do you know what i know?

traditions are something that we've made a point to set out & accomplish over the past several years & christmas is a perfect time to surround with tradition...

so while you're getting ready for christmas day, are you minding the little things along the way? one of the traditions we have is to get out the "christmas movies" to watch throughout the month.

a short list of the ones we watch are:

a christmas carol (we have the version with george c. scott cause that's my personal favorite)

elf (cause it's sooo funny, i love will farrell probably a bit more than i should)

home alone (this is a favorite of the boys')

white christmas (my all-time favorite that as of yet, the boys find sappy)

polar express

family man (if you haven't seen it, you should)

a charlie brown christmas (there's something about the dancing & when snoopy kisses lucy...we're all rollin'!)

the santa clause (tim allen is just plain good in it)

it's a wonderful life (we've yet to buy this one, but it's hard to miss it on network tv)

the month before christmas

i thought i'd pass on this piece that my hubby was nice enough to forward to me a few days ago...normally i have a policy not to forward stuff on, but i thought that this was so true & fitting for today that i thought there might be a few of you out there who could appreciate this sentiment this season & every day for that matter...

"Twas the month before Christmas
When all through our land,
Not a Christian was praying
Nor taking a stand.

See the PC Police had taken away,
The reason for Christmas - no one could say.

The children were told by their schools not to sing,
About Shepherds and Wise Men and Angels and things.

It might hurt people's feelings, the teachers would say
December 25th is just a 'Holiday'.

Yet the shoppers were ready with cash, checks and credit
Pushing folks down to the floor just to get it!

CDs from Madonna, an X BOX, an I-pod
Something was changing, something quite odd!

Retailers promoted Ramadan and Kwanzaa
In hopes to sell books by Franken & Fonda.

As Targets were hanging their trees upside down
At Lowe's the word Christmas - was nowhere to be found.

At K-Mart and Staples and Penny's and Sears
You won't hear the word Christmas; it won't touch your ears.

Inclusive, sensitive, Di-ver-si-ty
Are words that were used to intimidate me.

Now Daschle, Now Darden, Now Sharpton, Wolf Blitzen
On Boxer, on Rather, on Kerry, on Clinton!

At the top of the Senate, there arose such a clatter
To eliminate Jesus, in all public matter.

And we spoke not a word, as they took away our faith
Forbidden to speak of salvation and grace
The true Gift of Christmas was exchanged and discarded
The reason for the season, stopped before it started.

So as you celebrate 'Winter Break' under your 'Dream Tree'
Sipping your Starbucks, listen to me.

Choose your words carefully, choose what you say
Shout MERRY CHRISTMAS , not Happy Holiday!"

polaroid obsession

i have been obsessed here lately with wanting to find an easy way to make a polaroid...just for the fun of it i guess...it just looks neat ya know, so i've been searching around & i see there are a lot of choices out there, stock images, scans of an actual polaroid, you can make a photoshop brush OR...


an easy action with a simple frame like i have here. this one was made using a free action i downloaded from addicted to design. isn't it cool?

the ladies

i've been wanting to post everyday...but, you know...the best laid plans!

here's what i've been working on lately..


a little bit "vintagey" cowgirl...boy ain't she perrrty...

her beautiful lil' sis...



and if you know this one, you've got to admit, she's lookin' pretty grown-up here...


these girls were so much fun to work with...


so helpful...easy...polite..


someone did something right with these girls...(ok mom, we're talking about you here!)


thank you girls...i had such a good time & hope you did too!

get close

back when i was scrapbooking more, i read a quote(i don't remember the author) that went something like this, "if your pictures aren't good enough, you're not close enough!" and this has always stuck with me, sometimes it sticks TOO much with me! i love to get in there close, especially with children.

so if you're trying to improve the quality of your photos, try getting in there closer. most all digital cameras these days will give you a light or a beep or some sort of sign to let you know that you're in the focused range, otherwise you're going to get a blurry image or the camera just won't let you take the photo. so... try it & have fun!

16 years today

he puts up with me, provides for me, supports me, stands by me, loves me...yet he rarely lets me take a picture of him!

today is our anniversary...yes, 16 years ago today. seems like yesterday & seems like it's just always "been".

wouldn't have it any other way - love ya babe!

blueberry yummy

ooh, it's that time of year here in indiana when it gets...BAM - cold, and i don't know about you, but nice warm comfy meals like hot soup...goulash...that's the kind of food that just screams "i need a muffin to go with that!" and my family would agree. these babies were on the table last night & today, well, they're long gone.

this recipe's tried & true so check it out:

1 3/4 c. flour
(if you're adventurous, try using 1 c. white & 3/4 c. whole wheat flour)
1/4 c. + 1 Tbs. sugar
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
1 egg, beaten
1/3 c. oil
3/4 c. milk
3/4 c. blueberries

combine dry ingredients. combine egg, oil & milk, then add to dry ingredients. mix till moistened. fold in blueberries. fill 12 muffin tins. bake @ 400 degrees for approx. 20 mins. enjoy!

