a loud noise and a painful feeling interrupted us. It was only four fifteen and we were both getting super hungry! After searching on the web for a place to eat we decided on Italian, but upon arriving at Pastafina we decided to head to Babe’s since Alyssa had never been there. How can a vegetarian eat at a chicken place you may ask? Biscuits, corn, and mashed potatoes are enough to satisfy most any girl!

The rest of our evening was fairly low-key. However, we did break our no-dessert-for-a-year for this special occasion and did devour a pint of ice cream each. Yes, I said a pint. And yes, I did go non-vegan for this occasion as well. I only ate half that night but was able to finish it the next morning. Alyssa’s disappeared somewhat mysteriously and quicker than she thought was possible.

Eager for our ice cream

Bluebell is the only way to go!

Alyssa's emptied ice cream carton
The next morning we talked and had a small worship together before heading downstairs for breakfast. It was pretty tasty and Judy was so excited for us to try “fried” tomatoes, an Australian delicacy. They were really more cooked than fried. We loaded up the car and began our search for Dinosaur Valley State Park where we planned to hike, talk, and study the Bible together. After two hours of searching for a non-existent road we pulled over and enjoyed a beautiful little peaceful spot by a trickling brook.

One of our dead ends

Poor carsick Alyssa

God led us to this beautiful little quiet spot

We finally decided to head back toward home. Our stomachs began to speak to us again not long after this and we shared a delicious meal at Joe’s Pizza and Pasta before heading to my house. A few more hours slipped by at my house before I took her home and ended our adventure.

Don't we look lovely

Through our conversations we discovered that this trip was such a learning experience for us. In many ways it made us feel so mature while in other ways it revealed our immaturity. I feel so blessed to have friends like Alyssa who are committed to sharing these amazing memories with me and who are eager to travel the twisting highways and byways of friendship.

Our trip was fabulous and I can’t wait to do it again. Thanks for going and growing with me, Lyss! I’m sure going to miss you! Love ya!

Joy to Our World!

2008-01-09T08:31:00.000-06:00

Okay, I realize it’s been over two weeks since Christmas already. But I have a good excuse for taking so long to post these pictures. Kind of. I was determined to have a Christmas day post. I wanted it to be posted December 25 telling everyone Merry Christmas and everything. By the time I had the pictures loaded on my computer and got started it was getting late already. I had typed up my entry earlier and thought I’d saved it already. So I watermark and load all the pictures and go to look for my journaling and… I had deleted it! By the time I discovered this it was already midnight and I was too tired to start over. Why haven’t I posted them since? I guess you could say that the wind was knocked out of my sails. But I’ll post an abbreviated version now. Here’s a little taste of my Christmas…

Christmas eve Mom came up with the wonderful idea of Christmas caroling a few of our friends. Dave and I thought this sounded fun but we wanted to add a few voices to our “choir.” So, we called up the talented James family and were delighted when they agreed to join us in our endeavor. All our other friends were busy so it was just the Jamers (the name we came up with for our “singing group”). As they were leaving to join us M.J. realized she had a flat tire so her parents told her to go ahead and they’d fix her tire. Aren’t they great? Our second stop was my Uncle Allen’s house. John and Allen were home alone so we invited them to join us. Our group now contained 9 people! By this time Mary Jo’s parents had fixed her tire and joined us at our next stop, Dale’s house. Ryan wasn’t doing much so we convinced him to join us, too. Our group had now reached 12. By the end of the night we’d caroled 15-20 of our friends and family and had a blast. The only picture I have that someone took of us at the door is a hard copy and I haven’t scanned it yet, but here are a few pics from the start of our evening:

M.J., Amy, and I anticipating our fun evening
At our first stop
Christmas morning was nice and relaxing. Our family ate a special breakfast, read the Christmas story from Luke, and opened our presents. We kept things a little simpler this year, which was nice. However I did get one present I was totally jazzed about. The Shootsac I’d been wanting! I love, love, love it! I may have to post some pictures of me with it on here sometime. We’ll see if I get around to it. Here are a few Christmas morning picture:

Making Breakfast
The camera Dave got me for graduation has this awesome feature...
Dave hammin' it up

Feigning shock
Again
The awesome present I gave him
Aren't I intelligent?

Late that afternoon we headed to the Sexson’s house for Christmas dinner. The meal was so yummy! We had soup, bread, crackers, and dessert. I think I overdid it just a little… After the meal we opened our presents from each other and watched the girls do a concert for us. They are growing so fast! Our worship consisted of them singing for/with us and a closing prayer.

Shaylee and her Mimi
David and Brenna at dinner
I love that smile!
Shay needed a little help
The five of us

Christmas was absolutely fabulous in our corner of the world. Hope it was in yours, too! May God fill your new year with many blessings!

