Eldon

Every year, Brent writes to Santa to ask if Eldon is all finished with his work. If he is then Santa sends him to our home for vactaion. We love Eldon. He is so much fun. He shows up some time early in December and stays until Christmas Eve when he hitches a ride home from Santa. He reports back to Santa while he is here to let him know how everyone is behaving. It's really too bad that we can't tell Santa how Eldon is behaving. He's quite the mischief maker.

Meet Eldon. He high jacked my Fall wagon and took a few friends for a horse drawn wagon ride yesterday. This is how he showed up! Brent was surprised. That's a note from Santa in his hands and the jelly beans next to him are his food. He sleeps (when he's not making mischief) in the freezer.



This morning he was found swinging from the ornaments hanging from the ceiling. I'm not quite sure what Eldon will get into today. He may just create his own blog.. hmm?

So Much to be Thankful For

It's true. I know that so many people say that they have much to be thankful for but it is so true! I try to remind myself each and every day to be thankful for what God has blessed us with.

Many of you know that I lost my younger brother almost three years ago. Thanksgiving was the last time that he was in our home and the last time that I felt his touch. For that reason, Thanksgiving begins a bittersweet time of year for me. Each year, I struggle with remembering the good and not dwelling on the missing. I choose to focus on living life and celebrating while we are here but it is so hard when I miss him so very much.

I am thankful that my family is whole and in good health this year. I am thankful that my Mother seems to be doing so well and that she is finally able to be herself again. I have missed her and I look forward to having my Mom back!

I am thankful that I have a husband that loves me and supports me no matter what I do. He has funded my business so that I can watch my dreams come true and so that many of you can reap the rewards of those dreams.

I am thankful that I have good children that love and respect us and are doing well in school. The hard work over the years has paid off! There is hope! LOL!

I am so thankful for my friends. You all know who you are. We support one another through thick and thin. We've seen each other at our worst and love one another in spite of it. You tolerate having my camera in your faces at all times and your children are plastered all over my walls and computer. You are my family. I love you!

I am extremely thankful for my clients. You all inspire me! I have fallen in love with your families and especially your children (whether they are furry or human!). Thank you so much for your support.

Here are some photos of our Thanksgiving!

My baby boy doing what he loves..



We don't play football after dinner. It's kick ball! Here's my daughter kicking!

Here's my big boy... he's 14!


And, just in case you needed a reminder.. this is the love of my life..

All of my bilogical grandparents are in heaven so I really love sharing my hubby's. This is his Granny. She played kick ball with us.

Our sweet girl with her great grandpa

Mr. Too cool for pictures. Remember, he's 14!

And, finally, Granny and Grandpa. I am most thankful that we got to spend another Thanksgiving with them!

I'm sorry that I am so behind. I will be back soon to tell you all about a special visitor that we have with us.

Santa Baby

Yes, it's true! I was Santa's Elf today.. along with my son, C, who is a great helper! We spent the day with Santa and Mrs. Claus at the Tampa Garden Club. There was a Holiday Festival there. All proceeds went to the Parkinson's Association. With a very sweet Grandpa that was just diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease, I personally, couldn't think of a better cause.

I have so much to share from Thanksgiving but that will have to wait. This is one exhausted photographer. I leave you with pictures of Santa and Mrs. Claus and possibly a few clowns..

These are the Sunshine Clowns: Spritz, Flowers, Whitedove,Cuddle Bear, Cookie, Pockets, Patches, and Pearl. If you have an event that you'd like for them to clown around at, contact me and I'll share their info with you!

This is my clown... er.. I mean, Elf, or, is it, helper? This is "C." He's my second born. He's patient, loving and compassionate. Santa says that he has been a very good boy this year. When I need a helper, he's definitely the one that I choose!

Lovin' Natural light

I had a rare Sunday session today. No, I don't usually book sessions on Sunday so don't get any bright ideas. Haha! This was an exception for an old friend. Her sweet hubby only has one weekend day off and Sunday is it. These are family pictures and they have an elementary aged child so you understand.

The boys (all three) were so well behaved. I think that it was painless for everyone involved. I, personally, loved getting some more natural light shots. It was an easy session for me. I didn't have to pack up my lights, or any props. I just grabbed my camera and we were ready to go.

Here's a sneak peek from your session. I hope that you love them as much as I do! Enjoy! The rest will be up tomorrow!

