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Matching Pajamas and Side Ponytails + A Giveaway!

12.15.11 Filed in Featured,For Photographers,Inspiration

We’re kindred spirits.  The type of girls who just GET one another. The kind that buy matching pajamas, skip through the hallways with linked arms and wear fuzzy socks and scrunchies in their matching side pony-tails. We’re the kind of girls who wear friendship bracelets because our friendship? Well, it’s pretty amazing.

Julie, over the course of only half a year has become a very dear friend. Even though we’ve never met.

Today, Julie took a big step. And I couldn’t be more proud of her.  She’s launched her brand new line of Story Style Groups and I’m honored that she featured my work on one of her style groups.  I’m also SO honored that she’s offered to give one to me to GIVE away!  OH YES! Christmas just came early for one of you! <— HOLLA!

So, drop a comment like it’s hot below and let me know WHY you would love to have the style group: Serendipity.  I’ll be announcing the winner in the morning, 9:00 am.:)

To Julie: I’m so proud of you for following your big dreams. But most importantly, I’m proudest of your big heart and your love for our God.  You are such a blessing.

Here’s a little sneak peek at Serendipity and if you’d like to see the live site for yourself, just click HERE.

 

And the winner is…… Melissa Knowles!!!! Congratulations Melissa!!!!

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The Ratliff Family– Central Arkansas Family Photographer

12.14.11 Filed in Families,Photography

The road to their house was like going back in time. It was a route I’d traveled many times, going towards the house and land I grew up on.  The day was beautiful, the sun glowing golden light on everything it touched, and the leaves rustling across the road in the cool breeze.  When I got to their house, I was amazed. And couldn’t help stopping for a minute to view the beautiful scenery.  And immediately, I was amazed, yet again at how beautifully God created the world.

Up on a hill, overlooking one of the most beautiful views I’ve ever seen, sits a house waiting for it’s inhabitants to move in.  Waiting for the family that will make it’s walls and stone into a home full of love, laughter and memories.

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Toy Lady Bugs

12.13.11 Filed in Families,Personal,Photography

When I first met Montgomery, I was small and he was 11 years older. Therefore: he was AWESOME.  (Aside from the fact that he’s pretty cool anyways) But in my eyes, watching him play baseball was like watching Zac Hanson on tv.  (And back then, Zac Hanson was IT. Freal.)  Growing up I pretty much thought the two of them hung the moon, my brother and his wife.  It was SUCH a blessing to get to inherit a brother along with my new family, and then a new sister when he married Molly — and now, it’s a blessing to watch them raise two precious girls.

I’ll never forget walking into my grandparents house a few years ago right before Christmas when Molly and Montgomery told us they were having a baby!  Little did we know at the time they were having TWO babies!

It’s not that often we get to see one another, but when we do, the time flies.  Laughter echos through out the house and the sound of kids music coming from the plethora of toys in the living room floor drowns out the television playing a football game.

I went to Mom and Dad’s one night this weekend for the first time since they left, and the house was quiet. There was a bowl of toy lady bugs still sitting on the counter in the kitchen.  I couldn’t help but tear up and think that the next time we see them is SIX whole months away.  They’ll be another year older and we’ll have a one month old. <—whoa.

Our time together as a family may be short, but we make memories that last the whole year.  I was thankful for a minute to capture this precious family after church one Sunday afternoon while they were here.

I love you all! xoxo

 

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A Showiteers Christmas : United for Change

12.12.11 Filed in Inspiration,Music,Personal,Photography

Thursday night, I came home to an envelope in our mailbox that was larger than the regular old junk mail sized envelope. And, it had my name handwritten on the outside in decadent sharpie.  My heart immediately leapt — nothing makes my day brighter than receiving a surprise in the mail!

I quickly searched the return address and smiled.  A showiteer friend of mine, Annessa Baker had sent me sweetness, and I smiled. I tore open the back and removed a small onesie with the showit logo in the middle that said “Showiteer in Training,” along with a hillarious note that had me laughing so hard I had tears streaming down my face.

It was the sweetest gift ever, this showit onesie, as I’d jokingly requested they be made available as soon as I found out we were expecting our little bundle in May–because, after all, he or she is a little future showiteer already.

The most important part of being a showiteer doesn’t mean that you’re a photographer. It means that you’re the kind of person to reach out, to help. To show love, unconditionally to one another. And to give way more than we receive.  Its a “code of conduct” of sorts.

It means that you aren’t out to harm one another, be in competition with one another, but to love one another, educate each other, and get one another through the hard times.

Showiteers come from all over the world, all walks of life. We have farmers, Space Engineers at Nasa, Llama farmers, pet lovers, funny guys, emotional women **ehem**, we have all ages from 16 to in their late 50′s– yet we all come together with one thing in common. We love photography. And we love one another.

I’m quite convinced that after being a part of this amazing group of people for just over one year now, that I’ve made some of the best friends in the world through them.  They’ve taught me so much. And inspired growth in me, photographically and personally.  They make me better.

These people are the people who are out to change the world. And I couldn’t be more honored to be a part of this amazing group of people. For I know that God gave us one another for the very reason to love one another, love others, to give, and to change the world, one step at a time.

As showiteers, we’ve done a few projects here and there, so when Natalia Bishop posted her idea for a Showiteers Christmas CD — we all jumped right in and got it done.  An entire cd- in less than one month.

From all over the world, a hand full of showiteers came together with another common bond. A love for music. And a love for a foundation that we, as showiteers couldn’t be more proud of, because one of our own, Jim Davis-Hicks, a showiteer photographer started the foundation from the ground up.  So as you can imagine, Thirst Relief is a foundation that is very close to our hearts as showiteers– and we decided to dedicate this cd to them in order to help their great works.

Thirst Relief International is an organization dedicated to delivering safe drinking water to some of the most poor countries in the world. Founded in 2005, they have been dedicating their time and resources to save hundreds of lives around the world.

Please join us in supporting this great organization–by purchasing one Showiteers Christmas Cd : United for Change, you’re saving one life.  You can purchase the cd for 6.99$ here at this link.

To learn more about Thirst Relief, please read the following, taken from the media booklet of the Showiteers Christmas CD, or visit their website at www.thirstrelief.org to find out how you can help.

I’ve never been more proud to be a part of a project, and I’ve never been more proud to be a showiteer.  Annnnd now I can’t stop crying.  The experience for me, has been unexpected, indescribable, and undeniably a blessing from God.

So– have a listen. Especially to Number 2– “Baby it’s Cold Outside” — it’s my favorite, but then again, I’m biased, as I had the honor of singing along with my friend, Jeremy Ellsworth — who did ALL of the hard work including mixing, laying down the music with his brother and getting the track uploaded and sounding great!

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Craziness.

12.08.11 Filed in Personal

I’m not going to lie. Those of you who know me personally know that there are certain times of the year I run around like a cray cray with a camera strapped to one arm, my purse flying over the other, my cell phone going off in one hand and my email vibrating my ipad.

Sure, I’d love to pretend like I have it all together. Like my house is clean all the time and the scent of freshly baked cookies wafting from the oven at all times. (Pretty much how I envision Mrs. Clauses home.) But that’s totally false. Nothing could be further from the truth.

However, God has blessed us photographers with fast seasons and slow seasons. The fast seasons to run around like cray crays doin’ our thang… and the slow seasons to relax. Rejouv. Re-start.

So, now that December has rolled around and I’m almost finished with my editing, I’m sleeping more, taking naps before bed and watching a little more tv. I’m catching up on my reading list and my paperwork filing.  Getting the tree put up and maybe even baking a few cookies now and then.  I’m so thankful for this “slower” time to catch up on everything I’ve been zooming through for the past couple months. So while the blog posts have been slower and fewer, the morning sickness has subsided and I’m actually getting lots of work done before the end of the year.  I’m enjoying my family and taking the time to smell the snow that fell night before last.

Today, as my sister had her head up to my belly singing, “what’s yo flavor” to my baby I realized I hadn’t blogged in a while.  So I thought I’d fill you in on some things that have been going on.

1. Baby will hopefully reveal his or her gender to us on our ultrasound on Dec. 21st.

2. I’m going to Las Vegas in February to attend my very first Photography Convention. Boo. Yah.

3. I cleaned out almost every drawer in our house two weeks ago.  <–that’s a pretty big accomplishment and yes, it’s totally blog-worthy.

4. The rest of the drawers are being cleaned out this week. I think.

5. We went to Branson this past weekend with my grandparents. And even though our Christmas Silver Dollar City trip got rained out, we had a great time.

6. I dropped my debit card in the parking lot today and a nice man called in and returned it to my bank. Bless him. Who ever he is. I just want to give him a hug.

7. The best decision I made this week was to friend request decline a man who started out his “will you accept my friend request message” with “Hey Sexy…”

8. I’m thinking about wearing grillz to Vegas. You know. So I look gangster.  <insert head nod.>

9. I completed all 73 levels in Bubble Burst on my Ipad. Be. Impressed.

10. DID I MENTION IT SNOWED?! Night before last. Weatherman called for 20% chance of rain. Some rain.  We woke up to a wintery wonderland of white.  #weathermanfail.

11. I fixed my cow socks. With a needle and thread. I felt all Martha Stewart sitting on my couch sewing on my socks.

Fo rizz.

The following image was taken by my lovely MIL. (Mother in Love) Photo Credit: Marie Jones.  <— I taught her all she knows.;) About photography, I mean. I kid, I kid.

THIS is how the farm looks under a blanket of white.

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