moving

is not fun we have been painting and painting and painting for what seems like weeks now, but it has only been about 5 days. The whole main floor is painted and next we take on 3 bedrooms and 2 baths.We finally have a washer & dryer, the REALLy nice front-loading ones….and a refrigerator that makes ice. Our last 2 houses haven’t had that ever-so-taken-for-granted luxury.  This weekend is the *actual* big move….and *somehow* i managed to plan a trip out of town that very same weekend. What a shame, right?I will be back in KC for my best friend Whitney’s baby shower. She has only a month left before baby boy Greysen Xavier Rawls is here…i can’t wait to meet him So, just wanted to post a little update that things should be fully up-and-running again within the next two weeks….website included. We’ve had a few delays…nothing serious….just some ski days, some shopping days, some museum days…you know, mental health stuff. But it should be up and running by this weekend. Anyway, stay tuned for pics of the house as it is finished….oh, and what fun is a post without a picture.  two years ago at this time, my dad and i were in europe….i have trying to put together art for the new house and found this picture and i just love it. We had so much fun!   

i.need.a.baby

NOT ONE OF MY OWN….

but one of yours

preferably 8-12 months….

i prefer that they can stand….walking would be better.

a girl if i could choose

cute is a must

if you, or someone you know, has a baby that meets these few, but VERY important, requirements, have them give me a call or shoot me an e-mail.

I have a crazy idea i want to try….

and in return…they get 1 FREE 8×10 of their choice….

HURRY…..this is a VALENTINES day idea….

no.smiles.here

so, sometimes, when you are writing about your own family, it’s a little hard.

You can find the words, but do they do the emotions and feelings justice?

Do the pictures do the words justice?

probably not….

so, for these pictures of my 13-year-old nephew, Patrick, i tried to remember what it felt like to be 13 and what i would want to know. I think i was a pretty good kid, as is he, but i just wish i knew then that i didn’t have to think about *being* anything other than me…and a good human being.

he is sooooo 13….no smiles here.

He is all about *attitude* in these pics.

live life fully while you’re here.
experience everything.
take care of yourself and your friends.
have fun, be crazy, be weird.
go out and screw up!
you’re going to anyway, so you might as well enjoy the process.
take the opportunity to learn from your mistakes:
find the cause of your problem and eliminate it.
don’t try to be perfect;
just be an excellent example of being human.
- anthony robbins

new.year.new.people

so, for my first picture post of the New Year i wanted to post some images of a new baby in my life….Baby Derek…

Isn’t he the most precious little guy?

he looks like a little Glow Worm, remember those?

He is only 6 weeks old and he can already hold his head up for about half a minute.

Oh, i guess i should tell you a little bit about Derek. His mommy is my best friend from growing up. Rachel and i have known each other since we were about 6. We have so many memories together….i really don’t have many memories from high school that don’t include her.

We were suspended together, obsessed over boys together, play all sports together.

Her friendship is so special to me and i am so lucky that while i was back in town for a brief time i was able to meet Derek. She, Paul and the baby were so kind to drive to the hotel my mom and i stayed at while we went shopping on the Plaza. It was kind of snowy, but that didn’t stop them. My mom was IN LOVE with the baby. She just kept saying, “Rachel, i can’t believe you have a baby.”

I just love this image of his body. I think it is so touching and the curve of his body is something beautiful all moms should remember about this new, fresh time.

these were all taken at a hotel on a bed….you wouldn’t even know.

and lastly, i just love this image b/c of the glow in the background from the lamp.

Oh, true to Rachel’s sense of humor, i asked her what they were getting Derek for his 1st Christmas and she said, “I gave him life….isn’t that enough of a present?”

a lot to write about….

just wanted to say HAPPY NEW YEAR to all of you ….

Stay tuned for postings about

*Christmas
*New Year
*3 of our good friends moving to Denver
*Baby Derek
*my nephew, Patrick
*the new house
*a model call
*a baby shower

Oh, and i am ABSOLUTELY obsessed with a new musician whose name is ADELE…

google her, myspace her, whatever her….her voice is amazing….

peace.

words cannot express how happy i have been to meet all of you who i have photographed this year. Your words of appreciation, your time, your patience, your trust has reaffirmed that i am at the right place at the right time.

i thank each of you so much and wish you not only happy holidays and a safe new year with your families, but i also wish you PEACE.

<a href

peace.
it does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble or hard work. it means to be in the midst of those things and still be calm in your heart.
- author unknown

how.to.get.a.2.year.old.to.smile.for.the.camera

….ahhhh…

i only wish i knew.

