Louisa {Newborn Sneak Peek}

It's a girl! A beautifuly, fluffy, baby girl!  My friend Lyn called me to tell me Miss Louisa had arrived.  I couldn't wait to see her.  Louisa is a baby donkey, a beautiful gray donkey with the sweetest eyes and the best hair!  Hannah and I could have spent hours just watching her!

 She is learning to walk so well even though her long legs get a bit wobbly at times.  She has a new friend too that would really like for her to come over the fence and play:

While we were having fun watching her, she let me admire her beautiful hair up close and then she started showing us that she could pick up big sticks and carry them around....so cute!

Prom Centerpieces

This was my second year to get to plan the Junior/Senior Prom. It's always a fun challenge to carefully plan every detail while staying within budget. I met with the Junior prom committee and we decided on the theme, "Safari Romance." I like anything animal print, so the color scheme was fun, and the venue is decorated with a rain forest, safari theme already. Our invitations were so cute and the student body seemed especially excited about prom when they saw them.

Thursday evening before Prom, Hannah helped me with the centerpieces. I thought you might like to see what I came up with.

I purchased 12 jars from Dollar Tree..the were a dollar each. And I gathered rocks from my vegetable garden pathways and filled them halfway:

And then we looked at what was suppose to go in the jars and realized, we filled them with rocks too soon.

So, we dumped them back in a bowl and started over. OIY!

I purchased the rain forest like greenery from my favorite place, Hobby Lobby, when it was on sale for 1/2 off.  Yippee!  I found some curly willow branches to add to them too.  We carefully added the greenery and branches to the glass jars, added more pebbles and rocks to keep the jars sturdy and used some left over burlap to tie around the jars:

We added some green rain forest like leaves and bamboo sticks to the larger arrangements that would go on the food tables:

And then I cleaned up my kitchen that was covered with broken pieces of willow branches, pebbles, and dirt from the garden...and then we fell into bed exhausted. 

Mr. K's First Birthday {A Sneak Peek}

What fun to meet Mr. K and his mommy and daddy. Oh my goodness, his hair is amazing and how he wrinkles that little nose when he smiles...so sweet!

One Act Play Advances!!!

Hannah and the One Act Play Cast and Crew advance to District! Yipee!!!  They are working so hard to perfect a few minor things and then the competition is on. They perform again on April 5th.  Thank you for praying for them...it was their best performance ever!

These Eyes

...these beautiful blue eyes with those amazingly long eyelashes get me every time.  I set my camera to overexpose this image on purpose because I wanted to focus on her eyes....I want to remember every detail of them~the ocean blue, the sparkle, the mile long lashes, the joy....oh my baby girl seems to be growing much, much too quickly!

Our Drama Queen

Today is the big day!  Hannah and her fellow One Act Play cast and crew perform in Zone Competition.  They should perform for the judges around 12:30 today. 

I have to tell you that the cast and crew have been working hard for months and I finally got to see the play a week ago and LOVED it!  It is so stinkin' funny!!!  And my daughter is hilarious!  Hannah plays the part of a wealthy old woman and her voice sounds so much like Julia Child.  So funny!

A few months ago, when they were getting props and costumes designed, they found an old stuffed ferret in the prop closet.  Hannah fell in love with it and now it is part of her costume.   She even kisses it in one scene on stage.  

They spray paint her beautiful hair gray for the play.  The first time, we left the gray paint in her hair for about 8 hours.  OIY!  Talk about being tough to rinse out.  Today, she will perform, we will head home after their performance, and promptly wash her hair. 

Hannah is blessed to be the only freshman in this amazing cast!  We were so thrilled when she got the part and so proud of our daughter too! 

Love seeing my 15 year old in pantyhose, cream colored shoes, an "old lady" bag, hat, and gloves.  Makes me giggle. 

