Will Spring Be Arriving Soon?

Just when I think that spring is coming, winter has to rear it's ugly head again and prove that it isn't done with us quite yet.  I guess we're due 6-8" of snow this weekend.  Lovely.  I thought we were done with this.  I was looking forward to spring photos, but I can work with more winter photos.

This weekend we also had company from Oklahoma visiting! It was wonderful to have them at our home for a few days.  We went bowling, and made cupcakes and played the Kinect.  Lots of fun times were had! I think the bowling was my favorite though.  My kids had never been before and my daughter is quite the little bowler! The boys did really well too, I was proud of all three of them. 

Today was a busy day in my house hold.  This afternoon my daughter and I attened a Mother/Daughter tea party that the local parks and rec put on.  We've gone to it every year and really enjoy going.  This year Miss Missouri 2012 Tippe Emmott was the guest speaker, and she did a very nice job.  She was very friendly and took her time talking with the children.  She even taught the children some ballet moves, which was adorable.  I really enjoy the time spent with my daughter at these little tea parties.






After we got home from the tea party.  My son Keegan and I went to the Cancer Survivor Appreciation Dinner hosted by the local American Cancer Society.  I always feel a little akward when we go to these events because no one realizes that HE is the survivor, not me.  Well, I feel in a way like I'm a "survivor" too, but not like he is.  We've survived cancer in different ways.  He survived it by actually HAVING IT and being the one to go through all of the surgeries and chemo's and medicines and all of the torture he's gone through since he was born because of it.  I've survived all of the stress, fear, tears, pain that mom's feel watching their children fight a monster that you can't destroy for them.  It's painful, and difficult.  My son, is my hero. 

These are Keegan's beads he has earned through the BEADS OF COURAGE program
from the course of his cancer treatment, and on going scans. 

The dinner was lovely and we met a very wonderful couple, who was actually on the local news last year.  She underwent cancer treatments for a type of skin cancer, while pregnant.  I look forward to speaking with this woman and her family again at future ACS functions and over the phone!

After the Survivors Appreciation Dinner my husband and I took the kids to a kids concert.  "Stinky Feet" (Jim Cosgrove).  He is a big hit in our town and we always love it when he comes to perform here.  The kids had a fantastic time, and so did my husband and I.  The kids got to go on stage at the end of the show along with several parents and their children (my husband and I included), It was really a lot of fun and we look forward to him coming back next year! After the show was over we snapped a photo right quick with Mr. Stinky Feet himself.  


Now if the snow would stop and go away, it'd be great. 

In the meantime, I've been participating in the I Heart Faces photo challenges (you can check out I Heart Faces on Facebook).  Here are a few of the photo challenges I've posted.

This challenge was ART (my son Marshall's favorite art work)

This challenge was Eye Level, and my daughters favorite "stink eye"

This challenge was In My Bag

This challenge was Big Vs. Small

This challenge was Something Green

This challenge was My Morning Beverage

Mae

Count Down To Spring!

The weather is starting to be beautiful and I cannot wait for spring to officially rive next week! Yes, in exactly a week "spring" will be here.  I can envision the day in my mind.  The birds all singing, the sun shining, trees getting buds on them, grass getting greener, flowers starting to poke up from the earth, bugs coming out of hybernation, the temps warmer, but still at the cool grab a sweater not a big bulky coat phase.  Yes.  That is my first day of spring. 

Well it sounds good anyway! Will that be how it really happens?  I do not know.  But I will keep my vision strong!

As a way to encourage spring to arrive, my friend and I took our kids to the local Orscheln's store to see the new baby chicks that are there and the little bunnies.   Soooo cute and fluffy!!











My daughter is always asking to borrow my camera and so I dug out an old camera (I'm a bit of a camera hoarder! I love all kinds of cameras!) I dug out the one that I got shortly after my daughter was born, so this camera is nearly 5 years old and is actually the camera I started out with and was still using up until the end of last year! Very faithful little camera.

So I dug out the little old camera and let my daughter take it along to Orscheln's with us.  She got some cute shots, not bad for a 5 and a half year old!




This month I'm participating in a photo challenge at I Heart Faces on Facebook, called 1 Picture 31 Days.  It's a different photo challenge for each day of the month. Today's challenge was art.  My kids always come home from school with some adorable art work so I decided today I would use some of their art for the theme.  Sure enough, my son Marshall had some very original art work in his back pack celebrating 100 days of preschool.  Marshall and Keegan love "sculpture" type art work and Marshall had taken some packing peanut type items that were multi colored and glued them on paper creating a unique and adorable piece of art work. 

Made for an interesting photo!

I braved up and posted it on the I Heart Faces Facebook page and to my suprise they reposted it on their page.  Yay! I am very excited! Marshall was super excited to see his art work on their too.  So adorable to see him so proud and happy.  I have always encouraged their love for art work.

I now feel a bit braver to be more active posting in some of the photo challenges.

Recently got a chance to go through the local park.  The snow is melting, we had some rain, so of COURSE It was a perfect time to check out the water fall.  That was a lovely muddy little walk.  It was well worth it though, got some good shots through the park. 










