Art, décor, family and photography- it's all part of me!
I just loved the images from Keeli's bridal shoot. I've been so blessed to work with Keeli and her family- and can't wait to share the wedding images! I loved Keeli's whole look- it fit her style and personality so well, and she made a gorgeous bride. Her bouquet (one of my favorites this year) was expertly created by Lou Dee's. Enjoy!
Tucker, Lane, and Nathan have been friends since childhood. They're all graduating from Hobbs High School this year. And I was so excited when they wanted me to head out to Hobbs to shoot their senior portraits! We had a gorgeous day to shoot, and these guys were so great. We got to shoot on the football and basketball fields, and some other places around town. There's no doubt in my mind that each of these guys have a big future ahead of them. They were all extremely nice and patient with this crazy photographer who wanted to try all sorts of weird ideas. :) Enjoy these photos!Hobbs
UPDATE: Lubbock Mini-Session dates are completely booked! Thank you! I am still booking a few for Amarillo on Nov. 17.
I think I say this every year, but HOLY WOW I can't believe it's time to start thinking about Christmas Mini-Sessions!
Every year, I do a special for families (or couples, or anyone!) with Christmas cards/gifts in mind.
• 30-45 minutes in length
• 1 outfit
• 1 location
• Prints and Christmas Cards available for purchase (no print credit included)
I'll be shooting a limited number of Mini-Sessions on these dates:
Lubbock- October 19 and November 2
Amarillo- November 17
If you'd like to book a Mini-Session, please email me using the website contact form above!
Along with the Mini-Sessions, I love creating customized Christmas cards for my clients. We begin with one of the templates below, insert your photos (color or black and white), and customize the colors, text, and design to fit your needs!
Template A
Front Side is left, Back Side is right
Template B
Front Side is left, Back Side is right
Template C
Front Side is right, choice of top or bottom left for Back Side
Template D
Front Side is left, Back Side is right
Template E
Front Side is left, Back Side is right
Template F
Front Side is left, Back Side is right
Any of these designs can be adapted to fit a postcard (2 sided) or folded card (4 sided). I'm also excited to offer them in boutique shapes! Here are a few examples of the unique shapes:
I always love afternoon weddings. There is just something that is refreshing about spending the morning prepping, then a light-filled ceremony, and an afternoon reception. We traveled to Big Spring to photograph Jared and Katie's big day- and it started at Hotel Settles. This place is beautifully restored and I was so glad we got to shoot there!
The ceremony and reception were held at the Big Spring Country Club, and we had the best time with Jared, Katie, and their family and friends. They really rocked the Fancy Booth! Here are some of my favorites from their big day, and some commentary from Katie at the end. :)
Loved hearing Katie's advice for future brides and grooms:
1. Have a firm understanding from the beginning of whose wedding this is to avoid overbearing family members. The entire day is about the bride and the groom, so ultimately, every detail should be exactly how you want it. This isn't license to be a bridezilla, but it is license to not be a pushover.
2. For ideas, don't look just at Pinterest, but look at your photographer and other photographers galleries to see centerpieces, cake ideas, hair, any other details you can think of. If everything is a Pinterest wedding, they all look the same and nothing looks as good as it did when the poster crafted it.
3. Perfect weddings are boring weddings. It's ok if every single detail doesn't work perfectly.
4. For after the wedding- allow yourself to be love-drunk. Learning to enjoy your husband/wife is the most awesome feeling ever.
Wedding Gown: David's Bridal
Bridesmaids: David's Bridal
Groom + Groomsmen: Men's Wearhouse
Floral: Randi Froman, Alley Kat Designs
Cake: Audrey's Cakes
Prep & Portraits Venue: Hotel Settles
Ceremony & Reception Venue: Big Spring Country Club
"Rissa Takes the World". That would be my title were I to write a book about miss Marissa, who is turning five next week. This little girl is clearly the heroine of her own life story, and it's no coincidence that she loves to read.
