Today’s post is a personal one…will have sneak peeks up in day or so.

This was taken yesterday, on my sister’s birthday.  She would have been 32.  I can’t believe it’s been 4 years since I hugged my best friend.  I can still remember the feel of her hair on my face and the warmth of her shoulder as i lay with her in her hospital bed.  Our last hug.  A part of me will always be missing until i see her again. 

Charlotte is wearing a jacket and hat that used to be hers.  I will never tease my mom about keeping our old baby clothes again.  I had to put this on her beore she outgrew it, and yesterday happened to be the perfect day.

Happy birthday, sweet Heidi.   Charlotte will grow up knowing you. 

i know not everyone has a husband that is also an amazing father.

i know not everyone has a dad they can call, or hug today.

i know not everyone has someone to wish a “happy father’s day” to.

i know i am blessed. 

because of that, i do not take today for granted.

Just a quick “hello” in between proofing.  I’ve been extending my proofing time to closer to 3 weeks now, even though it drives me crazy personally :)  The organizer in me wants to spend 6 hrs on the computer & get them done the day after the session, and it drive me nuts having 2-3 sessions in my workflow at a time…BUT I have to make myself drag it out a bit so that my family can see me, too.  So I am spending much more time with my family now, and I can actually run off to the park or the pool at a moment’s notice, instead of feeling like I *have* to sit & proof to meet a deadline.  Charlotte appreciates it :)   Thanks for understanding!

I’m making some headway in this lil guy’s gallery…here’s a few that I just finished up that I thought were so hilarious.  His momma pulled this earthworm out of a tree stump for him (yah, she is like the coolest mom ever) - and he affectionately named him “Bowl”.  We carried “Bowl” around for a good portion of our session - thank goodness he didn’t make it home in my camera bag!

Have a beautiful, family-filled day, everyone

for a very important annoucement regarding fall/holiday sessions! 

Found these today on IKEA’s site.  I had seen them on the photo blog of one of my most favoritest photographers EVER.  You can barely see them in the right bottom corner of this  post’s photo…but they look awesome!  I’m planning a trip to IKEA in June, and I can’t wait to snatch some of these up!  Btw, isn’t her work amazing?  Yeah…I am so saving up for a session with her in OC - forget college fund, i got my Tara Whitney fund! 

Enjoy this gorgeous day!

If you haven’t been over to my site lately, go check it out.  I did a mini facelift yesterday and I’m excited about it :)  What I’m most excited about is the awesome new tunes I have now!  I have been wanting some new music for the site for a long time now…but haven’t found anything that I felt really “fit” with the style of photography I do.  Then it got put on the back burner when I got slammed with scheduling spring sessions.  Fast forward to a few wks ago, when I came across this group through a friend’s blog.  I right away downloaded the entire CD for Charlotte b/c I knew she would love it (and so did I).  After hearing a few of the songs a few times, I knew this was the music I had been looking for!  I contacted Renee&Jeremy, and was ESTATIC when they gave me permission to use their music!  (In case you didn’t know, that is a big deal.  All music is copyrighted, and it can be next to impossible to have music on your site/blog that is by a recording artist, unless you do it illegally - and many do - or pay thousands for permission to use).  ANYway - all that to say - I know have some new music that is just rockin my world!  So check out my site, and while you’re at it, check out Renee&Jeremy.  You will fall in love with them just like I did…what’s not to love?