Halloween MiniPortraits {St. Louis Children's Photographer}

I never got around to sharing some my favorite shots from my Halloween Minis.... So, since Friday the 13th is kinda scary, here is a Halloween Flashback-- enjoy these cuties (and okay, okay... my kid is one of them. I'm not gonna lie!)





(And at 2 months old, that lil' Peapod named Oscar was my youngest model. What a snuggly little cutie!)

Happy Friday the 13th!

I Am Neither Here Nor There

{my bedroom window, five minutes ago... do you see Noah's birthday hat from last year? Noah's sticker sheet he puts all his sticker on? Joe's dirty laundry? Cute. All of it. :)}

It's a lazy Wednesday... a day where we get Joe home for all of it except two hours in the middle when he has class (right now, actually...). These days are lovely because we share duties, we both get to play with Noah together, and we both feel.... freer, somehow. (Is 'freer' a word? Looks awkward.)

Today, though, while feeling this way, also feels......unsettled. Partly because of the waning, fading time of year, partly because there is no PURPOSE to today-- no sense of URGENCY at tackling my to-do list... And partly (or mostly) because I am beginning to keenly feel the sensation that I am neither here nor there in my little life. This is no longer my home. Not really. But we are not yet in our new home. The warm, cozy, temporary haven we will be settling into for 7 months.... Feels good to know it is there, waiting for our final move at the end of December. But it is not yet home.

So though I COULD be packing... could be working on projects.... could be even working a bit, nothing feels urgent, nothing feels important... nothing feels settled.

It's easier to listen to good mellow music (I've finally downloaded THIS song, which I LOVE-- thanks for the reminder, Ellen!), maybe pick up a book and read, surf the Internet, maybe sew a little... easier to do these things than to muster up the passion for anything really critical.

And... I think I'm okay with this current inertia. It feels... cozy. I feel okay not feeling anything too strongly for a minute.

Still... I think my to-do list will get mad at me soon, so.... maybe I need to get up and get moving.

Then again, maybe not. Maybe I'll keep feeling this strange slowness today, and begin again tomorrow.

Oh, wanna see the cute "Morning Art" Noah and I made today?

Love it. :)

Today is okay, just the way it is.

Ellen, You Asked For It: Senior Portrait Sneak Peek

LOVE this. More than I can explain. LOOOOVE.

Oh how it will be fun to really get elbow deep in the rest of these images! But I have a wedding to finish first, and another darling senior to put final touches on.... So my dear Ellen, two weeks. Can ya make it? :)

The SoCal Sessions, Pt. 2 {St. Louis Children and Maternity Photographer}

Part Two of our California trip-- After our amazing stay in Carlsbad, we headed to Murietta the next day to enjoy the company of Jess and her sweet family. G. is a precocious 6-year-old, and M. is Noah's age. Both are GORGEOUS, and no wonder-- wait til you see their mama! Jess is pregnant with baby#3, so instead of a traditional family session, she requested a maternity session. She was also the winner of my blog contest earlier this year, where she won a free mini-session for her kids, so I got to have extra time playing!

Noah loved running around with these kids, and Joe was a sport-- babysitting my kiddo while I put on the "photographer hat" and did the session.

Check it out:
























And of course, Dad rounds out this great family. He was as sweet as the rest of them! :)

Jess, I was so delighted to have this time with you. You have the most infectious smile, and your spirit and energy is magnetic. Wish I was your neighbor in real life. I am so serious!:)

Oh, and while I'm talking up this gal, you HAVE to check out her baby gear. She is a small-business owner gal who makes cute, trendy, well-made doodads like baby blankies, paci clips, baby leggings, bows... The list is LONG, and the stuff is CUTE! Her shop is called
BubbaDoodle Baby Gear,
and while she is about to have a baby of her own and might be off for a few weeks, think about checking her out for your next baby shower gift or something for your own little one!

Love it!

Next CA session: Fullerton and Dawn's cute family! :)

November, Again and Again

It was around this time of year, thirteen years ago, that I became a TRUE journal writer. Up until that time, I had tried and failed again and again to keep a journal/diary. I had lovely gift journals lined up on my shelf, filled with three, maybe four sporadic entries before the motivation disappeared until the next gift journal. Such were my younger years.

But then, a year into college, something CLICKED. I was in San Fransisco, exploring the SFMoMA and the several cool shops nearby, when I found a PERFECT blank book and a perfect set of colored pencils.


I decided, suddenly, I wanted to just keep a notebook of observations, random thoughts, sketches, and clippings, starting with the amazing trip I was on right then. Not even a JOURNAL. And it was THEN, that CHOICE right there, that changed journaling for me. No longer did I need to document every day in detail... I just..... began capturing moments. Not daily... Just when it felt right. And that began a lifelong love of observing, saying thanks, and jotting my life down... a little here, a little there... In books, on blogs... Just--- finding time to BE IN THE PRESENT for a minute and put it down for remembrance.

