First Christmas

is this not the most precious sight ever?!

7 years old!

I can't tell you how much it freaks me out that I'm the mom of a 7 year old!! The one piece of advice I never took for granted was "they grow up so fast". Knowing this, I made a concious effort to savor every second, every moment...yet I blinked, and now she's so big! I'm afraid I'll blink again and she'll be grown :(

Last January I was with Madison in Chicago at my Aunt and Uncle's house. They have a garden tub that is surrounded on all three sides by mirrors. If you sit on the edge of the tub and look at one of the side mirrors, you will see dozens of your mirror image reflected as far as the eye can see! One of my favorite childhood memories is sitting on the edge of that tub making silly faces, striking fashion poses, and trying to count how many images of me I saw in the mirror. Well, during our visit in January, I walked into the bathroom to see Madison sitting on the edge of the tub, amazed at the optical illusion of the mirrors. I stood in the doorway, smiling to myself, just watching her fascination as I thought back to my own memories. I then told her that I loved her so much and she has been such a joy in my life, so much so that I wish I could go back and re-live her life from ages 2-5 all over again because they have been so wonderful but went by too quick. She cocked her head to the side in thought. After a few seconds, she looked at me and goes, "No, mom. You can't just keep doing your favorite parts over and over again because then you wouldn't know what the ending would be, and the ending just might be better than you think."

I dropped my jaw in awe of her profound insight. After my initial shock that something so wise came out of her mouth at so young, her words hit home. I do wish I could relive Madison's life all over again, every single year because I have enjoyed her SO much...but at the same time, I can't wait to see all the things the future holds for her. If the next 7 years are anything like the last 7 have been, then I know it will be nothing short of amazing....

OpLove

For those of you who don't know, I am partnered with a non-profit organization called Operation Love Reunited (OpLove http://www.oplove.org/) where photographers volunteer their time and service to photograph military members and/or their families either before, during or after a deployment.

I was contacted to photograph Major Hughes and her two beautiful daughters before she deployed for a 10 mo. tour to Iraq on Thanksgiving Day. Here are a few of the pictures from the photoshoot.

Thank you for your service, Dana and thank you for allowing me to photograph your precious family. I can only hope that these pictures will help keep the memories of your family a little bit closer while you're so far away!

6 months!

I can't wrap my brain around the fact that it has been six months since Preston was born! Where has the time gone?! I know that I will turn around and he'll be 7...just like my other baby! Who I will post pictures of as soon as I can get her away from her friends long enough to take them!!

This photo is not photoshopped..those are really my sons eyes...which he got from his Daddy :) I'm so thankful for this little person :)

The Sullivan Family

Meet Dawn, Don and Abby Sullivan! We recently went out to enjoy some of this great fall weather and color for a family photoshoot and here are just a couple of my favorites! I have known the Sullivans for a couple of years now and have had the pleasure of photographing Abby before! She is an adorable little girl with doting parents! Their family's love and passion for eachother is both insipiring and contagious and we are lucky to call them friends! ENJOY!

Happy Halloween!!

I am taking a quick break from editing to share a couple of halloween pictures of the kids with you! Madison was some kind of punk rock fairy thing and Preston was the itsy bitsy spider :) Okay, back to work for me :)

Tommy and Carolann

The Loughmillers, also known affectionately as the ROCKmillers(!), were married yesterday at Peachtree Road United Methodist Church in Buckhead. The church was a beautiful backdrop for this beautiful couple! And the atmosphere at the reception definately paralleled their rock star personalities! Carolann wore her mother's cathedral length veil and the lace detail was georgeous. The whole day was wonderful from beginning to end and they will spend the next two weeks touring Europe on a Mediterranean cruise for their honeymoon!

Congratulations, Carolann and Tommy! We cannot thank you enough for letting us share in your day! We are privledged to have the honor of calling you friends and cannot wait to see the pictures of Europe!

Katherine and Matt Killebrew

Not even a little wet weather could put a damper on their day!! Katherine and Matt were amazing to get to know...they have a "strict policy of no stress and a lot of fun!" Surrounded by their friends and family, their day was filled with smiles and laughter! Congratulations to the both of you! We hope you enjoy your pictures as much as we enjoyed taking them!

Easy P is THREE!!!

Three months, that is! And he weighs in at an astounding 17lbs!!! The onesie he has on in this picture is an 18 mo. onesie!! We keep asking ourselves, "how did he go from size preemie to mongo in just three short months?!"

Size aside, Preston is doing wonderful! He is really holding his head up and not so much a bobble head anymore...he stands on his legs with help...he loves to laugh and smile at familar faces a toys! He continues to bring us so much joy my heart truly feels like it will explode with love for this tiny person! Preston is really enjoying the outdoors and loves golf cart rides!

What on earth did we ever do without him?!

Tara's Maternity Shoot!

Every now and then I get to break away from the wedding world to capture other wonderful moments of life. Here are a few pictures from Tara's maternity photoshoot...believe it or not she is actually 9 months pregnant in these pictures! (I think I was as big as her at 4 months!!!) Tara is expecting a precious baby girl whom she plans to name Kylee. The sweet little booties were a gift from Kylee's grandma who bought them in Spain. There is much anticipation to meet this little one, so hurry Kylee! You're going to love it here :)

Announcement!

