& a really pretty girl! ;o)

“K” is one of my favorite people. ) For so many reasons… She probably would never even have guessed that…but, she is. ) “K” – You Are! ;o) This beautiful girl has been a joy to watch grow up. When I first met her she was probably around 11…and she was just so adorable way back then and had such a sweet heart. Still does. She has gone out of her way to be a blessing to my “Family Circus” ;o) and has taken much time out of her ever-so-busy schedule to give horse riding lessons to my 10 year old son…something that we are forever indebted to her for because that was like a dream come true for my sweet boy. ) I also LOVE it that when she has babysat for us she feels perfectly comfortable pulling the coffee table over to prop her feet up…and falls asleep on my couch. K – you are a special girl…and we love you! And…I can not believe that you are graduating!!!

Thanks for being willing to “Brave the Barley” K! I had so much fun doing your session!!! Maybe we’ll have to go back another time to put my oh-so-rockin’ retro chair to good use. )

RUSTIC MINI SESSIONS
I plan to announce the details and the schedule for the Rustic Minis by the end of the week…so be on the lookout. And…once again…if you want to be added to the list of people who will be emailed the schedule in advance of it being posted on the blog, please email me and let me know. I am shooting for announcing it on Friday, but anyone on the waiting list will be emailed the schedule at least a day in advance in order to book their session before it’s posted on the blog.

WORKSHOP HOSTESS INFORMATION
I am still organizing my plans for workshops for this summer, but I have had several people email me regarding hosting a workshop. I am in the midst of finalizing my “Hostess Perks” so information will be going out to those of you who have asked to host sometime within the week. I will only be doing a very limited number of workshops this summer…that much I do know…so if you would like to host a workshop please email me by this Friday so that I can get you the information as soon as it’s available.

Blessings to ya’ll!
S

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I’m convinced that there is nothing…and I mean nothing…more precious on earth…than a baby. How blessed is this tiny little one…born into a family…who loved him…and treasured him…even before they ever laid eyes on him.

What a joy it was to get to be a part of celebrating this baby boy’s first week of life. I feel so blessed to have been able to capture some of the joy and the sweet newness that this little one brought into his family’s life. Those first days and weeks pass so quickly…so it is such a special honor to me to be able to help you remember and treasure this time.

Who cares if it’s the real thing or not! This boy is a smiler! ) Check out that adorable little grin. Is that not the cutest little thing.e.v.e.r! He looks like he’s fixin’ to belly laugh!

Thank you so much H. family…for inviting me into your home…and allowing me to photograph your beautiful baby. Congratulations!

NEWS
For information on Photography Workshop updates and the remaining dates available for outdoor sessions please see the post below. For those who have emailed me since my last post regarding workshops…I will be returning your emails this weekend. I’ve gotten a lot of inquiries and questions and I’m trying to get back to everyone in between spending time with my family…laundry (the death of me)…and proofing sessions.

Have a glorious Easter Sunday filled with God’s goodness and never-ending grace! )

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I have had so much fun doing photo sessions for so many seniors this year! The huge majority of them have been homeschooled kids, which has been so much fun for me to get to see all these great kids preparing to graduate…since I’ve homeschooled my own boys for 9 years! I just look at these amazing kids and I can hardly believe that this season is right around a couple of corners for our family as well…

This sweet girl was so much fun to work with! Her family lives in a very rural area and they have all sorts of animals…which my boys loved! My hubby and boys came along with me since the session was quite a distance from me…so they figured they would do some exploring while I did C’s session, but C’s mom was so gracious and sweet to invite my boys to check out their animals (and the neighbors animals ;o)…so it turned into a photo session / field trip. ) What fun!!!

Check out this adorable baby goat! I think he was only a few weeks old…

This family’s house was so much fun to work at because there was just so much variety and they have such a beautiful home. It was great to get to do a lot of shots in their beautiful courtyard…but, then we also got a lot of fun stuff outside with the animals. I love the color in this next photo…

It’s amazing where you can get a pretty shot if you’re watching for good light and interesting backgrounds and color. This shot was actually taken kind of sandwiched between the chain link fence that you see and a whole lotta hay. ) Weird spot…yep! But, it’s actually one of my favorite shots from the whole session. ) Sometimes you’ve gotta trust the very weird instincts of your friendly photographer. ;o)

Thanks C!!! I had a ton of fun with you and your family was so kind to let my kiddos hang out for a bit. )

WORKSHOP UPDATE
I’ve had a ton of inquiries lately about whether I’ll be doing any workshops in the near future. I’ve been considering it since Christmas, but I haven’t made any final decisions yet as to when or what I’ll be doing workshop-wise. I’m looking at possibly doing another 6-8 week class for kids during the summer, but I’m also considering doing a couple of workshops for adults (beginner DSLR users as well as intermediate). If you’re interested in participating in a workshop (or hosting a workshop – with some valuable hostess perks), please email me and let me know which of those options best suits you. I’m just gathering info right now to determine what kind of workshops or classes to offer this summer. I’ve also been asked about teaching a Photoshop class by a few people…so please also let me know if that’s something you or your teens would be interested in!

