top five of 2008

happy new year!

i almost hesitate to do a list. but it gives me a chance to go back through the portraits i've done throughout the year and see how much i've grown. i really feel like i hit my stride this past holiday season. i hope the good groove continues!

without further ado, here are my top five favorites from 2008. and they may not be the best pictures of the year either. a lot of times, my favorites have a back-story that speaks to me more than the actual shot itself.

for example, peter pan and mr. giggles. oh, how i love these boys. no matter what i said, mr. giggles would snicker and laugh. he totally made my day. this picture wasn't my favorite from the session (i actually liked an individual of each of them more, but then that would take up two slots, so...), but it's my favorite of them together because of how much fun and silliness it shows. total boys.



this picture of the beautiful miss ac is one that i love because it is different from most of what i get to shoot. this portrait was taken in one of the historic homes downtown on south battery. the setting was just perfect. and when i shot it, i knew i had it. i love the dramatic lighting. and i love LOVE her toes!



these two boys were obsessed with the olympics. so, mom decided to have them race up the beach and back. poor little brother didn't stand a chance. but he figured out a way to win: he just turned around early so that he made it back to mom first.



this beautiful girl is very special to me. i blogged about her back when i shot this portrait. i've known her for years and she was in my awana group when she was in 3rd and 4th grades. i just adored her then. i told her mom once, when she was in her awkward phase, that she was going to be the prettiest in her already impossibly beautiful family. and my, is she ever!



finally, i don't shoot a lot of weddings. i have a pretty specific style and personality and i want to ensure that it's a perfect fit between me and the couple. well, this couple was a total blast! michael and i left the wedding saying how much fun it had been, even though we'd been working the entire time (well, i had at least). anyhoo, i could pick a lot of shots from that wedding, but chose this one. just because.

big sale coming...

stay tuned. it's going to be a great sale for anyone who had a session in 2008 and would like to order more prints. huge.

another year gone

it seems just yesterday i was writing my post titled, "happy birthday, beautiful dreamer." and here we are again. another year has passed and you are now seven. you aren't a baby anymore, even though you will ALWAYS be mine. you are definitely in the "tween" stage, which is a day i thought we'd not see for a long time. you seem so old and wise and very much a girl and not so much a little kid.

you are now in first grade and at the top of your class. i'm glad that you love school and want to do well. you work hard and make sure that you get your work done. you don't always love doing homework, but i really can't say that i blame you there. you say your favorite subject is recess. but i know that you do the best in spelling and Bible verse memorization. you really are my child, even if you don't look like me so much.

i know we butt heads. i think that has to do with our having the same personality. i see myself in you and the looks in your eyes. it's crazy! i know that granny and poppy are secretly laughing that i really did have a child just like me. i KNOW poppy is since he mentions it at least once a week or so.

i am so proud of you. i don't think i say that enough. i am proud of how determined you are to be a good student. i am proud of how creative you are in the stories you tell and the drawings you create. i am proud of how you try at soccer, even if you aren't a natural athlete (and how it's obvious you're just having fun even if your team loses). i am proud of how you always at least try what i make for dinner, even if it really doesn't sound that good to you. i am proud of how kind you are to new children. i am proud of how you aren't afraid to be you.

i am grateful that God put you in our family. i can't imagine life without you. i can't imagine who would make me laugh every morning, even when i would rather be sleeping. i can't imagine what i'd do without my little monkey, always climbing trees. i can't imagine driving around without hearing, "louder, please?" because you love music just as much as i do. and i don't know who would put the sprinkles on my cupcakes. if you weren't here, my life would be a lot less exciting and fun.

thank you. you are my beautiful dreamer, my sweet adeline, my princess peekins and my monkey. you are mine. and for that, i thank God every day.

i love you. happy seventh birthday, sugarplum.