This is what 95% of all pictures of little 2-year-old boys look like.

i spend most of the session on my hands and knees trying ANYTHING to make little boys look at me….getting them to smile is virtually impossible. I click my tongue, bring noisemakers, tell jokes, bribe them with candy, stick out my tongue, bark like a dog…you name it.

you get a lot of profile shots and a lot of them looking EVERYWHERE but at you.

sometimes you have to get mom or dad to give them a tickle…

it never fails, the moms always apologize and are embarrassed….and i always LOVE it b/c when the finally see the images, they get to see more than *perfect smiles* and images looking right at the camera.

they see connections with their dad…

they get to see beauty in their everyday surroundings.

they get to see pouts and tears and screams and they get to see WHAT A TWO YEAR OLD REALLY IS LIKE!

and in that 5% of the shots where they are actually looking at the camera, they get to see what they want to see.

PS….this little darling boy B*, said this today when i rang the door to his house to drop off his pictures, “Don’t….go away….that’s the lady who….” and then he ran off. I wonder if he remembered me….

snow.is.falling….

i think clint would laugh if he read this….

i was reminded tonight, when i heard *our song* on the drive home, exactly all of the reasons why i love him.

this will be a sappy post, so if you aren’t into that kind of thing….well, don’t read this. But i am surprised whenever i meet with a client and i mention something that is going on with my life, how much many of you actually absorb the random ramblings from this post…so maybe, reading a little bit about my personal life will help you know me.

*Song For a Winter’s Night* by Sarah McClachlan is *our song*….granted there must be a million songs after 8 years that make me have a memory of him or us…this is the one that i love the most.

It is one of our first dates….winter….cold…i had bought a new outfit (red sweater and black skirt….black tights and knee-high black boots…waaaaaaay before they were trendy)….we were headed to Kansas City from Lawrence…it was a *real date*….not just “let’s meet at a bar” but “let’s get really dressed up and do something special.” We went into KC in his little red Honda Civic and he was trying so hard to impress me…..we had reservations at one of those restaurants that overlooked the city…it spun….i had never done anything like that and had never even tasted wine before….i couldn’t have been more nervous….nor could he….then….his car died….in the parking lot, we had to have the attendent push us into a parking spot….he was so embarrassed…it was so endearing….i was fighting so hard not to like him….this song came on and i was *done*

clint is a wonderful person…shy around my family, but the *LIGHT* in any room…people are drawn to him….in moving to Colorado and making new friends, i am always amazed by how much people are just enthralled by him.

He is good!

This is a picture of he and I from a few years ago in Miami.

i just think our journey is amazing…sometimes i tell people we have been together 8 years and they mock us or ask how…and i do the same to myself. But, tonight we were in this new city with new friends and i think “that guy is amazing”….

we are human…we have had problems, but we have NEVER given up on each other, and i can’t imagine a better friend to get to go through all of this new stuff with….he is so supportive of everything i go through on a daily basis, and belive me, it’s a LOT, and i am just so thankful for him.

The song says, “I would be happy, just to hold the hands i live, on this Winter’s Night with you” and tonight i feel the same way.

making.her.october.2007.debut

i have been a bad…bad…blogger, but you know, it’s the holidays and i am busy so i don’t feel as guilty as i should.

I have been wanting to post from this session for awhile but wanted to wait until her parents had picked up their announcements and made their final selections. I usually don’t use childrens’ names, but this first image is part of a birth announcement and it wouldn’t have the same effect without it.

This is Reese….

isn’t she a bundle of joy? i met her parents through my first-ever Colorado client and i am so glad her mommy let me try out this crazy idea i had.

I just love the back of her birth announcement.

obviously, i took out her full name and the original is complete with the line “created by *mom* & *dad*”…i was going for a fashion-line announcement.and here is another darling one that didn’t make the announcement cut, but that i love!

don’t you just love fresh, pink baby girls.

i can’t wait to watch this one grow up….i see pink, frilly dresses in her future.

taking.care.of.number.one

i know you are busy.

kids are a lot of work….and the holidays are here so you are cooking big meals….running to recitals….shopping….

with all that going on, i just want to make sure none of you forget to take care of #1 this year….YOU

CALL FAST…you still have time to get some portraits for holiday gifts and for holiday cards.

But YOU MUST schedule your session by December 31 and be photographed by February 15 to receive the FREE 11×14.

have a great day….i have a really fun referral shoot this afternoon that i can’t wait to post about in a few days….

also, we are headed home for the holidays (2 big turkey dinners and a wedding and the KUvsMizzou football game) so it will be a bit of a working vacation for me.

If you have placed an order, it will be ready at the end of next week when i get back….also, i accidentally washed my cell phone in the laundry this weekend after being up in the moutains, so plans for a new one to arrive on Thursday in wichita….quite inconvenient, but truthfully, it’s been nice not having it for a bit.

So have a great Turkey Day and enjoy being with friends and family….eat a lot of food, but don’t forget to be thankful for all that you have….we are truly blessed and remember that Thanksgiving isnt just about food…it’s about gratitude.

If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, “thank you,” that would suffice.
Meister Eckhart: