Excited about Props!!!!

I have more new props that I'm so excited about. One is an antique hand carved rocking horse with a leather saddle. It's beautiful and will be so adorable in your childs images. Another one is a sleigh for those oh so adorable images of your childs holiday pictures. There is also more exciting news but I'm not wanting to spill the beans on it yet. I will be announcing it soon!

Happy Easter 2009

I hope everyone is enjoying a pleasant Easter today. We took some shots of the girls with the Easter eggs and wanted to share. Kissy is 19 weeks old and Natasha is almost 20 weeks old. I'm getting better with their top knots but their not any better at cooperating while were getting them done.

Baby Chicks

I found a farm nearby that was allowing people to temporarily "adopt" a couple baby chicks. We thought the little one would have fun taking care of them for a while and then we get to give them back. Woo Hoo! I'm not crazy about chickens so I'm happy to give them back. When I was little my grandparents had them and they always pecked me so I have NO desire to raise them. The little ones are cute but when they get big I'm done. Don't worry, the little one knows and is happy they are letting them come to our house "for a vacation". She gets to be their "momma" for a little while so she's happy. They also had some kids that she got to pet and hold. They were really cute too! There little tails would get to wagging and they would hop and have a good time. The little one sure enjoyed playing with them.

Our new puppies.

I've had requests to get some pictures of the puppies on the blog. I have been horrible about keeping my blog updated. I'm so sorry.

We got Kissy in January and we loved her SO much we had to get her a playmate. We got Natasha in February. They are not littermates but are very close in age. They both have great fun together but have different personalities. Kissy is very outgoing and has no fear. It's as if she thinks she's a Great Dane all wrapped up in a tiny little body. Natasha is camera shy and reserved with people or places she's not familiar with. She's still tough enough to keep our "Great Dane" in line though. They both have a lot of love to share and share it regularly. They are so much fun! In the picture below Kissy is the top left and Natasha is the top right. They were 15 weeks old in these pictures.

Our Strong Willed Child

The 4 year old was watching care bears on tv in the bedroom tonight. She came out for a brief moment and I had to stop her in her tracks. I saw she had something on her face so I asked her what she had done to which she replied "nothing". She wholeheartedly felt I would believe her as she looked at me. Now mind you she looked like the tin man from the wizard of oz. My mind was racing trying to figure out what it was she had gotten into while at the same time running to the bathroom to run some water so we could get whatever it was washed off of her. While the water was running I grabbed my phone to take a picture so we could show daddy what she had done while he was gone. Not only was her face covered but her arms and legs were as well where her shirt and pants didn't cover skin. My baby was SILVER!

During the bath I figured it must have been a stamp pad from the craft box in the closet. After the bath was over we went to the bedroom to locate it. Sure enough it was laying on the floor. She had pulled the ink pad part out and used it like a make-up sponge and brushed it over her entire face, arms, and legs.

It really is funny now but at the time I couldn't count to 10 fast enough. Well, that's another story to add to the memory book. Our strong willed child definately keeps us on our toes.

Jeremiah

It was such a treat to photograph Jeremiah again. He's got some great expressions and a great smile. For Halloween he's going to be a frog prince so his momma brought along his costume so we could capture the look. He was so stinking cute! Check out some of the images from his session below.

Matthew and Jadyn

This session was so much fun! There are so many images that are just too cute for words! It was impossible for me to narrow it down to a reasonable amount of images to share here. I'm making a book from their session so I decided to select a collage for each of them and post whatever came up.

Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep Fund Drive

With the Month of October being recognized as Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month, The Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep Foundation holds its Annual Fund Drive for six weeks starting in mid-September and ending in October.

President Ronald Reagan enacted Proclamation 5890 in October of 1988 to recognize that each year, approximately a million pregnancies in the United States alone end in miscarriage, stillbirth, or the death of a newborn child. Reagan stated, "A national observance offers us the opportunity to increase our understanding of the great tragedy involved in the deaths of unborn or newborn babies. It also enables us to consider how, as individuals and communities, we can meet the needs of bereaved parents and family members... " To read the full Proclamation signed by Reagan, CLICK HERE.