the firstborn textured

being the fair & impartial mother that i am ;o) i must give equal web time to my eldest. textures are he-Uge right now, so i have been dying to give it a try. i don't know if i overdid it or not, but i thought this was a perfect shot for this type of application.

to play with clay

i don't know about yours, but my kids love to create just about anything and one fine day they got the idea to make creatures with some modeling clay that had been minding it's own business in the drawer since christmas! i think they spent the entire afternoon coming up with these charming guys...for your viewing pleasure...



tip: for those of you who don't get excited about the kids getting stuff out that is messy & tends to get all over & not get cleaned up adequately, we like to get the painter's tape out, cover the entire working space with waxed paper, tape it down before they start playing-voila! quick & painless cleanup (uh...except for the floor!)

not so retro

here's the original photo of my youngest pup, pretty much sooc (straight out of the camera) with a bit of a white balance fix (it was taken at dusk, so you can imagine the blue cast that was goin on). *you'll note the swingset leg up near his head that i cloned out for my finished image.

i had a kind comment asking to see the before image in order to see the difference in the original & the retro processing...so here you have the original. the retro technique(previous post) is also sometimes referred to as cross-processing for those of you who are familiar with that old film technique.

my baby - retro style

well, i figured it was time i post some images of my own
willing subject. the boys aren't exactly running scared when i pull out the camera, but let's just say they usually have better things to do!

i decided to try out a new processing style on this photo, it just seemed to lend itself to it anyhow... tell me what you think of it. retro is big right now, along with vintage & urban looks. when i get the chance, i'll try some of those techniques out & post the results here.

she's all that

i am so excited to have these photos of my littlest niece, i guess i should say i'm thrilled really...it's a real triumph to capture an image i'm really proud of - i want to shout "IT'S NOT BLURRY!" as if anyone would care or have a clue what i'm talking about...


seriously, is this not a beautiful 2 year old?

the ladies

well, maybe it's just me, but cute kids run in my family! look at these girls! 2 more of my nieces...these two have been good buddies from the start and i don't see that status changin anytime soon!


miss brown eyes is the cowboy's older sister...


and then there's the redhead...and she totally fits the bill!
these two are so much fun, so much spirit...and kind enough to let aunt apryl interrupt their play time to get a few quick pics. thanks girly girls!

the little beauty

this photo has just "gotten" me ever since i took it, oh...a couple months ago - yes, i can be a little slow, but since i'm on a roll, i'm gonna stick her in there! this little girl is one of my nieces & the girl has just miffed me ever since she was born - so difficult to capture a still moment! the puffed cheeks are to die for, so i couldn't help myself! more of this one to come...just wait & see!

thankful tree

for any of you out there, like me, looking to do something fun & creative that will inspire your family & yourself, i read about an idea (especially for this time of year) of a "grateful" or "thankful" tree.

basically, you make up a tree & leaves and your family writes things that they're thankful/grateful for on a leaf each day & glues it to the tree. we're doing this from nov. 1 thru thanksgiving day.

i used a piece of posterboard, drew an outline of the tree & branches & cut out leaves in a variety of fall colors from construction paper. each family member writes down something they're thankful for on the leaf & glue-sticks it to the tree after dinner. so far it's been fun to see what we're thankful for & everyone's been eager to get their leaf up on the tree.

more of the cowboy...

3 more photos of the cowboy. he's such a cutie (i'm biased, being that he has a bit of my genes, frankly he doesn't really look nearly as much like my side of the family as he does his mom's!) & i'm so glad we actually got to do his session before the weather turned cold.

i'll be posting some pictures from a session with his 2 older sisters soon...i'm so excited to get those photos edited & posted!

*also working on some fun shots of my other 3 neices from a family event earlier in Oct. & some of my own 2 guys....keep checking back, i'm going to be posting daily from here on out if it kills me!

the cowboy

this is one of the photos from a session with my nephew for his 2nd birthday. this guy normally doesn't want anything to do with me, but i lucked out & on this particular day, he liked me! we had to rush because it was sprinkling, but we managed to get some very nice shots. this is just the first one i'm posting to make sure i've got my settings all correct, so there will be more to come.

enjoy!

The Business Card

well, i've ordered my business cards, my first step to formally letting people know i'm available to take their photos. jacob asked "what do you need business cards for?" , i guess i'm not keeping my children updated on what's going on with me!

the beginning...

well, i'm about to make a change & i don't really like change, so this is a frightening & stressful sort of thing for me, but here goes...

i've decided to start this blog mainly because i need a place to show future clients my portfolio & to share images with them as a sneek peek into their photo sessions...but also to post for my family & friends that might want to take a look into what's going on with us as a family.

soon i'll get some recent favorites posted here!