Thursday, December 27, 2012

We Survived Xmas 2012!

This holiday season has flown by in a BLUR! I am so very blessed to have the wonderful family that I do! I was busy, busy...with Christmas cards and last minute photo sessions, I had lots of editing and a firm deadline in place. I stayed up late and woke up early, burning the candle at both ends and I enjoyed EVERY minute of it! When you do what you love it's amazing how "work" is not even work. I am super happy and excited for 2013, I will be launching my new website and I have partnered with a lab so all your prints will be easy- peasy to order, they will be mailed directly to you and you will be able to share your online gallery password with your family and friends so no matter where they live they can see and order too!

I still cannot believe how awesome 2012 has been and I have new, big and exciting plans for 2013. Those of you that know me  know that I am a doula as well as a photographer and I have some new doula clients on the books... with beautiful new babies to follow! Being a doula is something I will never stop doing, I love families and babies, watching them grow. There is something so special and holy about seeing a baby take his first breath and watching parents meet this tiny little creation for the very first time! Every single birth I have attended holds a special place in my heart.

Thank you for choosing me to be your photographer, doula most of you can see the two are so intertwined. I am very grateful for you all. Thoughout this journey I have made so many wonderful clients who along the way have now become friends.

MERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Thursday, November 8, 2012

CCCCCCOLD!

Wow I am feeling the chill in the air! It was a whopping 33 degrees this morning...."Aye que frio!"  We have a field trip planned today at The Twisted Fence Ranch...ever heard of them? No I hadn't either! Here is a link to there info and I will update you how it all turns out tomorrow. http://twistedfence.com/ Hope it warms up some!

We are going to make some Alpaca Yarn...should be fun and hopefully not too stinky! I know I know but I am not a very farmy-campy girl..I like the idea of it but if it smells bad or hurts my back then I am not a fan (wonder what Alpaca smells like)...although I will tough it out for the sake of the rug-rats enjoyment:)

The Battle for the official Title of Blue Sky Photography Cutie Patootie of 2012 is underway...in the lead is Christy Mays with 39 votes, then there's Micah Quattlebaum-Light with 20 votes and pulling into 3rd is little Emery with 12 votes! It is all still very close keep em coming and it is still anyone's win! Good Luck I would be delighted to photograph any of your gorgeous children!

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Keep em coming:)

The race for the ultimate "cutie patootie" is well underway, I am so very happy I don't have to choose! Leading the pack is Chrissy May's little fellow with 33 votes followed by Little Micah Quattlebaum-Light with 19 and duking it out for 3rd place Emery and Kinsley!
Don't forget that they must "like" my page and "like" your photo! Good Luck:)

Monday, November 5, 2012

Cutie Patooties Kid Contest



The Cutie Patooties Kid Contest is Officially on the way! November 12th I will reveal the winner on my blog...why on my blog you ask? because I did not know this but running a contest on facebook is against the rules! BOOOOOOO! So here's how this is going to work... LIKE my facebook page then find the album titled Cutie Patooties and "like" your favorite photo! If you don't like my page the votes won't count.Photo with the most "likes" November 12th at 9pm WINS :) Simple as that.... Marks Get set and Go!
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Blue-Sky-Photography/286279268105768

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Photobooks



I love photobooks, they are fun and simple to do but most of all they make the best gifts! For my friend Jodie's birthday I wanted to do something special and heartfelt. So I took photos of her children while I was babysitting them and then for her birthday I gave her a surprise birthday book with photos she had never seen.








It was awesome! She was so surprised and I even threw in a little poem I had written!
Our mother's love
What could be more important than our mother's love?
Her personal needs are set aside it's us she's thinking of
Not just our guardian angel but a friend we can't deny
Who loves and stands besides us, wipes our tears when we cry
Our mother's love is special
How lucky we must be, God sent us down an angel
To love and care for three!