If you are in a place to make even a small contribution to NILMDTS, please know that doing so will continue to allow the organization to provide improved resources, training, communication, and other tools necessary in support of our amazing contingent of professional photographers who provide the gift of free remembrance portraiture to families in need.

Our next project we are working on is an online, interactive webinar version of our Formal NILMDTS Training taught by Co-Founder Sandy Puc' allowing anyone in any country with access to a computer to complete the course online. Donations help make programs like this a reality!


Your Donations Support the Organization in Many Ways -

* By supporting the continued education of our volunteer photographers
* By allowing us to further our outreach to hospitals and hospices across the world
* By offsetting the costs associated with outreach efforts including Formal NILMDTS Traingin Seminars
* By supporting the Family Forum which creates a productive and supportive haven for healing
* By supporting the Photographers' Forum which provides a helpful environment for our member photographers to express their feelings and receive advice on the various issues that they face in this noble work
* By supporting the day to day operations of our Headquarters Offices

Jennifer& Scott

Jennifer and Scott were married August 23, 2008. The exchange of vows was held at the Immaculate Heart of Mary in Hays Kansas and the services were performed by Father Kevin Weber. This is significant in that Scott's parents, Daniel and Patricia, also exchanged their vows here. Jennifer's parents, Paul and Reverend Joie walked their baby girl down the aisle as the string quartet, Gloriana Quartet, played. Paul had his own selection that he wanted to play during this time but Jennifer opted for the Trumpet Voluntary by Clarke. ;) Their reception was held at the Fanchon Ballroom in Hays. The DJ, Jason Walker, kept the party jumping with music and everyone had a wonderful time.

Jen, if your looking here are a few favorites so far.

First Day At School

Our baby girl is going to school! Today was her first day of pre-school and she was SO excited. Me... not so much! We waited for the van that will come to get her each day and she was ready to leave us and head off to school. Of course I insisted on following them to school and going in to check things out and make sure she was okay. Brad got a good chuckle out of me not being willing to let go but hey... she just turned 4 and she's my baby girl. Joshua can begin driving in November, though I don't know that I'm ready to move into the aspect of parenthood either. They grow up so fast! Where does the time go?

Happy 4th of July

We hope everyone has a happy and safe 4th of July! We are all safe here with only one minor incident with a punk. Nothing a little ice couldn't fix and there were no tears involved so it wasn't that bad at all. We had a great time setting off fireworks and even took time to catch some "fun with sparklers" shots.




We are able to see several different fireworks shows from home depending on which direction we look. The closest big show is about 1.5 miles away and we can see it from our driveway. WOO HOO!!!

Jenna's Favorite

My Favorite

Brad's Favorite

Joshua's Favorite

Swimming Lessons

The little one and my great nephew have been having fun at swim lessons this year. Matthew is LOVING it! He's swimming rather well (even under water) and loves going off the diving board as you can see below. Jenna is happy getting wet and doesn't care to put her face in the water or to get too far from the edge of the pool. Maybe she will get more comfortable as the summer goes on and become a little more daring.

Melinda and Doug

On June 21st Melinda and Doug exchanged vows at the Old Stone House in Tecumseh Kansas. It was a beautiful day, the location is wonderful, and they both looked great! The ceremony started at 6pm with the reception immediately following next door at the dance hall. Below you will see a few of my favorite images from their day. Congratulations Melinda and Doug! Thank you for allowing me to capture your special day for you!

Baby Killdeer Bird

We have been watching this nest of Killdeer eggs in an outer area of our yard. It's a challenge to see them without getting stuck by a few of the surrounding weeds that love to grow in that area. There were three eggs but then one day there was only one. The birds are here all the time but this is the first time we have ever been able to find the eggs so every couple of days we swing by to see what was going on. Well today we found that the only remaining egg had hatched. It's so stinking cute! We captured a couple images of the little darling and thought we would share.

Springtime Images

Today the 3 year old and I went for a drive and walk to see what we could capture with our cameras. I took pictures of Jenna and she took pictures of everything but me. She got a few good pictures that we thought we would share below. It was a lot of fun for us both so we will have to do this again soon. Maybe next time we can find flowers and a few friendly bees.

Baby Jadyn

Baby Jadyn is a 2 month old little girl and is absolutely adorable. She was such a good little baby and a pleasure to photograph. We even brought out the angel wings to use with her. I captured a couple of candids with mom during the session too and they turned out beautifully. These are some of my favorites from Jadyn's session.

How To Dance In The Rain

It was a busy morning, about 8:30, when an elderly gentleman in his 80's, arrived to have stitches removed from his thumb. He said he was in a hurry as he had an appointment at 9:00 am.

I took his vital signs and had him take a seat, knowing it would be over an hour before someone would to able to see him. I saw him looking at his watch and decided, since I was not busy with another patient, I would evaluate his wound.

On exam, it was well healed, so I talked to one of the doctors, got the needed supplies to remove his sutures and redress his wound.

While taking care of his wound, I asked him if he had another doctor's appointment this morning, as he was in such a hurry. The gentleman told me no, that he needed to go to the nursing home to eat breakfast with his wife. I inquired as to her health. He told me that she had been there for a while and that she was a victim of Alzheimer's Disease. As we talked, I asked if she would be upset if he was a bit late. He replied that she no longer knew who he was, that she had not recognized him in five years now. I was surprised, and asked him, "And you still go every morning, even though she doesn't know who you are?"

He smiled as he patted my hand and said, "She doesn't know me, but I still know who she is." I had to hold back tears as he left, I had goose bumps on my arm, and thought, 'That is the kind of love I want in my life.' True love is neither physical, nor romantic. True love is an acceptance of all that is, has been, will be, and will not be.

With all the jokes and fun that is in e-mails, sometimes there is one that comes along that has an important message. This one I thought I could share with you. The happiest people don't necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the best of everything they have.

New/Old Building

About a week ago my husband and a friend of his purchased an old building in Topeka Kansas. I'm told by some of the locals in the area that it has been a bar for many years. The building needs some work done to it so we have been spending a lot of time there. The electric lines on the outside of the building were stolen for the copper so that is a must to take care of first. It will be nice to have some lights to see with so I'm looking forward to them getting that done. I hope the heating will be next because it's VERY cold in there even when your working hard.

In the front section where the bar is there was a drop ceiling. I had to take a peek up top so I stood on the bar and moved a tile out of the way so I could look around. To my suprise above the bar was painted one thing... "Jenny's". My husband says I can't have the building for a studio even though it has my name on it... boo, hiss, pout. Anyway, I told them my thoughts on removing the ceiling tiles and an office area up front. They liked the idea so I earned myself a job and got to remove the ceiling tiles. YEAH! 8| The ceiling is covered in tin that we are going to paint black. This is going to be tricky because the ceiling is about 18' up. Yikes!

There is a wall upstairs that I absolutely loved looking at the instant I saw it. It's made of native stone that is stacked and painted white. It's absolutely beautiful!

It's going to be a while before it's finished but it's going to be a fun to see it transformed.

Here is a picture of the front of the building.

Tiffany and Daniel

On February 28 Tiffany and Daniel got married in a private ceremony that was attended by close family and friends. Everything moved quickly from the announcement that they were engaged to the actual wedding. Daniel will be shipping out for basic training in the United States Marine Corps very soon and Tiffany hopes that the time without Daniel passes quickly. Congratulations you two and enjoy your time wherever the Corps takes you!

Here are a few shots of them before the ceremony.

School Basketball Season

My sons basketball season is over for this school year. At least two days a week there were basketball games. Each of those days there were a minimum of two games played but more often than not there were three games played. They had a good season and more importantly (at least in my opinion) had fun.

I finally got used to sitting on the hard wood bleachers but I'm definately going to have to invest in the soft cushions next year to sit on. Funny... I don't remember them being that hard when I was in school.

Now we are into knowledge bowl. We have played our own game of "are you smarter than a 7th grader"... I lost. lol I was not shocked... he is so smart. He knew the alphabet like the back of his own hand at 18 months old!

Here are a couple of pictures of him playing this season.