Miss Merry Christmas

A friend asked me to take a few photos of her son escorting a sweet little girl in the Miss Merry Christmas pagaent here. They were so cute! I don't think she quit smiling the whole time!





































The next weekend we had our Miss Merry Christmas pagaent at school. Nicole won Queen in her division last year, so she got to crown the winner this year. Natalie won Best Dressed.

These are some photos that I took for friends.

Busy, Busy, Busy

I have been very busy lately! Here is some of what has kept me so busy:

I was so excited to take pictures at another wedding. This is only the second wedding I have photographed, so I was VERY nervous. I took almost 400 pictures! These are a few of my favorites.








































This was one of the ring bearers. He is such a cutie! I taught him last year in Pre-K.




















The flower girl was the groom's neice. Isn't she beautiful?! My husband taught both the groom and his brother in the 3rd grade!




































These looked so YUMMY that I couldn't resist taking a picture of them.
















This was a shot that I just happened to be in the right place at the right time to catch. It's not a typical posed wedding shot, but it shows a tender moment between the bride and her grandfather.



































This was so funny! I said, "Give her a kiss!" He looked at me kind of shyly and she said, "Honey, it's o.k. We're MARRIED!"
















I took lots of "posed" photos, but I also tried to capture some of the details through more photojournalistic style pictures. This was taken during the reception after they had cut the cake, toasted, greeted guests, etc. Just the two of them laughing and sharing a private moment together.
















The bride's sister asked me to take some family photos for her on the same day as the wedding while the whole family was dressed up.















I thought this was a very handsome picture.




















These two always take such great photos!



















The same weekend as the wedding and family photos, another friend asked if I could take a family photo of them after church.















I also took a few photos of them together without the children and individually.































































This one was so fun! They couldn't belive that their mom was going to let them lay on the ground in their church clothes!

Just Like Daddy

I just installed a new photo editing program on my computer. I don't think I'll ever be able to learn everything that it will do, but here is a picture that I took of Jack today.

Beautiful Baby

This is another photo collage. I made this one for a friend who recently had a BEAUTIFUL baby girl. I used a photo of her crib from her baby shower and two pictures that I took at the hospital.

My Little Man

This is the newest picture of Jack. I took it this weekend after his first haircut at the barber shop.

Realistic Portraits

I've seen a trend lately toward taking realistic portraits in a natural setting rather than posed portraits in a studio. I took this picture of Natalie while we were visiting my parents. Dad took us out on his boat, and the kids had a blast! Each one took turns driving.





















These two pictures were taken at the park while we were waiting to take Lauren to soccer practice. She was playing in the tube and I ran to get my camera from the car. I thought she looked so cute. Jack is getting to the age now where he either says, "NO!" when he sees my camera, or he gives me a cheesy grin, so I've been trying to take pictures of him without him seeing me.

Birthday Party Photos

These aren't pictures from a photo shoot. Just a few of my favorite pictures from Lauren and Jack's birthdays. Lauren's birthday was on Father's Day this year so we just had a cake here at the house. Since the kitchen remodel has affected pretty much every room in the house, we didn't have a birthday party here this year. Instead we took the kids, my two nephews, and my little cousin to the Rain Forest Cafe in Galveston. They had a blast!

I love this picture of Jack and his Aunt Birdie! They have really become close lately.



















I thought this picture of Jack eating Lauren's birthday cake was too funny! I just love that bottom lip sticking out.




















This is Jack and my cousin's daughter. She wants a little brother or sister so bad!




















Jack blowing out his candle at the Rain Forest Cafe. I can't believe that he is two now!




















Lauren watching the waitresses and waiters sing Happy Birthday to her and Jack.




















One of my nephews. Isn't he a cutie?!

Photo Collages

I used photos from the baseball and softball photo shoots to make photo collages. The photo in the background of hers is her equipment. The photo in the background of his is the baseball field where the photos were taken.

The Smith Children

This was my first time to take sports photos, but I had a great time with this photo shoot. The children were wonderful about taking lots of different photos and trying different poses. Here are a few of my favorites.


I just love the look on his face in the first photo. It looks like he is in a game staring down the pitcher and concentrating on hitting a homerun!


























She is so pretty that she makes taking pictures easy! I don't think she can take a bad picture.

Accidental Picture

I was trying to take portraits of Jack for his two year old pictures, but he wouldn't cooperate. Lauren said she would show him what to do. I think the picture that I got of her is so cute and playful.

Just Because

Richard brought these roses home Tuesday night. It's not my birthday. It's not our anniversary. Don't you just love those little "just because I love you" surprises?! :-)

Easter Pictures

Here are a couple of pictures from our Easter egg hunt at church this morning.

Easter Snow

It hasn't snowed here in six and a half years! Imagine our surprise when it snowed almost all day the day before Easter! Jack was mesmerized by the snow. He kept looking at it like he was trying to figure out what in the world it was.











I am trying a new partial colorization technique that I just learned today. Here are the before and after pictures: