All Rolled Into One!

I am finally caught up on all of my editing including a shoot with each of my children which I will share with you later this week!  I like it when everything is all wrapped up and in it's place and I feel like I can finally breathe again!  I am just giving you all a sneak peek of a couple of shoots from last week!! 

First up is the Holland family!  She is the sister to the bride of my last wedding!  Dad is in the Navy and little man is all boy so it was a fun shoot!

For more of the Holland Family you can go to Picture Perfect by Jo, the blog! 

Next up is Allison who is a Senior this year!  To say that I have known her mom for years is an understatement!  She is such a sweet girl!

For more of my shoot with Allison you can go here!  I have another family shoot later in the week so the sharing will continue!  Up next a preschool shoot with the Diva and the Moody Teen's Senior shoot!  YES, I finally got him to cooperate!!  LOL!

Another Shoot in the Can!

Not literally, of course! That just means I am done, it's a wrap and I can move on to the next project! The next wedding is this coming Saturday!

If you want to see some more amazing shots you can go here!

Gives Me Hope

Like Santa gives a child hope of better things to come, mankind gives me hope! -me

Thanks to Dana, The Homesteading Housewife for turning me onto the site Gives Me Hope. I went to the site and was immediately engrossed in the simple gestures that give people hope!

The site brightened my day and I thought I would share some of the simple things that give me hope!

1. Photography, I capture so much through the lens that my naked eye misses! Tender moments between a father and his child, generations of hands that tell the family story, the love of a newly married couple, a father's love for his newly married daughter. I could go on and on.

2. A significant other caring for her dying partner in spite of it all!

3. A total stranger who opens the door for a young mother who has her hands full of groceries and babies.

4. A mother, struggling to make it on her own, who gives up food so her kids can eat.

5. A blogger friend, whom I have never met, telling me she is there if I need to talk.

I could keep going but you get the idea! These things all give me hope that the world can be a better place for all of us if we just work together and help each other! What have you witnessed or experienced that gives you hope?

All Because Two People Fell In Love..........

That is one of my favorite sayings! I just love it and it fits the theme of today's photo shoot! Here are Ryan and Amy's maternity shots, taken just hours before I left Colorado! In the course of planning their wedding they got the joyous news that there would be a new addition to our family! I am happy to say a little boy will join us later this year!


I just wish I could be there to do his very first photo shoot after he makes his big entrance into the world!

Beauty & The Beast

This is the beast of which I speak, his name is Boo and he is infatuated with the diva. He loves to play with her and chase her around the yard.

He will follow her anywhere! That is until he gets too hot and decides he needs to find a cool place to relax!
I think he is just looking for a treat but they do have fun together!! The diva considers this little bull dog her friend and is always heading towards Boo's house when we are out playing! He just moved into the neighborhood with his owner.

Notice the wrench in the diva's right hand? She was playing in the garage with daddy before her new friend walked by and caught her attention!

Wow, where has the time gone? This is my 305th post since September 11, 2008 when this whole thing got started! Who knew that this would be so addicting? Who knew that I would make some great friends? Who knew I would be getting paid to blog? The answer to all of these is: NOT ME! Ha! Thanks to all of my wonderful bloggy buddies and faithful readers!! You rock!

Lots of photography going on today at church! I have been hired to photograph a baby dedication complete with a family photo and an Ordination! Should be a great day!

Flashback Friday

Yup, I am taking another journey down memory lane today! Every time I look at my darling diva I can see all the wonderful changes that have taken place! She has gone from this tiny baby who needed me for everything to a toddler who is smart, funny and VERY independent! I love watching her "become"!!

These photos were not all that long ago but I have changed them up using another great PSE 6 action! In the top photo she was all of 7 or 8 months old (no hair) and she was just watching me watching her play! The second photo is from last July (the hottest day of the year) at the zoo. She was hot and tired but loved all the animals and the third photo is from last August 10th, the day of her baby dedication at church!

I just realized that since I did not start blogging until September of 2008 that these photos will be new to most of you! This is also with my old digital camera (pre DSLR) and before I really got back into photography! It was just a few months after the last shot that I got my Nikon and actually started making money doing photography! My how the times have changed! I am also happy to say that my photography has evolved as well!

I also have a favor to ask of all of you!! It is super simple! I need sites for I love your site Saturday and I was wondering if you have any that need to be featured? If so just leave me the url in a comment and I will check it out! It is just getting so hard to find time and energy to find new sites and with summer upon us, I just need a little help from you!!

I Love Your Site Satuday!

<br /><a href="http://lifesperfectpictures.blogspot.com/"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5330985643934826146" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 125px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 121px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxHX0foeaP82RQdlfABbfBtzZxiziGe_YL3PVlQMqaCTkKBYZH3XJJEE-dKQPdHWoNTWpdVHWdTCd9kiYn-ZvwERmV4TZ797Wy_idXRD6iJ-QUNN2yhGVm4m7rGdXjG__YMZp_MhWGXv3m/s320/funny_face.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />

I thought I would feature someone that I have known for a little while but that YOU may not be familiar with! Her name is Liss and she live downunder in Austrailia! I am so going to visit her someday! I have always loved Australia and it is on my bucket list as one of the top place I want to visit (and photograph) before my life is over!