Look! Everyone is smiling!


Does it get any sweeter?

Look at those eyes!

Watch out, girls! These are going to be a couple of heartbreakers!

My baby

I don't often blog about my own children but I decided to try something new. Meet "B." He's my baby boy. He'll be seven ancient years old in about eight weeks. We called him our Miracle baby until a few years ago when it dawned on us that all children are Miracles. I'm not sure why it took so long for us to figure that one out.

Mr. "B" took three and a half long years to grace us with his presence. We miscarried eight babies and lost a baby girl during that time. Doctors told us that we had a very slim chance of ever having another child. I tend to be a tiny bit stubborn. I told my husband that there was no way that God would give us the desire if we weren't meant to have another child. Thankfully, we forged on. And, what a blessing we recieved for our patience (okay, okay, maybe patience isn't the word. haha). To be completely honest and fair, all of our children took lots of work(faith) to get. We've had our fair share of heartache, grief and struggles that have made us who we are today. This little guy just took the longest!

And, oh, how I love this boy! He's snuggly and smart and still likes to hold Mom's hand. He's going to marry me (or is it Lily or Bella or Catie?) when he grows up. He's my first grader that blows me away with his reading ability and his math capabilities. He's his big sister's best friend and his big brothers' shadow. He's spoiled rotten to the core but very respectful. He's my baby!

He walked down the stairs two mornings ago and he looked so handsome. I saw the light in his eye and the photographer in me thought "Ah! What a great natural light shot." LOL! And, the Mom in me melted as I saw my baby boy looking so grown up! The photographer took over and this is what resulted:

I personally think that he was worth every pill, poke, prod and pound that I suffered to get him here. Do you agree?

Look at that natural light shining in his blue eyes.

He was getting away so I had to use the flash here. See the shadow?

Back in the natural light with no smile..

I told him to smile and he just flared his nostrils. He giggled when I told him that he looked like Porky pig.

Trying to contain his giggles!

I have to be fair so stay tuned for more on my kiddos.

Tomorrow is National Adoption Day. I will be volunteering my time at the Pasco County courthouse (West Pasco). If you think of it, pray for these families. It is such a happy time for everyone involved. We sometimes forget that there are huge emotions for the children. Many times they feel as though they are gaining one family while losing the other. It's a bittersweet day for them; that's for sure!

Such sweet girls!

I had the great pleasure of photographing Miss H. and Miss S. today. They were so cute and so sweet. Thanks to Mommy for bringing them to me. I hope that you love their photos.I look forward to photographing them again!

Silly elf!

Last year our family hosted an elf in honor and memory of a sweet little girl, Catie. It was so much fun. It's time to start preparing for this year's visit. You can host an Elf or send an elf (or two or three) to a hospital to brighten another child's life. It benefits Cure in the process. Read more below:

It's getting to be that time of year again!!! Time to start thinking about the birth of Christ, Christmas shopping, my favorite music of the year, Santa (or HoHo as he's referred to at our house right now), and visits from elves. Last year a great little project got started. Elves from Catie... If you missed it last year, check this out: That Silly Old Elf . We are on the move again with Elves from Catie and there are several ways you can get involved. It's easy to get involved and it's SUCH a great tradition!!! (You really do need to click the link above and read about it if you don't know about the tradition.) Ok... so ways you can be a part....1. Donate an Elf from Catie kit to a child in the hospital -- Kits are $35 and include an elf, an Elf from Catie book (about an elf that visits the hospital -- very cute story), and elf food (jelly beans) (go to the website and just click on the Elves from Catie logo)2. Purchase an elf for a child you know. Elves come with all the things listed above and the price for these is $35 as well. (go to the website and click on Host an Elf)3. Have your civic organization, ladies' circle, youth group, etc. get involved and work to donate elves to kids in the hospital. 4. Copy and paste this into an e-mail and send it out to all your contacts. Ask them to continue to forward it on. This was HUGELY successful last year. The website is Host an Elf. All Elves from Catie purchases (elves donated to a child in the hospital) will have $5 of the purchase donated to CURE Childhood Cancer. Your elf purchase for a child you know can also benefit CURE. Just BE SURE to indicate that you want CURE to benefit. To do this, on the page that says non-profit donations at the bottom, choose fundraiser under category and CURE Childhood Cancer under name. If you don't do this, CURE won't receive the $5.