Saturday's agenda. Even with three photo shoots this weekend, I am on a marathon for getting some decorating done. I am hitting the volume button on the ipod with some Transiberian Orchestra and digging out the tree, then tonight....I plan on making hot chocolate with the kids and snuggling up on the couch to watch one of my favorite Christmas movies ever....the Polar Express!!!!!

And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags. And he puzzled and puzzled 'till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before. What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store? What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more? ~ Dr. Seuss

Hope you all have a wonderful Saturday!!

Sad but true. Sometimes you just have to erase the messages, delete the numbers,

Life. Has been a little crazy and hectic around here...

Hoping to catch up soon.

Sense of humor. I'll be the first to admit...he definitely has his daddy's personality and sense of humor. You cannot keep a straight face most times even when your anger is bursting at the seams. He always seems to have the right comeback for anything. Just like his dad.

So, the other day when I was stewing about something that upset me and had me seeing red, he simply came up beside me and looked at me deadpanned and simply asked with the most serious face "Mom, do you know how my pet fish died"? And, I knew I was in for it. So I replied, "How did your pet fish die Coy?" (Knowing that we do not have pet fish, I knew the punch line was coming). So, I tried to keep my face straight when he simply looked into my eyes and replied so nonchanatly..."He drowned". And, he just walked away all serious never looking back at me. Just left me there to think about the answer and then the laughter just erupted from me and my mood went from being down right angry to being just totally smitten with him. He so cracks me up. And, I love that kid. I love that he can sense my mood and make me smile.

Yesterday. Yesterday, since the kids had the day off school and the weather was to be quite pleasant, I decided it would be a good time to take the kids shopping at the mall and then maybe on the way back stop at a location I have been eyeing up for some time now to grab a few images for one of my usual Christmas card attempts (hint, "attempt" was the key word)......

Needless to say, my goal from yesterday did not go as well as I originally planned.... 1. Remind me again why I bother shopping at our local mall? They never have what I am looking for and always have to resort to settling for something else. 2. Hungry kids make for not such great shopping partners/experience. 3. I've come to realize that it is much easier taking pics of other people's kids then my own two. {Why I have I not figured this one out already??} 4. It's always helps if you remove the price tag from your daughter's dress that you just bought before you make her put it on in the backseat of the car. And, your too busy trying to get them to sit by each other for at least 10 seconds that you fail to notice it and ends up showing in most of your images I did manage to get of the two of them. But,I think I may have gotten a few possible potential images that just might make the cut, hopefully, coming soon in the near future to your mailbox.

Living life. The way I pictured it...

Two seasons in one. I made this photobook through Shutterfly. And, this is not the first time I have made photobooks from them. And, since I was behind from last year, I decided to combine two seasons worth of images. I love using their photobooks for projects like this. And, even though I did not use all my pictures, I love it for the simple reason of being able to put all my favorite images I really love and pull it off the shelf anytime to remember. The best feature??? They have this autoload feature that sorts them by date....and that works for me!!! Especially when I had like 14 games to sort through. Trust me...its well worth the price. Their photobooks are simply amazing.

Click here to view this photo book larger

Create a gorgeous, high quality wedding photo album at Shutterfly.com.

I even had a bride recently tell me how much she LOVED all her images by putting them in a Shutterfly album. And, that's cool, too!! I'm excited to see hers as well.

Happy "Hallo-weenie". Okay, so I am a sucker for anything that involves weiner dogs. And, look at what my sister got me...how cute is he? Which, brings me to what today is. Halloween.

I'll also be the first to admit that when it comes time for trick-or-treating, I have never been that creative for dressing up my kids. However, when you have four nephews and a niece and a mother who happens to save every Halloween costume ever bought...it is super easy just to have your kids raid their Nana's attic 20 minutes before it's time to go.

And, lucky for me, they came up with some great outfits.

And, I definitely got some good laughs out of it.

Happy Halloween!!!

I don’t know what lies around the bend, but I’m going to believe that the best does. L.M. Montgomery

Celebrate. We celebrated two special birthday's this weekend. One of them being my newphew who is now officially a teenager...yikes!! And, that is scary because that just means how much older I am getting.

And, once again, all the credit goes to my mom who definitely knows how to throw a party with ice cream sundaes and root beer floats. Yum, yum.

...Happy Birthday, boys!!

Her. She totally cracks me up. There is never a dull moment with her. I love her personality, her quirkiness, her sense of humor. She always keeps me on my toes. Always asking questions and giving her opinions so freely.

"It's impossible to protect your kids against disappointment in life.” ~Nicholas Sparks

She reminds me on a daily basis that I need to be a little more carefree and just go with the flow. She makes me giggle and I adore her.

Some more autumn. It rained this morning.

A promise. God didn't promise days without pain, laughter without sorrow, or sun without rain, but...

He did promise strength for the day, comfort for the tears, and light for the way.If God brings you to it, He will bring you through it.

Kelly + Jason ~ Married. I guess you can say....I have waited a long time for this wedding to happen. And, I can honestly say...it was most definitely worth the wait. Hurry and click play below for the most beautiful outdoor wedding held at one of the most unique venues located in Warrior's Mark, Spring Mount Farms. Kelly and Jason it was truly an honor to have been the one able to capture this long awaited day. I am so happy for the both of you!!!! Congrats!!!

