a fall photoshoot with little ones

a few weeks ago

i got together with a couple friends of mine & shot their little kiddos.

it was a sweet morning & i was honored they wanted me

to capture some moments of their babies.

first time shooting someone else's children

mobile children

multiple children

 that morning the skies were super dark

& we considered rescheduling

but the skies began to clear once we arrived at our location

( note to self-buy a reflector)

the little ones were absolutely adorable

with such playful & precious little spirits

for mother's day dan bought me a fixed lens.

i don't think i've taken that lens off my camera since that day.

for the last few months  i  have tried to shoot in aperture priority

mess around with iso & white balance.

i have SO much to learn

i spend alot of time peeking around on many photograpers sites.

because of that, i am well aware that i have a long way to go...

nevertheless

here are a few hundred from that morning...

a girlfriends weekend

 friday morning i woke up at 5am

hopped in my hubby's truck

and  drove to birmingham alabama

to hook up with my fantastic friend ashley

and one of her besties, amelia

we then jumped in ashley's swagger wagon

& road tripped to seaside florida!

oh yes we did

we talked
we laughed & we cried
we ate yummy food & drank good wine

amelia, i truly enjoyed spending some more time with you
& getting to know you better.
i appreciate your transparent heart
and your fun laugh!

ashley was shooting for her spring catalog

& chose to shoot at such a gorgeous location.

we met up with  darby

and her off the chart precious children.

she has a paige.

i wanted to bring that little one home with me.

oh my word.

we also met up with several mama's and their cutiepie kiddos

who modeled the spring BBTN line.

cuteness overload.

was a smidge chilly though. like boots & fleece chilly.

like wrap 'em up in blankies until it was their turn chilly.

but the pictures are gorgeous,

the line is fantastic,

& the weekend was wonderful

the sky this weekend was spectacular.

i look at this view and wonder how anyone could doubt that we have a Creator.

both mornings we woke up & saw dolphins playing out in the water.

i could have cried. i kid you not.

i love that.

just absolutely glorious.

i met ashley back in the spring.

we had been 'blog readers' of each other but had never chatted on the phone or met in person.

she invited me to spend a weekend with her , several ladies that host her line, a few close friends of hers and that cutiepie rockstar blogger darby.

it was an amazing weekend

that jumpstarted an amazing friendship.

ashley is a rare gem of a friend

who although we've only been buds for a few months,

i feel as if i've always known her.

she blows me away.

she's strong & creative

she loves the lord & she loves her babies well

she is an amazing wife & wears the funkiest jewelry

she's a wise entrepreneur & drives a minivan

her toes are painted black

she's off the chain generous

she serves many

gives away much

& listens to great music.

she's humble, bff to many and has the naturally whitest teeth. ever.

i love that girl.

i am blessed by her,

 more than she'll ever know.

because i'm a freak and didn't want my picture taken this weekend

i added this one from the girls weekend in the spring.

darby is third from the left

amelia is between her & ashley.

now if darby or ashley upload any unflattering photos from this weekend

this mushy post will indeed self destruct.

 (proof of ashley's fantastic choice in shoes)

 thank you sweet friend

for everything.

for being YOU.

you are loved!!!

 i haven't facebooked, emailed, blogged, got on line, edited photos,

checked out google reader, or twittered for almost 5 days.

this would normally cause me to feel completely behind

& maybe a tad overwhelmed

but i honestly enjoyed being unplugged

for a few days & just being in the moment.

tomorrow we're getting hardwood floors!

oh my word!

i want to put that in all caps, under line it & change the font

but i'll refrain.

this may be the most excited i've been about anything that is so non important

in all my life.

seriously.

Colossians 3:14 & 15 (NLT)

Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony.

And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts.

 For as members of one body you are called to live in peace.

 And always be thankful.

can't even go there yet.....really?

Little Drummer Boy from gfc.tv Videos on Vimeo.

give this video a moment to upload...i don't want you to miss a single moment.

i have listened to this over & over this morning.

this rendition is hands down my favorite Christmas song ever

&

i'm so excited to  tell you it is my church on Christmas eve last year.

(& we'll be there again this year!)

one of the most holy, beautiful, powerful, humbling events i've ever been a part of.

our church wanted to be available for the community to come & hear the good news of Jesus

& boy did we ever

all  eight or nine thousand of us.

eight or nine thousand worshiping together on Christmas eve!!
amazing!

