There Goes My Life...

Laura's sneak peek.

Oh, if all sessions could be this easy! Laura's mom had wanted some fall photos of Laura and her brother. That's why I was surprised when they arrived and it was just Laura. Unfortunately, Laura brother had to work, so he wasn't able to make it. I asked if they wanted to re-schedule, but Laura's mom said she wanted to go ahead with the session of Laura. She said it had been too long since Laura had portraits done other than at school. So we set off just the three of us.

We started off with a walk by the river.

I could not have asked for a more willing subject. Laura is just the sweetest young lady.

She and Elizabeth have been classmates since Pre-K. She was also on my cheerleading squad last year. Such a sweet girl.

This is one of my favorite places to run. I had run this road just a couple days before and knew that I wanted to get a shot on this curve. Mom wasn't planning on having her photo taken, but I hope after she see's this one she's glad she let me talk her into it!

 

Then we headed to the old train tracks. These are also on my favorite running route. Funny how much I think about taking photos when I'm running! I'm always finding cools spots!

I love the sun flare I caught in this one. I distressed it a bit, also.

I had asked my neighbor if I could use his barn for shoots from time to time (he's a champion BBQer BTW). As soon as we got out of the car his donkey came up to the fence to greet us. She was really wanting some attention! So funny!

I love the shots we got here. I will definitely be using the barn again in the future!

This may be my favorite of the day.

Like I said.... if they could all be this easy...

So I'm glad we went ahead with the session! Every girl needs to be the center of attention from time to time! ;-)

This is the reason.

This is the reason my house is not clean. Well, probably not totally true, but this is what I've been doing today instead of cleaning. Today's excuse anyway! I completed the dresses yesterday and today I have made two collars and two hats so far. My goal before going to bed (and if I don't run out of fabric) is two more collars, two more hats and four aprons. That will have four costumes done.

All this and Molly isn't even a pilgrim! She's an Indian! But, I'm happy to do it since I won't be here next week to help get the stage all set up for the big production. I at least wanted to get a picture of my work. Terrible as it is with the basement lighting.... but cute nevertheless!

OK, time to get back to work!

Not bad for a day.

Today's accomplishments include two black pilgrim dresses and two long black skirts I managed to sew with the leftover fabric. Not bad for a day.  Of course if I was a real pilgrim woman I probably would have also made some soap and a dozen or so candles. Not to mention cooking three meals, bringing in the fire wood and washing clothes by hand.  No, this pilgrim woman's husband brought her lunch (Sonic) and even cooked supper (tacos - YUM) so that she could keep sewing.

On tomorrow's agenda? Aprons, bonnets and collars. Now, I'm blowing out the candle I've been working by (OK fluorescent bulb) and heading upstairs to spend some time with the husband. Until tomorrow...

Miriam & Nate.

Meet Miriam and Nate. Miriam works for us in one of our phone stores. I was so excited when she asked me if I would take some photos of her and her brother, Nate.  She wanted some photos of them just hanging out at home. I was really excited about that because Miriam's family lives in beautiful farm house that her parents have restored to much of it's original glory.

Miriam's dad was so generous to give me a tour of the house. Being the southern girl and history lover that I am, I was thrilled. The house was originally built in 1860 and is beautiful inside and out. They were able to salvage much of the interior including the original hardwood floors. We had to get a photo outside in front on the old rock fence.

From there we went down to the creek where there is another old stone fence. These fences were built in the 1800's and can still be found on farms throughout Tennessee.

I love shooting in Tennessee.  It is no trouble to find a beautiful backdrop anywhere...

I had never met Nate before this day. We just love Miriam, but I had no idea her brother was a stand-up comic.

OK, he's not really a stand-up comic, but there is a future there if he ever decides to pursue it!

Seriously,  he had us laughing non-stop the entire afternoon! Makes for happy photos! :-)

This is one of my favorites of the afternoon. Brother and sister just hanging out at home. So real.

I like this one for the same reason.

I thought this series deserved a little something extra.

Nate wanted to get some shots of him playing his guitar in his room.

And one last favorite from the front porch.

Guys, I had a blast hanging out with you.  Wouldn't mind doing it again something with or without the camera. Thanks for all the laughs, Nate!

The envy of my friends.

At least I will be next week.  Yes, this time next week Chris and I will be in paradise. Thanksgiving day will mark 15 years of marriage for us, and we're celebrating by getting away for a few days. I am beyond excited!

Next week paradise, but this week lots of work.  Many sessions still to edit plus two pilgrim costumes to make.  Better get back to it!

Undefeated.

I haven't talked about soccer in a while.  Molly's team had their end-of-season party Saturday where the kids all received their trophies. They had an awesome little team this year. She was the only girl on her team, and scored three times during the season. By the end of the season she had become an aggressive little player. It may have had something to do with the promise for ice cream for each game she scored. ;-) Coach Tony and Coach Joey were great and she learned a lot during the year. Next year she will move up to U-8 where they separate the girls and boys. I think she is already looking forward to next year. Think we will be requesting Coach Tony for Stewart next year. :-)

I put together a little slide show of the season highlights for the team.  Grab some popcorn and enjoy!

