the ultimate summer shot list l week one

i 've joined a fun summer project called The Ultimate Summer Shot List, sponsored by Let the Kids Dress Themselves..."an inspiration blog in love with family photography."   you don't have to be a professional photographer to join us. you just need to love capturing your children enjoying life to its fullest during these fun summer months. for this week's Summer Fun Photo, i captured our oldest daughter swinging high on the swing at the park near the beach during our vacation.  (i will be sharing many more from this week's vacation in a few days for this month's 10 on 10)

there's truly a certain type of freedom summer brings that is unique only to this season.  i look forward to it year after year.  i believe there's a similar freedom felt when flying high in the sky. this photo symbolizes the start of summer's freedom to me.  i hope you enjoy...

project 52 l week 27 l 4th of July

we spent the week of the fourth at long boat key, fl.  i cannot wait to share more images from that fantastic week, but for today our project 52 theme is 4th of July -independence.  i captured this beautiful image of my 8 yer old daughter as the sun was setting. this image seems very fitting for this week as i watch her become more and more independent each day.

please continue on to the blog of Clara at Heart Inspired Photography and see what fabulous image she has this week...

project 52 l week 26 l metallic

happy friday. welcome back for our weekly project with my friends at the bloom forum.  this week our theme is : metallic a certain little two year old found some of big sissy's old dress up shoes.  ever since, they haven't come off...

and i had to share this one from later in the day....so much i just love about it!

now head on over to the blog of Clara at Heart Inspired Photography to see her metallic image.

the illuminated word project l june

welcome back for this month's illuminated word project.   if this is your first time joining me, please read here to find out what this project is all about. this month the topic of servant-hood has been on my mind often.  i 've been thinking of ways that we can serve others more as a family.  my husband and i really want to demonstrate the importance of servant-hood in our Christian walks to our children.  we desire to teach them the importance of putting others before themselves while striving to be Christ like in all things.

as i think of servant-hood my mother-in-law, mita, immediately comes to mind.  she is such an amazing example of selfless living for others similar to Jesus.  her whole life is about putting others before herself with the desire to display her love for them.  i pray my children will see this example and want to live like her.   additionally, she inspires and challenges me.

my father-in-law, pito,  is living with Alzheimer's and as of recent it seems to be getting worse. in the year we have lived at home, i have witnessed the effects it has taken on our mita. she is one of the strongest people i know and ultimately gets her strength from our Lord and Savior. i watch her as she serves pito daily caring for his every need and i can only imagine the pain she feels in the moments he looks at her and asks who she is.  through the heartache she remains strong; she smiles and she rejoices in the moments she has with pito still in her life.  even in the midst of all this hardship, she chooses to continue to serve everyone around her.  she does this without ever making her own needs known.   her life is such a living example of how Christ tells us to live and a vivid reminder that this world is not about living for ourselves.   it's about others.

this month's scripture i've chosen is:

Philippians 2:1-4 (NIV)

2 Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit,   if any tenderness and compassion, ² then make my joy complete   by being like-minded,   having the same love, being one   in spirit and of one mind. ³ Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit.   Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, ⁴ not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.

one of the many ways mita loves to serve is through her cooking.  this week she came over and cooked with my oldest daughter ellie and me.   through these pictures you can see the mutual love and joy of grandmother and granddaughter making lifetime memories together.

as mita and i were finishing up the cooking i saw my oldest in the family room carrying out her own acts of service for our family and my heart was so touched.  she was sitting with pito and showing him our family photo albums. i heard her asking him if he knew who various people in the book were-- including herself.  my heart sank a little when i heard him answer no. but as i kept listening, i heard as she explained to him who everyone in the family was and how they were related to him. she did this with such love and patience and in that moment i saw my 8 year old being like Jesus...

i'll leave you with this song , Live Like That, by Sidewalk Prophets.  listen closely and i pray the words would challenge you as they have me.

please continue with our blog circle and see what Rachel Chaney has on her heart this month.