Lights, Camera, Action

2007-12-26T13:56:00.000-06:00

FINALLY! Christmas has come and gone. “What?” you might be thinking to yourself. “Christmas is over and your glad?” Actually some of you may be agreeing with me. But hang on. I’m not rejoicing because the season is nearly over. I love Christmas time! I am just ecstatic to share a picture with you. Back in October I did a shoot for two of my best friends, their sister, and their brother-in-law. These pictures were a surprise for their mom and dad for Christmas. Since they were a surprise I had to exercise much patience in waiting to share this picture with you.

Two of our dear family friends, Noah and Jaris Zygmunt, were down the weekend of this shoot and Jaris, also into photography, asked if he could come and long and watch me “in action.” Eager to have a second-shooter I gladly welcome Jaris’ request. While we were shooting around Cleburne, Jaris captured this shot of me in action. I love this picture because it shows the passion that I have for photography. As a fairly new photog, I am dedicated to trying new locations, angles, and ideas to get awesome photos for my clients. In the process I sometimes experience some interesting positions and shooting locations. This picture, I believe, shows my dedication to you and your pictures. Check it out:
Thanks, Jaris, for snapping this photo. And thanks to the Mitchell/Ford gang for the awesome shoot! Here are a few more from their shoot…

Love this light!

Love this jump shot...hadn't figured out burst mode yet so Anthony's a little blurry but still love the picture
Thanks again, guys! I had a blast with you! God bless!

Generation of Youth for Christ

2007-12-25T12:03:00.000-06:00

And last but not least, pictures from GYC. This weekend was so packed that I rarely found time for taking pictures but I did manage to try out the awesome new point and shoot my AMAZING BROTHER got me for graduation. Check out Minneapolis, Minnesota in December, folks:

Youth for Jesus friends: Olivia, Mary Jo, Katie, and Stephanie

Alyssa, Emily, Lorina, Mary Jo, and Me: Group Picture!

The inner girls

When we were trying to take off the weather was getting worse and worse. We barely made it out! Praise God we made it home!

Subs, Ornaments, and Gum

2007-12-25T11:52:00.000-06:00

Please indulge me as I share a few more pics of my precious girls...

For Micky and Brenna's Christmas gift they chose a date with me to hand-pick their gift. Our first stop was Subway (their choice) where we devoured a delicious lunch. Hobby Lobby was our next destination. Kenzie loves crafts and found a wonderful color-by-number. Following a tradition my mother started with David and I when we were little, I let the girls each pick an ornament from me. Doing this yearly makes for some fun memories!

Brenna is not the hobby type and requested a Target stop. After being turned down at her selection of a pricey Barbie, she settled on a fluffy stuffed dog. She failed to mention to me she already owns two very similar at home. Oh well, she seems to love this one just as much as the previous two. Upon exiting Target, the girls reminded me of our fatal mistake. We had forgotten a gift for Princess Shaylee! At age 2, Shay would have had a hard time forgiving me for leaving her behind and then failing to bring the promised present. Lucky for her I needed to re-fuel my car and Tiger Mart Express was close by. Inside we found the magical band-aid bubble gum specially designed for two-year-olds. After purchasing this and a pack of gum for Micky and Brenna we loaded ourselves back into the car and headed to the Sorke house to meet Kim.

The gum sure did the trick. Shaylee was quite proud to run in the house and show of her new treasure. The following day when I was on the phone with Kim my ears were met with the sound of Shaylee talking to her sisters about HER gum. By the end of that day, the entire pack had been consumed by our beautiful queen. The beauty of 2. Wouldn't you love to be satisfied by a pack of gum for Christmas?

Graduation

2007-12-25T11:51:00.000-06:00

The next pictures I’ll share with you are from my highschool graduation. The evening turned out wonderful and I wanted to share a couple of photos from our exciting night. Thanks so much for taking pictures, Jaris!

The reception "hall"- the deocrations turned out gorgeous

My table

Me and my piano teacher, Mrs. Sutton. She was our musician for the night and did an excellent job

Is this really happening to me? Where has the time gone?

Introudicing our fabulous speaker, Dr. Darrell Bowyer

Our class performance "Wherever You Are"

"You've just graduate!"

Changing of the tassle and presentation of the diploma

Me and my fam

Class of 2007.9

Alyssa, Lorina, Emily, Leticia, and Mary Jo: I love you guys!!

James Chiropractic Clinic

2007-12-25T11:19:00.000-06:00

Life has been BUSY. I am no longer a high school student as I graduated a week ago this past Sunday. I have just returned from an incredible conference, the Generation of Youth for Christ (GYC). Now, it’s life as usual (if there is such a thing). My family and I are spending Christmas together at home and are doing a few things with friends here and there. Other than that I am getting this mission trip thing rolling, picking up where I left off with photography, and waiting for the new school year to begin Bible studies. Since I’ve been so busy I’ve not found time to post any blogs. Graduation was crazy! But now that I have a little time I wanted to post lots of new pics. Some from shoots I’ve done, others from my personal life.

