Just Because Photography

Surprise!

2009-09-23T20:18:00.004-04:00

Boy do I have a surprise for you!

In an effort to be easier to track for potential clients and have an easier URL to remember, I'm moving :)

www.photographyjustbecause.blogspot.com

I won't be deleting this blog because it means a lot to me as I started it when I was pregnant with my little man, but all new blog posts will be found at the new blog! It will still include my business and personal blog posts! Enjoy!

And P.S. Don't forget to bookmark the new blog!

Raisin' little people~a come with me adventure in potty training.

2009-09-20T21:51:00.002-04:00

We are in no way, shape or form potty trained. Darin has yet to potty in the potty regardless of how often I make him sit down on the potty. BUT we're are trying and I thought it might be fun to do a "come with me" style raising a little person (that's I've since re-titled raising little people, because I'm about to be raising little PEOPLE and not just a little person, which seems so crazy to me!).
So here on my blog, we'll document things we try that work and that don't. We have our little potty set up in the downstairs bathroom because that's where we spend 90% of our day. Darin sits on his potty every time either mommy or daddy go to the bathroom and we encourage him to go too. And tonight, he was just too stinkin' adorable, so I took pictures and just have to share them.

Photography wise:
50 mm 1.8, f/2.8, 1/200, ISO 1600 (because it's kind of dark here at 8:30PM, hehehe)
I shot in RAW and adjusted the white balance in ACR because the lights in our house come off very yellow. Resized and sharpened for web.

As you can tell, he's mostly interested in playing with the "wee wee blocker" (that helps him direct his urine towards the potty and not all over my bathroom) which is what he's looking for in ALL of these (even though you can't tell and it looks like he just knows what he's doing in there)

and I was caught... Oopsy.

Now, mommies of potty trained (or training) little people, do you have any tips to share?

Details, details.

2009-09-18T12:09:00.002-04:00

Whenever I do a photoshoot, homecomings, second shoot a wedding, families, etc I LOVE to capture the details. The small details that might be forgotten later on down the road. I'm in the process of editing the second homecoming I shot while in North Carolina, and here are some of the details that stuck out in my mind. Just wait til' you see how they start to mold together for a very fun story!

straight off the presses

2009-09-17T16:12:00.002-04:00

Took a small break from my to do list and got this of my sweet sweet little man. I'm working on understanding the manual function of my camera better. My ISO is higher than I would normally use, but it worked better for the light going on in my living room at the time.

50mm1.8 lens, f/2.8, 1/250, ISO 1000

These girls make my job easy.

2009-09-17T13:17:00.002-04:00

I've been blogging this homecoming for weeks now. I just keep falling more and more in love with this family. Bethanie means the world to me, and to capture these memories was such a blessing. Plus, I blogged our dear Kayla and her daddy the other day (just a few posts down) and had to share one of sweet Haylee and her daddy too. It's only fair, ya know. I have a sister, and I know things have to be done fairly :)

10 on Thursday?

2009-09-17T10:13:00.004-04:00

Yes, that's right folks. I forgot on Tuesday, so here it is on Thursday. It still goes. T for 10 and T for Tuesday. And today it's "to do list" style.

1. Finish editing pictures from North Carolina. --Work in progress.
2. Clean my house, because my ILs are coming over for dinner.
3. Cook dinner (Cheeseburger Soup, a la the Crockpot lady--www.crockpot365.blogspot.com)
--check
4. Do a load of diapers. I love that I haven't washed diapers since Saturday and still have enough for the rest of today and probably some for tommorrow. --check
5. Knit some. A day without knitting is a day, well, without knitting. --check
6. Take a nap, if I have time.
7. Shower.
8. Chase the monster around and hope he finds an interest in cartoons SOON, so that I can get some editing done. --check (kind of)
9. Clean up the mess, the monster made while I just told you that last part. --check
10.Start working on the guest room, because I have a visitor coming in just a few short weeks.

No pictures for now. Maybe later, I'll come back and add some. But I've got to get to work, and this is now my official to do list for today. Watch out for what I actually get accomplished!

wordy wednesday.

2009-09-16T15:54:00.004-04:00

I was going to do a wordless Wednesday post, and just post these pictures:

but then I realized, I have way too many words inside of me to do a wordless post. Plus, I like to explain the stories behind my pictures. I think that is part of the magic in photography, capturing the stories.

These were taken the other morning in my room. I never realized the wonderful light my bedroom got! Darin learned a new trick, I was folding laundry and came into my room to find him on my bed playing with (read: eating) my chapstick. So I grabbed the camera and played with him. I've had a "bam!" moment photography wise. I LOVE my 50mm lens. It doesn't take blurry pictures and my camera is not broken as I once thought. Shooting at 1.8 is not good for toddlers, and pictures of them will come out blurry. Wide open is fun, sometimes... But sharp pictures are more fun, all the time.

ten on tuesday.

2009-09-08T21:47:00.003-04:00

1. None of these 10 things will really have any pertenance to photography. Tommorrow is editing day, and today is just knitting day.

2. Since last Thursday, I've started 4 new knitting projects. 2 are half finished, 1 is getting there, and the other I've only got the waist band completed. I've got 2 newborn patterns going and 2 Darin sized soakers going.

3. Knitting is how I relax. I can knit in front of my TV, I can go sit at Among the Pines (fabulous store!!) and knit forever and Sue will still love me and my toddler. I knit at my in laws, or in the car when I'm waiting at the drive thru of Taco Bell. (maybe I go there too often...)

4. Some decisions, I've been thinking about and praying about, have finally started to become clear in my head. I'm scared, but I know that in the long run, it's better for me as a person.

5. I'm only on number 5?

6. We have a family day coming up on the 19th in Bloomington, MN (home of the Mall of America!). I'm hoping to convince Matt to go up the night before, then stay until the day after, so I can get some real mall time or at least a trip to Ikea.

7. I've never been to IKEA, but boy do I LOVE their website. I'll take one of everything, please.

8.
I rode in an Army National Guard humvee. The helmet was HEAVY! Matt rolled his eyes when I told him I was going to do it. My mom in law, rode with me. We laughed and had fun.

9. I'm making sugar cookies tommorrow. because I can.

10. I'm thinking now that I've made family day, a family trip we may have to also go to the zoo. Darin would probably love it.

nothing else like it. {traveling homecoming photography}

2009-09-05T18:56:00.001-04:00

Isn't it grand? I'm going through my CF cards editing in order of when I took them (make sense right?). This homecoming was the first thing I shot, seriously I was in NC for 6 days and didn't shoot a thing with my camera. Unfortunately, this wonderful husband, and father has since had to return to Iraq. Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers. He should be returning again very soon.

Bethanie--I LOVE YOU.

a moment like this. {traveling homecoming photographer}

2009-09-03T17:29:00.006-04:00

I remember very clearly the first time I ever watched American Idol. It was the season finale of season 1. Kelly Clarkson had just won and was giving a very moving (and choked up) performance of "A Moment Like This." It was then that I fell in love with the song and the line
some people wait a lifetime, for a moment like thisWhen you're apart of the Marine Corps (or any military branch for that matter), you are extremely blessed to get to relive the excitement and butterflies of first kisses and the nervousness of seeing the love of your life the first time. Remember when you walked down the aisle and made eye contact for the first time? Those butterflies that went crazy in your tummy? Those are the same butterflies felt on homecoming day, and some people wait a lifetime for that moment, for those moments.

I was blessed to be apart of Ashley and Jay's homecoming. I didn't think I would be able to shoot it because he was due to come home the day I was leaving. But as fate would have it, he came home a few days earlier than expected. I'll probably share more over the next couple of days as I get things finished up. Tip: Don't leave your laptop at home, bring it with you! Edit as you go, don't go 18 days and then expect to be able to edit through 18 days worth of pictures easily!

The first two are the same, but I couldn't decide which one I liked better. I think I love them both...Even though, it's the same image in the camera, the edits give them two distinct feels.

Flashback Game.

2009-09-01T17:50:00.003-04:00

1. Open the 4th file where you store your photos
2. Pick out the 4th photo and publish it to your blog
3. Explain a bit about it
4. Pass this challenge to 4 other blogs

This is the worlds boringist photo ever. LOL. I'm almost tempted to rename or rearrange folders to find a prettier one with a better story! LOL. Picture of some cow butts anyone?

Because I feel the need to defend the out of focusness, we were on a golf cart about to start chasing these cows (yes, you read that right) and I was laughing to hard to actually focus. So, maybe there is a story behind it, afterall. LOL.

And because I have way too many folders on my computer. I went to the 4th folder on my desktop, and the fourth photo there was this beauty. It makes me smile.

Now for tagging...

1. Ashley at "A Little Piece of Heaven"
2. Sevi at "Lifestyles of Sevi"
3. Heather of "Heather Whitten Photography"
4. any CW sister with a blog!

10 on Tuesday {almost}

2009-08-31T18:09:00.004-04:00

1. I got CS4! But I am waiting on my sister to email me something before I can upload it (hint: Kristin hurry up), so today's post will be full of flash back pictures until I can edit new ones. And I know it's Monday, but I'm feeling antsy and ready to go! LOL.

2. I'm trying to decide what Darin should be for halloween. Not sure how to top this cuteness:

3. I've decided that baby #2 will be a shark for her (or his, but I want a her) first halloween and I will put the prettiest pink bow on the top of the shark's head.

4. I'm ready to start shooting holiday pictures.

5.My child is driving me BONKERS! He figured out our pantry door, and now I'm in a load of trouble. He's brought me several bags of chips and loads of cereal in the past 3 hours. No amount of discipline (or food) has given him the urge to stop.

6. I would like this sleepy, non-mobile baby back. Please.
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7. I eat Taco Bell mild sauce straight out of the packet. My sister found a jar of it, MN doesn't sell the Taco Bell brand in stores, so she's going to mail it to me. I'm really excited.

8. I have a doctor's appointment tommorrow! I cannot wait to see our baby or at least hear her heartbeat. (again, just speaking it into existance).

