Senior 2010 - Ali

I had a blast this afternoon spending time with Ali & her mom. Ali is one of my wonderful senior reps - and does she make me look good.

She is absolute gorgeous! These are just a few of my favorites!

I think this one might be my favorite... loved the look!

Sorry guys... I 'think' she's taken.

This one... is not going to be a 'dad' favorite... but mom knew it was going to look good.

If you are a senior, looking for your senior portraits - give me a call. I like to fit sessions to your personality. That means if your more laid back, easy going...we'll take a trip out to a park... or if your a downtown kind of gal... we'll take a ride into Houston.

The goal - as always - is to get images that suit YOUR personality...

Thank you so much for spending your Sunday afternoon with me!

Connections: Why they matter ...

I know I should cease to be amazed by this... and yet somehow each time I find this situation recurring... I am in awe at what can only be an overall plan for having the right people, in the right place, at the right time.

Most of you are not aware that in October of 2004, at the age of seven, Tori was diagnosed with a congenital heart defect. She was complaining of chest pains, so we took her to her pediatrician, who sent us to Texas Children's Hospital. They did an EKG, and they diagnosed her with Right Ventricle Hypertrophy. That just meant that her right ventricle was enlarged - cause was unknown.

She saw a cardiologist the first part of December - and was diagnosed with Sinus Venosus Atrial Septal Defect (ASD), which is a hole between the right and left atrium of her heart. Sinus Venosus tells you where the whole is. Here's a great diagram to show you what it looks like:


Tori attended Trinity Lutheran School at that time, and her very best friends name was Rebecca. Rebecca was also born with a congenital heart defect - one much more serious than Tori's, and over the kindergarten/first grade summer - she had her 2nd open heart surgery for her heart condition. Tori didn't understand all the words associated with what was going on, but as far as she was concerned, it wasn't a big deal. Rebecca had it, and she was just fine.

Rebecca's parents were amazingly supportive - and their calm approach helped me stay focused, and deal with problems as they occurred. There is a certain level of comfort when you know another family has gone through the situation you've gone through... and came out the other side just fine.

Tori had the surgery - came home 4 days later, and promptly got into trouble for climbing up on the top bunk bed. She's had follow ups since then, and has to get checked out every few years, but is a very healthy, very tall, beautiful young lady.

Fast forward 4 years, and one of those really awesome people you meet by chance... a random item that you buy from them off of Craigslist... who ends up becoming a friend. You have kids just a few months apart - and she's really nice! She lets you know she is taking HER daughter to Texas Children's for an EKG. Her daughter has a heart murmur... and she's worried, just like I was. I let her know about Tori's heart issue... something we hadn't talked about... that she was completely suprised about. She writes an awesome blog - http://ourcozynest.wordpress.com/ - and she's becoming a really wonderful photographer!

The people that are in your life - right now - are there for a reason. Maybe you don't always know WHY... maybe you won't ever know why. But they are there for a reason. Appreciate them for what they bring to your life. It might be that thier relationship with you, somewhere down the line, helps someone else. Or maybe your relationship with them will help you a few years from now in a way that you can't see right now.

It is the books you read, and the people you meet that make the most difference in your life.

I put this together - out of a few years of pictures of Tori. She is growing so fast, and I know that in the blink of an eye, she will be headed for college, and start a life on her own. We are so amazed at how wonderful she is, and hope that she knows it!

The Stewart Family

I had the absolute pleasure of meeting the Stewart Family this afternoon. Shannon was doing a search for photographers in the Katy area, stumbled upon my 4th of July fireworks, checked out my website, and contacted me about doing her family session.

We had quite a few laughs over the phone talking about kids and husbands and work... just life in general.

So - we headed out to one of my favorite locations - and spent some time together. She has two absolutely gorgeous daughters... Ms. A and Ms. T... they were hilarious and did I mention gorgeous???

I think Dad will probably be meeting any future boyfriends at the door... and having long discussions with them before they are allowed to leave the house... ;-)

I love this photo! Love it!

There's a park close by... and the girls had to have this upside down photo... we had to work on it a bit... but it ended up being one of my favorites!

Okay... it's the age old dispute... color... or B&W. I love this photo... it has to be one of my favorite family shots... I told them to get close... and this was what they did... and I just pushed the button. Love the leaning... and the expressions.

Thank you SO much for spending your time with me, and for giving me the honor of photographing your family. I really enjoyed it!

Saying Goodbye.

The soldiers of 72nd reported for duty, hugged their families, and loaded onto buses that took them to catch a flight. An event that has been coming for over a year, is now a reality. There are thousands of families across the state of Texas who will be missing someone very important.

There are times I am conflicted as a photographer... sometimes I feel like I'm 'intruding'...and sometimes, when I get home, and load the images into my computer... I know... that if I hadn't 'intruded'... that moment might only be a faint memory.

Here are a few of the soldiers... these guys were the first of many to roll out...
They are loved... they are missed...and we pray for their safe return.

OpLove Session: The B Family... or is it the S Family?

The information about Oplove Sessions has slowly made it's way to the families... and the mother of a soldier emailed inquiring on whether I could fit them in before her daughter deployed.

