Sweet Lily ~ (Sherwood, Arkansas)

This past weekend I had the pleasure of spending the afternoon with Baby Lily and her mom (Sarah), her dad (Shawn) and Aunt Claire.



We actually had a hard time getting Lily to fall asleep. Turns out she was hungry...all afternoon! But I managed to grab a few sleepy shots.

When I first walked into Lily's room I gasped because the room was decorated so beautifully. Come to find out, Lily's aunts did all the amazing work. I fell in love with the unique fabrics. Incredible job ladies! Will you come do my house?

Wide awake....again :)

Sweet little fingers.

Thank you, Sarah and Shawn and, of course, Lily, for allowing me to invade your home for an afternoon and soak up some baby sweetness. Congratulations on a beautiful baby girl!

Sneak Peek - Noah's 1st Birthday

I spent Saturday morning celebrating little Noah's 1st birthday. It doesn't seem like it's already been a year since the little guy entered the world. If you don't remember Noah, click here. More images to come later this week.

Some of My Favorite Things

I've got some fun sessions coming up this weekend, so for the Friday edition I thought I would share some of the favorite places on the internet I love to visit. Some are photography related, some are deeply moving and some are just plain fun.
So enjoy!

Favorite photography sites:
Triple Cord Photography - a dear friend who just happens to be a gifted wedding photographer
Jasmine Star Photography - awesome wedding photographer in Orange County, California
Stuart Vesty Photography - amazing horse photographer
The Image is Found Photography - Incredibly talented and equally hilarious husband/wife team
3191 - A Year of Evenings - two friends who live 3191 miles apart





For Photographers:
Pay It Forward Photography Resources - great site for advice and free stuff (as long as you pay it forward!)
Open Source Photo - wonderful photography forum with tons of information
Design Aglow Blog - another great source of inspiration and resources



Weddings:
Snippet & Ink - Almost daily storyboards for wedding design ideas
Style Me Pretty - "For the style obsessed bride"
The Wedding Chicks - "Connecting Sassy Brides"
Stephanie James Couture - Fantabulous 40s and 50s era wedding dresses/suits




My daily "hits":
Holy Experience - Very rarely a post on this blog that doesn't dramatically move me spiritually
Foxnews.com
Living Proof Ministries (Beth Moore) - You will laugh and cry all in one post!
Facebook - Yes, I confess. I'm somewhat addicted.
Poppy Joy - Great inspiration. And I'll be taking their new family portrait this fall!
Bring the Rain - story of Audrey Caroline
Bits & Bytes Farm - finds new owners for off-the-racetrack Thoroughbreds





I just realized the last few posts and almost including this one haven't had a photo. What was I thinking? How about a couple of my favorite little man? He's my Hayden and I'm his "Aunt-eater". He thought that was so funny.

Note the all important rubber boots....on the wrong feet.

Hope you have an awesome weekend! Monday & Tuesday I'll be blogging about my fun adventures this weekend. Stay tuned.

Website Update!

I've been working on a website overhaul for a while but not quite ready to release the changes. In the midst of the updates, the live website decided to quit behaving. I tried putting it in time-out but then it just stopped working altogether. That figures.

So to show it who's boss I had to push some of the changes. Yeah, I really showed it, huh?

You will notice a different logo, different colors, and some new images. I'm still in the process of updating the images (which is what caused the major problem to begin with), so stay tuned for that.

Some additions:
A link for Client Galleries from the intro page
Session Pricing update

If you've tried visiting the website and just couldn't get it to work, I am so sorry! But please try again and keep coming back for new updates.

Also, I'm already booking quite a few Fall Sessions, so if you're thinking about getting your session in time for Christmas, please contact me soon. The last weekend to get your portraits in time for Christmas is November 16th.

Wonderful Wednesdays - "Dara Torres"

It's been Phelps' mania for the last week or so with Michael winning 8 gold medals in swimming, but another swimmer has had my attention as well. She is 41 years old, a mother of a 2-year-old, and now a 5-time Olympian. Dara Torres is an inspiration to all of us to never live a life of complacency.

She quotes on her website:
"My work is other people’s play. I am in a pool doing what I was meant to do, swim. For anyone who feels stifled or stuck in their life, I say break down those barriers of indecision. Never let anyone set your personal or professional agenda. Live every day with the passion of your last. If I can inspire both women and men in anything it would be that age is just a number, not a death sentence. Wake up every morning with a plan and a dream. If you do, like me, dreams do still come true in your 40s and beyond!”"

Read article "41-Year-Old Torres Snags Two Silvers" from the Wall Street Journal.

Mallory Williams ~ Bridal Portraits (Pt 3) ~ Arkansas State Capitol

Since I've been so busy watching the Olympics, I haven't had time to prepare more images for a post. So, what to do? How about some more beautiful images from Mallory's Bridal Session?

Have you been watching the Olympics? Share your favorite moments so far. Would love to hear from you!

Wonderful Wednesdays - "Eric Shanteau - Olympic Inspiration"

Since it's the first week of Olympics, I thought this week's edition of "Wonderful Wednesday" should be all about the Olympics. Searching through some blogs I came across this incredible story and one you may or may not have heard. A powerful swimmer. A long-sought-after dream finally accomplished. And yet there's more...

"The U.S. men's and women's 2008 Olympic swim team had finished dinner, had taken a team photo and had filed back into a meeting room at their Palo Alto, Calif., hotel that night, the atmosphere in the room getting drowsy, when men's coach Eddie Reese announced that breaststroker Eric Shanteau had something to say. Only a few people knew what was coming, ..." click here to continue reading