last night tom and i were chatting in the kitchen.. just enjoying a few minutes with no kids around and actually able to finish a sentence.. then we hear water.. and just the sink – odd.. normally at 10:30, you hear a flush followed by hand washing.. interesting.. then we look at each other and say “emily” at the same time.. she is such trouble.. constant.. so we make our way up the stairs to find emily on top of the vanity.. WIDE awake..

“i wash them all up”

and not even the slightest bit afraid, worried, concerned that she is totally supposed to be in bed asleep.. she knows – with all her heart that her daddy will see her and think she is cute and laugh at this..

Cooper started a new school this week – and is loving it.. abby and emily are so happy to be back to school to see their friends too.. I just can’t believe how many “snow” days we’ve had.  Very glad I’d scheduled vacation time in and didn’t have to shuffle too many things.  I’m headed to Augusta, GA on Friday (hoping to get out before we get hit with more snow!)..  I have a full weekend while I am there and can’t fit any more sessions in..  and then back to work on Monday.. very much looking forward to it..

Tom decided to take cooper on a guys weekend – he’d had a rough week.. they drove down Saturday morning to Greenville, SC to my parents house and all the guys went to a Monster Truck show!  Just what Coop needed!

remember what last Saturday morning looked like here – snow everywhere, ice everywhere in NC.. i was a nervous wreck until the arrived safely in SC..

pictures by Cooper!

from the show

he was soooo excited..

The girls and I stayed home – played a bunch of games, memory, pretty pretty princess, connect four… Emily, the two year old, killed Abby and I in pretty pretty princess AND connect four.. I was trying too!!

a couple from our days.. they are NOT allowed in my office.. busted!

lots of memory cards…

a tea party.. emily said “yust the custs”  and i interpreted it to be – “just the crusts” .. yep!

and .. abby got new shoes..

abby and emily just after “mommy, may i decorate emily???”

.. only time to grab my tiny camera.. but it was a “moment”

in case you can’t quite see the detail of the forehead makeup on emily..

here..

happy birthday to me
happy birthday to me
happy birthday from brandy
happy birthday to me

yum.. my favorite – thank you brandy!

had a great birthday weekend – started with lunch on Friday with a great friend – super long lunch.. then Saturday met some more friends for drinks… then tom and kids picked me up for dinner.. then my family came up for Sunday.. Just had a lovely weekend!  Thanks for all the bday wishes!!!

yep.. i said crappy.. !!!  i just am so over this weather.. cold and rainy – yuck.

tom took the kids in to school this morning so I could get up and working early this morning – love when he does that – he is so darn helpful!  finished up a couple of galleries for very patient clients (thank you thank you)… and some ordering got done… and then met an awesome friend for lunch.. time flies when we are together – nearly 3 hours later – and a wonderful lunch at the Martha (not the market because it is closed for renovations  – but in the dining room – food still yummmmmm)

then back home and huge boxes arrived for the kids today – Christmas presents from my in-laws.. well.. each year they record a bunch of books for the kids on CD… each got a hefty stack.. Emily’s excitement at each opening “my…. my…. BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOK”… she looooves books and sits so still when we read.. here is a pic of her stack – needed a pic for today.. day six {365}... really, really ready for some dry weather to get outside and take some pictures!!!

taken w canon 5d mark ii : 24-70L 2.8

f/3.5

1/40

ISO 2500 (ouch!! – took it at 7pm in the dark basically)

and keeping up with my 365 photo thing.. although – i keep forgetting to get the camera out until it’s dark outside.. my camera can handle really low light, but it’s just not the same!   i may have to set up my studio lights and take some images with that set up.. neeeeed light!  i want so bad to be outside shooting, but UGH.. this weather!  i don’t do cold.. can’t do rain!  UGH…

Sooooo.. a little announcement - i’ve been working on these lately with my clients .. and you may have seen a couple of the videos on here before.. but now.. i’m excited to say.. you can purchase the DVD of your slideshow of edited images… this will also include little video snippets from your session (when possible)..    in a cute little custom DVD case.. you know – i’m all about the presentation!

more on the new directions and new products next week.. lots going on!

in case you haven’t seen one.. here is emma.. and the people who adore her..

