I was so excited to learn that someone very close to my heart was expecting again, last summer. I offered to be there when she delivered and she agreed. I was so excited because we met during a sad and tragic time for her family and we both needed healing.

I'll never forget the call. Nikki called because she had heard that I do infant bereavement photography. She was calling on behalf of her sister in law, Laura. Laura's baby boy, CJ, had been fatally injured. He was at the hospital on life support and the family wanted photographs. At the time, no one other than Laura knew that CJ had been in the care of his father during the time of his injury. And, no one knew exactly how tragic the following weeks would be for Laura's family. It's a time that I will never forget and a time that will bond, Rob, Nikki and their family and I, forever.

I was so excited that Nikki had invited me to be there for the birth of her new baby. We were all on pins and needles waiting and praying. Imagine my surprise when I woke up on December 23, to find a post on Facebook announcing the birth of a still (at that time) nameless little boy that had been born to Rob and Nikki at HOME! I mean, really?! How dare Nikki give birth so quickly and easily... not to mention... leaving ME out! Hehe!

Actually, I was quite thrilled that Nikki had him so easily and that they were both healthy. I was even more thrilled when she called to ask me to photograph the little munchkin.

Meet Jayden:

Last Thursday I began living a nightmare! Well, it was a nightmare to me anyway. As I was photographing a family, my camera refused to work. It was the first time that it has ever happened and nearly caused a heart attack right there in the session. I ran to my office and grabbed my back up camera and that saved the session. I updated the firmware and I thought that all was well until Friday when it happened all over again! The camera situation is somewhat fixed now that I have a newer backup but we are still trying to determine whether or not the issue is my camera or the lens. Either way, I am able to breathe again! This is a good lesson and reminder for me and any other professional photographer.... ALWAYS have a backup! It's the only thing that saved me.

Yesterday we re-opened the studio after a nice, relaxing, Holiday. We are so incredibly excited about the surprises that 2011 has in store for us.

We kicked the year off just right by photographing, handsome little Logan. For those that don't know, Logan is my cousin. I have had the honor of photographing him since he was born. My cousins (his Mommy and Daddy) live an hour away and could so easily go any place in between but they always bring him to me. I am Blessed!

Logan started out by modeling some adorable Cookie Monster overalls made by Punky Doodle Designs(http://www.facebook.com/PunkyDoodleDesigns). He LOVED the cookies that we used as props and wasn't very happy when we had to take them away. He is truly a little Cookie Monster!

We then dressed his tired little self up in a partial tux and captured some of the cutest shots of him playing with the hat and chair! He was just a bunch of FUN!

We wrapped the session up as we typically do for a one year old, by giving him a cake to enjoy. And, did he ever enjoy!
Happy Birthday, Logan!

Well, welcome to 2011! We hope that 2010 treated you well but we are hoping for even greater things in 2011.

We've been absent from the blog World. Facebook sort of stole us away during 2010 but we have decided that 2011 will bring us right back to blogger and twitter. We hope that you will watch as we unfold lots of surprises. We have new sets planned for the studio and a few specials as well.

Be sure to check back often!

Okay, so I was stolen away by Facebook again! I thought you all might like a taste of some sweetness though!

Meet Miss M:

It's true! This little angel is my very own niece. She has me wrapped tightly around her little finger. I couldn't love her more if she were my own child. And, she knows it!

So, go ahead and drool over her. She is the sweetest thing since chocolate!

Oh, and, the bow and tutu are from www.bows4Emma.com.

I have practically fallen off the face of Blogger but I am making a come back. I decided to start with sharing something that has changed me in ways that I cannot verbally explain. Here goes:

My son, Chase, has been involved with our church's middle school program for quite some time now. If you know me personally, you know that I do not let my children out of my sight and I trust very few with their well being. Having said that, you may remember that Chase took part in 40 hours last year with the same middle school group. That stretched me a tad but he was around the corner at the church. We visited him twice. Not long after 40 hours, he went on a Missions Trip to La Belle, FL. That stretched me a lot more but I trusted that God was in control.

Over time we have gotten to know the Middle School Pastor (otherwise known as PDA) and his amazing wife, Lisa. We trust them and know that they love each child in the ministry as their own. They are truly amazing. Having said that... if you know me at all, you would know that sending any one of my children 12 hours away would be a HUGE stretch. So, when we learned that our dear leaders were planning a Winter Retreat for the Smokey Mountains, I prayed about it and then offered to go to help. Ok, I was being selfish in wanting to be with my child, not really answering "the call;" or so I thought!

On January 3, 2010, at 2:45am (again, if you know me... hahaha!), I started a journey that would forever change me and draw me even closer to Jesus. I was blessed to have Lisa as my co-pilot, and I was entrusted with five precious girls. They were all truly angels! I got to know one of my oldest son's friends better and she is such a light in my life now and I got to know Lisa so much better! The drive there was awesome but it wasn't the best part.

Meet Amanda and Deanna. Deanna is my oldest son's friend. She is a doll and she has new Golden Retriever puppies that I am going to photograph soon (check back to see cute puppy pics!)

I know exactly who this is but we'll leave you guys guessing :)
The picture below is one of my favorites of the entire trip. I love it and so does his Mom! I got to know her on the trip too and that was AWESOME!


These poor unsuspecting girls were just walking back up to the cabin. They weren't expecting my "sheltered" son to peg them with powdery snow. Snow that everyone said that we would never see. We asked and God answered!
Meet our AMAZING leaders. Pastor Dave Avery (AKA PDA) and Lisa.

Just a beautiful fountain.
My boy! Isn't he cute? He gets that from me :)

So, you ask, what did you all do while you were in the mountains? We took the kids snow tubing, hiking through the mountains and shopping in downtown Gatlinburg, TN.
Again, if you know me, you know that I love kids and I especially love Jesus. What made this trip so amazing for me was seeing my two loves come together. To watch the Holy Spirit move in children that are growing closer and closer to becoming adults. Knowing that if they continue to love Jesus that they will be able to get through anything in life.
My favorite activity of the entire trip was not shopping or tubing, but Praise and Worship. It was amazing. The thought of it still brings me to tears. The pictures below were taken during Praise and Worship but could never capture the true beauty.


I'm back!! Expect to see more soon. I want to show off my niece but I have to get permission first. She is a doll baby!