Teachers

I know this is a very touchy thing with women, but I feel blessed to have experienced BOTH!  And you know what ?  I love BOTH! 

When I worked as a teacher I felt that my contribution to society and my community was meaningful and long-lasting.  I felt blessed to have the opportunity to directly impact another person's life.  I always took this responsibility very seriously.  I felt validated, I felt challenged, I felt pretty, I felt smart, I felt loved, I felt productive.  I loved working as a teacher.  I hope to do that again some day.  I have a special place in my heart for teachers as I know the sacrifice that comes with being an educator.  Let me tell you that whatever teachers my children have will have the best darn room mother as I plan to do all I can to make their lives easier.  It is a tough job.  Thank your teachers, send them a note and tell them what a good job they're doing, volunteer an hour of your time (even if it is working at home in the evenings cutting things out), send a bag of candy for class treats!  I had a mom that would always send stickers, kid treats, bulletin board stuff (thanks, steph) and it made me feel that she appreciated me and the work I was doing.   Do you know how much money teacher's spend from their own pockets on treats, games, goodies, stickers, lunch money for kids, stamps, pens, manipulatives, decorations etc. etc etc??  Take my cue and do something to thank your child's teacher.  We are blessed in this country to be able to send our children to clean, air conditioned buildings every day where they are cared for, nursed, counselled, fed, and taught.  Don't take it for granted.

New session to share tomorrow. 

Third time's still a charm

This will be the third time I've photographed Audrey and she's still so precious and darn cute with her big brown eyes.  This time, however, we met under special circumstances.  Audrey's grandparents got to join in on the picture-taking-fun.

A tender moment with Grandpa...

A not-so-tender moment :)

and a tender moment with grandma

Audrey's grandparents have a very cool barn to explore.  Don't let her sassy looks deceive you.  She's a fun girl that likes to play with rocks, snails, and isn't afraid of a little dirt.  The barn is her perfect playground. 

I don't often use this vintage processing.  The picture really has to fit the mood of this type of post processing.  BUT, in this case Audrey's precious curls and the vintage inspired blouse she was wearing fit the bill.  This may be on my top ten of favorites.


Thank you, Tamara, for setting this up.  I hope these are memories you and yours will treasure.

PS....I've got posts for everyday this week!  I missed blogging while I was without power so I've got some catching up to do!  I ripped this link from Amber's Blog that I have almost peed my pants over.  You MUST check it out and go through the posts on the Cake Wrecks Blog.   Unbelievable.

The flirt no girl could resist.

Seems like a lot has happened since I took these pictures.  We're still without power, but I managed to plug in my hard drive at my in laws and got some work done!

I can't believe we didn't cancel this session as it was the Thursday before Ike hit.  The streets were a mess, the gas stations were packed, and everyone was preparing to evacuate, but we were at Mercer Arboretum taking pictures and you'd never know the mayhem around us from the looks of these pictures.  On their way to meet me, they heard on the radio that they were being 'mandatory evacuated' from their LaPorte hometown.  Regardless, they came and we had a good time despite the madness.  Thanks, guys!

And this precious boy was the smiliest little thing.  He would bat his blue eyes at me and I was in love.  That pearl snap shirt was working in his favor, too.

We found a pocket of great light for the above picture and I love the result.

Mom brought along a cake for the birthday boy to dig into.  Clean up was a snap, right mom?  These were worth the blue stains and if I had packed a fork, I would have joined him.

After he was done he attempted a getaway, but as you can see the trail of blue icing behind him would not have allowed him to get very far.

Don't know when I'll be posting again.  Fingers crossed our power will return soon.

Hurricane Update

Hey Everyone!  I'm signing in on my dad's laptop as we STILL do not have power, water, internet, etc.  Just wanted to let you know that we're not back in working order, but as soon as we are, I will let you know.  If you've emailed, called, or are waiting on pictures please be patient with me.  As soon as the power is restored in my home and to my precious computer LOL I will be working furiously to finish editing, mail off some pictures, reply to emails, and catch up.  Thanks for understanding.

Boys will be Boys

Ethan had his first big boy sleep over last night.  Buddy Cody got to come visit and even Dad joined in on the fun and set up a tent in Ethan's room.  Dad asked the boys, "Are ya'll going to sleep outside?"  Cody responds, " No, silly, we sleep INSIDE the tent."  Don't you love it?

Oh the silly faces we make...

So, I know I'm going to love doing the girly things with Natalie, but there's something about a stinky, smelly, burpy, grimy, silly, energetic boy that never goes to bed without a kiss from his mommy.

awwww shucks

My first award nomination!!  Yippeee!  I feel a little cool...just a little.  Please Vote for Viv (blushing madly).   And you'd better believe this post will be at the top of the blog for the week, but I'll still be posting so just scroll down.  Thank you, thank you, thank you.  Now, say it with me "vote for viv, vote for viv, vote for viv." 

Houston, we have a tooth.

Yes, indeed.  We have a tooth.  Brother got his first 2 teeth at 4 months so we enjoyed her gummy smile about 6 weeks longer then Bro's.  I hope the Mimis enjoy these as it was challenging to get a picture of the wee-little-toothy-bit.

Off to do big grocery shopping today and it occurred to me to share my simple, but very helpful grocery list that makes my shopping trips a little more organized.  When I go shopping, a list is a must-have.  I always print out the following table and fill in by hand what I need to purchase and mark it off as I go.  Hope some of you will find it helpful.

Download Groceries.doc

Amber

Okay, gents, she's so off the market.  Just had to preface the post with the previous disclaimer :).  Where to begin?  First of all, I played around with these few pics way longer than the time it would take me to edit a full session.  I loved the mood, location, feel etc. etc. so I played with different "looks."  Some of these effects I couldn't recreate if you paid me a million dollars to do it. 

Amber - an artist after my own heart.  She understands me.  Amber is a talented performer and we connected artistically.  She is beautiful, smart, talented, and loyal.  I felt so at ease with her that I was able to play with different settings and try things I don't normally try at my photo sessions.  She was one of the three finalists for the "Who are you?" essay she wrote.   This is my second shoot and I have thoroughly enjoyed them.  It has been very rewarding for me to get to know these ladies on a more personal level. 

My photos are still appearing soft on the screen, but if you click on the individual picture you'll see a sharper, truer version.  Oh, and more on the Christmas cards next week.

i love these images. 

I was so impressed by Amber's makeup. Her face is flawless.  I wish I had a fancy place to be so she could come over and do my make up!!

Christmas cards for FALL Clients

Hot Chocolate

Patina

Evergreen Sprig

Tic Tac Toe

Simple #2

Sentimental

They came back for more!

I got to photograph this cute bunch last Fall when baby Brylea was only weeks old and I was so excited to get the email to come back for a home session.

I know in the Bailey post from 2007, I mentioned that every age is the "right" age to photograph children because every age has something unique to offer and this next picture just proves my point.  Brylea is learning to walk so I love that I was able to capture her clutching daddy's finger.  Before you know it, she'll be running around.

Mommy and her girls...


And this pouty face was just too cute to keep to myself:


But SuperDad makes it all better...




Precious Addison still keeps me on my toes!  I was a big sweat ball chasing her, but I managed to eek out a few smiles out of her. LOL.

And here are the Baileys, just being "The Baileys."

Stay tuned this week.  I have a post lined up for Thursday and one for Friday provided we have no domestic catastrophes here at the Killion Casa.