Beauty

I've never really been the outdoors type. I'm definitely more of an inside girl. I prefer shopping to hiking and resorts to camp grounds. However, one thing about the great outdoors that I absolutely love is the beauty that can be found.

I remember going on family vacations to Bryce, Zions and Yellowstone National Parks and marveling at the beauty all around. I dreamed that one day I would travel around capturing breathtaking scenes like Ansel Adams. While I'm definitely no Ansel Adams, and my focus in photography has shifted just a bit, I still enjoy all the beauty nature has to offer.

I no longer live near the stunning red arches and hoodoos of Zions and Bryce, or the gorgeous hot springs and geysers of Yellowstone. (I promise I didn't make the word hoodoo up, that's really what they're called...I had to look it up). I now live in a very suburban area. There's not much in the way of large open areas that are undeveloped.

But I've found that I can find beauty in the most unlikely places. All I have to do is slow down and be more observant. Whether it's a prickly pink weed in the field next to my apartment or the way the light hits the overgrown grass at the edge of the parking lot, there is beauty where ever we go.

An old friend from high school recently mentioned "The More You Know" TV campaign on his blog. You know the ones. With the shooting star, the catchy jingle you can't get out of your head and a celebrity with a message to share. He posted what his message would be if he were to do one of those commercials and it got me thinking what mine might be.

I think I would have to go with this: "Beauty can be found in the most unexpected places. Take a minute, slow down and see the beauty that is around you. You might be surprised by what you find."

Here's a little of the beauty that I see.

Booking Update ~ Dallas Texas Child and Family Photographer

I'm back from my "maternity leave" and am gearing up to start into the busy family picture season. I am currently booking through the end of the year. I will not, however, be taking any sessions in Texas in December. If you're in Utah and are interested in setting something up while I'm visiting, let me know and we can try and work something out. I cannot guarantee pictures will be ready for Christmas cards for any sessions held after November 13th, so if you are intersted in sending out Christmas cards please make sure that your session is scheduled before that date. I'm also considering scheduling some mini sessions that would include printed Christmas cards and 3-5 images on a CD. If I have enough interest I will put together some details, so let me know if you're interested in something like that.

My Sweet Little Guy ~ Irving Texas Newborn Photographer

I did a few different newborn sessions with my new little guy. Here are a few that were taken when he was just 15 days old. It's crazy how much bigger he is already. I loved the ones of his dad holding him. I think grown men are so cute with babies.

Stay tuned for another newborn session soon. We're just waiting for the little guy to make his grand entrance!

Things I Love

Things I am loving this week are:

• Playing Duck, Duck, Goose with Cohen and laughing so hard that I cried.

• Going grocery shopping without my children.

• Brian Regan. Oh how I wish he was coming back to Dallas soon.

• Matt finishing tri 5 of Chiropractic school. One more trimester down, four more to go.

• A high not in the triple digits today!!! It's a miracle :)

• Baby coos, baby smiles, baby breath and chubby baby thighs.

• Cohen calling Matt's basketball shoes "sparkly shoes".

• Teaching Cohen the Cougar Fight Song.

• Watching Jasmine Star on Creative Live

What do you love?

Light ~ Grapevine Texas Child and Family Photographer

I usually schedule my sessions in the evening. There are two reasons for this. The first being that my husband is home from school so I don't have to worry about a babysitter. The second reason, and if you know me at all this will not come as a shock, is that I am NOT a morning person. Not by ANY stretch of the imagination. I feel that there are some hours of the day that aren't meant to be experienced awake. Basically anything before the hour of 8 am is included in the "why on EARTH would you want to be awake this early" category. Simply put. I. love. my. sleep. Unfortunately, with a newborn and a 2 1/2 year old that is now sleeping in a toddler bed I am forced to experience these awful early morning hours on a daily basis.

This session was my last session before I started maternity leave. We had to reschedule it multiple times due to illness and weather issues. By the time we finally got around to doing it, it was far enough into summer that the Texas heat was already miserable. We decided the best option was to schedule it at 7:30 in the morning. I got up early, got ready, (although these guys can attest to the fact that in getting ready I only did the bare minimum) and was out the door by 7:00 with my two year old in tow. It was a completely different session than I normally have (I never take my child with me to photo shoots). And I'm SO glad it was. The light was AMAZING! If it weren't for my husband leaving each morning before the sun is even thinking about coming up, I would start scheduling all my sessions in the morning. After looking at these pictures I think you'll understand why.

Things I Love

Things I love this week...

• Having friends over, not only so I'm forced to clean my house, (and I use the term "clean" very loosely) but so the day goes by so much faster.

• My baby starting to sleep 5 straight hours at night before waking up to eat.

• My 2 year old cleaning his room all by himself after nap/quiet time.

• My husband letting me sleep while he got up and made muffins and smoothies because his early class was cancelled.

• Finally, after having lived here for a year and a half, having something to hang on my big empty wall.

• Watching my 2 year old do Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred with me.

Two Years ~ Grapevine Texas Children's Photographer

You may remember this little guy from his first year pictures. It was so fun to take his pictures again and see how much he has changed. I see him quite often, he's pretty much my son's BEST friend, so I hadn't really noticed until I compared these pictures with the ones we took last year. I can't believe how grown up he looks in these!