Ready for some fun!

I absolutely LOVE this photo Chris got of me last week at the pumpkin patch.

He snapped it just as I came out of the giant tube slide. I was screaming the entire way down! I just kept getting faster and faster, and knew I was going to be in the corn maze before I stopped! LOL! This was just the best afternoon.

Soccer is over now and it has been so nice to be at home more in the evenings. I cooked three nights this week and according to Chris that was more than the entire month of October. It seemed like we were never home at supper time and that has always been an important part of our daily family life. We even watched a couple cake shows we've had recorded for weeks. I don't like the shorter days, but I sure am thankful for the extra family time.

I am still swamped with work.  In fact, I meant to do a whole layout about my slide adventure before I posted this today, but it's now 4:45 meaning it's just not happening today! We have lots of fun things planned for the weekend starting with our town's Christmas festival that kicks off tonight. Lots of fun things going on, but I HAVE to find time to get a little work done. Hope you have some fun family time this weekend!

A trip back in time.

Can we rewind just a couple weeks? October is pretty much a blur. I am swamped with work (not complaining!). Busy, busy editing all the sessions I had in October. Still have lots more sessions to share in the near future!

Today I had to stop and do a few things around here though.  The house was (and in some parts still is) a disaster. At least you can see over the bar in the kitchen now. Whew! And the kids no longer can write their names in the dust on the TV. Made a little progress.

October was a busy month for us, but it was also an amazingly fun month. We did so much in the last week alone. Lots of fun family stuff. Our last minute trip to the Pumpkin Patch the day before Halloween was without a doubt our best trip to the patch ever. We had the most wonderful afternoon together. So I still have so, so much to share. Lots and lots and lots of photos.

I realize I haven't even shared Halloween costumes and activities. Like I said.... still so much to share. For today I have a couple layouts. This first one is from Molly's field trip the first week of October. She always tagged along on Elizabeth's field trips and now Stewart is doing the same on her trips. These really are the best days...

(layout credits here) This is one of Jen's new sketches. Make sure you get this set.  It's awesome!

I didn't want to share Stewart's Halloween costume until I was able to do a layout about it. I had to get this memory down. On Molly's field trip we watch The Great Pumpkin. Shortly after that Stewart started saying that he wanted to be a ghost for Halloween. I always sew the kids costumes, and I even had a ghost pattern from when I made Molly's spider costume a couple years ago. I showed it to him, but he quickly informed me that he wanted to be a "sheet ghost". Throughout the day he continued to pick up the pattern, point to it and tell me time and time again that he didn't want to be that kind of ghost. He wanted to be a sheet ghost.

And so he was! When I saw this little ghost in Gina's Mini Kit I knew I had to have it for his page! ;-)

I have lots more photos from Halloween and the Pumpkin Patch, but I think I will save those for another post.  Oh, and we haven't even talked about soccer...

Brooklyn & Bailey (and just a little Brody).

My friend, Jessica, was wanting some fall photos of her two girls. After looking around everywhere, I finally realized that the best leaves were right behind our house. This was a couple weeks ago and in most places the leaves just had not started changing yet. Now, this week it wouldn't have been a problem.  The colors are so vibrant right now that it looks as if the hills are on fire! So anyway..... we went for a walk in the woods behind our house.

Aren't they the cutest?!

Brooklyn looks just like her mom and Bailey is the spittin' (you know I'm southern) image of her dad!

We did manage to find a few pretty leaves.

As a mom myself, this is one of those that makes me stop in my tracks.

A couple of collages I thought mom might like to hang together. :-)

Also on the agenda was photos in the kids' Christmas outfits. Little cousin, Brody, came along for these.

Jessica had told me that she would like some photos in front of an old barn. I asked a friend if I could use his barn and he was more than happy to let us use it. Love good neighbors!

Unfortunately, Brody wasn't feeling very well this day, and wasn't really feeling up to having his photo taken.

I'm happy that I did manage to get a couple sweet shots of him. :-)

Jessica and Jayna, you both have beautiful children! Hope the afternoon wasn't too stressful for you, and you're happy with the results! ;-)

Something very important.

Something very important is on my mind today, and no it is not the election. You might remember sweet Alyssa from my session this past summer. Alyssa is being treated in Vanderbilt Children's Hospital for e.coli, and is a very sick little girl. Please say a prayer for her. Alyssa, is the daughter of my dear friend, Cindy. This morning Cindy was also admitted to the hospital. From what I know right now I am assuming from exhaustion/concern over Alyssa. So if you could take a minute to say a prayer for them, it would certainly be appreciated. Thanks!