I can't wait to see their performance again.  Every part is fabulous and we are praying they go very far in the competition.  We will see this afternoon.  If you think about it, please pray for Hannah and the rest of the cast and crew at 12:30 Texas time when they perform; specifically, that God would help them to give their absolute best performance and to quiet their nerves.  Break a leg one act play!!!!

Granny Airbag

Have you seen this video??? My Uncle shared it with my parents who shared it with the girls and I. It's hilarious so I thought I would share it with all of you too. Enjoy!

Baylor Basketball

Wow! Spring Break came and went, Easter mini Sessions took place, their galleries were loaded, and I finished two more senior photo sessions and galleries, and wrapped up a corporate website design.  Whew!  I need a vacation. Ha!  I realized early this morning that I never posted pictures from the Lady Bears game we were blessed to attend in Waco. Sic 'em bears!

We were so excited when the lights were dimmed and the smoke began!  Time to play ball!  Hannah wore her BG jersey and BG even looked at us right before swishing 2 free throws. Really, she did!  Check out that picture!  The Lady Bears beat the Lady Raiders and the celebration of being the Big 12 Champions began! 

Coach Mulkey invited all the fans down to the court to celebrate with the team!  My man and I looked at each other to make sure we both really heard what we thought we had just heard, grabbed our girls and made our way down to the court.  There were people everywhere but we still managed to take pictures with nearly every lady bear player.  Hannah was so excited!  Destiny Williams asked Hannah how tall she was.  She couldn't believe Hannah was just a freshman in high school...which made Hannah's entire day!  The second picture is with Hannah and Makenzie, Coach Mulkey's daughter. 

The girls had fun scooping up confetti and I had fun trying to capture it. 

See how close we were? I had my prime lens on my camera, not my super duper zoom lens.  This is really how close we were....so cool!

Fun memories! We are cheering our lady bears on to victory from our family room this time as we watch them in the big tournament. Sic 'em Lady Bears!!!

Jacob's Sneak Peek {Class of 2012}

What a joy to get to photograph this Class of 2012 Senior.  He met me at the high school track over spring break for some pictures with his track medals.  When his mom mentioned he was bringing his medals, I had no idea just how many.  Amazing!  Jacob, thank you for the blessing of taking your senior pictures.  Enjoy the rest of your senior year!

Tim Class of 2012 {A Sneak Peek}

It's spring time and Senior sessions are in the air!  I have known Tim since he was little, as in he was in our children's choir at church little.  It's hard to believe he is now a senior.  I felt privileged to take his senior photos.  This first one is one of my favorites because his house is in the background. 

This was my first session ever taking pictures with a client on a roof.  He donned his superman shirt and scaled the roof of his house for some pictures.  Loved it!  That's what these personality senior photos are all about.  And then his little brother joined us for a few photos too...sweet!  Happy graduation Tim!

The "H" Children {A Sneak Peek}

What fun to get to photograph these beautiful children who got to spend Spring Break with Mumsey and Poc, our next door neighbors.  I remember singing in their mommy and daddy's wedding so many years ago.  What a beautiful family!

Easter Mini Sessions Part III {A Sneak Peek}

The Easter Sessions were so much fun! I am hoping that my sweet clients had as much fun as Hannah and I had hosting them. This is the last of the Sneak Peeks, and then I am off to finish galleries.

Loved this sweet outfit on this adorable 6 month old. 

And these sweet sisters who were full of giggles and are growing up much too quickly.  Where did their baby faces go?

This was my first time to get to photograph this brother and sister duo.  They were the ones who graciously let us borrow their bunnies for the day.  Loved the cowboy outfit they made for "Rex" the rabbit.

Brothers & Sisters {Easter Sneak Peeks}

The Easter Sessions this past weekend continue.  Love these two sets of brothers and sisters.  These two have changed so much since I last photographed them.  Miss R has lost her sweet baby face and a few teeth but still has those stop-you-in-your-tracks eyes!  And don't get me started about Mr. M.  I asked him if he liked girls, thinking he would shake his head no.  Instead, he smilled from ear to ear and nodded yes.  Irresistable!

