class of 2013

I got the chance to take some pretty great photos, of some pretty great HS graduates this year!

I'm so happy for each of them, each one of these "kids" are off to a great start, w/bright futures & exciting adventures ahead!

Thank you for having me be a part of this special moment, I had fun getting to know each of you a little better, & capturing your personalities on film  (well, digital film anyway:)

CONGRATS to ALL of you!

class of 2013!

                                                    I wish you all the BEST <3

class of 2014~I will be your paparazzi:O)!

SO the other night instead of sleeping @ 1:00 am like I SHOULD have been doing, I was dreaming up a new way to capture a very sweet & important year for HS seniors!  My own daughter (crazy;/) will be a HS senior this year, & I wanted to do something extra special w/her~for her as she enjoys & goes through her last year of HS <3

My little brain came up w/an idea to do THREE mini sessions~

first mini~in the summer, July or August

second mini~late fall/early winter November-December

third mini~ spring, April............

Each mini session will be up to one hour, 2 "looks" & can include mom, & or dad if

                                                    wanted:)

you will get 4 high resolution images emailed to you within 10 days post session (just to tie you over until you get your full disk:)

~10 days post your last shoot in April, you will get a disk w/aprox. 45 individually edited high res. images.

AND

you will also receive 2 small (one for YOU & one for mom & or dad:) coffee table book of all your edited images:)

all this for only $495 (payment plan available:)

this is such a wonderful way to capture a memorable year, & to have something a little extra special to take w/you wherever your journey finds you...

I would LOVE to be your paparazzi during your HS senior year:O)

Email me to book, before you know it July & August will be here! 

A friendly face from my youth:)

A couple of months I had the opportunity to do a very fun family/maternity shoot w/someone who I knew many moons ago, back when I was a good~but "sassy" teenager:)

Karen (the mom here:) & I went to the same church, she is just a little bit older than me, so we didn't have the same group of friends, but I remember her well:)  I remember she ALWAYS had a smile on her face, I remember she always would say "hi" to me whenever she saw me......I remember she was a nice girl :)

Not much has changed....Karen STILL always has a smile going on:) & together w/her husband of 30 years, has raised a very nice family together, & I loved that I got to see her again after about 25 years, meet her family, & was able to capture some very sweet & tender moments.

  Karen (& I'm sure her hubby too:) ADORES her grandkids, & they adore her <3 I had fun getting a few photos of her doing what she loves, reading to them, it was so cute :O)

Karen, thank you for having me be a part of your family for an afternoon:) It truly                                                                      was an honor <3

forty one

forty one.  this is how many years I was able to be with my mom here on this earth for.

mothers day has been very bitter-sweet for me since my mom passed away suddenly, nearly 3 years ago.  not a day/night has gone by without me thinking of her, missing her......wishing she was still here, wishing I could press "mom" on my cell phone to ask her a quick question, ask her how her day is going, or just call her for no reason @ all. I miss her very much, sometimes it still literally hurts my heart.

going through a few old albums I have, I found this photo of my mom n I @ one of my bridal showers, almost 18 years ago, my mom was always "put together" unfortunately, I didn't really get that trait from her lol:)  she was always "dressed" I don't think she even owned a pair of flip-flops, & well, those are my favorite shoes to wear! we are so much alike in many ways, (you know that old saying "I'm turning into my mother") but in many ways, we are different. 

my dad moved in w/me & my family the same day my mom passed.  they were married for over 60 years, my poor dads life changed dramatically in a matter of minutes.  I am happy to be able to have him w/us here, but often times it is heart braking to see, & feel the loneliness & longing he has for her.  I snapped these shots above yesterday of him.  he was deciding whether to go on a little walk around the block, or not........he stood out there for maybe 10 minutes, & I bet that he was thinking of my mom for 9 of them.....

 on a happier note:O) like I mentioned earlier, my mom was always "dressed" she had TONS of clothes....TONS! (BUT she was a bargain hunter-so am i:) we donated about 40 nice outfits to an organization for women, that my church was gathering for....some we gave away, & I gathered a few of her "staple" clothing....blouses that she wore a little more often, a shirt she wore on our recent vacation to Italy together, her night gown she would water down her patio in EVERY day (she cleaned/washed her patio DAILY:)! one of my favorite robes she wore in the mornings, & lace from a Temple skirt she had.........

 I have a friend who is an amazing seamstress (I mean amazing!) & I came to her w/an idea I had, to make little rag dolls for myself, my kids & my sister.......& I had her make a little patchwork pillow for my dad.  I wanted to give it to them for Christmas & we only had 2 weeks or so to get them done......she said YES, & I was SO happy & excited!!!

Aren't they so adorable!  each one is a tiny bit different & each one is perfect!

even though I don't have my mom physically here on earth w/me anymore~& the thought of possibly not seeing her again for 40+ years gives me a bit of anxiety @ times, one thing I do know is that I WILL see her again, I will be able to talk to her face to face, & hug her.  I am thankful for this knowledge that I have, it brings me comfort & helps me live a little better each day.  I am thankful that I had such an amazing mother, sometimes I feel like I was spoiled because I have parents who are/were so good to me & I just hope that my kids will have the same feelings, & memories when I am no longer here physically w/them <3

This little girl is my rag dolly <3 I love her so much.  she is next to my bedside, I see her first thing in the mornings, & she is one of the last things I see @ night before I get into my bed.  it may sound a bit silly, but she is a little part of my mom that I have next to me <3 always.

Happy Mothers Day up in the Heavens mom!  I love you.

coming soon!

New blog post coming soon:O)  I just have so many "pretties" to blog about, I just don't know WHERE to start:O)