Super Heros and Grubs

One last thing to share before I turn in for the night... A day can be filled with so many beautiful things, and if you blink or turn your head at the wrong time, you might write specific things that happen during the day off as just ordinary or miss them entirely.

I see beautiful and when I am quick enough to grab my monstrous camera, I can actually capture them just as I want to remember them... as a kiss from heaven.

Today my daughter found a pet... I had to put my foot down and say "Please take that thing out of here!!!" blah!!!

and we ended the day with her being the super hero we all hoped would come and save the planet!!!

Robots and Fluffies

Today I am blogging early so I don't have to think about it later as I am addressing my stack of very late to get out Christmas Cards. It has been a full day here already and it is only 11:14 am. I woke up and started immediately finishing the dresser that I had to move to the now in renovation stage kitchen because of the humidity outside.

Now my children are sitting at the table writing their own picture stories about "the friendly Cherio" and "Fluffies, Robots and Funnies." I promised my daughter that this morning I would play with her (since she asks me that like 400 times a day and it seems like more than not I have to say no.) We spent the morning with three plastic horses, one named Zeeb, Horsey, and Peg (short for Peguses) having pizza on her new china tea party dishes. The horses went to the store, the doctor and all sorts of things.. we ended up surrounded with all the little ponies from McDonalds' happy meals (which I am not too proud of by-the-way!) we had a show where I had to sing a song to be done with it all.. fun! But I tell you the truth, as much as I enjoy my little L, it is so hard for me to stop and creative play... but I need to thank her for it all. One day, I know I will really miss it!!!

So if you are wondering what I will be doing for the rest of the day... I'll be running around town picking up sand paper and going to the bank and such and then I will lock myself in my daughters room until that drab icy color is gone from her walls!!!

Yes, no R and R here. Vacation for me is How much can I accomplish in 7 days without dying.

Summer in December!!!!

Never did I expect to wake up to such a glorious day!!! And not in a million years would I have ever believed someone if they were to tell me just a month ago that in the near future, gas would be $1.52 a gallon, we would be free from an oppressive kitchen and the kids would be wearing bathing suits outside and washing the car three days before New Years Eve, I would have laughed out loud!!!!







That is what keeps life so unpredictable and so exciting I suppose!



Now that we took down the cabinets that blocked all forms of view from one side of the kitchen to the other... we opened the box of motivation as well. I finally got out the paints and the sand paper and did what I've wanted to do since we moved here in 2007, painted my daughters brown ugly dresser from the 60's PINK!!!! "Hallayoola"(inside joke).

The Day We wait all year for....

Last Friday was the day I was going to get that perfect Christmas card picture of my children!! We had exactly seven minutes of light before the sun went down and both my sweet little darlings refused to laugh, smile or look at me at the same time.







So I thought, Oh well, I'll just get the pictures on Saturday after the Birthday party in the morning. But, when we left the party, the Sun was hidden behind really dark clouds! Then the down pour happened!

So I went the computer weather channel in search for somewhere near by still in the sun. and off to Wilmington we drove on a the spur of the moment! We arrived in 70 degree sunny weather with exactly 15 minutes of light left on the beach... this time my Sweet little babies agreed to at least look in my direction.




It was a fun, spontaneous adventure, and needless-to-say, I will go to great lengths to get a great image!!!








This Christmas started out so wonderfully while we pushed the Hanukkah celebration up a few days so that Christmas day would the the 9th day.





We had so much fun watching the kids open one gift every night for 8 days, but first and most importantly, talking to them about who God is, how he is the light of the world.

Christmas Eve, my Christmas cards arrived quite late, so we started a family production line and worked on getting them into the goodie bags for all my friends here in Raleigh and out I went, with my daughter in jammies and all. I had a fabulous time with the windows down, the warm December breeze flowing through the car, Jazz Christmas music playing loud... just one of those moments where somehow the stars align and the world feels like a wonderful place.. a touch of heaven I call it.



LeeLee and I delivered through the evening small salty and sweet treats that I spent the two prior days making, getting to see the children I have photographed now for so long in their new christmas jammies getting ready for bed... meeting so many of the families of the families I so love. What fun!!! Along the way, I even picked up some sausage balls, potato latkes and some delicious beyond belief sugared pecans (Thanks Christa, Kris and Nicole!)... that was a wonderful surprise. What fun it was to see into the all of your Christmas eve/Hanakkah traditions that night!!! It was an uplifting joyful experience for me... just to thank you all that you weren't irritated that I stopped by on such a special night. Not really having much family to spend time with myself, you don't know what that did for my spirits this season!!





On Christmas day, we usually sleep in (yes... I know) and when we finally get up and get showered and dressed, we open gifts! fun fun fun! and then we pack the car up to go get a yummy breakfast at IHOP!!! Although, IHOP is opened on Xmas day in MI, our tradition came to a skreetching halt when we pulled into the IHOP parking lot this Thurs to find the doors locked and the lights off! With our spirits a bit crushed for a few minutes, we held our heads high and decided there had to be a breakfast place somewhere open ed on Capital.




(a drive by shooting on the way to eat breakfast)


We were like pilgrams on a search for new land, being one of the only few souls out in a car, we drove up Capital and as soon as we saw the sign YOUR HOUSE opened 24 hours, my husband made a slam turn for the lot. Quite a different experience from IHOP, but fun. Enjoy the photos of the day!

















(I was in shock when I saw the amount of Butter they put on the waffles. Come on...REALLY NOW!!!)



















Then we surprised McKenna with a basket of goodies...
















We came home soon after that and walked around the neighborhood delivering the rest of the goodies While LeeLee enjoyed her new scooter and I again enjoyed spending time with friends in great conversation in the warm Raleigh sun.