And these two, oh my goodness gracious!  They are beautiful.  It is hard to believe we once taught their daddy in youth sunday school.  And now he and his beautiful bride are blessed with such a beautiful family.  I loved photographing them!  Mr. P would flash the perfect smile every now and then and it would just melt my heart.  And his sister, who is only 7 months old, is nearly walking!  The picture in the basket and the one of her gazing into the mirror get me every time!

Miss Olivia, Miss Madeline & Miss Hadley { Sneak Peeks}

This past Saturday, I had the great blessing of photographing so many precious children for Easter Mini Sessions.  I had carefully marked the day on my calendar, started dreaming up sets, and praying for a bunny to use.  The good Lord smiled and blessed me with 15 children scheduled and 2 bunnies.  Delight! 

The weather outside was cold and rainy, but it was perfect inside for Easter Sessions.  I was asked this past Sunday if I had any favorite photos out of the over 1500 photos that I took.  I smiled and explained that yes, I had about 1,000 favorites!  So hard to narrow them down.

But, I tried my best.  Here are a few sneak peeks for Miss Olivia and for sisters Miss Madeline and Miss Hadley.

Ready for Spring Break

Photo of the Morning: I am so ready for spring break!!! How about you? The weather has been gorgeous (until today, I hear) so Hannah and I did a little ten minute photo shoot this week in between tennis, track, and One Act Play. Oh, how I love my busy baby girl! You have to seize the moment when you can.
Speaking of seizing the moment, Rachel, I am ready for your to come home from college.  I miss you like crazy and I'm counting the days!!!!

Miss M Turns One

Little Miss M turned one!  It seems like yesterday I was taking her newborn photos.  Remember this one?

And now she is one and going to be a big sister soon to a baby brother!  I adore this precious family.  Their family photo shoot was top secret, but now that the gifts have been given, I can post images.  They are a beautiful family and it was my joy to capture their love for each other.  And Miss M's smile makes me grin from ear to ear.

I Heart Faces B/W Challenge

Loved everything about this session:  the lighting, photographing my baby girl, the gentle breeze blowing her beautiful hair, and the old, rustic barn in the background. And how fun to transorm it into a vintage black and white.  Delight!

Miss T's First Birthday {A Sneak Peek}

Little Miss T and her mommy came to my studio this Saturday to celebrate and capture her first birthday!  She was the cutest thing ever in her romper and flower bow.  She was a busy, busy one year old and I enjoyed every second of her visit.

Don't get me started on those precious legs in those adorable leggings...oh so cute!  And the cake smash was hilarious!  Miss T quickly discovered that even though her hands were full of cake and icing, she could use her feet too.  She was covered from head to toe in icing.  Happy birthday Miss T.  Thank you for coming to play!

A Blondie Kind of Day

One of my friends, and fellow teachers, told me to check out Blondie and Dagwood.  She told me it fit my day perfectly...and she was totally right:

Our school is installing a new anti-virus district wide on all of the computers.  It took me nearly 2 hours to get my lab and another computer lab ready by un-installing the old anti-virus and ready for the IT guy to complete the new installation.  I even missed a TAKS meeting in the process-oiy! 

Exactly one week later, my computer, the one that has all of the data for the school website I designed and maintain along with controlling the entire network, completely crashed.  I mean blue screen and all.  911!!!

The IT guy was quick to come to the rescue and two days later we determined the new antivirus wasn't compatible with the newer computers~great!  It took two days to rescue my computer.  I did have a backup of my most important things, but now I have a complete backup in case, heaven forbid, it happens again. 

I am one happy computer teacher today; my computer is back to normal and I only have one other computer in my classroom that needs to be reformatted.  Thankfully, the other 23 computers are functioning just fine. 

After the stresses of this week, I am counting the days until spring break!  Oiy!