First off, the James Chiropractic Clinic. Denny and Susan James are the parents of one of my best friends, M.J. Dr. James operates a chiropractic office in Ft. Worth and needed pictures taken of the office staff. Although I warned them that I am completely inadequate when it comes to indoor photography and large posed groups they insisted that I try. The results were better than I had hoped for. While they are not professional, I believe we got some nice shots. Ladies and Gentlemen, James Chiropractic Clinic at its finest…

The Saga Continues

2007-12-11T19:39:00.000-06:00

I've been sitting here trying to think of something beautiful and creative to write. Fact of the matter is I am just so busy and rather brain dead at the moment. Graduation plans are finally coming together, Christmas orders are almost all delievered, one test left to finish high school, and Christmas decorations are finally going up. Life is great, but super busy.

Since I don't like pictureless posts I decided to post a one of my nature pictures. This one won a spot in a calendar contest for 2008. Enjoy!

David the Handsome

2007-12-06T20:40:00.000-06:00

Man, sure hope I’ve to some of this blood in me! Talk about an all-around great guy! My brother, David, is not only good looking but is one of the most awesome people in the world. He’s hard-working, fun, sensitive, and a polite. I gotta admit I love this guy.

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

2007-12-06T20:33:00.000-06:00

Alright, I realize you’re probably getting tired of seeing these cuties over and over again… wait how could you? Kenzie, Brenna, and Shay came over Tuesday afternoon for some Christmas cookie fun. We hadn’t seen them in close to three weeks! It was so much fun to squeeze on them again. The tasty treats that resulted from this visit weren’t to bad either. These pictures show “my girls” true personalities:

Miss Karen is a great entertainer

Me and my snuggle bug, Brenna

Sweet "baby" Shay

This is SO Brenna

Snuggled in the girls new down-comforters

Love this pic

Texas Sky

2007-12-06T20:25:00.000-06:00

A few more fun shots...

2007-12-03T14:29:00.000-06:00

I am so busy right now. Graduation is only a two weeks away and Christmas follows close behind. As a result, I don't have any time to write my usual long blog entries, but couldn't wait to share these adorable pictures with you. These are from the beginning of November. Kenzie, Brenna, and Shay came over to play and I snapped these precious pics.

Shay's Kitty Boots

Kitty Kisses

My Last Family Session of the Year

2007-11-30T16:42:00.000-06:00

Wednesday I had my last family Christmas session. The Hunts opted for some relaxed farm-style photos. We ended up with many great shots, but here are a few of my favorites:

Family of Four: Cindy, Nathan, Ryan, and Daisy

My favorite of the family
Thanks, Cindy! I had a great time with you and the boys! Enjoy the sneak peak!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2007-11-25T15:48:00.000-06:00

It is with a guilty conscience I sit here writing this. I have a big make-up test tomorrow afternoon and many, many other things I should be doing. However, I just finished making this short little video from clips of our trip and couldn't wait to share. Our entire trip was indescribable. I hope to have time to journal more in depth about it soon, but for know this video is all I've got time for. I realize it is terrible quality, but it can give you the general idea of the many blessings experienced on our trip.

More Family Photos

2007-11-16T15:30:00.000-06:00

Yesterday afternoon I did my second to last Christmas picture session. The Johnson family, along with their Grammy Penny, came over for some fun family photos. The kids had a blast running around the “farm” and we got some cute photos. Hope you enjoy the preview, Mark and Karyn!

Getting warmed up...

These kids can handle a tractor!

Hannah loves her Grammy

Daddy's boy

My favorite family photoThanks again for letting me work with you guys! Have a Happy Thanksgiving and I’ll see you in a few weeks!

Silly Sweeties

2007-11-16T15:15:00.000-06:00

This past Tuesday was my last day of weekly babysitting for the precious Haslam girls. Before bedtime I sat down with the girls and took some silly pictures with my computer to capture some of our fun. The quality isn’t that great and kind of blurry but here are my sweet girls:

I love you Abby and Ally! Be sure to hug me everytime you see me!

My Friend Ry-Ry

2007-11-12T11:41:00.000-06:00

“Lily’s House,” said two year-old “Ry-Ry” when asked if he wanted to go to Livvie’s house. January 28, five-day-old Ryan entered my Mom’s hospital room to greet his newborn friend. Guess who… you guessed it, me. Just five days apart in age, Ryan and I have grown up having a special bond. Although we haven’t always hung out a lot Ryan is truly a brother to me.

Several months ago I was trying to think of people to practice my shooting on and Ryan came to mind. Graduating in May, he needed a senior portfolio. We talked a little bit about what we’d do at his shoot and my mom and I began tossing ideas around. “I know I’m going to want some pictures with my piano,” he informed me when I asked what was important to him. Piano. Hmm… what can I do with a piano? I don’t do typical studio shots and therefore don’t have lighting to do piano pictures. “Mom! I would love to get some shots of Ryan with a piano out in the middle of the pasture,” I gushed, sure she would bring me back to reality. “That’d be awesome babe! Let’s call Uncle Dale,” was my mom’s surprising reply.