I took off 2 days this week to spend time with my family... but I know how precious these sessions are, so I made arrangements with mom to get together with her family this afternoon. Fortunately, we all happen to be located in Katy, so it was a quick trip to the location, and we were done in about an hour.

I knew mom and I were going to get along quite nicely - we hugged when we met... lol. It's a southern thing...

Anyway... Ms B is deploying very shortly... and we managed to get some amazing photos of her and her family. I hope you enjoy!

She does serious... quite well!

This little guy was adorable... took him a bit to warm up... but he is well loved and KNOWS it!

Michael is Mr. Cool... caught him off guard with this one... his sisters were joking with him... and uh-oh... I caught a real smile!

I'm keeping the gagging photos to myself... they were quite hilarious!

It's all about the attitude! (and the boots got REALLY muddy after this shot!!) OOPS!

Boys will be boys... this was after we were done... walking back to the cars... he liked this part best!

Maybe we should have let him run like this to BEGIN with!

This is my FAVORITE shot of the day! LOVED this one! Loved it!

Okay... this one was really good too darn it!!

The whole family!

Let's just say that I'm very glad she's on OUR side! ;-)

All joking aside - this was an incredibly sweet family that I was quite happy to spend time with prior to their soldiers deployment. Thank you so much for honoring me by spending YOUR time with me.

72nd Deployment Ceremony

I, along with several thousand others in Houston, was proud to attend the 72nd Deployment Ceremony yesterday at Minute Maid Park.

The weather was rather foul - it rained... and rained... and rained...

But there were American Flags all over the place. These are just a few of the hundreds of images I took... but I thought I'd share:

Marching onto the field:

Lots of soldiers

Lots of cheering friends and family:

My soldier! ;-)

During the ceremony:

Mayor Bill White:

They let the kids run the bases... not sure if you can see the big cheesy grin on Sarah's face... she LOVES to run! Tori does such a great job with her!

Our little one found daddy....and was holding on tight!

One of my favorites:

This one - is a panorama image - this is the VERY small version:

If you'd like a link to the full sized image - let me know - it's HUGE! 27 MB - so be prepared if you do not have a fast connection. It's a pencil portrait version of a larger photo. I liked it...

Support them... They support you.

If you are unaware - there are more than 3000 soldiers deploying very shortly from Texas. This is the largest deployment of National Guard soldiers since WWII from Texas. It is going to leave giant holes in families all across our state.

If you know someone who has a family member who is deploying, or is deployed - PLEASE contact a Oplove photographer in your area and utilize their services. These are priceless photos - and the albums sent to the deployed soldier is one of the most prized possessions while they are deployed.

The reason for this blog entry however, is that if you know someone who has a family member who is deploying or is deployed - please - reach out and support them.

It's my personal experience that the family members left behind have a harder time than the soldiers who deploy. We try to keep 'home' together, when there is a big part of what is 'home' thousands of miles away. There is no one coming home at the end of the day to lend a helping hand with the two year old... or to stop by the grocery store on his or her way home. There is not one to just give you a hug at the end of the day... when it's been a rather rotten day. The person you talk to... you tell about the things your kids did that drove you bonkers... you get to talk to once a week... if your lucky.

It's the little things that you don't always appreciate occurring, that make the biggest difference when the soldier is deployed.

So, if you know someone... if someone you know - knows someone - invite the family to dinner... invite him or her to do something with just the boys... or just the girls.... offer to take the kids to the park so they can have a couple hours of quiet time...

Support the families... so that they can support the soldiers.... so that the soldiers can do their jobs, and support our country.

www.oplove.org

Oplove: The G. Family

I had the pleasure of spending a couple hours with the G. Family last night as part of the Operation: Love Reunited group that I participate in.

I must admit to my house being entirely chaotic when they arrived. Between the office makeover, my husbands military gear, and a cardboard boat race... the house is a disaster. Quite seriously.

But they were absolutely wonderful. I grabbed my camera, and we took off for parts unknown... cause quite seriously, I usually tend to go to area parks for outdoor sessions...but we were missing a family member who was headed our way just as soon as he got done with soccer.

And wow... we had fun... and got some AMAZING photos! I love them!

These next few require a bit of explanation... Mr. Trey is a typical boy... mom and dad were trying to keep him calmed down enough... and out of the dirt enough... and... well... he's a boy, you get the point.

So he picked up acorns... and went adventuring... and told mom to see how far he jumped...

He is all boy... and mom will LOVE these photos about the time he gets to his big brother Zane's age... ;-)

Now... this next one... he told me to get one of him jumping... so I did... but didn't expect to get what I got...this kid could JUMP! Holy cow... look at the air on it?

A couple with 'just the boys'... aren't they cute???

And a sweet one of mom & dad:

New office... and a new baby! Meet Ms. Juliana

Ms. Juliana and her mom came by to help me break in my 'new' office.

My brand new french doors... that I installed myself! ;-)

And now to the important photos:

Mom swears she had NEVER been up as long as she was during her first photo shoot...guess that means she's gonna be a model! ;-)