The Tidwells booked one of my Haiti Mini-Sessions and wanted me to capture their oldest as she grew a year older. I had (and always have) SO much fun with this crew. Baby Duncan is looking so much bigger, but just as adorable.
Here are some favorites from their session!
For months I have anticipated writing this post. 7 months to be exact. I really anticipated wanting to SHOUT AT THE TOP OF MY LUNGS in excitement, but the feeling I have is more of a quiet peace.
Not that we aren't excited. I was able to finish up the last of our paperwork last month and we were given a DTE date of 7/12/13 by our agency. What is a DTE date, you ask?
DTE stands for "Dossier To Ethiopia", and marks the date that our paperwork (a.k.a. our dossier) arrived in Ethiopia. It is a very important date, because this is what we will refer to as we wait. And, it means we are officially on the "waiting list".
Our agency has a private Yahoo group for all families adopting from Ethiopia, and there they keep an unofficial list going (so there are many people that aren't included, as they may not be active in the group). BUT, it does give us a good idea of where we're at. We are currently at #116 for an infant 0-12 months of age, and #76 for a toddler 12-24 months of age.
We will continue to move up as referrals are given, or if we decide to change our request and widen our age range or gender preference. The people at the top spots on the list have DTE dates of January/February 2011, so they have been waiting for around 2 1/2 years at this point.
Our dossier included OUR WHOLE LIFE, it seemed. Original birth certificates, marriage license, passport photos, medical records, and the homestudy among other important documents.
I love it when people (waaaay more people than I ever thought) show interest in our process. Generally the first or second questions we will get is, "when will you have the baby?". I am getting better at delivering my response. It's hard to say, "our wait will most likely be 3-4 years" and try to put a positive spin on it. You can see the disappointment in people's faces- not with us, but with the reality of it. It's hard not to get a little more disappointed along with them, but I know it's good for me to get to communicate about it. I mean, I'm basically thinking of this adoption on and off all. day. long...so when someone shows interest it's hard not to drown them in unwanted info. :)
And MOST importantly, I am realizing how important it is to TALK about adoption. God is showing me in a very personal way that adoption is the Gospel. It is a very literal way of understanding what God has done for us. It makes it tangible and understandable. Orphans all need something. They need food, shelter, clothing, health care, and families. ALL BELIEVERS are called to help.
“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”
I read Adopted For Life a few months ago and it set a great spiritual foundation for me regarding adoption. I think that many people who do not feel called to adopt themselves avoid the subject entirely. But the truth is, if you are a believer, it's an issue you're called to make a decision on. No, adoption isn't the answer for every family (and even if every Christian family did adopt, it wouldn't be the solution), but there is always a way to help. Remembering the the many ways we've been blessed by the people who have given/donated to our adoption makes me tear up. It's incredible. It's my reminder that we serve a really big, omnipotent God and we have to use those funds wisely to obey Him in this calling. It's made us as a family want to "give" adoption to others in the future.
I also love to hear that people are praying for us. Please, pray for us! Pray for the others who are adopting. Pray for the nannies and workers in Ethiopia who are serving orphans. Pray for the adoption agency workers. There is a HUGE prayer need. Please, please pray.
I do feel like I'm at the starting line of a marathon, and maybe that's why I'm not jumping up and down like crazy. We definitely celebrated our DTE date, as mentioned in this post, but I know that there will be another anniversary coming up- and maybe two, and three. Along with those anniversaries will come paperwork renewals (and the cost associated with them).
BUT- there is no shortage of reasons to PRAISE.
1- We have had more than enough funding to write every check as we've needed to up to this point. That's around $15,000.00 that was given/raised IN 6 MONTHS. Crazy. And, we won't owe another thing until we get a referral, which as I mentioned earlier could be 3-4 years away. That gives us plenty of time to come up with the rest!
2- The Lord is close to the brokenhearted. I have felt a little "broken" for a while now, and in that broken state I have loved the closeness of my Savior. I've come to crave it. I realize that doing ANYTHING by my own strength alone is meaningless.