And so began the saga of Ryan’s senior pictures. I had so much fun with Ryan and am jazzed to have such great pictures to add to my portfolio. Other than me dropping Ryan’s new guitar, getting bitten by a cat, and losing my camera bag for several hours, the shoot was super relaxing. Ryan was a great sport and an awesome model. I love these pictures!

Thanks for being so awesome, Ry-Ry! I love your pictures. Glad we’ve stayed buds so long! Love ya!

Special Thanks:
Julie- All your ideas were great! Thanks for finding so many neat spots for us!
Dale, Dad, and Armondo- Can’t believe you guys were willing to move a piano to downtown Cleburne! Wow! My portfolio would never have been the same. Thanks!
Alyssa, Dad, Dale, Julie, Ryan- For praying for my lost gear
God- Thanks for helping me find my camera, fixing my computer problems, and helping the cat not to break the flesh

Energy Aboundz

2007-11-05T17:02:00.000-06:00

I absolutely love little kids and their unique antics. Alyssa turned two a couple months ago and her mom and dad were looking to capture their precious little girl before they blink and she's all grown up. From the moment I met her, Alyssa was all smiles. An hour of racing around visiting the cows, horses, and cats was enough to wear out our little cutie. But before she was too tuckered we snapped lots of precious shots of Miss Alyssa in action. Baby brother, Preston, joined us for some pictures, as well. He has got to be the most content baby I've ever seen.

Little Alyssa in her birthday dress

Baby brother Preston

Look at that adorable face!

Alyssa doing her dance

My favorite of the dayIt was a blast to work with you, Greg and Amy! You have two adorable kids (which I'm sure you already know) and it's was a priviledge getting to spend time getting to know all of you. God bless!

Dunn for the Day

2007-11-05T16:50:00.000-06:00

Sunday I was blessed to do not one shoot, but two. The Dunn family of four joined my mom and I for an afternoon of fun. What a blast we had! Connie and David are both such fun people it's no wonder their kids are a blast. Although we got several beautiful "posed" pictures lots of our shoot involved tickling, silly faces, and games. I love the pictures we got of their happy family!

Some real family fun

Alexander the Handsome

Dunns, thanks so much for our fun evening! You guys are such an inspirational family. It was truly a fun afternoon. God bless! Can't wait to work with you all again!

Laughter and Lollipops

2007-11-05T16:41:00.000-06:00

Sunday morning we were blessed with an extra hour of sleep. Yay daylight savings! Then at 9:00 Mom and I met the Wallace family in Grandview where our photo fun began. A Christmas card picture was our first goal so we started with the whole family. After several fun family shots we changed the little beauties for some sister pictures. Stunning red dresses from Grandma accompanied by the twins' precious personalities were the recipe for some of the most adorable shots ever! The girls did so good that we ended our photo shoot with a tasty reward. Favorites were next to impossible to pick.

A litte sister action

After the clothing change

I think she likes that lollipop, don't you?

Postcard PictureWallaces, you guys are great! You are raising two sweethearts. Thank you for blessing me with the opportunity to share in the lives of your daughters. Can't wait to do it again! God bless!

Oh Happy Day

2007-11-03T19:25:00.000-05:00

Oh what a happy day it was. Yesterday was one of the most relaxing days I've had in...way too long. Alyssa and I had planned a day of relaxation weeks ago to make sure and fit it into our insane schedules. At the time we didn't have anything booked for that day but of course as the day got closer we got busier and busier. By Thursday evening I was beginning to get stressed. I wanted to see Lyssa, but I have a project and test due in two weeks, several photo shoots coming up quickly, a new lab that I need to check out, and tons of graduation to-do's. I decided I wasn't going to cancel on her though, I would just get everything done later.

Friday morning I flew around the house like a tornado. Before my 8:30 class I had my devotions, packed for our outing, got ready for work, got my things ready for work, played the piano, and studied for my quiz. I didn't really even have time to eat much breakfast. Class and work went well. After work, I drove to Mexican Inn to pick Alyssa up. By the time I had gotten in my car at work my attitude had shifted 180 degrees. I found my anticipation for a day of NOTHING growing by the second. Also, a day spent with one of my favorite people in the world.

"I have to admit when I talked to you this morning I wasn't really excited about today," I informed Alyssa. "I was so stressed and frazzled that I was running around like crazy. But now that we're on our way, I am so thrilled! Thank you so much for holding me to this," I said with a smile. Our afternoon was wonderful. We spent the afternoon laying on a blanket at Cleburne State Park, talking and enjoy the marvelous weather. We planned to do some hiking as well, but before we knew it the time had come for us to head back to my house for dinner, vespers, and our Thanksgiving mission trip meeting.

Here we are, basking in the glorious weather:

And the fantastic view we enjoyed
Alyssa, thanks so much for spending the afternoon with me. I had a blast and look forward to doing it again soon! God bless! Love ya!

