a baby story...

Every now & again I have to pinch myself when I look back on moments like these…  I know I'm not some big shot photographer with a huge following or clientele.  But I've always been a firm believer in quality not quantity.  I am just so happy to remember where I started & to see my continuing growth in portrait photography from then until now.  I've truly enjoyed getting to know my clients and being able to share in the stories of their lives.  That's the good stuff.  And this baby story will forever be near & dear to my heart.  

Well this day was unreal…  You see, some people can grow tiny humans, I just don't happen to be one of them.  One such amazing person invited me into her delivery room…  What an incredible and wonderful life experience…  Something I was never sure I would ever be intimately familiar with personally.  My heart goes out to you & your family for including me in such a beautiful & private moment.  Your new baby boy is absolutely perfect in every way…

And if it wasn't exciting enough to welcome this sweet baby boy into the world, I was invited into their lovely home to snuggle him and his perfect little toes just a short week later!

home sweet home...

I must say… I am REALLY loving me a few front porch shots lately… like ALOT.

There's just something so nostalgic about a family all crowded together on their front porch sharing a moment & a smile.

 

I even decided I needed one for myself… 

AND… it was while I was setting up the self-timer, that this happened… be still my heart.

"insta" small world after all...

oh the wonderful small world of Instagram…  I often find the way connections work to be completely fascinating.  And what a wonderful day it was to find a network of people in my own backyard.  It wasn't long ago that Instagram featured instameets around the world, and one such meet took place in small town Guthrie America.  I missed it… sad.  However, it was by searching these tags that I found a few images, which led me to one Darren Johnson - @darrenisreal.  I found his images intriguing & inspiring & refreshing…  And since the number of images I have with my favorite girl equaled almost zero, well I am just so glad he agreed to meet up on a pretty sunny morning.  And to say I'm thrilled with the results is an understatement.  Thank you.  Thank you.  Thank you.
 

and for all you curious cats out there… here's our six degrees of Kevin Bacon, haha:

Instagram » Guthrie » Darren » his swimming pool image » comment from my college classmate » me

Extra added small world factor: he also works at a location I worked at prior to our move to Germany, but we were never there at the same time.  Like I said, the way connections work… kinda mind blowing.

we go together...

like frank & beans.
except, well… I'm nelou.  wink wink.

fail better...

Did I SERIOUSLY only blog three times last year?? 

Three. 

Fail.

"Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better."

~Samuel Beckett

Okay. Moving on.

We have been getting some actual winter weather here in the Heartland… not just the wind and cold, but a little bit of the pretty stuff (lots more snow than usual & these little ice crystals too)… so of course I forced my grandma outside to grab a handful of the cold stuff (what!!? Gracie doesn't have thumbs!).

and then she let me snap her picture before she froze her little buns off... 

thanks G! for being my pretty little hand model :)

pure desktop magic

Been in the midst of a MAJOR cleanup & overhaul of my laptop, computer, and multiple hard drives… let's just say, not very fun (and seemingly never-ending).  However I'm discovering it does have its rewards!  I am constantly changing my desktop wallpaper to reflect my mood or the season.  And as I was doing some reorganizing, I ran across an old favorite- which of course got my creative juices flowing… and well… welcome to my new desktop!

I got the idea for this little gem a long while back from The CoffeeShop Blog, which resulted in my first attempt at this lovely little desktop, which I admired for a long time (and still do… just needed a little visual update is all)!

My sweet Gracie (aka Beans…) always remains a constant of course!

you're number one in my book!

If I close my eyes, I can still remember a time… filled with brown paper sacks, full of handmade cards and valentine sentiments…  Exchanging cards and yummie sweets with my fellow classmates is a favorite pastime of mine.  So when my sister asked if I could help out my nephew with this year's valentines, I was delighted!  (She's crafty herself!  She makes really pretty things…)  Anyhoo, she passed along the idea to me from Pinterest (linked to this blog)- 

AND here is my version of these really neat bookmarks that he will get to pass out to all his friends this Valentine's Day!  

They are so good, all the adults want one too!!

So which one's your favorite?  Hard to pick just one, I know…

happy reading friends

july photo challenge

Can't believe it's August already… Hope you're all enjoying the last bits of summer!  Here's a fun little photo challenge I did to get my creative juices flowing with the fabulous ladies of fPOE… all Instagram, all iPhone snapshots.

1:: green - 2:: fruit - 3:: stripes

4:: morning - 5:: landscape - 6:: purple - 7:: floral

8:: sweet - 9:: reflection - 10:: sky - 11:: favorite things

12:: 9pm - 13:: soft - 14:: circles - 15:: dark

16:: in the kitchen - 17:: on the road - 18:: heart - 19:: black&white

20:: critters - 21:: pastel - 22:: 11am - 23:: literary

24:: shadows - 25:: doors/windows - 26:: red - 27:: what I wore

28:: symbols - 29:: movie/tv/music - 30:: vintage - 31:: selfie

Surprisingly, this last one was my favorite… selfie included (so not good at those)!!  If I could swap the vinyl for my what I wore, it would be a great "pieces of me" summary… but then again, guess the whole challenge gives insight into the life of me & a few of my favorite things!

back with family...

After four long years… we took a week long drive from the east coast, and were able to visit family along our way home from Germany.  It was so nice to see everyone after such a long time away… It was wonderful meeting my nephew for the first time & seeing my niece again!  Here's a few pics from our afternoon together.  

Until next time… eat some yummie Chicago style pizza for me!!

little miss claire bear...

The first time I got to photograph this cutie, she was in her mama's belly… Now she's eight months old, where has the time gone? So full of personality, when she wasn't sticking out her tongue or making all her sweet funny faces, I'd catch a glimpse of her cute one-toothed grin. Such a joy & full of wonder…