9. Here is a picture of me "at work." I feel really funny calling it work. It doesn't feel like it. I LOVE doing what I do, and work makes it seem like I should be whining about it.

10. Last but not least, the most wonderful man in the world, just walked through the door and took Darin upstairs to play while he showers. I'm thinking I'm getting Taco Bell for dinner and life is really good.

be still my heart. {shoot swap}

2009-08-24T11:40:00.003-04:00

Before I begin, how is that I have blogged more on vacation than I have at home? Maybe it's the peace and quiet, my mom, dad, and sister have allowed me to have? This morning my dad and sister woke up with Darin allowing both my mom and I to sleep in! It was glorious. I'm scared to go home and have to actually do the fulltime mommy thing again! Good thing Labor Day is coming up and Matt will have a few days off! Have I ever mentioned how spoiled I am?

Onto the purpose of the post. Yesterday (August 23,2009) I was blessed beyond measure to take part in a photo shoot swap with a fellow photographer and very dear friend, Heather. Our lives seem to parallel each other and my only regret is that she wasn't my dearest friend in high school, I could kick myself! Anyway, I shot her and her beautiful family and she shot my mom, dad and Darin. Matt didn't come with us on our vacation and "family" pictures without a large part of the family seemed silly. Then I was perusing the fabulous blog of Misty Smith and saw she had done a grandparent/grandchild shoot! How perfect, for the time being Darin is the only grandchild on my side of the family and I thought it would be fun to capture the bond he has with his Memaw and Papa. After the shoot, we both rushed home and put the unedited files onto discs and then traded. I will still probably edit some of the ones I shot of them, because of my aholic nature, so be on the look out sometime after I get home for those.

Immediately after Heather left my parents house, we rushed to my sister's computer to check out the disc! We've come to the strong conclusion that they are ALL our favorites! This picture, all I did was put the watermark and bump the contrast. It will be on my wall SOON as I'm sending it off to the lab (without the watermark) today so it can be waiting on me to get home. THIS is Darin. It captures him so well! The running, looking back at to make sure he's got followers and the smiles on my parents faces make my heart still, I am beyond in love.

Heather, if this was the only picture you captured, I would of been happy. You've captured the essence of my sweet love and I cannot begin to thank you for that gift.

home sweet home. {random personal photography}

2009-08-16T20:24:00.005-04:00

Home. Obviously I won't be home in Minnesota for another week and a half, but I wanted to blog just a couple of pictures from earlier today while I'm home in sweet, warm, humid, fabulous Jacksonville. They struck a cord on my heart and of course, I had to share. In my parent's cul-de-sac, there are 3 little ones (well, 2 that live here and then Darin) that are all within 4 months of each other. My sister took Darin outside just for some playtime earlier, and let me just interject that Darin LOVES outside time*, and he ran straight towards the other kids like they had been friends for YEARS.

*we don't play outside when we're at home because the bugs are so bad and I hate seeing Darin get all bitten! the bugs here are smaller and less vicious so we can't be eaten alive by them.

Anyway, one of the moms offered Darin a popsicle and he LOVED it. Of course, it dribbled all over and got all sticky (and grass covered...) so afterwards he washed off in the waterhose. Summer is grand, isn't it?

This last one is just an upclose of my mom's Bird of Paradise plant. It was split from the original plant that my great grandfather had in his backyard. When my great grandmother passed away, my aunts dug the plant up and each sister and all the cousins got their very own. My mom just adopted hers in May, and now she has a beautiful bird. {thanks to Heather for inspiring the "macro" attempt, although it was shot with a 50mm 1.8, so it's not technically macro, haha. }

speechless. {Jacksonville Homecoming Photography}

2009-08-16T20:12:00.003-04:00

I tried and tried to come up with a fun, creative title for this blog post, and no word seemed to be able to capture the amazingness that happened today. As I mentioned in my last blog post, I'm in NC from the 10th to the 28th. I haven't been home since our big move in January and I was dying to see my friends and family. As fate would have it, my best friend's husband was scheduled to come home for his 2 weeks R&R while I was visiting! She shot our homecoming way back in March 2008, and I was honored that she asked me to capture her special moments. Here is a small sneek peek, my favorite images (as of right now, of course). I'm not editing on my normal computer, so any color issues or poor editing will be fixed, but I couldn't resist editing a couple because I'm an aholic like that.

sneak peek. {Brainerd Lakes Child Photography}

2009-08-07T14:41:00.005-04:00

A few weeks ago (before all the craziness) I was blessed, blessed, blessed with the opportunity to work with my very own family! When my brother in law and sister in law bought their house and were decorating, I got to help put pictures up and give my ideas. Well, their living room is home to some beautiful black and whites of the children. There is only one problem, the last picture of the kids together was before child #3!! So I promised to help add some pizazz to the wall by getting some pictures of all three kids together. A few weeks, and some haircuts later, we did it. And now a few weeks, and 2 hospital stays later, I'm actually working on them. Funny how life just catches us isn't it?