Hope you all had a great and wonderful day as well. I would love to hear more about your time too... be sure to comment on the blog entries!! It will make this experience of having a blog and keeping up with it much more enjoyable and rewarding!
Love to all...

Models Needed

January is a time of renewal, reflection and rejuvenation of the senses. Each year, winding down, things can start to feel as though I am not pushing myself to a new level artistically, and God forbid I start living in a place of slowly accepted complacency!

Of course I don't want that to kick in and stick... even when I am 90, I hope that I will be pushing my skills to the next level... and no offense to my beautiful grandparents who sit home most nights watching Lawrence Welk and Joel Olsten, I hope to find myself up late photographing the stars or something in Paris when I am their age... :)

But for now, I am looking for several specific models and homes to help push my skills to the next level creatively.

I am looking for Five blessed families:

1. A Southern Living on a Farm: a family of at least Three on a Farm. High design (could be country, rustic or modern)
2. Small town Newborn: a newborn (first 5 days of life to 6 months), a chronicle of the journey... in a small town
3. Big City/Urban Family: a family who lives downtown in the urban setting (prefer downtown in the city, but Somewhere like Glenwood would do.)
4. a small Mountain Wedding: a wedding with 30 guests or less, in the mountains, preferably on a mountain top.
5. Two Senior Stars: Two beautiful Seniors in High School (one boy and one girl) willing to work for us, we take your senior portraits, and you work for us to get all the images for free... Sound easy?

It's lets get-creative-and-travel-time again (Model Sessions Now Booking)

Happy Early Hanukkah

Being Christian, and having been introduced to the Jewish holidays and appointed festivals and feasts from some good friends who are Messianic believers, And also In order to make the Christmas holiday less about Santa/commercialism and more about God/Jesus, Our family has adopted the Hanukkah celebration making it a time of reflection and teaching about the old Testament and why Jesus had to come in the first place. It definitely has been fun and so good for the little ones... Plus they get one gift every night for 8 days and stay focused on the one thing for a full 24 hours before they open their next gift. And on Christmas Day, they get a couple of bigger gifts, but that is it.. I think it is better to see them so excited for over a week about each thing they received!!
This year, we started Hanukkah a few days early so that Christmas wouldn't fall in the middle of the celebration but would be the last day. I hoped since we aren't really Jewish, that it would be okay.

Happy Early Hanukkah!!

Baby home sick from school... but more beautiful than ever

Up all night again with reactive airway disease alert and feeling every bit as tired as if I hadn't had a single hour of sleep for weeks.



Just updating my website a bit today, getting some jobs done and thinking about going Christmas shopping soon. I decided to get the camera out and play with some lighting while my little darling modeled for me, So glad I did. I think these are some of my favorites that she has ever taken.

Change is in the air...

(McKenna, thanks so much for sharing what you did with the photo session I did for your family! This frame she got at Costco and I think the 4 x 6's look beautiful all together! What a great idea.)



Thanks Mike Larson for coming out to the PUG group this week! I really enjoyed all of your perspective and influence, on being a good leader and standing out above the crowd.

I am in, this season, doing some soul searching of my own, and I know Change is in the air... I will keep all of you informed of each phase of any changes, but until then, business as usual...

Until then... when life matters, we help you remember the love, romance and joy of each new day... Evolve Studio

We're home!!!

Through some conversations with friends in MI, I discovered that I have a little fan club and I should absolutely continue blogging... So this is for my fans out there... ( :) )

God is so good. And I just want to thank him for carrying us through the last two months when my husband got laid off work! He started his new job yesterday and hopefully it will be a great fit for him for awhile, then novo will continue to grow slowly and we don't have to rush into relying on it at the moment.

On our trip I had a great time visiting my good friends and family in MI but am so glad to be home away from winter until winter is scheduled to arrive. Although the warmer air and colors in the city were refreshing, I barely made it out of my jammies and house because I was so warn out!!!

(driving out of the snow: self portrait)



I worked the whole trip and really need to take some time off for Christmas for sure. And somehow my house managed to destroy itself and get really dirty and ended up cleaning all day!


(saying good-bye to ice on the windows)





In MI, On the way to see some good friends at Misty's house, I surprised my friend Kelly who recently had twins when trying for their forth child... yes and got their fifth as well. I was able to snap a few images as although they were 9 days old, they were born so early it was like they were still a week and they did such a good job staying happy.







Kelly, I hope I didn't totally shock you that day when I showed up in your living room... but I do miss you all so much and miss hanging out with you on snowy days drinking hot tea and eating what ever yummy dish you have made by scratch.

I had a great time with Julie, Jen, Misty, Kelly, Kimberly, and Natasha! Thanks for coming out to have fellowship once more on such a cold day.

Kelly D. and Kevin Thanks for your warm hospitality and your 5 star accommodations and the sessions you set up for us. We had so much fun seeing you all! I know Ellis and Lia are scarred for life leaving their soul mate best friends once again.


Thanks Julie and NIck for your hospitality and for the beautiful BIBLE!!!! it is so beautiful!

Thanks Mama Shar and Dave for all your hospitality and love... and oh yes, your generosity!

Thanks to Ali for the very successful photo event that we had before I left... and to all my wonderful new and continuous clients that haven't made it to the blog until today.

(photo event with white backdrop)


(Thanks McKenna, for all your passion for learning and hard work to help me out... keep studying and working hard, and you will be a photo rock star soon!!)




















THIS WAS FUN: To prove to myself, that any person could go out and buy a great camera and not get good pictures I turned my $3800.00 D300 + 24-70 lens into a point and shoot camera during my children's early Christmas on Turkey day in Flint, MI. I wasn't surprised that this is the quality of images I got. This is the same camera and lens that I take most of my pics with... but this time I put it on

auto... blah!