Her site is A Memory Forever! Liss is a fellow photographer and she rocks! She has some great shots, OK, perfect shots! I love her style! Check out her blog and here too! The photo below is a cool on that Liss took and I love it!! Please check out her site and tell her that I sent you!!

Did you notice the new "I Love Your Site Saturday" button! Since this has become a weekly thing, I thought a button was in order!!



Have a site that you love let us hear about it! Just post the button on your blog and link up!

It's All About Me (at least for today)!

It dawned on me today that I talk about everyone in my family but me so I thought today I would fill you in on, well, ME! I graduated from Arcola High School and Millikin University where I majored in Theatre and Speech Communications. Immediately following college, I was a radio Deejay for three years. That was a rockin' three years let me tell you! It was a wild ride with lots of parties and lots of music legends like Vince Gill, Exile, Pam Tillis and so many more! I miss those days but I am more settled now, not to mention the fact that I am in bed by 10 PM most nights and that is when the party really gets started!

Things I like: Singing, theatre (watching and performing), sunsets, photography, reading, long afternoons spent playing with Sadie and chocolate.

Things I don't like: Laundry, dishes, being hot (or cold), spinach, cauliflower and rude people (Deb, you don't count cause you are my big sis, ha ha).

When I am passionate about something I will throw myself into it 1,000%. If I am your friend I will do anything for you and never ask for anything in return. I love to laugh and have a good time and I can make fun of myself (life is too short to be so serious). My motto is : Live, Love, Laugh.

I guess that would be me in a nutshell! The top photo is my latest self-portrait! I am currently playing with black and white, if you haven't noticed. The second photo is my fridge and my family organizer! If it needs done the fridge is where it will be posted along with art work and old photos!

Happy 2009 to All My Friends, Old and New!

Can you believe that another year has passed? So many wonderful things happened this year that I could not possibly list them all! So let me just say that I am blessed beyond belief! I pray that 2009 is a great one for all you!

Keep checking in for the new extreme blog makeover, new adventures in photography, funny moments from Sadie and lots more in the new year! I also plan on doing a give away or two in the new year but I will keep you posted on that also! One huge goal I have is to make sure there is at least one picture each day for the rest of the year (with tomorrow being the exception).

Tomorrow you can check me out over at Harriet's place at http://iamharriet.blogspot.com/ because I will be a guest blogger! I am so excited to and honored by the invitation and am working on what I am going to write. There is just so much to say and so little time to get it ready!

Happy New Year to All!

Frantic Friday!!

Friday should really be one of the least busy days of the week but for me, lately, they seem to be the busiest! Today is no different because I have to deliver CDs to clients and Zach has appointments right after school and lets not forget the housework that I have been putting off. I really wish some one would just come do my laundry every week, that would be a huge help! I have been dying to really get out and test the new camera but it has been so cold and Sadie has been sick so I don't dare take her out in all the mess! I think today will be an inside macro day if I can squeeze it into to all the mom duties and running that are a must today. I am already tired just thinking about all I need to do and I haven't even started yet! Oh well, no more computer until the work is done! The pic above is just a random of my Christmas tree.

My new Nikon D60

I am all a glow because I have been playing with my new camera and can I just say how much I LOVE this camera! No I really mean it I LOOOOOOOOOVE this camera! It is so much fun to play with that I sometimes forget to do the important things that keep the house running like cooking, cleaning and laundry! Those mundane tasks just do not compare to playing with my new toys! I really am worse than a kid on Christmas morning!

The top two photos are just some snaps of Sadie right after I got the camera just to set a base and begin my adventure in learning! Yes, I said learning! This is not your point and shoot camera that you just whip out of your pocket and click! This has settings and choices and changes that can be made to adjust for lighting and contrast! It is just so cool! No wonder Ashton Kutcher does all of Nikon's TV ads!

The bottom two pics are of my tree, more specifically ornaments on my tree! I used the macro setting which allows you to get up close and personal with what ever small object you are wanting to shoot! I am just at the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the endless possibilities that this camera possesses and I cannot wait until my first shoot when I actually get to use my new tool with some real customers!

I made this offer to my sister in Colorado so I will throw it out there to the rest of you too: If you get several groups, families, individuals, etc. together, I will come to you! All I ask is that you cover the cost of travel and lodging, in other words, make it worth my while and I will come and photograph you! Check out my cool places to visit and click on Picture Perfect by Jo to go to my website and check out my pricing!

We are supposed to get some more snow today so I am looking forward to being able to take the camera out and see what else I can see! Oh, yeah thanks for all the prayers for Tracy! She is doing good and got more good news on top of that so the prayers are working!