SCHEDULE UPDATE
I have only 8 sessions available between now and the middle of May…with the exception of the Rustic Mini Sessions, which will be announced very soon. I will be doing only indoor sessions from mid-May through Mid-September, so if you are wanting to have outdoor family portraits done in this beautiful Arizona spring weather, then this is the time! May 10th will be the last day of outdoor sessions until the Fall.

All session dates are on Saturdays unless noted otherwise.

March 29th (5:30pm)
April 5th (9am)
April 8th (5:30pm) ***Tuesday***
April 17th (5:30pm) ***Thursday***
April 29th (5:30pm) ***Tuesday***
May 3rd (9am)
May 8th (5:30pm) ***Thursday***
May 10th (9am)

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Don’t you just love a baby belly? This sneak peek is for the winner of my Bellies & Babies contest! It was so much fun to get to do this session because she was literally like a week away from having the baby when she won the contest! Most of the time I would do maternity sessions between the 34-38th week…so we were cutting it close! Her precious (3rd) baby boy was born last Sunday…so next week you’ll get to see tons of sugary sweetness after her newborn session!

I absolutely love this next shot! Big brother was soooo cute when he put the stethoscope up to hear the baby…he looked at me so seriously and said, “shhhhhhh…..” in such a sweet little soft voice. It was so cute. I got some cute shots of his little brother too…but he was much more on the move…this little man was easily bribed with my fun little on-camera goody dispenser. ;o) He just kept saying, “I know you got more candy in there!” Too funny!

I love this one with Dad! I just love it when I get a shot where you can see such sweet interaction between people. Those are the kind of shots that will matter much later…years down the road. You can just see how happy they are…happy tp be together…happy with their family…and happy waiting for this precious new little one to arrive…I love that!

And…I always love these shots with the black background. There is just something that’s kind of timeless about them to me. The hilarious thing though…is the funky way that I shoot these. Almost embarrassing I tell ya! Let’s just say that I travel really light to my sessions and I use whatever is available to me when I get there…even if it’s a little totally unconventional. ;o)

Thank you Heather!!!…I’m so glad that you won the contest! You are beautiful and it was so much fun to do your maternity session! And…I can’t wait to meet your sweet baby boy!

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This sweet family wrapped up the Urban Minis on March 1st! It was a WONDERFUL way to end the day because they were so much fun to hang out with…and since there were 5 of them, I got to spend a whole lotta time with the family. What a fun afternoon! Since we had such a long time with this one family we ended up going to a different location for a little more variety. This has always been one of my favorite spots to shoot…so…after having so much fun at this session I decided that this will be the spot that I hold the next mini session day. These will be Rustic Minis! And I have all sorts of super fun stuff planned!!! So…don’t wait to hold your spot! I haven’t released the date yet, but there is a waiting list of people who want to be notified in advance of me announcing the date on the blog in order to choose a time. So, if you want to be included on the waiting list then shoot me an email and I’ll give you a 24 hour heads up before posting the info here to book your Rustic Mini session.

Now…on with this FABULOUS family!

Every one of these kids were just awesome! The youngest boy was totally not feeling well, but he was such a total trooper to come out and get pictures done anyway. He was so sweet to want to bless his Dad with Father’s Day pictures (Shhhhhhh! It’s a surprise!!!) that even a fever couldn’t keep him down!

OH! I almost forgot! The problem with the weirded out big pictures has been solved…so go ahead and click away! Blow those babies up!

And adorable Miss A…oh, she’s even sweeter than she looks…if you can imagine!

And the rest of them were just as sweet. These were some of the most thoughtful, kind, loving kids I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. They had the sweetest sibling bond. I love that!

The next sneak peek will be of the maternity session for the winner of the Bellies & Babies contest! And…she’s had her precious baby…and I can hardly wait to meet him next week to do his newborn session! FUN STUFF!!!

S

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