These ones we did for their Grandma!( and yes she got a poem too:))

Having photos done is one of the best surprises you can give your family and friends, don't tell them keep it "hush, hush" and then surprise them with a photobook for their birthdays....one of the best presents ever...just ask Jodie:)

Thursday, September 13, 2012

Meet Jennifer

I got to photograph a beautiful mother and her children. Meet Jennifer she is waging the biggest battle of her life...Breast Cancer. She is almost done with an exhausting 15 weeks of chemotherapy and in October will start radiation. Through all this she is raising some of the most delightful children I have ever met. When I photographed this family I could feel their connection and closeness. 
Jennifer handles herself with a grace that is beautiful, she is strong and through her faith fearless. 
What can you do to raise her spirits and help her stay focused and strong?
PRAY! 
It's that easy! 
Raise her up in prayer so she can feel the love of her community, and we can bare witness to the POWER of PRAYER.

Friday, September 7, 2012

Madeline Victoria

Madeline is 10 and just starting to come into her own.
Claiming and owning who you are and accepting yourself fully is one of the hardest things. As an adult I still struggle with this, so when Madeline asked me " Mom am I beautiful no matter what?" I was a little surprised.
She always had the highest self esteem out of all my children. When she was 4 a lady asked her "how did you get to be so pretty"  Madeline without any thought replied "God painted me this way".
When people would tell her how precious or cute she looked she would always smile and say "yes I know, Thank You", I used to tell her it's not polite to say you know you're pretty, you're just supposed to say "thank you"...but then I stopped.
Why is it so wrong for her to think she's pretty? Wouldn't the world with all it's ups and downs be a little easier on a gal if she at least has confidence and thought she looked pretty?

So when she asked me if she was beautiful no matter what... I told her the truth;
How when she was born I could barely breathe because she was so beautiful and perfect . How her Dad and I even discussed that we couldn't believe the hospital hadn't made her "baby of the month" because she was the most beautiful baby ever born.

How when she started kindergarten at her first performance..she was one of the smallest in her class but her blue eyes would stare out from the crowd and put me in a trance. How her smile and laughter are contagious and never fail to out me in a good mood!





But most of all I reminded her how beautiful she is  inside, my special girl <3 How she won an award from the special ed teachers for her kindness, because throughout the year she would stop by to give out hugs and pictures she had colored. How she talked with the disabled kids and knew all their names. How she always teamed up with the children that got "picked last" and made friends with the "new kid". How she brought books on the school bus to read to the kindergartners . How very special she truly is, beautiful inside and out... No Matter What!


Thursday, August 16, 2012

It's raining Ants

Why is it after every rainstorm the ants start to go CRAZY...with new mounds popping up all over the place?
I really, really don't like fireants. They are mean and evil.

On Tuesday I had a family session with the Comprosky's...we had a great time hiking through my fields. I was snapping photos like a mad woman , LOL I know I must look hilarious, the sight of me alone is enough to get anyone giggling...Unless that is you're 2 and you're name is Wyatt. He was so delightful, he already had an  eye for the  ladies  girls... age 10 works well, (so Hannah and I were not even close).  His mom said "he loves girls" and she wasn't kidding, he lit up when he saw Madeline. It was sooo cute!  We did get some beautiful photos! Little man Comprosky was such a HAM... Madeline would dance around and he would squeal with delight!  Madeline always BEGS to be my helper, she did not disappoint and was definitely the gal for the job!
Heather and Josh thank so much for taking a chance on me!
 I was so involved in what I was doing I didn't notice I was standing in a fireant  mound...when I looked down, my white tennis shoe was black and MOVING, the little suckers got me good! OUCHIE it stings! Me No Likey! Go away mean ants and never come back!
At the end of our session the wind suddenly picked up, black clouds rolled in and you guessed it...MORE rain! More rain=More ants! We really need to treat our yard, by yard I mean 7 acres... Wonder what farmers use?





A few photos from our session!

