Thanksgiving

We do Thanksgiving at my house for my side of the family. I have been to the store 4 times in the last 3 days trying to get everything ready. I am still not sure I don't have to make another trip to the store?

I am defiantly ready for some Turkey, mash potatoes, and pumpkin pie!! I know I have everything bought for that! :)

This Thanksgiving Day, let's remember what we truly have to be thankful for. Let's take a good, hard look around us and realize that while we may not have everything we want, what we want is not always what we need. Thanksgiving is all about God and thanking him for the gifts of life, love, joy, and more. I hope that we all take a little time and reflect on all we have to be thankful for.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Christmas too soon?

Well I have had my Christmas stuff up for a couple weeks now. I know.... it is way too early!!!!

I will be the first one to gripe about going from Halloween to Christmas.

My Christmas stuff for pictures was in the back of the attic behind all the other house Christmas things. So I had at least 20 Christmas boxes laying out in the upstairs hallway, in every one's way. It didn't make sense to dig out and put back, so I just left them out in the way for awhile.

One afternoon I told Craig I was going to set up Christmas, He had already given me orders "NOT BEFORE THANKSGIVING" a week before :) I am not usually this early, but I tell ya, I have to be in the mood to dedicate an afternoon to setting up, and I was in the mood. So I got started.

I am not a big shopper after Christmas... It has always seemed silly to me to buy Christmas stuff on sale after Christmas... maybe because I am broke after Christmas, so why worry about a sale for something the next year? I don't know, but I don't usually do it.

We have always had our what I call "Big full Christmas tree" in our "entryway" room (this is a room off our front living room) Well that is all my picture area now. Since we have built our family room, I couldn't put our big full tree back there as there was no room. We used a small tree in our family room and put the big full tree in the dining room. Well it didn't seem like a nice enough tree, so I had made the comment for 4 years, I would like a big tall skinny tree. After a couple years of saying that, I was walking through walmart "After Christmas" and saw this tall skinny tree, really cheap! Like 80% off cheap. So I bought it!

This is the first year I put this tree up, and I was starting to sweat it a little bit as I climbed up on a step stool to put the top part on. I was not sure this 9 foot tree was going to fit! If you knew my history of buying real trees over the years, you would understand why I was sweating it. If this tree didn't fit, I didn't know what I was going to do! I was just in Aw after seeing it up! I didn't have to screw it to the floor, to the wall, or cut 2 foot off of it to make it fit. So I was very excited to see it up and looking so beautiful and it fit perfect for our family room!

Needless to say, the "Big full tree" didn't make it out of the attic this year :( When we remodeled the kitchen and dining room, there ended up no room for it. Too much stuff in this house??? Probably!!! :)

When Christmas is over, I will be ready for Spring!!!! :)

Modeling

Tiffany contacted me about doing some pictures for modeling. She had and interview with a company and needed some pictures. I was very excited! This is right next to being my favorite kinds of pictures, next to Motorcycles!

I was so excited that Tiffany let me put them online for people to see!!! I have had several modeling type that I would have loved to be able to show off, but I do understand people don't like their picture plastered all over the Internet. At least until they are famous!!! :)

I knew I had taken a lot of pictures and I tried to narrow them down, but it was very hard with this session! It never fails.... they pick out pictures they like and I am not sure I am that crazy about, so I just add them all!

Tiffany did send me a text and told me she had got accepted! I haven't had a chance to talk to her and find out how her next step went. Congrats Tiffany!!!

Little Hunter!

This is my little niece Alexis. I just got done with a shoot and they had come by to visit. I walked in the family room and saw her and was cracking up with her camo and pink house slippers on. I had to set everything back up and take her in for a few shots.

I know the coloring on here isn't that great, but that little girl has the most beautiful eyes ever!!

She has such a cute little personality!

I'm way behind on blogging!

It has been absolutely crazy around here! I know..... I am way behind on keeping up with my blogging. I have had lots and lots of really fun shoots and lots of beautiful families!


Here are some pictures of my daughter Kasey and her boyfriend Todd we did for fun. She came home and fixed a big supper for everyone and invited Todd out to eat and then we done pictures for fun.


I thought I would have more fun then they did, but I'm not so sure. :)

The loss of Jordan Fox

I have lots of people ask me, what is the blue light in your car, are you on the fire dept? I am on the Shelby County Rescue Squad. We are called out to wrecks that provide emergency operations. Our job is to free an injured person from a wreck, we sometimes assist the fire dept, or help ambulance personel. I have been a volunteer Rescue worker for about 7 years. I am not sure what brought me to do this? I have always worked around the medical background and a sense of helping people has always been a part of me.

I was called out to a wreck Sat. November 1st. When I arrived, I was faced with a fatality of a young boy that I knew. I was also faced with the mother of this boy being my best friend.

That Saturday morning I watched my friend go through the worst thing she could possibly ever go through in her life time, the loss of her son. That was a day that had an impact on lots of people lives.

I have had so much time to sit and think and watch her pain. I felt a hurt with in myself that I never knew existed. I have experienced the loss of a loved one, I have worked around death, I have seen many car crashes. But I have never experienced watching a friend hurt so much.

I see these young kids going through the hurt and pain and it takes me clear back to my high school days when we lost a classmate. I remember the hurt and pain I had felt like it was yesterday. I often think back to the loss of that friend and the memories I had with him and I always will. I know these children will do the same. Memories are such a great thing to have, with out them, we would have nothing to bring a smile to our face.

We are never promised tomorrow.

To help keep his memory alive, Jordan’s mother and father founded the Jordan Fox Memorial Scholarship Fund. The scholarship will be awarded to a graduating senior in Jordan’s class of 2010.

As a friend of the family and a photographer, I have chosen to contribute to this memorial fund by donating a portion of the proceeds from every senior portrait session booked with me by a student in Jordan’s class. I will donate 25% of the total cost of the session plus an additional $10 in the senior’s name.

In their graduating year, I will provide something special to honor these seniors and the contributions they have made to Jordan’s memorial.