I had so much fun yesterday hanging out with Veronica and JD and their beautiful family. JD is the Pastor of the most amazing God centered church that I have been to in five years. visit his blog and website to hear his sermons. But for now, enjoy a sneak peak their beautiful photos!

I am off to a play group for my three year old.

The Great Reveal

The five dollars that I spent last week on T's surprise was......
































Yes, I am not a professional refinisher, but I feel like it turned out quite unique and fun. Yes, a much needed addition to our home!!!

Now out for a date with my husband.

Super Girl

Do four days really go by this quickly!!! I guess I have been incredibly busy this week working on fun little SURPRISE for my husband (well actually it is kind of large. But I will reveal the end product here soon) who has been in GA this week for work. I told him it cost $5 and that is all he knows, but my goodness! it has been a project!!! I was up until 2 am last night!!

Today, I would just like to share with you all some photos of the this past week. Being a stay-at-home mom is always fun and fully rewarding.. and a little messy, but always full of adventure and imagination!!!

So enjoy these photos of My super hero daughter, my children pretending the sofa cushions spread all over the floor is the ocean, our imaginative adventurous trip to Walmart (which by-the-way is always the worst shopping experience I have ever had each time I go, plus I feel like I need to take a shower when I get home!!!!)

Stay tuned next week for more wonderful family photos (not necessarily my family) to come. And this weekend, My husband's surprise will be revealed!!!

a wonderful journey...

Julie and Phillip were so surprised to find out that they were headed to America to live for a few years and just before they left to get here, they found out that they were expecting. I had the privilege of seeing their baby the first week of his new life; what an honor! That is what I love and treasure about my job. Plus their love for each other and their new born son shown through these photographs so beautifully. I get so emotional and excited for families at this stage in life!!! I remember it so well and it is such a time to treasure even though it seems like such a life change and so hard some times!!! It goes so quickly and I am so glad to be used by God with my talents and skills to provide images that can capture these moments so beautifully. I give all the Glory to God for his precious gift to me is a gift to so many others. These photographs will always be there to remind you Julie and Phillip of this glorious time!!! I thought they turned out beautifully!

Rock Star Baby

Wow, this past week was full of wonderful photo sessions and meeting such wonderful people. I just want to share with you all some fun photos from my session with Maureen today. Your baby is such a CUTIE!! I had so much fun hanging out with you both last week.

Well now it is 8:49 am and I am running late for everything this morning. I am just so glad that my son doesn't have to be at school until 9:15 am. That makes all the difference in the whole world. Thanks so much Kris for being a willing participant in my experimentations and growing as an artist and phtographer. I love the results of these fun texture collages and I had so much fun going out while my daughter was in dance class and finding just the right textures in nature to fit the moments. You and your family have a timeless beauty that will be treasured through the centuries.

Knox Rocks!

all photographs are copyright Evolve Studio Photography

For many of you Tennesseans, you would think I am just nuts, but after living in MI for four years, Knoxville is and has become an incredible place full of nostalgia to me. I love the rolling the hills and amazing topography.

Not only is it a home to my wonderful grandparents and a very dear friend, and not only is it my college town where I learned to dream and be a new person and where I met so many of my dearest friends,

It also holds all my lovely childhood memories of playing out in the fields of my Papa and Mama's farm, pickin' blackberries and eatin' homemade ice cream out on the sun porch, and playing pac-man and asteroids in the basement and dreaming about dolly wood until the day we got to go.

So I got to go back and visit my sweet grandparents and two added bonuses: I got to see my one and only brother that I haven't seen in Two Years!!! (with his family) and I always enjoy my time and staying at their incredible home with our friends the Periuts... whom I will always consider family.

We were able to visit with Papa who looks incredibly well for someone who has been through two strokes and major water retention and having to go on oxygen this month for the rest of his time here. My Mama looks incredible as well with all that is on her shoulders in taking care of him all day and night. They have been married now for 67 years and are both in their late 80's. ( and we all still marvel over the fact that Papa still has no wrinkles... he says it is because he has lived for the Lord).

He has such a great story and I love for him to tell me all about his friends and experiences in the past, how he grew up with no electricity living on a farm milking cows and surviving, and how they didn't have a car and such. It makes me want to come together with so many other photographers soon.. in the next year or so and make a commitment to capture at least three or four people in the their late 80's or 90's and either write their story down or record it... Oh but that again would be another non profit and that is another day I guess.