All Booked-Up

2007-11-01T20:14:00.000-05:00

It is with mixed feelings that I am writing this. On one hand, I am super jazzed at the prospect of a booming business. On the other hand, however, I don't like turning any one down for a photoshoot. But the time has come. My calendar and schedule are all booked up for Christmas photos. The time it takes to process and recieve your pictures combined with my lack of availablity within the next two to three weeks result in no more openings for 2007 Christmas card pictures.

Don't put the phone away yet, though. Although I have no Christmas card shoot availablity I would still love to book your family sometime in December/January for a fun filled family shoot. Also, if you are ready for senior pictures, want pictures of your kids, or are looking for a fantastic e-session, let's book your shoot!

Once again, I don't like posts with no pics. I present to you Mr. and Mrs. Morgan Kochenower

Excited

2007-11-01T18:28:00.001-05:00

I booked my first non-aquaintance photoshoot on Wednesday and am so excited about it. Up until now I've shot only friends and family (which I love) but word-of-mouth is now beginning to get around resulting in a busier schedule for Olivia. Mrs. Bunch shared my name with her daughter-in-law and I will be shooting her two-year-old's pictures this coming Monday. How fun!

Also, today at my dentist appointment Dr. Weiner (my dentist since age four) asked me what I was doing next semester after graduation. After I filled him in on my plans he asked for my web address. Instead of having him write it down I offered him a business card. "Oh, do you have another one?" one of the dental assistants piped up. "I'd love to have one, too," chimed another. By the end of my appointment I'd given away five business cards.

When I got home and checked my e-mail I was ecstatic to find a message from "Bruce Weiner." Anxious to see what he had to say, I clicked on his e-mail. What a treat! Dr. Weiner had checked out my website and his e-mail was full of encouraging compliments. It was so neat to recieve an e-mail from one of my childhood mentors commending me for my artistic style. If you're reading this, Dr. Weiner, thanks so much! You're e-mail means a lot!

To sum it up, I am eager at the prospect of many new clients. I think a photo-less entry is boring so here's a picture of my adorable cousin Blu:

Another Fantastic Family

2007-11-01T07:19:00.000-05:00

I just finished a family photoshoot of some of our best friends. There property is beautiful and their family is extremely good looking. What a privilege to photograph their Christmas photo! Here’s a sneak preview:

The Men of the Family

Once again, my favorite for lastThanks for having me shoot your Christmas pictures! Love you guys tons! God bless!

California Cousins

2007-10-31T20:59:00.000-05:00

My life has been so crazy as of late I haven’t even been able to find one free minute to blog. I want to try to catch up right now so these entries will be a little shorter than usual.

Monday afternoon I spent a couple of hours chasing four energetic cousins. We met at the girls’ grandparent’s house (good friends of my family’s) and took pictures on the fences, by the shop, and surrounded by the chickens. The boys live in California and were intrigued by the big cows and funny looking little chickens. With a one-year-old and three energetic “big kids” it was a challenge to get all four of the kids in one place at one time, but we still managed to get many fabulous photos:

Kicking Cousins

Maddie was more interested in the chickens than the ball game

I love this one!

Sisters

The moms and dads joined us for a few quick snap shots

Once the shoot was all over, the dads (and Michelle) got out the four wheelers. Maddie LOVES to ride! It's so cute to watch her.There are so many great pictures it was awful to choose so few! Thanks so much Tina and Michelle for asking me to take these pictures. And thanks Jared and Brandon for jumping in there! Have a safe trip home, Paulsons! God bless!

Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice

2007-10-26T10:05:00.001-05:00

"I wish there was a way to record children's laughter," one mom stated. "I know, there's something so soothing and peaceful iabout their carefree ways," replied another mother. Laughter truly is good medicine for the heart which means that there were plenty of healthy hearts at Abby's fourth birthday party.

Yesterday afternoon I had the pleasure of following around my favorite people: little people. Not just any little ones... royalty. I had so much fun following the clanking of little plastic high-heels and, of course, the hysterical laughter of these gorgeous princesses. There were also a few handsome young princes in attendance, making the party even more fun.

Mary, Abby's mother, is so creative. I tell her frequently that I believe she is super-mom. There were children ages 1-7 present, obviously a large age gap. Did this hinder Mary's creativity? Not in the least! When the children arrived they each made their own "masterpiece," which they then framed and hung on the wall to dry. Next, it was time for a story. Super-mom had taken pictures of each child in attendance (e-mailed to her by the other moms) along with their favorite things to do and made a book. Each page had a different child doing their favorite things with what they like to do written as the story. This book was one of the kids take-home gifts; a book with them in it. Wow!

This would have been enough to exhaust most people, but the fun was only beginning. Dennis, Mary, and her parents (who hosted the party in their home) had made three cardboard buildings for the kids to decorate with paper and markers. This was followed by delicious finger foods and cake. And what a cute cake it was! Abby had requested it have a princess that looked like her; long, curly blond hair, blue eyes. The princess should have a pink dress with green polka dots and the side of the cake should say Abigail. This cake fit her description to a T and was adorable.