3- Knox is just the best. In times when I'm needing to hug a little one, he's there. I am so, so, thankful for him.
4- God is doing something so much bigger than us. I've felt led to pray that there would be an adoption epidemic in my community. Haha- sounds crazy, but that's what I've been praying. It may seem backward, but I'm praying it for the benefit of the adoptive families, not necessarily the orphan...they need adoption. They need to see what it feels like, to understand it from the inside. I'm convinced that it will grow more faithful believers, and create families that God is blessed by.
5- I have a new perspective. The "want" and "need" mentality of my culture is a stark contrast to the culture of my future child. I already know that this journey is cultivating an attitude of thankfulness in me.
There are so many more, but this post has become quite long...
I'm
going to do my best to post updates each month, along with a new quilt
square! Yes, that's what you see above. It's a quilt
square. I wanted to do something that would help me count the months,
and also create something special for our child. So, this was my
solution. Each month I will knit a new square and it will have a
corresponding month number. At the end, it will be a keepsake for both
of us! So, here's to one month DTE. :)
Miss Emma Elizabeth may be the most relaxed baby I have ever photographed. During her session, she remained completely asleep (except for one short bottle-drinking stint). She never woke up! Not. Even. Once. Friends, that is crazy. And great for a photographer/parents who would like to get some pretty baby photos. :)
Since Thomas and Kendra (her parents) are in our circle of friends, I am so excited to have another playdate for Knox, and more friends that can relate to our parenting victories and struggles. And these two are going to be really great parents. It's such a blessing to watch a baby (and family) grow- and to get to capture them at special times in life! Here is sweet baby Emma Elizabeth...
P.S. Thomas is a drummer, so you'll see we included his drums in some of the images. Don't worry- no babies or bass drums were harmed...
Mid-afternoon on the day of Clint and Jenna's wedding, it started raining. Normally, that's something a bride would be worried about- but not in the New Mexico mountains, where afternoon showers are a common occurrence. It was actually quite peaceful and refreshing- the rain seemed to set the stage for the wonderful celebration that was about to happen!
Clint and Jenna have been dating for 7 years- so this day was the culmination of many days before that- and also the beginning of many to come. It was a beautiful event- and a special time for everyone who came. These two were surrounded by friends and family and had many special details throughout the day that made it all that more sentimental.
Shawn and I loved shooting this wedding, and I'm in love with so many of the images! Here is a taste of Clint and Jenna's big day.
Venue: Alto Lakes Country Club, Alto, NM
Event Designer/Coordinator: Denise Thomas, Lubbock Wedding Solutions
Wedding Gown: Alfred Angelo, Albuquerque, NM
Groom and Groomsmen: Vera Wang, Men's Wearhouse
Bridesmaids: David's Bridal
Florist: Lou McLeod
Cake: Sashay
Hair: Kelsey Stegall
DJ: Pete Davis
I have to admit, right before this shoot I got super nervous...I'd met Taylor and Bailey a few months ago for the first time and after spending a little time with them, I SO wanted to shoot their engagement photos. They are so. much. fun. These two are laid-back, artsy (Bailey just got back from a glass blowing class-really?!? Awesome!), and stylish...what if I wasn't able to capture all the cool-ness?
Thankfully, they trusted me, and all the unusual places I wanted to take them. A wig shop? Sure, ok....
Also, I have to note Bailey's engagement ring that she designed herself. It might be the coolest thing I've ever seen- a RAW diamond encased in a gold square....fabulous.
I had a great time with them and only selected 74 favorites from the session...so this is literally the "narrowed-down" version. Enjoy this fun couple!
There is nothing quite like family. No where else do you have a mix of people, young and old, that have so many shared traits and common heritage- and can also be so different individually! I love getting to photograph those relationships. This particular family is special to me, as they are some of our great friends here in Lubbock.
We had a beautiful evening to shoot. Here are a few of my favorites from their session!
