Busy Season

Whew!  Busy doesn't even begin to describe the fall/winter photography season I've had.  Busy, but I have loved every minute of it!  On top of all the lovely families I've photographed, I also got a very special opportunity from the Public Relations department of Orange County, Florida.  They asked me to photograph the Adopt a Fire Station Events taking place throughout the county.  It was an honor and a privilege to capture the amazing families and businesses who delivered a little love to our Orange County Fire Rescue Stations during the holidays. I also enjoyed capturing our firefighters and first responders pridefully showing off their stations, equipment, and crew.  Awesome-sauce!

I will definitely be blogging all of these sessions in the coming weeks.  Until then, here's a sneak peek at how blessed my photography business has been.

XOXO

There's a special place in my heart for LEO's!

As many of you know, there is a special place in my heart for Law Enforcement Officers.  They are good people and they do good work.  

I was happy to show this LEO, and his family, some love with these photos.

And can we just take a minute to appreciate Teddy, the Labradoodle?  He was the sweetest pup ever and he sure did love his Daddy.

Midweek Randomness: Lemonade stands, cookies, and hard work

This summer our neighbors have had two garage sales in which the proceeds went to very good causes.  My kids were on board to set up a lemonade stand at both sales.  They even went the extra mile and baked lemon cookies to sell.  

These lemonade stands were excellent lessons in hard work and persistence.  My daughter had no problems with these lessons.  My son, on the other hand, struggled a bit.  (See the photo below.)  It was hard for him to stay the course and sell his wares for the entire four hours of the sale.  Four hours is a lifetime when you are six years old.

They also learned about dealing with coworkers and delegating jobs to each of the employees.  A few neighbor kids helped out at the sales and everyone wanted to be the boss.  After much arguing, I had to tell them that everyone could be a boss, but they had to be the boss of their own assigned duty.  For instance, my daughter was the lemonade server.  She would then be the Food Service Manager.  A neighbor boy was the boss of the money.  He would then be the Chief Financial Officer.  My son was the boss of yelling "Lemonade!  Lemonade!  Fifty cents a cup!!".  He would then be the Marketing Manager.  Everyone working the lemonade stand became a boss.  The moment was fleeting, but they did learn that it's not all fun and games when running a business.  It's real work.

I'm most proud that my kids never once expected to keep any of the money they made.  Not once. After each sale, they happily contributed their proceeds to the cause.  

Needless to say, by the end of each sale, I was exhausted.  Lucky for me, we had leftover cookies.  I ate them.  They were a reward for teaching my kids some pretty valuable life lessons.  Go me!! 

A Day {August, 5, 2016} in the Life Of...

A few weeks ago, I shot A Day in the Life of My Son.  I shot A Day in the Life of My Daughter back in July, you can see that post here.  I can't express how glad I am that I did this for both of my children.  To look back and see how they looked at this age, to see the things that interested them, to see the activities we were doing, will be something I, and I hope they, will cherish forever.  These photos are my return ticket to moments otherwise gone.

 I do plan to have the images printed into a book for each of them and my hope is to do this again at least once a year.  

A Princess Visits Disney Springs

I had the privilege of photographing this sweet girl at Disney Springs.  If you haven't visited Disney Springs yet, you should.  They have done a great job of remodeling and expanding it.  The variety of shops, restaurants, and entertainment is extensive.

The Princess and I met early in the morning to avoid the crowds and had a wonderful time.  It was so fun to explore Disney Springs with her.  From riding the carousel, to playing in the amphitheater, a good time was had by both of us.  If only I could do Disney Springs that way every time I visited!!

Thanks sweet girl for letting me see Disney through your eyes!

 This is how I feel when I visit Disney Springs, too!

 Carousel pics are my favorite! I'm seriously considering having my family photographer here.

A Day {July 19, 2016} In The Life Of...

This past Tuesday, I shot A Day In The Life Of my daughter.  It was one of the best things I've done with my camera in a long time.  I loved it so much, that I am going to create a photo book just for the images from this day.  

As I went through each photo, it reminded me how precious time is with our kids.  It's very easy to get caught up in the craziness of life.  Meals to cook, laundry to do, a house to clean, errands to run, but to set aside a whole day to be conscious of my daughter and her activities was really pretty cool.  I thought the process might be kind of difficult to do, as I would have to carry my camera around everywhere we went.  It actually went pretty smoothly.  

July 19, 2016 was just an ordinary day, but I will cherish these photos immensely.  I plan to shoot A Day In The Life Of my son one day this week and I'm very much looking forward to it. I also encourage you to do the same.  You don't have to have a fancy camera, use your cell phone. Photograph your child, your husband, your dog, anyone, from the moment they wake up to the moment they go to bed.  Documenting the ordinary things that occur in daily will provide priceless memories. I promise you, you won't regret it.