I am proud to announce my new partnership with Pictage! I plan to utilize their services to help make my business more efficient to benefit my clients while streamlining workflow for me! I am excited about this venture and you are welcome to check out their link by clicking HERE!

My First Grader!

Madison had her first day of First Grade yesterday! She was SO excited to go to school she could hardly sleep the night before! This year will be full of new experiences and changes for her! She was one of only 12 students to test into the enrichment program so she will begin that this year, which is really exciting! And she will also be riding the bus home this year! Yesterday was her first time riding the bus home ever!! She is such a big girl and we are looking forward to a great year of FIRSTS!!!

Wedding Extravaganza! August 10th!!

There will be a wedding extravaganza hosted by Weddings of Georgia at the Flat Creek Country Club in Peachtree City this Sunday! We love wedding shows and meeting potential brides as well as other vendors in our industry! If you have the chance to stop by, we'd love to see you there! The show is from 1-4PM! Make sure you check out our booth and say hello!

Rachel 2009

I've had the opportunity to know Rachel for a couple of years now and was so thrilled when contacted about taking her senior portraits! We had a lot of fun on the photoshoot and I wish you the best of luck in your senior year, Rachel!! You are beautiful inside and out!!

Big Sister

Madison is the best big sister in the world! Here she is in a proud moment with her baby brother :)

Wedding Coat

When we first found out we were pregnant, Bryan and I really wanted another little girl. We had her name picked out even before we were married; we could just envision her sparkling blue eyes and little blonde curls...dressing up in all of Madison's disney princess dresses and admiring her bigger sister the way younger sisters do.

However, I just had this feeling in my gut that our baby was a boy when we went for the ultrasound. And sure enough, there he was on the screen...unmistakably a BOY! I wasn't disapointed that he was a boy by any means, I was just disapointed at the fact that Bryan and I would not have our second baby girl because at that point, I didn't think I was going to have anymore children.

One of the very first things Bryan said to me was, "Just think, honey. You'll get to dance with him at his wedding!" I stopped dead in my tracks...the vision I had of dancing with my son at his wedding...a moment I capture so many times at the weddings I photograph...took my breath away. I had never thought of it that way before! And if he had been a girl, that would be something I would never get to experience.

At the Kloiber/Hyatt wedding last month, Chris danced with his mom to a song called "Wedding Coat". I had never heard this song before and the lyrics were very moving. I cried through their dance as I thought about my own son and all the moments I can't wait to share with him throughout his life.

You can listen to this song, read the lyrics or buy the CD at www.weddingcoat.com. It is a beautiful depiction of the love a mother feels for her son. I thank God so much every day for knowing what I wanted even when I didn't. I LOVE being the mother of this little boy!!

Naked Baby!!

Here is Preston at 6 weeks! He's already starting to hold his head up more often and he's focusing really well on objects and faces...catch in him the right mood and he might even smile at you :) He's so much fun and we just love having him as part of our family!

Chris and Ashley Hyatt

Chris and Ashley was our first wedding since the birth of Preston and we just couldn't imagine having had a better time getting back in the game! They have been so wonderful to work with over the past year or so and we are lucky to be able to call them friends.

We hope you two had a wonderful time in St. Lucia! Thank you for allowing us to be a part of your wedding...Congratulations, again and we hope you enjoy the pictures!

Preston Allen Hume

Born June 3, 2008 at 8:06am, he weighed 7lbs 0oz and was 19.5 in. long. There is no love equal this.

Baby, its time!!!

We are now less than 36 hours away from Preston making his grand debut! He is ready and so is his momma! We celebrated with our families tonight at a nice italian restaurant and tomorrow will be spent finishing up last minute things to ensure that all I will have to worry about for the next two weeks is my newborn son!

We have to arrive at the hospital at 5:30 am on Tuesday morning as the c-section is scheduled for 7:30 am...I venture to argue they won't need to give me any anesthesia because I will still be asleep! (I don't do anything at 5:30 in the morning!)

Here are some pictures of the belly that were taken this evening. Last appointment the doctor guesstimated him to be about 7lbs...so the lingering question is, how big will he be at birth! Anyone want to take a guess and post a comment?!

We are busting at the seams with anticipation to see who's eyes he'll have; if he'll have any hair and if so what color it will be; how much will he weigh? How long will he be? Guess we'll find out soon enough!!!! The challenge will be trying to sleep tomorrow night :)

Mr. and Mrs. Thornton

Katina and Darrell were married at the Higdon House Inn in Greensboro, GA at the end of last month. The Bed and Breakfast Inn provided a beautiful backdrop for their day. Katina, a college graduate with an Art degree, did not miss one detail in planning her day! She even did all the flowers herself!!! But Darrell's contributions didn't go unnoticed either; he picked out the cakes, and the groom's cake was almost too pretty to eat!! Here are a few pictures from their day...enjoy!