After some pull-string-pinata fun the kids dashed outside to play with chalk, bubbles, and other fun games. After snapping a few pictures of this action it was time for me to take off.

The party was a blast. It made me look back with fondness at all of my own princess parties, of which I have had many through the years. Not only did I have fun, but those little kids made for some great photos. Here are a few:

Arts and Crafts

Princess Abby's Cake

Brenna approaches the boys

Prince Jackson

Princess Maddie during storytime

Arianna's not too sure about that hat

The face says it all...

Cake time!

Queen Abigail and Prince Sammy LOVE cake

The Dazzling Princess Riley

A little birthday actionDennis and Mary, thanks so much for asking me to photograph the party. I had lots of fun! And Happy Birthday, precious Abigail! God bless you all!

Fabulous Four

2007-10-23T20:45:00.000-05:00

"It's my birthday today, Miss Olivia," Abby promptly informed me as Mary handed her the phone. "I know sweetie, I called to wish you a very happy birthday!" was my enthusiastic reply. After listening to her plans for the day, I ended our phone call with the promise of a fun birthday surprise that afternoon.

Oh, did we have fun today! We played around the house and worked on her box (my present to her) before heading to the park. Energetic little bodies raced across every square inch of that playground leaving behind them a trail of giggles and smiles. Later, Ms. Karen came over for and surprised us with a visit. What a special treat! Mom stayed and talked with us while I fed the girls. More playing followed our meal of rice and carrots.

Before we knew it, bedtime had arrived. Time for tubbies and jammies! Abby had a wonderful day today. Many times throughout the day as she would accomplishment something out-of-the-ordinary or do something exceptionally well I would exclaim "Abby, you are acting like a four-year-old! A three-year-old wouldn't have done that, but now that you're four..." She would then smile, pleased at the prospect of being "so grown-up."

We had a wonderful day enjoying this fantastic weather. Praise God for fantastic four-(and two, little Ally)year-olds! Here's the gorgeous no-longer-three Abigail:

An End of Summer Adventure

2007-10-22T19:50:00.000-05:00

A freezing gust of wind splashed across my face as I walked to my car this morning. How hard it was to recollect the miserably intense heat of the previous day! Yesterday afternoon I had the priveledge of shooting the entire Sexson family. The girls are frequent subjects of mine, as I tend to not be capable of resisiting the urge to attempt to capture their gorgeous smiles and priceless personalities. While Kim loves all of these pictures with a passion, it's long been a desire of hers to have me photograph the whole family. Not only does she want a great Christmas card but her spacious dining room walls seem an incredibly inviting place for displying her handsome family.

Their pictures turned out incredible! Shoots of more than three people tend to be more difficult because of closing eyes and other involuntary (and sometimes voluntary) functions. I must say, though, that I was working with a family of troopers yesterday. It was nearly 90 degrees outside and the wind was blowing ferociously; neither of these conditions are great for a photo shoot. In addition, their shirts were not only black (obviously the warmest color possible) but long sleeved. Other than a few complaints when asked to unroll their sleeves the girls did great. I am amazed at the happy people I was able to work with considering all the elements working against us.

Concerned with the wind we decided to start down at the creek. This ended up being the location for the majority of our photo shoot. It was just perfect! So unique and beautiful. Also, how wonderful to have such incredible pictures on your own property? Sexsons are also blessed to have incredible neighbors, the Peacocks. Mr. Peacock has built the neatest little shack for over night stays. The stairs in the pictures are also his handiwork. There are several more amazing props and backdrops on their property that we used, but there are way too many pictures to put them all on this blog.

Here's what the last day of summer provided us with:

The Handsome Couple (It's no wonder their girls are so beautiful!)

I LOVE the lighting in this picture

Can you tell they love those girls?

Priceless

This shot was not originally part of the shoot. During a break Mickynzie and Brenna were outside with me and I snapped a few shots of them. The results? Five or so incredible pictures! It was hard to choose just one.

We got another one with all the girls looking at the camera, but I am crazy about Brenna's wink in this one

Mimi joined us at the end for a few three-generations pictures
Sexsons, have I mentioned that I love you guys! Thanks for giving me the priviledge of capturing your beautiful family.

Special Thanks:

The Peacocks-Thank you so much for letting us use your awesome shack and gorgeous property. Our shoot would have been lacking without these fabulous backdrops!

My Mom- not only is she incredible for coming along on most of my shoots, but she has saved the day on more than one occasion. Down in the creek bed I ran out of memory so she ran up that long flight of stairs to get my card. Lo and Behold I had forgotten the card! Mom had grabbed my stuff to save me a trip inside and had not seen the card. I didn't think to check for it and, well, the rest is history. Sexsons live 45 minutes from us so getting the card from my house was out of the question. "My computer! I can put them on my computer!" I realized. We both ran to the van only to find that, yes, the computer was there but the cord that connects the camera to the computer... at home. NOOOOO!!! Our shoot was no where near finished. Disaster? Not with mom there! She sped to Wal-mart, ran through the store, raced back with a brand new card. What can I say? My mom's incredible. Thanks so much, Mom! You're AMAZING!