THE PERIUT photo session:

This session went well enough I suppose considering the only day I had

to work there were wind gusts of up to 20 miles p/h and the sun kept hiding making it extremely hard... nonetheless, we captured some wonderful photos of amazingly creative Cora an

d Jack... oh and the extremely amazingly creative mommy.

I am so excited when we were out photographing, We ran into a store called Bliss (www.shopinbliss.com) to relieve ourselves from the BITTER wind and to check out the most amazing decor ever, and we in turn got offered a

joint painting show in November!!! That was so amazing and I am thrilled because I still need those incentives to paint!!!!

I am also playing lately with some fun new things here and there with my photographs, patterning and layering, a sort of a crossover from my "other life" as a mixed media painter. I am loving playing with the photo shop layers and blending modes to create an almost mixed media paintings out of some of the portraits I take. It is almost too much fun, I could literally spend hours playing with this!!! Although I do not have hours, so this will be a specialty item for those interested...

Cora is such a little model and was such a trooper taking that harsh wind in the face to get that perfect photo... and Jackson, at least we were able to get you happy for a few minutes! if only we could have left earlier sweet one. Or if it were Yesterday, you would have run around and had so much fun... bummer. We will do it again soon!!!

As much as I love blogging, I need to probably get to work e-mailing folks. I have one more Reminder...

Don't forget the itouch 8GB opportunity. I am raising money for a missions trip to Thailand to help the Tsunami victims replenish family photographs that were lost in the tragedy with Summitt Church. I decided to have a drawing to win an itouch to see If I could raise awareness and provide a fun way to make t

If you send a $5.00 donation or more, to 4832 latimer rd, Raleigh NC 27609, with your name and address and e-mail and number, you will be put into a hat to maybe

win a brand new itouch!!! I wish I could enter myself... But I thought it would be a fun way to see If I could raise the money to go. the winner will be announced by the end of July. If a new model comes out before then, I will upgrade the offer so that you don't win an out dated piece of equipment.

Have a Blessed day!!!

Beautiful Day!!!

Short Blog today:

I fully expected the temperature to be really chilly today but was pleasantly surprised to find out that short sleeves were just fine for driving around in the car endlessly running errands.

I am feeling a little jumbled lately and am needing one of my semi-annual go-to-the-bookstore-for-hours-and-get-my-thoughts-collected events.
I like to read, journal and sketch until I am seeing crooked and I am falling asleep, then I feel totally rejuvenated. Counterintuitive I suppose.

Business is good and I have to mention how much I am enjoying my new PUG group that meets once a month. We are having so much fun getting to know each other and leaving each meeting thoroughly enriched with knowledge!! Thanks Millie!!!
You are super amazing, but I am sure you get that everyday since you are a super star and all:)

Today I thought I would post a photo of my daughter's split personality since I mentioned it in my blog. It was her second day at dance class and she was graceful and beautiful, but when she came home, it was Dog girl with her best friend Max the golden all over again... fun photos for the memory books.

Don't forget about my super amazing chance to win an itouch 8GB!!! e-mail me for details!

Free Creative ideas and photo Session preview

(this photo is from session with client)
all photos copyright Evolve Studio Photography/Kimberly Naranjo

Yes, along with being a photographer, I am a true stay-at-home mom and spend much of my time during the day dancing to music in the living room, pretending to go to "dance class" with my daughter who is appropriately dressed in her once-the-birthday-princess-dress now dress-up dress and ballet shoes.

There are those moments that we do just run out of ideas of what to do... I mean, let me rephrase that, I run out of ideas.

This time, this idea came from being in the grocery store the other day. My daughter was taking a real liking to the green jalapeno in the cart and begged to hold it... all of the sudden it became personified and the jalepeno began to talk to the bananas. So we proceeded to walk through the store, I, holding the banana and she holding the jalepeno and we made them talk to each other.

So the next day when we got a little bored, I pulled out the banana and pepper that we hadn't eaten

yet. And the imagination went wild from there. She made them talk to each other, and at one point the jalepeno became a tropical beverage that a monkey could sip.

The banana and pepper walked down the street together, had lunch together lounging on the lawn chairs at the beach, and the banana even became a telephone for a brief moment.

Fun memories at the Naranjo household!!! and I love to share all this with you all!!

Speaking of memories!!! I love my job as you all must know by now, and I want to share a few photos of a couple of sessions that I finished this week.

I have the privilege of meeting wonderful families throughout the year, and basically playing with their children to get some incredible photographs.

Did I say that I love my job yet?