Christmas Card Collection 2009...

The (brief) calm after the storm...

I hope everyone had their best Christmas ever!!! We had a wonderful one, we are so blessed!!! From October on I thankfully became so busy with no time to blog~ but so happy things have been great! I had the honor of photographing so many wonderful families & children, it has been wonderful. I am very proud of all of the Chrismas Cards I created this year~ I consider them little works of art that we share with friends and family. And I love it when the card fits the personality of each family and tells a story. My goal is to have them take people's breath away when they receive them. I am very happy with how they all turned out! I wanted to post along the way, but could not till after they were mailed~ would not want to reveal before then! So I thought I would share them now...

In case anyone is wondering about the back of our cards and the quote (had a friend ask) it was a joke among us on the day we shot the images...the boys are getting so big and you always want to be careful about what hands are doing in pictures so they are not distracting (and theirs are so big now!) so we kept laughing about that they didn't know what to do with their hands~ which brought up the movie Talladega Nights ~ when the main character Ricky Bobby won his first race and was being interviewed on tv his hands kept creeping up beside his face into the shot for no apparent reason~ which was really funny! So once they started doing it we were all hysterical...so that is the story behind it! Funny boys!!

And by the way, I am now officially a MAC... well, it is in it's box here next to me anyway... very excited about it~ wishing Santa would have brought all the software I am going to need to use it since nothing is cross platform that I have... another large investment~ but the first time I design a layout in an album or cards with multiple layers and just fly through at the speed of light, I know it will all be worth it! I was very close to throwing mine out the window...definately time for an upgrade!

I am very much looking forward to a happy and busy 2010~ spring in the garden is so beautiful and just around the corner! Already have so many people scheduled to come in the next couple months it is fabulous! Spots are filling fast so anyone who is interested please call and reserve your time! So fortunate to have such amazing clients!!

May 2010 be your best & happiest year ever!

from the Heart, Teresa

Newsletter 1... Fall Portrait Special~Limited Time!

New Website Pictures...

Just finished updating my website...tons of new pictures! I have to say, I love my clients & they have got the most beautiful children...so sweet! Check it out!

from the heart...Teresa

Christmas is coming...do something Special!!!

I know....you don't want to think about Christmas....but believe it or not, it is right around the corner!! Now is a great time to think about doing a session so you will have images back before Christmas or for gifts! Hey, what better gift to give yourself than beautiful images of your family or children!!

I had a mom recently who shared with me that she has always wanted to come and have pictures done~ she told her husband that all she wanted this year for Christmas was to have their family portraits done~ her dream was always to have a canvas to put over their fireplace in the heart of their home... she will have the best Christmas ever this year, and he is happy his shopping is done, he also has a very happy wife who he is getting exactly what she has always wanted and he is earning lots of brownie points, it doesn't get any better!

But truly these days what better can you spend your hard earned money on~ you are investing in your family and those you love the most! Something that will not get used up and thrown away, something that won't go out of style, something that you don't have to replace batteries in or charge, something you don't have to visit the itunes or apple store for, but instead something you will have to treasure and enjoy forever....I would say that is priceless! It is not a luxury, it is very necessary to be able to tell the story of your family and your kids~ something to pass down to them one day!

We will be having some amazing specials coming up~ so check back often! It is also the time to be thinking about Christmas cards~ either from a session this past year, or from a new session! We have the most beautiful press printed cards on pearl paper that I custom design~ they will take your breath away. I think of Christmas cards as a gift to all your friends and family~ many times we design them with a 4x6 image on the front so they can put them in a frame. Your phone will ring off the hook with calls from people who love the card you sent...that is what I hear from clients~ it is so much fun!

from the heart...Teresa

Baseball Highlights...How we roll...

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Moving Forward...

So we are easing back into the school routine~ wondering how to get everything done each day that needs to be...a pretty common problem these days I think! The boys both love their teachers and their class, we are so blessed to be able to send them to such a wonderful school! In E's class each day they are given a subject or a sentance and have to write a journal entry about it~ I can already tell I am going to be inspired just by looking at the topics! I have a thing for quotes that are meaningful, or that tell a story so one from this week was: "You have a brain in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself in any direction you choose." I just love that! You can apply it to so many things whether it is work, love, right or wrong~ very profound I thought for a 5th grade journal entry! Ok, just one more: "Failure is only the opportunity to begin again more intelligently." Fabulous!

So E's baseball team are 11u now and the tournaments are cranking up! We have had game withdrawal since Cooperstown so we are all chomping at the bit to get back to it! They will be in Lake City this weekend, should be fun! They are all growing up so much and keep getting better and better, we are constantly amazed! Just wait till they all grow into those feet and legs, wow! E's age is his shoe size~ 10 & men's 10 shoe, a little scary! But wish us luck they are going to be fierce! Go Canes!

And now a word about football...wow! G played last year for the first time and loved it~ so he is back at it at school, 8th grader now. He is bigger and stronger, but still not one of the biggens~ so no line thankfully~ those boys have been going up against the varsity in practice, yikes! Can I just say I have never seen such muddy boys in all my life! And what comes with that is the dirty/smelly, blackest laundry you have ever seen. I could pour the water out of his shoes last night, it is just crazy! Our school is building a stadium/field at our home field this year so we can play home games at home~ it is a huge deal for the school and will be very special to everyone, we can't wait! I love that both boys do sports, though it makes our schedule crazy, it is so much fun! We are so proud of them both!

from the heart, Teresa

Summer time fun....does it get any better?

Getting ready for Back to School.....already!

I can't beleive it is already time for back to school...I have to say it makes me sad, we have loved our summer so much!! E has played travel baseball all throughout and we went on the trip of a lifetime to Cooperstown, NY for the big Field of Dreams tournament~ his team did great, we were so proud of them! And then to NYC for a couple of days, it was amazing! And G has been training for football at school through out the summer, and got to go to the YMCA camp for a week which he loved! Let's just say we are going to have a big adjustment to make to start waking up early again, we have all been sleeping in....and loving it!

Today we made the annual trek to the uniform store...which brought the reality of school next week all the closer! There are some wonderful things going on at our school~ they are in the process of building a football/sports stadium so we can have our Football games at home~ the kids are so excited! Then off to the mall after baseball to shoe shop for G, that would be for a men's size 12 please...for my 13 yr old...E is a size 10 at 10 yrs old...I think we may be in trouble if their shoe size keeps increasing with how old they are...neither one will play basketball either...maybe one day!

I tell you what I do love about back to school, it may be crazy, but the school supplies...I absolutely love to go buy school supplies, I love everything about it, even the list we get to mark off...weird I know!

So we will continue to try to squeeze every ounce of fun out of our last days of summer~ and of course finding time to work as well, thank goodness I'm a night owl...we have friends coming over tomorrow & I think I am going to try to take all the boys to the Jaguars training camp in the morning, have never been but think they would love it! We had a big group at the Sun's game Sunday night and they had a blast!

Enjoy the rest of your summer~ treasure every minute!

From the Heart...Teresa