 

Spring IS coming! I cannot wait!

As spring is coming it's made me stop and think.  Recently I was "burned" by a friend, and it made me do some thinking.  I do NOT want to be the "friend with a nice camera" that gets called upon because they can get a good deal or free or whatever.  I don't want that.  YES this began as a hobby, but I don't want my "hobby" to turn into a free for all for others.  I will say I definetley felt used and unappreciated by this person.  All I know is that communicating with your photographer (whether you choose to use that one or not, is key!)  If you find another photographer, that's fine.  Just have the guts to tell the other one you don't need them, especially when everything they have done for you has been free and you did it as a friend out of the kindness of your heart and it did give you experience. Nothing worse than sitting there going..hmmm am I needed or not?  When phone calls and messages are never returned. Just communicate.  That's all.

Mahala

Before and After

I decided to show you all a before and after photo today.  I volunteer my time at the local animal shelter and conditions are not always favorable for the best photos of each and every fur baby I meet.  Sometimes it's raining, snowing, or too cold to go outside, so the photos have to be taken inside where the lighting is less than ideal.  I don't always have the time or availability to drag along my back drop, and dogs are let's face it, far from cooperative.  Shelter dogs can be especially difficult to photograph for the simple fact that many have had no training at all.  Plus they want out of the kennels to run and play and have a grand ol' time not to sit or stand in the way I need them to so I can show people their gorgeous faces or their full bodies (I always try to get a full face photo, and a side view of the dog).  It isn't always easy to get both of those shots though, but I do my best. Personally, I love the more natural photos of the dogs anyway, with them moving and playing but unfortunately for shelter and rescue purposes I need photos of their face and their side

This past Friday I photographed inside for the most part because it was cold, and there was a LOT of snow on the ground and there were some little dogs at the shelter and they would have been hidden in the snow, and the snow would have thrown the lighting off too.

However, inside it was dark and there wasn't really a good place to take the photo, so I just made do with an old table and the flash on my camera.  Thankfully the dog (Susie Q) was cooperative so that made a big difference!



I think it cleaned up nicely.  And you can see quite clearly how adorable miss Susie Q is! I wish all of my photos would clean up so nicely from the animal shelter. I don't always have as much luck with some of them, but I do my best.

I would also like to announce that my website is up and running! Yay! Super excited for this. You can check out Fur Ever Yours Photography by clicking the link!   I'm sure I'll still be playing around with it and making changes and edits, but it's up and running at the moment and then we'll go from there. 

I'm looking forward to spring being here and being able to get outside and take some pictures!! Come on spring, come on, come on!! I have lots of ideas and tips and tricks I want to test out and I really want to bust out that new camera and get out there and take photos.

Mahala

Old Friends New Camera Tricks

I had the wonderful oppurtunity today to hang out and spend time with someone that is not only one of my best friends (since high school), but also one of my favorite photographers.  Since we've known each other for so long it's been an honor to watch her grow as a photographer. I remember being her guinea pig so many times so she could test out new things with her photography, and look at her now!

I was excited to catch up with an old friend today as life, family, work and distance keeps us from visiting as much as we'd like to.  So when she came to visit today I was beyond thrilled!

When she heard I had a new DSLR and that I umm...didn't quite know much about it, she jumped right in  to give me a heads up on things I should know about working my camera, which I greatly appreciated.  I still have a lot to learn, as photography is a forever learning experience and you never have it all figured out there are always ways in which you can improve and change. 

I have some simple basics down, got to play around with some cameral lenses (that are now on my want list) and I'm feeling a lot more confident about using my DSLR.  Now all I have to do is get out there and practice!

I got some tips on posing techniques, which I was greatly needing.  I got the oppurtunity to be in some photos (fun snow photos!) for her, and I got to use HER as MY guinea pig for once to test out and get used to my own new camera!

Thank you Paula from Peaces Photography for the helpful tips and for allowing me to use you as a guinea pig! I'm glad we have always shared a love for cameras and adventure. 

I can't wait to see some of the fun photos she took of me, it was fun playing in the snow today!

Mae

Making Memories

Memories.  That's what photos are, memories frozen in time to for ever remember.  Of a time, a place, people, events.  Photos that can last a life time, that can be passed on to your chidren, and their chidren and so on.  Showing them what life was like for you when you were younger.  Sharing a piece of yourself with someone else through a photo.

I wish I had more photos from when I was younger but unfortunately I do not.  I do not have nearly as many photos of my father as I wish I had but the photos I do have of him I cherish.  My dad passed away when I was only two.  So I have no memories of him other than the photos I have.

I do not have very many photos of my Mother when she was a young woman either.  Actually, I have very few photos of her at all as she hates having her picture taken.  So whether she likes it or not, she gets her picture taken whenever I am around here.  I want/need those photos of her for myself and my children and future grandchildren.  I have maybe one or two photos of my own Grandmother and that woman meant the world to me, I just wish I had more photos of her so I could show my children what their Great Grandmother looked like.  They would have loved her, and she would have loved them.  My little sister was young when our Grandmother passed away and they were very close too, I know photos of our Grandmother would have meant the world to her, but again, my Grandmother wasn't fond of having her picture taken either.