a celebration of life and love

i am so excited to share pictures of such a special couple.    i have known gene and michele since highschool.   but, i didn't get to really know them until i got married and we enjoyed a few get togethers with them while home on vacation or at christmas.  and it wasn't until moving home last summer, that we really got to spend more time together through church, bible study and various other events.    my husband has always been very close to both of them, so it has been wonderful to share this bond as well the past year. when michele contacted me about doing these pictures, i was very excited.   she wanted  to have something to remember this special time in their lives as they both turn 40 this month.   i feel honored to be able to give them this gift, because it will bring them so much joy for years to come.   these pictures capture their love and commitment to each other over all these years; and to have them to look back on is something to treasure.  i hope you enjoy them.

happy 40th michele and gene.  we are all blessed to know you...

project 52 l week 25 l night

this week our theme is night. my oldest had her cousin over to sleep over for the first time this week.    i peeked in on them having some girly fun. couldn't help but capture it.

let's head on over to see what clara l heart inspired photography has captured this week...

just us l june 2012

i am thrilled to join another group of AMAZING photographers from the bloom forum.   they have been doing this project all year, so i am joining in for the later half and excited to share.  it's a project focused on "getting US" in the pictures atleast once a month.  too often as the photographers of our families we don't do this. and simply put--its NOT okay.  our kids need to have memories to look back on that include us in them.  i am not talking about the annual Christmas card shots in the perfectly planned outfits at the perfectly planned location.   this is more about capturing the every day with our loved ones ( though, there might be a planned shoot too every once in  while--we are photographers afterall:)) this month, i have a pretty simple capture.  just me and my three lovies. they are all looking pretty silly in their shades. BUT we had a great time out on the boat enjoying a sunday afternoon as a family...

a couple more i loved of our youngest two...

and one more of my whole crew....as i stare at this picture, i can't help but thank God for these blessings.  so grateful.

now please go to the blog of my new friend Carey Pace l Tricities TN Photographer .  i adore her work and i am sure you will as well.

project 52 l week 24 l oldness

oldness is our theme this week for project 52. why have i then included pictures of our almost 6 year old son?  i look at him and i just feel like time has gone by extra fast with him.   he seems so OLD to me.  i look at him and feel like the years between 1 and 5 were just a blur in so many ways... is it the middle child syndrome? is it because my husband deployed when he was 4 months old and had  2 more deployments before he was 5 years old?   was i just trying  so hard to survive in the world of motherhood that time slipped by too quickly? or maybe it is a combination of all this.  do you ever feel this way?    i feel like no time is enough to share with my family.    but i have to remember this:

"Every day is an opportunity to make a new happy ending."  ~Author Unknown

i love him so much.  i love the little boy he's become.  a tender-heart full of compassion, his own ideas, and lots of energy for life.   he's our only son and such a true joy in our lives...

please follow our blog circle and see what the talented Clara with Heart Inspired Photography has this week...

blackberries...

"the human spirit needs places where nature has not been rearranged by the hand of man" ~Author Unknown

 so thankful for friends that are just like family.  blessed we are indeed.

ten on ten l the june edition

thanks for continuing to follow this fun lifestyle project.  if this is your first time here, please follow this link to read more about the ideas behind it. this month's 10 on 10 evolved after an afternoon of fishing with our three children.   now that the lake is in our backyard the children love spending the late afternoons and early mornings with daddy on the lake.   according to my oldest, mom's casting skills aren't quite up to par.   this particular afternoon, our youngest, who is 2, had her first turn with the fishing pole.  big sissy had received a "real" full size youth rod from daddy that morning, so she passed her "barbie rod" down to baby sissy.

i am thankful to have the details of this fun first of our baby girl.

please follow along with the other talented ladies in my group. first up is Jennifer Kruk Photography.  i am certain she will have some beautiful images to enjoy.

project 52 l week 23 l abandoned

welcome back for this week's project 52 theme.   this week our theme was abandoned.... doesn't the baby of the family always feel like the one "abandoned" or left behind?    i can hear her as i stare at these images yelling...wait for me, wait for me!!

love seeing them so happy and so in their own worlds...

please continue with our blog circle and see what the talented Clara Huynh of Heart Inspired Photography has for us this week.

project 52 l week 22 l innocence

"the moment in between what you once were, and who you are now becoming, is where the dance of life really takes place"

barbara de angelis

this week our theme for project 52 is innocence...

i see her and i still see my firstborn baby fresh in my arms.  the most innocent of beings.   i can feel it like it was yesterday. it is true, eight years have passed. i see her still so innocent even in a world that wants otherwise.  yet, she is in that moment in between what she once was and who she is now becoming...

please continue on with our blog circle and see what the super talented Mary Schannen of Melange Photography has this week...

the simple moments in between...