**please contact for pricing details.  Older sessions are eligible for DVD purchase as well, please contact me if you are interested.  Please note – this is not a CD of images to print.

i am so enjoying the time i have right now with my family… last year i completely took off jan-march…this year, that’s not possible – but we have a lot of things planned this time of year and after the holiday rush, it’s so nice to get back to my family.. i only scheduled 2 sessions in January and 3 in february for this reason.. A couple of newborns will debut, but mostly, the it’s going to be about my kids and just life for a bit!  there are a lot of things i’ve planned learning-wise for myself in these two month and it’s just a time to recharge a bit…and a trip to florida.. one to augusta.. one to charlotte.. and a few to greenville!

February 5-8th I will be in Augusta, GA again.. a few sessions down there – may have an opening if anyone is interested, but just one!

in an attempt to force myself to get my camera out and play/practice while i’m not quite as busy, i (along with a couple other of my photog friends from afar) have challenged myself to a 365 photo thing.. basically, we HAVE to take and post a picture each day of the year… to make us think outside of the box a bit..  the majority of the pictures will be posted to my flickr account, but I will be sure to share and favorites..   well, it started yesterday.. and at 10pm, i still was uninspired.. i was thinking of all these “cool” shots i wanted – but it was too dark to get the right light.. then, i headed upstairs to take a shower and i found a little babe in my bed.. just sitting watching the golden globes.. little sneaky girl!!!  so.. even though i tried my best to do something “outside my comfort zone”.. i’ve wanted this picture forever.. excuse the color – it’s a bit off

taken w canon 5d mark ii : 50mm 1.4

f/2.0

1/25

ISO 640

i’m soooo happy the kids are back in school – i do so much better with a routine.. so.. let’s celebrate a bit..

Today through Sunday (Jan 12th – Jan 17th) all prints AND Gallery Wraps 12×12 and larger are 30% off!!!!  (16×20, 20×24…. etc) This applies to any new order from 2008/2009 sessions.

If you are interested, just email or call and I will rehost your gallery.. All orders must be placed and payment made by Sunday, January 17th..

the kids and i made homemade pizza last night – soooo messy, but soooo worth it!  tom’s family has a great recipe for it and they make them all the time… with the 3 kids wanting to help so much, we haven’t made them for a while!  last night we had such fun and made such a mess – the kids ran to tom when he came home – his poor black jacket was peppered with little tiny white fingerprints from the flour.

despite their cautious looks, they really enjoyed it and each ate most of their pizza..

cooper does not like sauce – so olive oil for him.. slowly brushed on.. s..l..o..w..l..y

emily was the neatest of the three.. (wow, her hair is a mess!)

abby said, “i want a picture of me looking at my pizza”

don’t mind passing on the recipe if anyone wants!

and a HUGE thanks to tom for cleaning the kitchen and making lunches!!!!!

yet another snow day here in Virginia – let me tell you how happy I was to “have” to work this morning!!!  love my kids, but needed a break!  and these two little girls were just the perfect thing to get me having fun behind the camera after a couple weeks off..

carolyn, 2, and her big sister, mary adeline, 3, – totally full of energy!   keeping up with them was insane.  they left me behind more than once.. mom, lee anne, had them dressed in super cute tutu’s when i got there.. they are just so fun!  after a couple wardrobe changes, a snack, (a little yummy coffee for me) and chocolate for the girls – we did a few minutes outside in the chilly fresh snow… loved seeing the girls just be themselves.. jumping, hiding, laughing, pouty faces, LOVE real life!  and lee anne was all about it…  we had a great couple hours and i am soooo looking forward to editing your entire collection..

a tiny peek – hope you love..