I'm BEHIND!

I just wanted to apologize to you all for my lack of posting here lately...

I've been what the military refers to as a "single married person" for the past 2 months.  My husband has been on a deployment overseas, and I've been holding down the fort here.  And, I feel like I'm sort of under water somedays!!  Between getting the boys to school, extra-curricular activities, scouts, soccer, doctor's appointments, orthodontist appointments, dentist appointments, traveling for spring break, throwing a party for a church confirmation... well, my photo biz sort of took a back seat for a bit.  But my family always comes first... and I love that you all understand that and have been so supportive!  :)

I realized that I missed 2 blog entries over the holidays -- I apologize GREATLY to the Dammeier & Bunch families.  I'm super behind on posting right now.  Anyone want to be my assistant & work for free?  ;)  I'll get a hold on things when my hubby gets back.  Right now, I'm a little scattered... please bear with me!  

I just want to say again how much I appreciate each & every one of my clients, fans of my Facebook site, and readers of my blog.  Without you all, my life would be sad... I wouldn't get to see so many smiling faces!  

Fen Brokamp -- 6 month photos

I'm not sure what I can say about this little guy except -- oh. my. word.  He completely stole my heart!  

I've said it a million times before.  I LOVE BABIES!!  Babies are such precious miracles.  I would love one more day with my own boys... just to hold them & snuggle with them as babies again.  Now they're getting so big & tall -- they'd almost have to hold me now!  ha!

Fen & his mom came over & hung out for a while.  Fen provided entertainment for us both -- and his mom & I solved all the world's problems because y'know, that's what friends do.  

I'm trying out a new concept, and I got this idea from another photog friend.  This is a prototype, and I'm playing around with things.  During this shoot, I got a little bit of video as well as pictures.  We all remember our babies from the pictures... but sometimes we forget their little movements or faces when they turned over, etc.  I'm hoping to capture even more memories for my clients.  

Please leave me feedback & let me know what you think of this concept.  If this is something you'd all like to see with a photo session, or in addition to it, let me know!  

As always, thanks to you all for choosing me to capture your memories for you.  Thank you, Brokamp family, for thinking of me, and sharing your sweet baby Fen with me.  

Oh, and I feel that I should mention that I stole a little "Fen time" after our shoot.  He was getting sleepy, so I was holding him... and he zonked out in my arms.  So, we sat & rocked for a while.  I was in heaven.  Does anything smell better than a baby's head?  Nope.  

Enjoy!

A Christmas tradition...

Do you all have Christmas traditions?  We have a few, and this one was added a few years ago!

My parents are here visiting from sunny Arizona.  After going out to dinner last night, we decided to take them on a little fieldtrip to see some Christmas lights.

There are two houses here in Westfield that put on quite the light show!  They're the crazy houses with the lights set to music.  Great to look at, but I'm quite certain that if I lived next door, I probably wouldn't feel so warm & fuzzy about it.  ;)

After going to visit this house over the years, we've found the perfect viewing spot.  If you're right in front of it, you're too close & unable to see all of the lights.  BUT, if you're caddy-corner (yes, that's a midwest phrase) & across the street, you can see everything!  While my video skills could use some work, I'm essentially blaming this one on my phone -- it wouldn't allow me to zoom while I was recording!!  And, please disregard the running commentary in the background.  My kids & my dad were discussing who was going to beat who within our family fantasy football league.  Ha!

It's kind of neat because both houses have a different feel to them.  The one in the video has catchier music & is easier to sit and watch a lot of the show.  The other one has more religious music (which is really great), but the traffic gets pretty backed up, therefore not allowing you to sit & watch it as long.  However, as an added bonus, several houses along that street are participating, so as you're having to wind around, you at least have entertainment now!

Enjoy this little snippet.  I recorded the entire song, but between Facebook, my phone & this website, it will only allow me to show 54 seconds of it.

Please tell me some of your Christmas traditions!

The Ambler Family

I'm such a lucky girl.  Really.  My friends just flat-out ROCK!  