This beauty came up first, and I literally GASPED. To be completely honest, brown eyes scare me. I have problems with catch lights and making the eyes seem too dark... It's a problem that I'm trying to fix, but is kind of hard when everyone in my immediate family has blue or green eyes! Luckily, this part of the family has some brown, green and blue eyes and be prepared--they have the PRETTIEST eyes in the world (you know, after Darin)

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i'm still here.

2009-08-05T21:45:00.004-04:00

kind of. almost. I pretty much SUCK at blogging here lately. This pregnancy is kicking my butt. Seriously. No pictures, this blog, but I'm going to get back into that, eventually, I promise. Updates. Let's see, way back in July (the 28th to be exact) I woke up as normaal, fed Darin breakfast (cereal, sprinkled on the floor, because my morning sickness wouldn't allow me to cook him anything else. And yes, I'm that lazy) and then laid on the couch to watch Monday's episode of the Closer. After a few minutes, I got up to fix myself something to eat, and immediately fell down in pain. Something in my lower right tummy area was hurting BAD. I tried laying in a ton of different positions and then got scared when it didn't go away. I thought I may be over reacting, so I called my mom, just to talk and see if it wouldn't just go away on its own. It didn't. I was in TEARS on the phone with my mom, laying on the bathroom floor, getting sick from the pain (well, and the morning sickness). She called Matt from her house phone and he came home immediately. Something you may not know about me, is my tolerance level for pain. It's high. Really high. I complain a lot, I hate being sick, but I don't really complain about pain. So Matt rushed home and rushed me to the ER. I was immediately put into a room (I think it's because I was gagging and screaming because it hurt so bad). After a bunch of questions, I was given some morphine for hte pain, and it didn't work. So they gave me Dyloxin. It worked wonders! I was given an u/s to check for signs of kidney stones or an ectopic pregnancy. It was neither, and baby was safely swimming in my uterus with a heart rate of 143 (woohoo!!). After I saw a healthy baby, I kind of stopped paying attention and dozed off to happy drugged Kassi land. The u/s tech obviously saw something and took me back to my room and ran off to get the radiologist. Within minutes, the ER doctor was back and telling me that I had a cyst that was 9cm on my right ovary that caused it to twist. My OBGYN was the OBGYN on call, and had me moved upstairs to the surgical floor. That evening at around 6:30 or 7 I was wheeled to the OR where I had laposcopic surgery to have my right ovary (and that pesky cyst) removed.
I was recoverying well, and on Friday (the 31st) Matt and I went back to the doctors office for our first "official" ultrasound. Baby Hamilton is still swimming with a heartrate in the 140s and is really the cutest peanut since Darin. I'd say they are tied for cutest babies EVER. (But I may be biased!)
Anyways, I have been SOOO taken care of. People have watched Darin and myself, while Matt works, and allowed me to recover wonderfully. Fast forward to Monday (the 3rd) and my morning sickness has officially taken over. I hadn't eaten in 2 days, and I couldn't keep ANYTHING down. I knew I was dehydrated and my mother in law (and mom via the phone in NC!) had me call the doctor for an appointment. I was apparently rather sickly looking. I got to my appointment, that afternoon, and was immediately wheeled to the family birthplace (L&D)/pediatrics side of the floor and hooked up to an IV and Zofran. After 24 hours on the fluids and zofran, I was feeling wonderful. When I was able to keep solids down on Tuesday, I was released with a zofran prescription and instructions to come back for IV fluids if need be. I'm now on the zofran every 4 hours and drinking gatorade like it's going out of style. I feel soooooo normal. I haven't felt this normal in weeks! It's wonderful!
They ran some tests while I was in on Monday. Initial test results showed that I may have a hyper thyroid problem because my TSH (thyroid hormone) was extremely low. But further tests determined that my HCG (the pregnancy hormone) levels are extremely high, which causes the brain to tell the thyroid to not make the TSH. Right now, my HCG levels SHOULD BE between 60 and 80 thousand. My levels are over 200 thousand!! 4 times what they should be!! Which also explains why I stayed so sick with Darin! Nothing we can do to fix it (nor would we want to, if there were!), but there are ways for us (okay, me) to control the sickness the high levels cause. I'm on the zofran, I stay hydrated and I eat ALL the time. But not meals, just bites. Bites are good.
Today (the 5th) we went to the County Fair (yes, NC people, the fair is in AUGUST! It kind of weirded me out!) and I had a snow cone, a shake and fried cheese curds (oh my goodness, NC needs cheese curds!!!!). It was pure bliss. We took Darin on a tour of the animals and he LOVED it!! My child, who just weeks ago hated anything animal, LOVED it!! He wanted to pet each and every one of them, and when we walked out of each exhibit, insisted on waving bye bye! Melt my heart! When did my baby get so big? I love watching him as he begins to understand and grasp the concept of so many things!
So there's my update. I have some family pictures (not my family) to post, and will work on getting 100% caught up tommorrow!
And from the 10th to the 28th, I'll be out of reach and home visiting so many wonderful people in NC!!!

storm the gates.

2009-07-27T11:01:00.003-04:00

Right now, as I type, Mckmama is holding Stellan tightly. Family is rushing to the hospital. We need to be storming the gates of Heaven. Trusting and believing God for his miracles. I can't imagine the pain and fear they must be experiencing. Please pray.