~

last night dan & i stopped in one of my favorite little shops.

the owner had unpacked dozens of boxes full of Christmas goodies.

the ( grumpy) woman beside me mumbled

"i can't even go there yet"

her words have rung in my heart this morning

at first i judged her & thought....really? YOU can't go there yet?

a savior was born

for all of us
& you can't be bothered yet.

as if.....

i know what she meant.

i do.
i know she probably referring to all the commercialism.
i know that's probably what she meant.

i know this is an emotional time for so many
i know this is a reminder of loneliness for some
of unbearable hearbreak for others.

for that very reason
i want to focus my spirit on going there.
remembering that there is hope
no matter what the situation.

so~

this morning i began to wonder

while i would never say that....

i love this time of year...i'm pulling out my chirstmas cd's. today.

does my heart say that?

does my heart act as if i'm not ready & i can't go there yet?

monday was november 1st

to me, it signified the beginning of 'the season'

i spend an embarrassing amount of time on my laptop

so i decided i would unplug for the day.

i got on fb for about 5 minutes

quickly uploaded a blog post

&then put this little bad boy aside

& went about my day

i was able to accomplish much.

who knew?

i decided to hop in my car & drive to the park

alone

with my camera

& just be

it was only an hour

but i felt my soul was nourished

& my spirit was calm

i heard the ripple of the water

& felt the breeze on my face

i could smell the fresh fragrance of fall

as i left the park there is a short part of the road that merges with the highway.

as i approached i could see a little man

he looked like he was 150 years old. seriously.

hobbling with a cane

wearing a veterans hat

& holding a sign that simply said

"i'm hungry"

it was all so fast

i was merging with other cars

the light was green

i couldn't stop in the middle of the road

i live in the suburbs

this is not a usual occurrence

i drove through the light

and then another light

before i realized i was all teary

ironically i was on the way to my grocery store

to buy groceries for my family

i quickly turned around & pulled through the closest restaurant

( remember i had my camera with me, ok)

& ordered him some food

my heart was about to beat out of my chest

 i was sorta excited about helping this little man

as i approached the intersection

i put on my hazard lights

he was gone

i  couldn't have taken more than 5 minutes

and this little fragile old man

was gone

i drove & drove

slowly

with my hazards on

trying to find him

for 30 minutes i went up and down the streets

caroline was soon to get off the bus...i needed to get back home.

i was completely deflated

while i was trying to find my little old veteran

i happened to pass this guy

in broad day light he was wearing a reflector vest

pushing a bike

with dozens of empty baggies tied to it

i pulled up beside him

& asked him he would allow me to give him a meal

i could tell he wasn't "all there"

he kept telling me had no where to put it

i'm thinking....well, how 'bout your tummy?

or

better yet

in one of the dozens of empty bags tied to your bike?

he said thank you but no thank you

i have grown up in this community

& lived within 5 miles of this area most of my life.

i have never

not once

seen a homeless person

a strange possibly unstable person pushing a bike down the highway

ever

in this area

never before.

i drove home

with my now cold combo

& melted frosty

having never found the original homeless looking man

& turned down by another

i don't tell you this to make me look like a hero.

for crying out loud. it was only 6 bucks and 30 minutes.

i tell you this because

while i want to decorate my home to celebrate this glorious time of the year

& have the gifts all wrapped magazine worthy

yummy menus planned

& tummy's filled

i more importantly want my heart to 'go there'

for my spirit to be sensitive to those around me who are in need

i have a savior who came to bind the broken hearted.

i want to go there

whether its july 1

november 1

or december 1

Hebrews 13:2

Be not forgetful to entertain strangers

for thereby some have entertained angels unaware

thought we had a deal

so i thought we had a deal

i played the old~

i've been trick or treating for 16 years

since 1993 in fact,

whatya say we take a break.

let's pass on buying yet another costume that runs me 40 smackers.

i'll buy you out.

i'll get you your own bag of favorite treats

in fact, i'll even splurge & hit the local bakery for fresh baked goodies

she was aok with this

she really was...

(big sisters all had weekend party plans

speaking of which, didn't it seem like halloween lasted for three days?)

until friday.

she rolls in after school

& being the event planner that she is

had pulled together a loaner costume,

been invited to a halloween party on saturday,

and

had invited friends over to trick or treat on sunday

mmmmkay

don't judge me ok

when the big three were little ones

we went all out

poor youngest of four

mama's tired

but we had a great time at our neighborhood party last night

& the girls had a blast trick or treating

last week i realized

all of a sudden

that october was hitting the road

& november was rolling in

november 1st means only one thing to me

OH MY GOODNESS!!!

christmas is only a few weeks ago

why do i already sorta feel a little anxiety?

i am going to make my own deal with myself .

to NOT be stressed with all the to-do's

and truly enjoy the process

wish me luck

anyway

i jumped in with both feet on this bringing the outdoors in style

i have a few urns full of branches

most of which i sprayed painted just a subtle silvery gold

i love the dimension & texture they add to each space

these are in the kitchen

& yes ma'am

 i've packed the pumpkins away.

we're movin' on

 well

except for this sweet little guy

that i painted white



branches in the living room

& some branches in our master.

this one is actually quite tall

the Ballard Designs holiday catalog arrived this weekend.

 when i saw the suzanne kesler feature

i think i actually made an audible gasp

LOVE it

the suzanne kesler section is fab!!

the picture online is not the full display they feature in the catalog.

(i'll try to scan that & share later)

but apparantly i can incorporate my little branch gig into my holiday decor!

fantastic!