I've been packing a LOT recently, and just got to my stack of journals... lovingly placed them in a waterproof tub along with my favorite inspiring books I keep nearby. this tub won't go into storage. This tub will stay near me, even in our time of transition. But being taken off the shelf and placed AWAY makes me nostalgic, so I thought it'd be a crazy little idea if I looked through them a bit before retiring them... and finding what I was writing about on this day of the year for the last several years. So I skimmed, enjoyed, lovingly touched my old journals and found November 5-- or the closest date to it, in several of my books. Scanned them... Dated them... and here for posterity-- a sampling of ME, from age 20 until today. My woes, my to-do-lists, my little moments of gratitude, my thoughts...

Why not?

This is me. It is who I was, who I am, and who I will likely be, even many years from now... So enjoy-- if only for the visual randomness. But if you get bored and really wanna read, I'm giving you permission. I think some of them might be read-able even in scanned, web form. If something amuses, surprises, or resonates with you, please feel free to share with me in the comments. This is, after all, a bit of my soul I am sharing. Share back, if you feel it.

1997- third year at BYU, Galaxy Core friendships...roomies with Cindy...

1998- Made this journal in bookbinding class, still at BYU, changed majors to English
1999- Macaroni Grill, BYU still, a bit adrift, but on the cusp of learning who I REALLY was...
2000- Living alone for the first time, passionate about writing, independent films, and single for the first time in three years...

2002- FRESHLY moved to St. Louis, did not know a soul in town, trusting the Divine to lead me where I needed to be... But lonely.

2003- Finally settled into a life in St. Louis-- going to grad school, working at Macaroni Grill, feeling centered.
2005- Married for one year, loving being a wife, first year of teaching stressing me out, but surviving.
2007- VERY pregnant with Noah, ready to be a mama, but totally unprepared for what complete CHANGE was about to happen.
And there ya go... a few years from my Novembers.

Happy November 5th. Now you go. Go write something in your journal/blog/notebook... Just for fun. Just because. I did it. :)

The SoCal Sessions, Pt. 1 {St. Louis Family Photographer}

Back in September, I had the incredible opportunity to travel for my photography again. This year has been so good to me for destination photography-- first with the Wisconsin sessions, then the DC sessions... So it was really cool to finish up my traveling for the year on the West Coast, in gorgeous, sunny California.
Since I ditched my boys in DC, I thought it would be fun to bring them along, so Joe, Noah and I hopped a plane, bound for sun and friends and photos and DISNEYLAND!

I'll share some of the personal "vacation" photos soon, but I wanted to start by sharing my first session in CA. Steph and her family live in Carlsbad, near San Diego. We headed down there our first afternoon, and enjoyed an incredible evening with this gorgeous family. Steph packed a cooler of appetizers and snacks for our beach session, so that when we were done shooting, we could just plop down on the sand, enjoy the amazing sunset, and nibble on cheese, artisan breads, crackers, and other yummy things while Noah and her son played. It was completely delightful. And we even managed to get some of my FAVORITE images I've taken this year. Check out Steph and Company:












{did you see Joe and Noah in that background? Hee! I kept it there for the preview, but cloned it out for the final print. I just love seeing them as part of this experience! They had a great time..}








{oops.}





Truly, this setting inspired me... Something totally different from St. Louis, the colors, the smells... It made me have to think outside the box, and I love the results.

And afterwards? As if Steph's cooler of appetizers wasn't enough, she and her sweet hubby took us back home with them and made us an incredible steak dinner. It happened to be Joe's and my anniversary that night, and honestly, we couldn't have asked for a better dinner at any restaurant. They are amazing chefs!!

It was a beautiful, delicious, relaxing way to start our trip. Thank you, Steph, for hosting us with style in Carlsbad!

*

Next up-- Murietta, CA and a cute preggy mama and her two kiddos, with a couple shots of her hubs thrown in. I'll post those tomorrow! :)

(And with regards to my traveling for sessions, I have at least two BIG trips planned for 2010. Stay tuned for that announcement!)

Halloween Evening (in Photos)

Perfect... all of it!

It's past midnight, so I think that makes this officially HALLOWEEN.... Ooooohhhhoooohhhhh! (ghost noise, ya know?)

And in honor of our Pre-Halloween festivities, a video of my favorite singing mate and I, singing 2 (and 1/3rd) of the seasonal songs I've been teaching him. This kid LOVES singing, and when I give him a new song, he'll say, "Again? Again? Again?" at the end, over and over until I've sung it a dozen times and he has gotten to know a bit of it. It is ridiculously cute.... :)



And a few images of our leaf collecting on Monday, when Aunt Juli was in town. We got out in the soggy morning and found good leaves for leaf rubbings. It was a perfectly Autumnal way to pass the time, and we all three loved it! (LOVE this street we've lived on for the past five years... will miss it. *sniff*)

{Aunt Juli shows Noah the good ones...}

And a shot from today.... I was testing my MiniShoot setup and Noah (and Mai) were willing helpers for a minute. Love this random one I caught before he was over it and running away....
Oh how I love this season... Love the holidays, love the music, love the colors, love the chill in the air...

It's been good, even with the stress and the bittersweet added in. And tomorrow (today) is Halloween... so we get to look forward to Noah's robot costume and his first of many "trick-or-treat" experiences to come in his life. I love it. It is good, this little world of mine.

But now, my poor little self is screaming for bed... It's been a busy day, and I am fighting a big ugly cold... so I am out of here to try to rest so that tomorrow (today) is what Noah deserves.

'Night!