Abrusley Family

Please remember the Abrusley family from Oakdale. They loss David (far left)

and even though we know he is in a better place, I know their hearts are breaking. I grew up and was best friends with one of David's cousins, Chris. Our prayers are needed to help lessen the pain that they are going through from their loss. They were such a close family and I know they will all feel his loss immensely. My prayers and love go out to all of them. Memories are the glue that holds your heart together and strength from God gets you through each day.

Christmas blessings

I hope everyone had wonderful Christmas with family & friends. Christmas was one of my Daddy's favorite holidays and all of us missed him so much. My Mama came and spent Christmas Eve with us this year. It was the first time that she got to see Abby with Santa gifts on Christmas morning. It was so much fun having her with us. We added a stocking for her on the mantle. Oh, we have a new member in the family- Ella. Yes, I gave into Scott & we got Abby a puppy. She is such the animal lover. We were not sure how Sassy would act, but they have made friends. Uncle Scott got Jackson a ball pit with 100 balls! He can't wait to see the balls flying all over the house. There has been so much loss of loved ones from Pine Prairie & Oakdale during this month. We need to all remember the families in our prayers and lift them up. I just learned of another young guy from Oakdale that died today. I can't imagine what his family is going through right now. It's so hard to think about all the young lives that have been lost. Only God knows His plans, but this does not help the pain that all of their families feel right now. Pictures of my Dad have helped me to cope with the hurt of missing him. Hold close to the memories and capture all the memories that you can in photos because one day that will be all we have left.

The Carson Family

Finally getting around to some thoughts on my shoot with Shallie, Andy, Sylas, Kyler, and Cooper. They behaved sooo well (thanks to threats from their Daddy...LOL) and were absolutely adorable. I think they are just the cutest. Lots of giggles & laughs.... Cooper had enough modeling by the time we finished the family shoot, so we decided to do a 1st birthday session to focus just on him. The word active does not accurately describe how active he really is! At least he was smiling in his "active" shots. Shallie had to take her long sleeve shirt off because he had her sweating. Guess he's gonna play ball like his big brothers. He loved the baseball. Then, he showed me his "attention" position on the floor. He's too cute! His Christmas pics were soooo cute. I'll have to have a large print for my studio wall. What a good looking family & I had so much fun working on their photos.

Nanny's Lil' Tiger

We took Jackson for his 1st haircut yesterday. Their was crying from his Mom & tears from his Nanny. All we kept thinking was that his baby hair was gonna be gone and our baby wouldn't look like a baby anymore. Scott came with us and loved it. Jack almost went to sleep during his haircut. Guess he's gonna like the girls playing with his hair! He is absolutely adorable and yes, he is still our "baby boy". We then took him to the house for a day at Nanny's. We took his Christmas pics and some pics for me. They turned out sooo cute. I've already ordered a big one for me. Last night, Julie took him to take pics with Santa and he cried the whole time. He was not impressed with the man in the red suit. Poor baby... Uncle Scott wanted to get him a ball pit for Christmas and can't wait to see him throwing balls all over his Mom's house! Jack is definitely a gift to all of us and we are having so much fun with him. I love my "Lil' Tiger".

Little Gifts

Wow, Christmas is almost here. I've been doing a lot of Christmas pics of God's little gifts to us. They were all so cute and had many different personalities. They all wanted to "play ball" with the ornaments. It's really been a fun time taking all of their pictures, and I hope the pictures remind their loved ones of the wonderful gift that they have been blessed with in their lives. I actually had to turn a few people away today because I had to put my house back together. I cannot wait for my studio! As I type this, Abby and Mama are making peanut butter balls. It's such a blessing to see how happy that Abby makes my Mama. Daddy would have loved watching "his girls" make candy. I miss him so much and I know that it will be difficult on all of us this Christmas. I know he will be smiling down on us when we are all together because family meant everything to him. Well, I hope you enjoy the pics of this "Sassy" Christmas.