I am not afraid to have my picture taken, good day or bad day I don't really care.  I want my kids to have photos of their Mom and their Dad.  Photos of us together from the time we got together and as we get older.  I want our kids to see the fun their dad and I had together, that we weren't just dull people who had no life before or after children.  Far from it.  Infact, life has gotten MORE interesting since having children.  Many of my best memories have been since my husband and I got married, and we've been together since 2001 when we were Juniors in High School.

I try to make sure my kids have photos taken with my husband and I together and seperately.  I love those funny little candid shots with my children the best, when we are all snuggled up on the couch and my husband grabs the camera and gets a sweet and silly photo of us all.  Whether we're in our jammies totally bumming it for the day with our hair a mess or whatever, those are some of the most loved photos of mine.  Us at our most comfortable. Just being a family and loving life in that exact moment. 

That's why I'm not OVERLY fond of generic studio photos.  Not saying there is anything WRONG with taking your family or child to Wal Mart or wherever else you can go to take pictures.  I have plenty of those generic studio photos and I love them too, infact one of my favorite family photos on the wall was taken at Wal Mart.  However, my OTHER favorite family photo was taken by a local photographer in town, whom I love and admire (Fairfeather Studios).  Both photos are good, and catch our family for who we are, in all of our silliness and chaoticness that is life with 3 young kids. If I had to choose, I'd choose to go with a local private photographer over a studio portrait hands down any day. 

Tonight my husband and I got the oppurtunity to go on a date night, which is something we VERY rarely get to do.  It's hard to find a babysitter sometimes. For some reason people tend to freak out when they hear the word "we have twin boys and they have an older sister"  Our twins are pretty good little boys (for other people anyway!) Truth is, we just don't get out much.  Unfortunately over the past four years as we've dealt with Keegan's cancer we've become home bodies which is something I've never been before.  I've never been one to just stay at home and going on date nights is something that was always important to my husband and I.  Not anything big and huge, generally just dinner or a movie.  Priorities change though when you have a sick child.  Usually our anniversary is the only time we go out, however the past 2 anniversaries we haven't done anything. 

A couple of good friends of ours invited us out with them tonight, and they arranged a babysitter for us (YAY!) someone was brave enough to watch the kids for a little over an hour.  Can we say MIRACLE?

We had a good time at the local Chinese resturaunt.  It felt good to laugh and have "grown up" conversations and just feel like our old selves again.  Not having to worry, for atleast an hour if someone needed to go to the potty, or wanted help getting more food, or making sure no one spilled a drink or dribbled sauce down their shirt. No having to "monitor" conversations for little ears.  We were able to laugh and talk and just have FUN.  It was great to have that stress free time with my husband.

I didn't feel guilty in the slightest.  I enjoyed every minute out with my husband and our friends.

It's good to have those memories of the laughter and fun had with friends.  Children can tell when their parents are happy, and it's good for them to be able to look back and see photos of those happy parents, atleast I think so anyway!

I encourage people to step out from behind the camera, stop hiding from the camera.  Just get in there and have your picture.  Flash your smile, let your kids and future grandkids see how you loved life and embraced it with all of its ups and downs.  Don't let a few blemishes, a few extra pounds, a bad hair day get in the way of you making memories with your family. 

Thanks to my friends for a fun night out with my husband.  We may have only went out to dinner, but it was a wonderful memory. 

My goofy husband and I out together sitting at our favorite resturaunt. 
He and I have been together since we were Juniors in high school,
we married in 2006 at the age of 22. He's always made me laugh
and I love him for that! He never fails to put a smile on
my face.   

Rocking my new hair cut :)  As I was walking out the door
tonight giving my kids all hugs and kisses
my very sweet little boys gave me
big big hugs and said "Mommy you like pretty" 
Awww melted my heart :) 

Valentines Day Sweethearts

I know that Valentines Day has come and gone, but I had to share some adorable photos from two sweet little cousins I photographed, and their family.  I always love it when these little ladies come to visit me! I've photographed one of them since she was still in her Mommy's tummy. I'm still very honored to photograph these two little cuties everytime they come over.

Jade still in her Mama's tummy



Jade at a couple of months old


Valentines Day!

 

Her adorable cousin Aurora has been here a couple of times to see me as well, and WOW how much she has grown since she was only a few days old and all new born babish! She is definetley not a newborn baby anymore.  She is the cutest little Cabbage Patch doll clone I have ever seen!

 

Aurora at just a few days old

 

Aurora at a few days old

 

Aurora the little doll face on Valentines Day!

 

They have both grown so much in just a few short months.  Below are just a few of my other faves from their Valentines Day Photo shoot.  You can see the rest by clicking on this Valentines Day Link 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I hope everyone had a wonderful Valentines Day!

 

Now we look forward to SPRING! I have a wedding already booked for this month too which is very exciting.  I also have several birthday photos to take and the birthday photos of my own sons as well, and a few adorable themed photo minis for my daughter and her friend. However, we can't do much until this snow melts!!

 

Mae