So today, instead of telling funny stories of "Not me!" I ask that we all pray for Stellan, pray for MckMama, Prince Charming and all of their MSC.

10 on Tuesday.

2009-07-07T13:48:00.002-04:00

1. I have lots of pictures from this weekend that I cannot wait to upload to my computer and see. I know I can't wait to share them either, but Darin has misplaced my card reader (again). Maybe I should stop letting him play with it.

2. I ordered a knitting pattern for longies/shorties and capris. I'm going to start knitting my first pair this week. I'm knitting Darin a pair with superman on the butt! (the logo, not the actual man). Then I'm starting a collection for hte new baby. I'm pretty sure I won't feel like knitting a lot once he/she is here, and I want him/her to have a huge collection of soft wool!

3. Darin kisses are the best. Full open mouth kisses that sometimes involve a dog-like swipe with the tongue. I love them.

4. I'm feeling GREAT so far. I'm only 4 weeks along though, and with Darin my all day-all pregnancy sickness didn't start until 6 weeks. I'm praying I don't get as sick with this baby, otherwise I'm going to have to have someone move in with me to take care of Darin and myself.

5. My first doctor's appointment is July 13th in the morning. It's only to get a referral to an OBGYN, but I'm still excited to go.

6. I'm really sad about my card reader. Darin was adorable on the hill waiting for fireworks and the light was just scrumdiddlyumcious.

7. We moved our pool to our back porch and I cleaned it and filled it up today. But I think I'm too tired to put Darin IN the pool now. I'm going to go buy a tarp to put over it, so I don't have to clean it and refill it as often.

8. Our grass hurts. It's not the soft, thick, full grass that feels so wonderful on your feet, it's the still kind of dry, pokey, full of dirt grass that hurts your feet. I hate wearing shoes :(

9. Today I am supposed to be cleaning. And in fact, when I am done with this post, I will be. I feel like the list of things to do keeps growing and never shrinking.

10. I am a water-a-holic. I drink at least 3-4 bottles a day. I have cut back on caffeine and have 1 cup of coffee a day. I have only had 3 Dr. Peppers in the past 7 days. That my friends is miraculous.

not me.

2009-07-06T11:13:00.002-04:00

I think this is fun. Who doesn't like to confess, silly, odd and sometimes goofy or stupid things they've done! This week, I most definately did not start letting my son walk around naked in an attempt to potty train him at 15 months. And I did not step in wet messes at least twice. Nope, not me!I did not take a pregnancy test on Wednesday, at only 11 days past ovulation. And when there was a shadow of a line, I did not re-test in the afternoon. Who would do that? Not me!And I most certainly did not confirm things with a test on Thursday and keep it a secret from family and friends until Saturday! And decide to tell them like this:

Just so that I could get pictures like this:

Nope! Not me!And I have most definately not already ordered a knitting pattern for newborn diaper longies. No, not me! I would most definatley wait until later in my pregnancy. Pictures of my family (the reaction picture) was taken by my most wonderful best friend, Bethanie.

Raisin' a little person Kassi style.

2009-06-30T10:12:00.005-04:00

On my Myspace and Facebook, a couple weeks ago I created this blog/note about the things we're trying out as parents. Because let's face it, kids don't come with manuals (you have to buy the book at Barnes & Nobles for $30), but even those books don't have everything you need to know, and as bad as it sounds, raising a kid goes on a moment to moment basis! But there are some things we have decided and that we do practice with Darin. We're still learning and evolving as parents, but I'm sharing what we're doing to give other's ideas of things that may work for them! And I encourage everyone to do the same! Post your own blog/note about "Raisin' a little person ________ Style" and we can all learn and grow and develop ideas together! It takes a village right?

Cloth Diapering
Wearing Your Baby
Extended Rear Facing

Up Next? Potty Training! That's right, we've decided that we are going to start early potty training with Darin. So watch out for that post. I may be a "we're halfway there" post, but it might still be fun!! Anyone have any early potty training advice they'd like to pass on?

not me! monday.

2009-06-29T13:02:00.003-04:00

Remember Stellan? Well, his MckMama does this weekly thing on her blog, called "Not me! Monday" and I thought I would participate this week. Especially since, most weeks I end up going "that's me!"

This week I most definately DID NOT let Darin eat caramel puff corn before breakfast. And I most certainly AM NOT sitting her doing the same thing!

My son is NOT currently sleeping in a t-shirt, and 2 mismatching baby legs because I was too lazy to actually dress him this morning.

I DID NOT order pizza the other night because I was too lazy to cook. And I most certainly DID NOT spend hours tending to my farm on Facebook, while sprinkling organic cookies on the floor for Darin to eat.

And I DID NOT just decide this, simply to see my name in MckLinky on Mckmama's blog.

Nope not me!

Happy Father's Day!!!

2009-06-21T20:20:00.003-04:00

I am so thankful to have such wonderful men in my life. I've been blessed with a wonderful father, and a fabulous husband to father our son.