Adoption

2007-10-18T17:09:00.000-05:00

It has long been a dream of mine to adopt. Five years ago my cousins Matt and Larisa adopted a little boy and a little girl from Africa. Four years later, my Aunt Wanda adopted a beautiful daughter from China, followed by a second gorgeous girl the next summer. The same summer Mike and Wanda were picking up their second daughter, Matt and his dad were in Africa picking up three more Africans, this time all boys. Watching the beautiful adoption process instilled a longing in my heart to experience that same joy.

Today, I was blessed to experience the joys of adoption. This afternoon at 3:00 PM Domino, Henry, and ?? James became Mertyle, Gertyle, and Henry Weber. As I clutched them close to my chest my heart was filled with excitment. They're finally mine!

Alright, alright. I wouldn't REALLY name my children Merytle and Gertyle (no offense if someone adores one of those names). M.J. and her family have been raising four kittens for the last two months. Their mother abandoned them when they were only four days old. Her family took on the challenge of helping the kittens survive by bottle feeding them for nearly two entire months. Wow! In actuality there were six kittens in the litter but Kenzie, Brenna, Shay, and Kim volunteered to help out by adopting two into their family.

In all seriousness, I do plan to adopt some day. I truly do think that adoption is amazing and desire to make this experience part of my life. I've just decided it'd be best to wait a few years. So in the mean time I'll be enjoying these cuties...

The first glance of their new home

Gertyle wasn't phased by all the strange new sights and smells. After looking around for a few minutes she curled up in the back of the cage and, well, you can see for yourself...

The "big kitties" weren't quite sure what to think of the new kittens

Hoodie felt it her duty to make sure Mertyle's an okay addition to the family

Here's little Gertie again. Isn't she just way too precious?

One Big Happy Family

2007-10-16T13:02:00.001-05:00

Sunday evening I got to have some family style fun with Rob, Lisa, Megan, Ethan, and Chelsea. We started at my house then went to the tunnel of trees. Right beside the road is a bright green field (I took some pictures of Kenzie, Brenna, and Shay there, too) that is perfect for pics.

After shooting some amazing pictures on the dock, we finished our session with some casual shots by the barn. We had a great time and I am crazy about these pics. What a handsome family!

Don't you run through a field with your family every day?

I love this one!

Thanks so much Fosters! You guys are great. Hope you enjoy these pictures as much as I have. God bless!

What God Intended Sisters to be...

2007-10-12T09:57:00.000-05:00

"Can I have one of those things?" Shay asked, leaning out of her carseat to watch Mickynzie shell pistachio nuts. "Me too!" Brenna piped up. I peeked around my head rest watching to see how Mickynzie would react. Would she eat the nut she had already shelled or would she share it with her sisters? I should have known the answer. Carefully biting the nut in two, she proceeded to put the first half into Shaylee's mouth before handing Brenna the remaining piece. "You girls are such sweet sisters!" I exclaimed.

Kenzie, Brenna, and Shay are like sisters to me. I started watching them when Mickynzie was two and Brenna was nine months. Kim and Denny allowed me the priveldge of witnessing Shaylee's birth. Needless to say, these girls are extremely precious to me. Yesterday afternoon I was given the opportunity to spend cherished time with them while capturing their priceless "sister moments." There were way too many beautiful pictures! Kim, I'm rewarding you for waiting so patiently by posting more than four pictures. I love these girls!

I saved my absolute favorite for last

Alyssa and Lorina's Sister Pictures

2007-10-10T19:12:00.000-05:00

Two more of the six. Alyssa and Lorina are graduating in December with myself, Mary Jo, Emily (went to the fair with me and is also my cousin), and another friend, Leticia. We went to the duck pond this afternoon to snap their graduation pictures. They are going to send out a picture of the two of them rather than pics of them alone. We got so many great ones! I had a really tough time choosing. Here are a few of my favorite pictures of two of my favorite people:

Thanks for giving me another excuse to put my new camera to use. I love you guys! Can't wait to graduate with you in two months!

Family Fun at the Fair

2007-10-10T19:05:00.000-05:00

Dad took off work, Dave and I took the day off of school, and Emily woke up early after working a night shift for a day at the State Fair. Dad and Dave spent most of their time looking at ... guess. THE AUTO SHOW!! Emily and I wandered around trying to find a neat exhibit or show. Most of our time was spent walking and talking. It was so much fun to spend time with family and to take a break from my usual schedule. Here we are at the Texas State Fair:

Playin' With My New Toy

2007-10-10T18:47:00.000-05:00

Everyone's gotta play with their new toys, right? I couldn't wait to start using my new camera so as soon as I had finished having worship I grabbed my fully charged battery and started snapping away. Since it was too dark outside I practiced some inside shots. I didn't have my flash on so the light wasn't perfect, but I was still excited about the results. This camera amazes me!