I met Rachel last year through my friend Val.  Rachel lives in my neighborhood, but we had never run into one another.  We ended up at a Girls Night Out together & bonded over queso & margaritas!  :)  Rachel is just awesomely awesome.  Her smile is contagious, and well, she's freaking HILARIOUS!!  She's always there for you, ready to lend a hand, ready to bring over a bottle of Moscato... just a great friend.  I'm so thankful for our friendship!

Rachel's family is pretty awesome, too!  Miss Grace is in 2nd grade, and is such a doll!  She was cracking me up on the day of this shoot.  I arrived at their house, and while Rachel was still getting ready, Grace & I had many in-depth conversations regarding Disney, clothes and her Guinea Pig, "Bugsy" (who I got to hold & is totally adorable, by the way!).  As I've said before... this is what I love about my job!  And then there's Tom.  While we didn't have as many conversations as Grace & I did... it was really fun getting to know him better!  All in all, the Ambler's are just awesome.

I got to meet the rest of the family members... Penny & Sheldon (cats), and Lucy (dog).  Lucy is such a lover!!  While trying to get a family picture with Lucy, she would sit any way BUT facing the camera!  And between shots, she came to give me a kiss... right on the lips!  This didn't phase me, however.  I love dogs!  

We ended up getting some great shots!  Rachel & Tom's house was beautifully decorated for Christmas, so we bounced between two trees.  

While trying to utilize the chalkboard prop, Tom grabbed it, held it in front of Grace's face & I believe Rachel said something like, "Seriously, Tom?" -- and I snapped the picture.  Honestly, and as someone said as a comment on Facebook, this has Christmas Card written ALL OVER IT!  Hilarious!

It's always fun to photograph friends, and I'm very blessed to have a group of women (and men!) who trust in me to capture their memories.  :)

Enjoy!

The Kantz Family

I've been doing pictures for a little over a year now, and because of this, I'm experiencing repeat clients.  The Kantz family was one of the first families I photographed last year, and it just makes my heart smile to see them again this year!

Kaylin was so little last year -- I saw her this year, and she's such a big girl now!  And wow, what a doll!!

The morning of the shoot, I received a text from Carly, stating that she had gotten engaged to Tyler, and they wanted some engagement pictures as well.  I was so excited!!  Congrats to them both!

And I have to say, Tyler is so sweet with both of his girls.  Both of his girls adore him, and that is definitely reciprocated on his behalf as well.

Oh, and did I mention that Casper, the horse, was there too?  I love horses.  :)

It was a great shoot, great day and full of great people!

Enjoy!

The Pappas Family

It's funny how paths cross in life.  I didn't put 2 and 2 together until I actually met the Pappas family at our shoot.  You see, their daughter attended the same elementary school as my boys and they live in my previous neighborhood.  However, while fully embracing my "blondness", I failed to realize any of this!  I was so glad to connect with them.  What a great family!

The day we did these pictures, the weather was great all day, until about 10 minutes before our shoot -- the clouds rolled in, and holy wind, Batman!  Could've done without the gale-force winds... but we pushed through it.  :)

It was nice to meet Amy's mom, Joyce, who I mistakenly called JoAnne during the shoot.  Whenever you meet me, the first thing I will tell you is that I'm horrible with names... and clearly, this proves that fact!  I never forget a face, but names, wow... they completely elude me.  ;)

I believe this barn is becoming quite popular with photo shoots.  While we were there, we found some old books sitting out - my guess is from someone else's shoot.  Jillian took a liking to them, so I captured her doing one of the things she loves most... reading.

Enjoy!

The Wild & Wonderful Watson's

I'm just going to say it.  I have THE best friends!  They have all been so supportive in this venture & have trusted me to capture their family memories for them.  :)

I've known Val for a few years now.  We bonded through PTO adventures, we live in the same neighborhood, and well, we just "get" each other.  She is just about one of the funniest people I know.  She's one of those dry sense of humor people that'll tell you a giant story with the most serious look on her face.  Actually, I'm jealous of this ability because I can't keep a straight face to save my life!  I digress...

Val & Ryan have 4 kids, and they are all equally awesome.  They all have such different personalities, and it's so fun to watch them!  This family has fun, is fun, and fun follows them wherever they go.  I secretly hope that I get adopted into the Watson family because they have so much fun!  :)

Enjoy!