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Not a lot of Words

I do not have a lot of words to say these days as the feelings I have been experiencing are so close to my heart and overwhelming, words would not even begin to describe how I feel.  I look back on the past many years of our lives and know that things could be very different....I also know that this life we have now could change at any minute, nothing is permanent.

I am feeling content, thankful, peaceful, gratitude, blessed, happy....like I said words have not been created to describe what I am truly feeling, so I'll just leave you with pictures for now:

A Winter Wonderland

We were blessed enough this year to be able to make the long road trip to my parents house in Michigan for Christmas.  The further north we drove, the more snow there was on the ground and when we finally arrived at my parents, it was literally like driving into a Christmas card.  My 2 oldest children had not seen snow in 4 years since we left Maryland and my youngest baby was born in San Antonio, so he had never seen snow in his life.  As you will be able to tell by the pictures below, they had no trouble adjusting to the snow. 

Here are a couple of views from my parents yard:

 

There are a constant stream of deer through my parents property.

This mare is 25 years old.  She's a sway back and can't be ridden, but makes a good barn buddy for her goat friends.  Isn't she pretty with her winter coat on?

My dad got out the tractor in the fall and built the hill behind their house to make a sledding hill for the kids.  Later he got it out again and built up some snow to make a big launch ramp for the kids.  I'll post pictures of those later.  Surprisingly, the best sledder was Jackson, my 3 year old who has never seen snow in his life.  He was brave, fast, and daring.

Abby loved eating candy canes in the snow...

and Caleb ran around and sang Christmas carols at the top of his lungs every time we were out in the snow:

This is my favorite picture so far:

I have more pictures, but have not taken them out of my camera yet.  I will post more later.  I hope you all have a Merry Christmas. Hug your friends and family, hold them close, tell them you love them, and enjoy your time together.

Watch 'em Grow

One of my favorite parts of being a photographer is watching my friends/clients (fri-ents?  Thanks Melody) grow.  I see babies grow, I see siblings added, I see kids getting bigger and I just love it!  I met the dad in this family during an event we were both volunteering for.  When I met his beautiful family we just clicked and I have really enjoyed getting to watch their son grow and change.  He is such a sweetie pie!  It was also really cool to see that "B Dog", the stuffed dog, was still with the family and I LOVE that they included him the photos again! I look forward to seeing them again soon!

Clients or Friends? (San Antonio Family Photography)

I never know if I should call people my clients or my friends because to me they intermix.....friends become clients and clients become new friends.  I LOVE that part of my job, when my clients become friends, like actual friends I want to hang out with, get lunch with, have a backyard bbq with.  Our sessions turn out to be more of us just hanging out and having fun while I take their pictures.  When they leave and say "We had so much fun!",  I love that! So clients? Friends? client-friends?

As far as this family I am about to show you is concerned, I am happy to call them my new friends.

Looking for a Gift??? (Seriously Awesome Camera Bags)

They are finally here!!!! Maile of Relish Portrait Studio saw a need for beautiful and functional camera bags and took 2 years to design and create these! Ready, set, go: Ephiphanie Camera Bags!

I can't wait to get mine.  No more carrying those big , black, ugly camera bags that scream "EXPENSIVE CAMERA IN HERE" and no more wrapping my lenses in a sock and camera in a scarf to put them in my purse.  I'll post a photo of what I get when it comes in.

This is a seriously great Christmas gift for yourself or for your favorite camera lover!

See the fab website here:  

www.epiphaniebags.com

Blogging Time (San Antonio Family Photographer)

I need to get better about blogging...but this is a busy time for us photographers, plus I do not want to ruin any Christmas surprises for anyone.  I am going to share a few from this GORGEOUS family.  Mom and baby really have eyes THAT color.  Mom takes my breath away with that dark hair and amazing eyes and if that does not make you jealous enough all of her sisters are equally as beautiful.  Plus, she is kind, generous, sweet, funny, easy going, and a talented artist so I can't even hate her or be jealous because I love her to pieces!  Her husband is equally as sweet and a quiet kind of funny who will say something to make you laugh when you least expect it.  He is one hell of a cook too.

I cannot believe this baby...only 3 months old when we took these and she looked right at me in almost every shot.  AND she did the same thing when I shot her 3 DAY old photos.  She didn't sleep and looked right at me during that photo shoot too.  If I had not been at the hospital the day after she was born, I would not have believed that she was only 3 days old.

This is her beautiful auntie.  You will see more of her in January or February because we have an awesome photo session lined up!