"is solace anywhere more comforting than in the arms of a sister"  ~Alice Walker

they are sisters.  they are mine.  i am blessed.

a handsome boy turns one

last month i got to spend the morning with the cutest one year old and his super special parents.   i can't really say which was the better time...shooting the photos of this handsome boy or hanging out on the back porch of our house with his parents.  both were lovely.   tammy was a friend from high school who i had not seen in years. i love seeing old friends who are now mothers.   her love for her son really shines through all of these photos.   tammy i hope you love these and i thank you for being so patient as i worked on them.  can't wait to see you again soon.

project 52 l week 21 l photograph a stranger

it's friday...which means it's time for this week's new theme.  we were to photograph a stranger this week.   when i saw this theme, i didn't know what in the world i would do.  admittedly, i was a bit nervous.   but lucky for me, i have a super outgoing husband.   we were at a fun outdoor concert a few weeks ago here ino ur hometown at bok tower gardens.   we noticed the lovely four ladies across the yard.   my husband agreed that they would be perfect to use for my project.  he went with me to ask them for permission to take their picture. they were so sweet. it was fun to get to meet them and learn a bit about them.  thank you for letting me share your image..you are each beautiful!

now head on over and see what stranger michele has captured...

a cake smash and some sisterly love

it's not usually a good sign when the rain starts coming down on the way to your photo shoot.   i arrived at our location and immediately thought we would be rescheduling.  BUT it is florida and as my brother n law often reminds me, wait five minutes if you don't like the weather, b/c it is likely to change.   we were so thrilled when the rain stopped and we had a little glimpse of sunlight to go on with our shoot.   this family had the most precious little girls.  their oldest was so cooperative and listened so well to my instructions. she was a delight. and oh, boy, i just loved watching their one year old dive into her cake.  she LOVED it.  i hope you enjoy your preview ashley....you have a lovely family!

gorgeous family of four

i was so honored a few months ago when shannon emailed me with an inquiry to do her family photos.  she lives over in tampa and had found my site on facebook.    she also happens to be a photographer.  it was such a pleasure meeting her and her adorable two children and sweet loving husband.    i adored the outfits she had planned for them all which made for wonderful photographs in the settings we picked.    thank you for allowing me to have this opportunity to capture your family. i hope you enjoy this preview of our time together...

project 52 l week 20 l power

this week's theme for project 52 is power.  we were at Walt Disney World last saturday.   i couldn't help but notice how enamored our three children were with the race cars.  they stared at them in awe.   the noise of their engines intrigued them.  this was the first time our youngest (who is 2) was tall enough to join us.  so, we split up into two cars...the girls and the boys.   this meant both my oldest daughter and our son would get to drive.   they were ecstatic.  they would have the power behind the wheel.

and before i go i have to leave you with this one of our sweet baby girl.  she FINALLY got her own mickey mouse ears..and as you can see, she was quite smitten.  love her.

i'd say they are all pretty special to this mama.

please follow our blog circle and see the amazing image mary schannen of melange photography has this week.

counting down

i am very excited to share my sister's maternity shoot with you.   i did a super quick mini shoot with her last month you can see here.   with her due date quickly approaching she is counting down the days until sweet lucy arrives.   katie's a natural in the front of the camera which made my job easy.  in about eight weeks i will have a new baby niece to hold and i am over the moon.  it has been a blessing to be here for katie's pregnancy this time.   it is such a fun phase of life right now to share as our two year old girls have become the best of buddies lately.     after living all of our adult lives apart, it is quite special to have this time..

one week new

it's always so wonderful to be around a new baby.  this little fellow was no exception.  he was precious.  with big blue eyes and  gorgeous baby new skin...just as sweet as can be.   it was so special to capture him with his mama.   i babysat caroline when she was just a little girl.  i can't believe time has passed by so quickly..here she is now a mama herself.  i hope you cherish these images of your adorable baby boy...