Y family

The Y family was so much fun. Aimee's mom had won a mini-session at one of our open houses (an invitation only event-email to get on our list). She saved her session for them. They came all the way from Tennessee. The kids were so fun and energetic. As you can see they are very adorable kids!  If you would join with me to pray for Aimee's stepfather. He is quite sick and could really use the prayers.I had a great time with you guys. I hope you have a wonderful trip home!

The T family

Kathy's mom was here for a visit and wanted to bless her family with some pictures. What a sweet mom! We had so much fun just running around and playing. Kathy and Joel are super fun people and were up for anything. Having 4 kids under the age of 5 1/2 is amazing, and Joel and Kathy work together so well as a team. It was wonderful seeing them interact with each other and the kids. The kiddos were very cooperative and full of energy. We even got Granna in on some pictures. Thanks for a great morning! Here is your sneak peek guys:

You can completely see the love they have for each other in this picture.

Peter

My stepfather Peter passed away 3 weeks ago. He is a wonderful man I have known since I was 4 years old. He was 48 years old. It has been a hard year for my family.  Peter had been struggling with cancer for 8 months, had been in and out of the hospital almost weekly, he had lost 100 lbs and at one point had a tumor the size of a small watermelon removed from his abdomen  This has been such a crazy and sad time for our family, especially my mom.  

I have learned so many things through this. I have learned that life is too short to not do the things you want to do. I have learned life is too short to not enjoy each and every day. I have learned to tell the people you love by words and actions that they are loved.  If you have someone you need to tell, don't wait, tomorrow is NOT guaranteed. Enjoy life and be blessed by the people around you. Bless others.

I also learned what love is. Love is taking care of your husband's every physical need, sitting by his bedside, hurting with him, encouraging him when you are dead tired, crying with him, laughing with him, sacrificing your needs to provide for all of his needs. This is love. Love is not just when life is great and things are going well, it is choosing to love during the hurt and heartache. In sickness AND in health has taken on new meaning for me.  My mom showed me what love is. She has shown me what sickness AND in health means. I pray I can be half the woman she is someday. She is an amazing woman of God.

I feel so blessed to have had Peter in my life for the past 27 years.  I may say he was my stepfather, but he was so much more then just that, so much more. He never treated me like his stepdaughter, nor referred to me as such. He treated me just as he treated my brother and sister...for better or for worse :)  He will be very missed on earth, but as I tell Olivia (my 4 year old) we WILL see him in Heaven. He is waiting for us and is excited to see us again. We already have 2 friends in Heaven (GG and Jesus). 

Thank you to the clients that have been VERY patient with me during this unexpected and sudden passing. A special thanks to Malissa and her family as this was right in the middle of her picture delivery time and they were all SO patient.  Thank you for the encouraging emails and phone calls. You have really blessed me. Sorry to be so "heavy" on our photography blog, but as Chinell says "the emotions we express through words and photography are not just the happy ones".  Here are a couple of my most favorite pictures of Peter. Of course they are the ones with my kids. Thank you for sharing in my journey.

Sohann's First Birthday

I had the privilege to photograph a beautiful family celebrating baby Sohann's First Birthday. Everyone was very kind and fun which made my job much easier. Thank you for letting me capture such a special day in your lives. Here is a sneak preview of the day.

A couple more...

Here are a couple more from yesterday's session:

And my favorite from yesterday:

Two Adorable Girls - Austin Family Photographer

I made a new little friend tonight in D. She was so sweet and very friendly. She and I hit it off and had a great time together. Little H was adorable.  We got a couple smiles from her, D helped with those, but most of the time she was very serious and just taking it all in. John and Kelli were awesome and John was such a great sport.  You can see the love in their eyes for each other and for their kids. 

 I had a great time with you guys tonight, enjoy your sneak peek!

Adventures in Killeen

Rick came home from Iraq last week for only a few short weeks.  The sacrifice of all the men and women rebuilding Iraq is amazing. We are truly blessed to have people willing to serve our country and I am forever grateful. 

Rick and Melinda are such a loving and fun couple. Chinell and I went up to Killeen for their session and went to the CTU campus. The kids loved the ducks and little Issac wanted to swim with them the whole session.

Here is a sneak peek from our session:

This picture was just too awesome not to post. Sorry guys, it is one of my favorites, I had to post it. It just shows how playful and fun these two are.  :)

This is a great one of Rick and the kids. He was wonderful with them. I can tell the kids just adore him. 


She is SO precious.

Thank you again you guys for a wonderful and fun session. Thank you both for your service and sacrifice for our great country. 

Hailey's 4 year pictures

Hailey and I had so much fun on our "adventures".  We played, told jokes together, and had a great time. Hailey has such a great sense of humor and is so sweet. We also took some pictures of Hailey's family and her adorable brother Erik. We tried to get some good ones of Erik and Hailey together, but when Erik wanted to sit, Hailey wanted to run and when Erik wanted to run, Hailey would sit. It was quite funny.  Here is your sneak peak Mom:

Schopp family

Chinell and I had the wonderful pleasure of taking some pictures of our good friend and her family. It was a beautiful location, amazing weather and of course some cute subjects. It was really fun. Thanks guys!