Autumn blur. One photo out of focus is a mistake, ten photos out of foucs are an experimentation, one hundred photos out of focus are a style. ~Author Unknown.

Isn't this time of year just fantastic??

{wedding day} ~a sneak peak. I am so anxiously awaiting for this bride's images to be delivered in the mail.....

....just another quick sneak peak of some goodness to come!!

Life unscripted.

"While we try to teach our childred all about life, it is our children that teach us what life is all about."

Behind my lens. In the beginning, I was paranoid about following all the "rules" to photography. Reading into all of the right ways of making that "perfect" image. The thing I have come to realize by doing this 365 project is I loved learning the rules. Most time I follow the rules. But, I also like breaking the rules. Being able to step out of my comfort zone a little more each day.

I absolutely LOVE photography. It lets me express myself in a way I see things. And, most recently, I have to come realize even if nobody else likes the image...in the end it really only matters that I do. Because behind my lens, it is the way I see the world.

Dale + Josh ~09.15.12 To simply put it.....their day was amazing. To view some of their awesomeness click below to see a quick slideshow. Thank you so much Dale and Josh for allowing me to capture your amazing day!

The dress. It's usually the first main detail found and purchased after the enagement. And, one of the first main details photographed on wedding day. It is the most important dress she'll ever wear, and undeniably, the most beautiful. She must always remember how it made her feel to be the most beautiful woman ever to exist. And, it is absolutely one of the main reasons I love photographing weddings. It is simply magical.

"I deserve to be photographed as much as time allows, because she deserves to remember how beautiful she made me look..."

Dream big. Wherever you are in your dreams and whatever it is that you're working for...

Whew!! A beautiful wedding...

...a wee one

And, another win.

My weekend was a total whirlwind...and I loved every minute of it!!

The best is yet to come... "I know what I want, I have it in my hands right now." ~Gerry, in P.S. I LOVE YOU.

Just another favorite of mine so far......

The color purple {a sneak peek} You know it is going to be an absolutely aahh-maazing day when you show up and the bride is going to wear these awesome heels!!!

And, if you know me, then you know my fascination with brides and their shoes. The fact that they just so happen to be purple...well, B O N U S!!!

Season opener. I always thought football was played in any weather conditions, but we were rained out Saturday afternoon. Apparently, tornado watches + high winds = little football "bobble heads" being tossed all around the football field. Which, I am assuming cannot be good thing. So, the game was rescheduled for the following day, which was Sunday. He's number "55" this year. He plays linebacker and defensive tackle. I'm thinking all those bobble heads out there were getting their "game plan" perfected. Whadda a think??

And, I'm guessing all those "bobble heads" had a good game plan, cuz they WON!! Game One down....many more to go!!!!

Another weekend. “The seasons do not push one another; neither do clouds race the wind across the sky. All things happen in their own good time.” ~Dan Millman

The promise. Remember my post from the other day?? The one were I happen to mention about not being your typical WalMart studio? Well, this is just another reason why I prefer this any day over those department store images. The "promise" for this cutie, was some candy after her photo shoot.....and, well, this is her enjoying that simple"promise".

And, I simply adored her. I simply adore her loving family for allowing me to capture her sweet self. And, I just simply adore this capture. Just like I promised...no fake "cheesey" smiles here, just REAL LIFE unfolding in front of my lens...and, I adore that!!

Beating to a different drum. If there is one thing you should know about me...than you should know I am not your typical smile at the camera and say "cheese" kind of gal. I am what I am. I shoot how I shoot and I don't know any other way to explain it...other than to say that I am most definitely not your JC Penney/Sears/WalMart portrait smile at the camera and be done.

You should understand that if you are looking for those type of in studio posed shots...I am most likely not the photographer for you. It's pretty much a given to expect images where smiling faces do not exist. And, that's just me. It's my style. It's what I like.

To succeed means that you may have to step out of line and march to the sound of your own drummer. But, if you are not looking for the "in the camera smiling" shot, than most likely I am the photographer for you.

Few and far between There are many things in life that will catch your eye, but only a few will catch your heart...pursue those. Michael Nolan

The first day. Okay, so I am just going to say it...."It feels just like yesterday I was putting him on the bus for the very first day of kindergarten"...And, today, it is fifth grade.

Fourth grade for her...(just in case you couldn't tell by the four fingers she insisted on holding up)

And, the first day of riding at the back of bus, because you know they are the "older" kids now. I know, I know, sniffle, sniffle.

Lazy Sunday. I've learned that total pleasure is a good book, a soft couch, and a cat curled up bedside you.

The morning rush. Most mornings, I am hustling myself and two kids out the door, running late, racing against the clock, rushing down the sidewalk to get loaded in the car and drive off to work. But, this morning, I just so happened to turn my head and notice exactly how beautiful the rose bushes were bathing in the morning sunlight.

So, this seems to be the story of my life right now...always in hurry, always rushing here and there and everywhere...always running late to get no where special...sometimes, stopping to smell those roses isn't so bad afterall. And, most definitely something I must try and do more often.