The Johnson "gang"

Wow. I had the pleasure of shooting the Johnson family. I have to admit that the whole time I kept thinking, "I can't imagine raising that many kids!" (Not that Abby is high maintenance or spoiled....) On the other hand I kept thinking how lucky they all are to have each other. I can only imagine the memories that they have from the time that they were growing up together. It had been 18 years (if I remember correctly) since they have ALL been together at one time. The gang's dad was very happy and I could see the happiness in his face. I hope that the pictures remind them how lucky they all are to have each other.

Chapelle Family

I shot pictures of Brad, Lori, Olivia, & Will last night. All I could think of while working on their pics today was how much Olivia & Will have grown. All of our little ones are growing up! Of course, Mr Will kept us laughing. He is the cutest, and I know he is going to give Brad & Lori some memories while he continues to grow. LOL! Olivia is so sweet and quiet with a beautiful smile & personality. Will was so excited for his sister to "lay" on him. He wants a train for Christmas, so his Mom had to "bribe" him with it to finish the shoot. I think the sweetest pics are the ones Olivia & Will took by themselves with their Mom & Dad. You can see Lori's protectiveness and love for them as a mother. Olivia definitely loves her Daddy and you can see the Daddy's girl in their pics. Such a sweet family....

Miracle of Life

I shot Nikki's pregnancy pictures yesterday. What a fun time! We laughed at ourselves and really had a good time. She saw the idea on the internet to use a drape. (& no she is not in her birthday suit!) I am always up for something new and love to look at other photographer's pics on the net. She could not remember where she saw the pics that she liked, so we had to use our imagination. I think this is what made it so funny, not to mention the comments that she was making about herself. Corey surprised us and came home for the day from work. I worked on them after she left, and I think they turned out beautiful. Not only is Nikki beautiful, I think we caught the beauty of pregnancy in her pics. Wish I could have looked like that when I had Abby, but I guess that's why I only have a few pics of myself. LOL! Now, it's soon time to meet baby Corlyn. Corlyn is truly a miracle of life from God.

Christmas gifts

Christmas is here. I chose to use Christmas gifts as some of the props to remind us of all the gifts we have been blessed with in our lives. Just call if you are interested in capturing the gifts in your life. Enjoy your time preparing for Christmas and remember to thank God for the gifts in your lives.

Princes & Princesses

I finally have a little time to blog some of my thoughts on homecoming. I actually photographed 18 people in 3 days! Boy, was I tired... but it was rewarding. Everyone was so beautiful and handsome. They all looked like they were out of a fairytale. Princes & Princesses for the day. It was so fun to look over all the pics and add some creativity to their homecoming fairytale. I would have to say that the "moment" of the day would have to be when Will was taking a pic with his "girlfriend" Sydia, and he grabbed his head and said, "I feel like I'm getting married or something!" It was so funny and too cute. Another moment was when Saige & Madison were leaving and I had to get them to come back to take one more picture. I just knew I had to get it and I think it turned out beautiful. (the black & white with them turned toward each other) DeeDee is blessed with two sweet and pretty girls. Abby loves them! I loved Chassity's dress and she was absolutely stunning. It was fun with Kailey & Sydia's pics and capturing their friendship. They brought back memories of Abby & Jacie's pics from last year.= Life's treasure of best friends. Congratulations to Brooke. She was absolutely beautiful and the night was a perfect fairytale ending for her high school years. Congratulations to all of you! What a night to remember for all the princes & princesses....

Ally, Class of 2009

It was my first time to meet Ally. She is such a bright young lady with a successful future ahead of her. She has set her goals and knows what she wants to do. She will actually finish high school with 14hrs of college credits. Wow! She has danced for about 13 years. This caught Abby's ears and intrigued her. Then, she wanted to talk & talk with Ally. She loved Ally's dance photos. Ally was so poised & I loved taking those pics. I was really tired going into this shoot, and I was worried if I would be able to do a good job. Ally, all of her beauty, & personality got me into my creative mode in no time. I received a phone call from her stepmom and she told me that the pics made her & Ally's dad cry. I knew that I had captured the perfect pictures to touch their hearts. I wish Ally lots of luck & blessings as she begins a new journey in her life.