My dad is a retired Marine, so last fall when we spent the afternoon taking pictures and he threw these signs, I culdn't help but find it awesome! He's on the very left of the picture. Daddy, I love you so much! Thank you for all the love you've shown to me over the years and allowing me to see soo many different places and cultures. You Rock :)

And this man, my own Prince CHarming, Knight in Shining Armor. And one of the few pictures where he's not making hilariously funny faces. I couldn't ask for a better Father for our son.

my little man.

2009-06-13T20:17:00.002-04:00

here are some recent pictures of my little man. I love them both. They make my heart pitter patter.

more milk please.

2009-06-10T10:05:00.002-04:00

Can you guess what words Darin knows how to sign? I'm so incredibly proud of him. Sign Language has always been near and dear to my heart. I learned in 5th grade during an after school class, and continued to learn during my tween/teen years through books and through Mum. It's a language that is beautiful and means so much to me. To me, it's more than a language, it's something that beats in my heart, it's my connection to my Heavenly Father, and a connection to a quieter world. Long, before "baby sign" was popular, I was telling people that my children would be fluent. Now, my baby signs. Only 3 words right now, and if he feels pressured you can kiss your chances of seeing it goodbye, but my baby signs and I'm oh so proud of him.
And because I'm so proud of him, here are two more pictures from Texas. I know I haven't posted my Fort Worth trip yet, but they'll be around soon.

child like fun.

2009-05-31T13:42:00.002-04:00

If I could pick just one word to describe our trip to Texas, FUN would be it. Everything we did, we had fun! The wedding was fun. Family is always fun. Heck even the 5 hour drive to Mansfield/Arlington was fun! Here are some of my favorite pictures from Houston. The rest will have to wait. Toddlers are only so patient.

These first two are from the night of the rehearsal dinner. It was at a beautiful restaurant called the Spanish Flower. We had chips & salsa (of course), queso, guacomole and then family style beef & chicken fajitas! It was AMAZING. The evening weather was perfect, warm with a hint of a breeze and the most beautiful sunset, ever. I took advantage of the fabulous light, to take these of my little man.

The wedding took place outside at the Sweetwater Country Club in Sugarland (maybe? It might of been Houston or Stafford or any number of places really. I get lost easily in Houston!). Again the lighting was beyond amazing. Even with a storm in the background, the sun stayed perfect throughout the entire ceremony and picture taking!
I'm so happy for Jason and Candice. I'd never met Jason until the day of the rehearsal, but could easily tell he fit Candice perfectly. My favorite part of the entire wedding was simply the way they looked at each other. They whispered and giggled through the ceremony. I'm not sure they even noticed the chaplain or any of the guests were there. It was beautiful to see two people so wonderfully in love.

This next one is a favorite, even as I shot it, I knew I loved it and when I saw it on the camera screen I KNEW it was going to be my favorite of possibly all 9 days in Texas! Pictures were taken on the golf course, and there were some amazingly fabulous hills. And what do 3 year old ringer bearers & 5 year old flower girls dream of doing on fabulous hills? Why this of course.

we're home.

2009-05-29T23:21:00.004-04:00

So we made it home today! After 9 wonderful days of traveling, baby bellies,a GORGEOUS wedding, and tons of time visiting family and friends, and 8 ridiculously long flights (okay, so they weren't bad, just long) we're home.
Not too much to say tonight, as I'm EXHAUSTED, but I wanted to show ya'll a few things first because I'm uber excited.

1. Candice's wedding was GORGEOUS. I'd share a picture you with you, but my memory card is downstairs... I took well over a thousand pictures in the 9 days I was gone. I'm pretty sure at least 500 of them were at the wedding I wasn't hired to shoot.... Oops.

2. She had an AMAZING photographer (no, not me. LOL. Although I'm pretty darn good.) If you are in or near the Houston, Texas area, seriously check this dude out! He was awesome. He even let me stand behind him during formals and shoot, which is normally a no-no by most photogs. This guy is laid back, fun, cool and his eye is unbelievable.(oh and for the other photogs wondering, I introduced myself before I shot from behind AND we were outside so no flash was used and I didn't ruin any shots of his.)
Oh, and check out the shot he got of Darin at the ceremony (yes, that's my son UNDER the chair....whatever keeps him happy).
Studio Phenom in Houston, Texas

3. My son is afraid of animals... We had a dog up until he was 9 months old, and now he's afraid of all animals. Cows, chickens, bunny rabbits, kittens, even week old puppies. Oh and longhorns too. hehehe. Fortworth was AMAZING. We found our way to the Northside of Forth Worth and hung out at the Stockyards on Wednesday. Amazing doesn't quite describe it all.

4. I come from the most phenomenal family of all times. They rock. Seriously.

5. CW sisters are the bestest. I got to meet 3 new sisters over Mexican food. Does life get better than that?

I hereby promise pictures starting (slowly) tommorrow. I need to go grocery shopping and clean my house, but I'd rather do pictures instead.

fresh cut.

2009-05-17T00:31:00.004-04:00

You know that feeling when you get your haircut for the first time in too long? Or how the grass smells after you've cut it for the first time since last summer? That's how I feel today. I was ready for a change in the blog, so I did it and I can already feel the cool summer breeze on my face and I know that I like it. A few things to point out.

