At school photo days, you get two shots and that’s it.  Two shots – blue muted background – tilt your head to the left – smile.  That just won’t do for everyone and how fun is a photo shoot?  Pretty darn fun.  Here are some shots from this fun photo shoot:

This collage speaks for itself!  What can I say.  It’s hard not to laugh, but getting a serious picture out of Janelle was like catching the wind!

With everyone gathered for the Thanksgiving holiday, it seemed the ideal time to pull together a family portrait.  16 wonderful people, two dogs and one photographer….thankfully, magic happened and I got many shots with all eyes open and all smiles twinkling.  That’s no small feat, but it only takes one perfect picture to make a memorable portrait, right?  Thank you all so much for inviting me to capture these pictures of your special family. 

My nearly newlywed friends, Greg and Tracey, were looking for some nice portraits for their Christmas cards this year and we finally got our schedules together to make it happen.  Yesterday it was sunshine and 60′s and today, overcast and 40′s.  It didn’t make a difference in getting awesome shots of these lovebirds in their holiday colors and beautiful smiles.  Thanks Greg and Tracey for asking me to take your pictures and Tracey, have an amazing birthday weekend with your man!

I will admit that I struggled with feeling blue today off and on.  We’ve lived 700 miles from our family for almost 10 years, but it doesn’t get any easier to be alone on holidays.  Commercials showing bulging families laughing and loving don’t do much to help my self-pity either.  But, then I am reminded by the Spirit how very, very  much I have to be thankful for and how blessed my life is.   The weather today in Kansas was unbelievable and I decided I would round up my three biggest blessings and make them let me take their pictures.  Janelle protested, “but we haven’t changed since last year!”    She’s pretty accurate, but I was itching to shoot pictures and I wanted to force them to have some fun together.  My great idea was to head to the playground.  I’m so glad we did that.  It got us laughing together and I could faintly see my three little babies running around; the only difference this time was that when I said “time to go home”, no one protested like they did when they were little!  I am a very, very blessed and thankful woman.  I hope that you were reminded today of all you have to be thankful for too.

So, I’m trying to get a picture of them swinging and Dad decides to get in on it!

I did not, I repeat, I did not take these pictures.  Just had to get that disclaimer out of the way first.  But, I had to post these few pictures of the wonderful men in my life.  My poor husband is now abandoned in a house full of women.  Bryan and Brandon had a great time together and went to watch the Ohio State Buckeyes wipe up Michigan at BW3′s before heading out to the Wildcat game.    I made Bryan take Leah’s camera so that I had a couple pictures of them.  I’m sure they had lots of male bonding.  I sure wish that Bryan would have taken a picture of the bathrooms at Brandon’s frat house.  I guess they don’t even have walls or anything up between the toilets.  Just a row of toilets.  Brandon says they like it like that.  I have to wonder…..hmmmm?

Not a bad picture, except for the red eyes.  I so love these guys!

Bryan took twice as many pictures of the stadium and game than he did of Brandon and him.  Of course, I wanted the later.

At the game.  See real men can wear purple!

Check it out!  A Ohio State flag at a Kansas State tailgate!

I hadn’t seen Marissa since she was 10 days old and my, how she had changed!  So beautiful and so sweet.  Mom tells me she is “an independent woman” and likes her space.  Once we just laid her down on the couch, she started talking up a storm.  It was so great to see both of them and have the opportunity to snap some shots to document her precious life.  Thanks Jamie and Marissa!