An Early Graduation Present

2007-10-09T20:41:00.000-05:00

Some kids get a car for graduation. Others get money. Me? I got a… Canon 5D!!! Yipee! Dad and I went to look at our options at Arlington Camera and Dad surprised me with my early graduation present. I am ecstatic and can’t wait to try it out tomorrow (the batteries needed charging). I feel so blessed to own this camera. What awesome parents I have! And what an awesome God we serve!

Thank you so much, Daddy! I love you!

Lorina's Senior Pictures

2007-10-09T19:54:00.000-05:00

Monday afternoon Lorina and I forged through the DFW traffic, making our way to the Botanical Gardens. After shooting for about an hour we trekked back to the car for a trip to "downtown" Cleburne. After several hours of laughing and talking we met my family at Joe's Pizza and Pasta. Delicious! Not only was it fun to catch up with Lorina, but we also captured many great pictures. Take a look:

"Deep Cleburne"

2007-10-05T17:57:00.000-05:00

Every heard of Deep Ellum? Well today Mom and I found "Deep Cleburne." Sometimes we fail to realize that the best things in life can be right in our backyard. Mom and I were driving home today from running errands when she asked if I wanted to drive into Cleburne to scope out good photo shoot locations. "Sure, let's do it!" I enthusiastically replied. I've been wanting to find some neat new places to shoot and haven't ever really paid attention to the buildings in Cleburne. Our creative sides began to come alive as we drove through the quaint little town so close to us. "Sis, let's shoot some of your pics here today," Mom suggested. We raced home and grabbed the camera then headed back for some fun shooting. We had so much fun and were amazed! Cleburne has such fantastic places to shoot! I can't wait to shoot more people there!

Mom is getting better and better at this. I am going to have a tough time picking favorites! Here are the best of the best, though.

One October Day...

2007-10-03T13:20:00.000-05:00

Little girl giggles and squeals resounded in my ears as the water splashed across my legs. After much debate, I had decided to risk damaging my camera in order to catch Abby and Ally in action with the water hose.

Ally loved being "in charge" of the hose

Can you tell Abby loves the water?

Ally wasn’t too crazy about Abby spraying water on her and quickly lost interest in playing with the water hose. Abby enjoyed it much longer, but finally decided she was getting cold. We turned the hose off, ran inside to strap their shoes on, then headed to their playground in the backyard. I continue to be amazed by the adorable pictures we capture on that playground. Just when I think we’ve gotten most of the good angles, we end up with more adorable shots.

When I showed these to the girls parents Dennis asked if I had caught this or if she was posing. No pose, folks!

Is anyone noticing how much I love feet pictures?

I love this one! It's so sweet!

Sisters-Abby making her way down as Ally attempts to climb up

Frosting, Sprinkles, and Fun with Friends

2007-10-01T15:47:00.000-05:00

"The girls are here!" Mom announced as I walked in the door. Tossing my backpack aside, I hurried from to the front door. "Hey sweet girls!" I squealed as I scooped each of the girls into a hug. Mom had prepared a delicious lunch for all of us. Aren't mom's wonderful?

Mom had another surprise. She had baked cookies for our young trio to decorate! The girls were so excited they could hardly enjoy their lunch. Mom and Dave helped the girls while I fired up the camera. Here is taste (pun intended) of our fun:

Shaylee hoarding the sprinkles

Miss Karen and Mickynzie mixing up some tasty frosting

Decorating Madness

Kenzie and Dave working hard on their masterpiece

Brenna, Shay, and Dave pause their work for a picture

Shay enjoying her creation

I think she had a little too much fun!

The finished product

Olivia Senior Pictures

2007-09-30T09:42:00.001-05:00

Thursday afternoon, the tables turned. This time I was in front of the camera, rather than behind it. Mom is just starting my portfolio, as it is still too hot outside to do most of the shots she’s planned. So, here are a few of my favorites from her shoot. Isn’t she great?

Backyard Fun

2007-09-30T09:41:00.002-05:00

On Tuesdays I babysit Ally and Abby. I try to take pictures as often as possible because they are too cute. Sometimes our days are too wild crazy busy, but this past Tuesday I was able to catch some adorable shots of them in their backyard. Take a look:

Mary Jo Senior Pictures

2007-09-30T09:41:00.001-05:00

“ Less than three months! Can you believe it?” I asked her as I snapped away. Mary Jo is one of the five girls graduating with me in December. Although we’ve known each other literally or entire lives, we have been inseparable, best friends for the past four years. Two weeks ago tomorrow, I had the privilege of shooting M.J.’s senior pics. She is absolutely gorgeous (and, no, I’m not biased) and the pictures turned out great! Here a few of my favorites:

I'm back!

2007-09-30T09:40:00.000-05:00

I finally figure out how to watermark images for my blog! Yay! I deleted all my previous entries because I couldn’t figure out how to watermark the pictures. But now I’m back! So, kind of boring right now since I’m starting from scratch, but I have several October shoots coming up that I will be blogging.

To get some pics on here though, I’ll post some people I’ve shot over the last two weeks.