The new header. Complete with a new logo and some of my favorite pictures (not all of them, because there isn't enough space!).

Scroll all the way to the bottom. An archive list AND labels! That's right folks, I'm working my way through EVERY post I've made (EVER) and labeling them. That way if you want to see just Engagements or Babies, you can see just engagements and babies. For Memaw & Grandma, that means pictures of just D Monster are more easily accessible. :) I do it because I care.

Also, underneath the header! Lookie lookie! More website-ish, dontcha think? AND if you click them, it takes you to the correct page. Those pages aren't 100% complete, but they are accessible.

I think that's all of the changes for now. I've got a new "photo stamp" to use as a watermark. I'm hoping it's warm enough tommorrow to take Darin out, I've got some ideas for him, plus I want to use my new stamp.

Well, leave some love, constructive criticism, funny comments or stories. :)

Love Ya :)

Oh and p.s. next week I go to Texas so I'll be MIA for about 10 days. But when I get back I promise Bouquets, Bellies & D Monster love. It shall be fun stuff!!

2009-05-16T18:08:00.002-04:00

Excuse any weirdness you may or may not see around here in the next day or so. I'm in the process of redoing my logo, header and trying to add some cool stuff.

What do you think of the new header?

pondering.

2009-05-14T17:14:00.002-04:00

surrounded by beauty.

2009-05-12T21:53:00.003-04:00

Who else could be so lucky? To shoot such wonderful people.

You know you're working with good people when they agree to stand on swings and climb trees and jungle gyms all in the name of photography.

B&T get married in September. T contacted me via facebook and we got together last week to shoot some engagements. I'm very pleased with how all of them came out! They were so fabulous to work with.

pray for the freemans.

2009-05-12T13:26:00.003-04:00

I always seem to find the saddest blogs imaginable. I've been reading Kayleigh's story for the past couple of weeks. Kayleigh went to be with Jesus last night, having never left the hospital where she was born. Now I imagine she's dancing with Jesus, free from machines and sickness and 100% whole. Please pray for her mommy and daddy. I cannot begin to imagine the pain that comes with losing a child, and I pray I never have to. Pray for Brandon & Allyson, Kayleigh's brother and sister and for all that have loved Kayleigh.

You may recognize Kayleigh's mom and dad. They were on the TV show "the Doctors" yesterday.

IMG_7895.JPG

2009-05-10T17:48:00.002-04:00

Click here to view these pictures larger

long lost birthday pictures..

2009-05-04T13:19:00.004-04:00

So I just realized I never posted birthday pictures. Darin is currently trapped in his high chair (I put him there.. LOL) and I thought I might add birthday pictures while I had a spare moment.

My mom, dad, and sister were able to fly in for the big event! It was such an amazing time to spend with them and I'm so glad they were able to come. Uncle Kurt/Kyle we missed you!!! You better come visit this summer, OR ELSE.
We had a sports themed party (what else?) and requested that all guests wear sports jerseys! Grandpa (matt's dad) made the cupcakes & the cakes! I tend to go a bit overboard on ordering cakes, because I have to be sure that I have enough. So we ended the party with a whole baseball cake uncut! So we put it in the freezer and cut it as we watched the Twins first game of the season. Anyway, on the pictures

been a while.

2009-05-04T09:44:00.004-04:00

LOTS and LOTS to catch up on. Are you holding on? You should be! Be ready to see too many pictures and read way too many words!

First things first, this couple is AMAZING. I've been blessed to call Andrea my friend. She & Mike live in Jacksonville (oh sweet Jacksonville...) but were in Minnesota on pre-deployment leave. They even came to Nisswa, which is only 15 minutes from my house! So we met up and I did some pre-deployment pictures. They are such a beautiful couple and I'm not sure I can pick a favorite. We hung out in "downtown" Nisswa for a few shots and then headed over to Mike's cabin where in APRIL I stood on an ice covered lake. I shot a little earlier in the day than I like, but I am beyond pleased with how these turned out. I'm in the process of converting a guest room into a guestroom/office, and I'm thinking if you spend the night in there, you'll be seeing these 2 faces on the wall.

Next, another reason it has taken a million years for me to blog is because I was on a cruise. Be jealous, be very very jealous, because while you were sitting at your desk or watching TV or doing whatever you do, I was getting sun burnt on the Lido deck of the Carnival Inspiration. Proof:

Yes, I was in Mexico! Before the swine flu. or maybe while it was in the beginning.. No I don't have it. Although my nose has been runny lately! oh no! hehehe. I don't have the swine flu. LOL. Mexico was a BLAST, I got to hang out and be one of the girls and not "maaaaaaaa" (picture it in a real thick Italian New Yorker accent.. because that's how Darin sounds when he says it.)

Oh wait, there's more words! I was gone for 4 days Thursday-Monday, but didn't get to see Darin from Wednesday until Tuesday (well, I saw him asleep on Thursday and Monday, but that doesn't count!). Tuesday morning was a BLAST and I couldn't tell who was happier, him or me!