The next morning I am scratching my itchy ant-bitten foot and warning the kids to watch where they step. As we make our way down to the bus stop, I am entertaining Kateline who would much rather be running around than stuck in her stroller, the boys are playing soccer, when Miss Madeline decides to go traipsing through the fields.  All of a sudden she starts jumping up and down screaming "ants,ants ANTS". I high-tail it over there at a speed unnaturally fast (especially for me). I whisk her up and start rubbing her feet. "where are they? " I ask..She grins and says " I'm acting mommy, am I good?"

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

I choose moth!

What a morning, I mean wow...it may take me a few hrs before I can move, I think I'm suffering from ACD (acute morning trauma).   I know lots of mother's manage to have a nice sing songey get ready for school kinda morning where their gorgeous children line up all pretty and eat their breakfast with out fighting and remember their glasses and homework...  NOT ME.  We have a fly by the seat of our pants barely scraping by to make it on the bus kinda morning... EVERY morning!
My children that my mother likes to call "delightfully naughty" are of the horrible , terrible kind and if you ask me (in the mornings) not an ounce of delightful to them! 
Madeline is at school, her glasses and homework are here at home...Timothy is my only one that likes his stuff nice and neat , his homework done and brought back everyday. He is my first grader, no idea how he got that way with his big sister and big brother as examples! Aidan's homework is at school because he forgot to bring it home ...
Kateline will most likely be like Madeline and Aidan she already loves to wreck anything and everything in her path...folded laundry piles do not stand a chance with Kateline on the loose, she's a seek n destroy kinda kid.
Lucky for us we did make it to the bus and we waved our goodbyes, by the time they come home all will be forgotten...until tomorrow morning rolls around!
Kateline is so cute she gets on her shoes and gets her little back pack and she walks to the bus stop in the mornings. When we walk back we try to look for birds and flowers and bugs.

This morning it was like watching a live episode of National Geographic ..on the walk back to the house we saw a huge moth being attacked by a wasp. The moth was fluttering it's wings a million miles an hour distracting the wasp that was trying to sting it...It was quite a struggle I could feel how desperate the moth was... I wanted to help it because between a moth and a wasp I choose a moth, but just then it managed to ditch the wasp . It quickly flew up into the tree,where it stopped. Still as possible, flat against the bark. I was holding my breath, terrified for the moth...the wasp buzzed about searching but the moth was completely camouflaged by the bark on the trunk of the tree . It was amazing! What a clever moth:)

Monday, August 13, 2012

I am TWO!

I am very excited, tomorrow I get to get snappin happy with a just turned two little boy called JW.  I can tell by his FB photos that he has a TON of personality and I am going to try my very very bestest to capture that SPUNK:) I was so upset when we had to mow our fields but i did keep 2 of them untouched... so I will hope for good weather, great light and and a session that warms hearts!

On another note, after you create a blog...finding it again can be a huge undertaking... heartpounding, nailbiting but I MADE IT! Phew...might be time for a nappy poo poo.

My beautiful sister Helen will be getting married soon well she hasn't set a date but we  she is thinking *whispers* sometime in March, I can't wait a wedding, flowers, cake and I have to get a dress...We need to decide on colors and a theme holy guacamole my   her our wedding is going to be fanfreakingtastic!

Wow fancy schmancy!

The pressure is on! I just started this blog 15 seconds ago and already It is informing me I know NO ONE and I have NO profile information...Geesh alright already. I can see I already have 3 unread emails from starting the blog. I'd better hop to it, I already feel behind! LOL  Well as you may know in the (switch to british accent) Very very fancy schmancy world of photography darlings, it is common courtesy to run and uphold ones own blog.
Every photo shoot is on a blog and a FB page as well as an online gallery...wowsers. I am inherently lazy and technologically challenged so this will be a HUGE learning process for me.

I really don't want a generic photographers blog so I thought I would just write and keep my own blog and let my clients "visit" my page:)