So updates in little man world? Well, he's been moving quite easily between furniture lately, and would even take a few steps for food (but nothing else, only food!) for a while now, but he's not a 100% walker yet, he's definately walking. If he has something to hold onto he can stand up and move ANYWHERE while in an upright position. As soon as he learns to stand up in the middle of the room, I'm screwed! Oh, we can climb stairs with ease (although going down them, not so much. He tries to go head first, so he rarely gets to practice.) and can get on the couch if there is someone sitting there for him to pull up on. So our hiding place on the back of the couch, no longer valid. Ooops.
I promise to get the walking and this next thing on video here this week. When I get it to the blog, who knows. LOL.
Darin signs "more" I've been signing to him since he was born. I would go visit him in the nursery and sign to him that I loved him and the mommy and daddy can't wait to take him home, etc etc. And since then I sign a lot of "Mommy" "Daddy" "more" "milk" "please" "thank you" Well, he signs more without any persistence now! He's done it in the past, but I'd have to move his hands first and say it and all that jazz. But now I can say "Darin, what do you say" and he signs "more"! Soo cute. Whenever he's eating something I have to hand him (so he doesn't jam it all in his mouth at one time) I make him sign it. I"m hoping Mommy is next. LOL. Well, more pictures to come. And lots of cruise shots left to sort!

redirecting, renewing and perhaps going crazy.

2009-04-02T10:20:00.006-04:00

So yesterday, I spent most of my day AWAY from my computer. Aside from a post here or there on CW or the blog entries I posted on both of my blogs, I tried to stay away. I spent time with D and we laughed and giggled and played and WE HAD FUN! I cannot wait for springtime we're going to have a blast playing outside. I shot a ton of pictures of D yesterday as well. Not really professional pictures, but just this is how we live our life pictures, I'd call them snapshots but I like them too much for that, they are lifeshots.
So my focus for the next couple of weeks/months is no longer going to be the latest CW news, or the latest myspace/facebook gossip. I'm going to focus on my family and on having fun with them. I'm still going to post pictures, because well when we have fun, I take pictures, I'm just not going to focus all of my attention on these things that mean so little when I'm surrounded by people who mean so much. I'm redirecting and renewing. Oh, and perhaps going a little crazy too. Guess what D and I are going to do today? You ready? Really?

We're going to FINGERPAINT!!! I'm super excited. I mentioned to Matt that I was going to go buy the Colorwonder paper, you know the paper where you can ONLY paint on the paper and not make a mess on everything else? Well, Matt came home last night with REGULAR FINGERPAINT and small cardboard papers for us to paint on! I'm super super excited. It's all washable, and we're just going to have fun. And of course, when there is fun, mommy takes pictures!

Oh how I love Him.

2009-04-01T13:02:00.004-04:00

You know that place where you feel like you might not be able to take anymore? Where you feel like your whole world is falling apart and you're not sure you can have faith to endure anymore?
I've been there. In fact, I got to the point where I started taking Vitamin D and stressless and was spending 90% of my days in front of my computer screen. I was allowing myself to be ridiculously depressed and sad because it was STILL snowing and cold and yucky, and I was no where near my family while they enjoyed 75* days in the warm south. I came out of it, and I had a WONDERFUL visit with my family while they were here. And then Monday when they left, I started sulking, BAD. Tears and sulking and I just got on the computer and blogstalked the day away. I started to do the same yesterday (Tuesday) and in my blogstalking found MckMama and MckNugget (Stellan). After spending a few hours reading his story, crying my eyes out, praying for Stellan and reading about MckMama's crazy hospital nurses and Asian Chicken stir fry, I realized how silly and depressing my faith truly is. I can survive 3 years in Antartica (I mean, Minnesota). I can snuggle my baby each night as he falls asleep and I can cuddle him whenever I want. And if she can have the faith to get through each day while she watches doctors and nurses surrounding her baby boy, why can I not have the faith to get through another day in a foot of snow?
So, while my blog is no where near the huge hit hers is, I know that there are people that pray that I can tell about Stellan. Pray for him, pray for the MckFamily. Read the blog and PRAY.

Stellan, you may not know us, but people in Central Minnesota are praying for you!

Pictures of my little man's first birthday coming soon!

51 Weeks Old Today!

2009-03-21T17:37:00.004-04:00

Okay, so today marks 1 week from Darin's first birthday! Can you believe it?! It makes me soo sad and so excited all at the same time. He's growing into such a little man!
Here's a little about him:
According to my scale he's approximately 21 lbs.
He LOVES going on car rides.
He likes to pull every kitchen towel out of the drawer in our kitchen.
he can climb stairs very quickly
he LOVES his daddy and peeks around the couch everytime daddy comes home and says "dadadadadada" very excitedly. I'll show you a picture later.
His favorite foods are: banana, puffs, cantelope, scrambled eggs, french toast, potatoes, grapes, cheerios, chicken, turkey, ground beef, corn (which I don't give him anymore... did you know it comes out the same way it goes in?) carrots, peaches, apples, pears,green beans.... Okay, I could go on and on and on, but really the kid likes food. Any food.
He crawls SUPER fast.
He knows how to drink out of a sippy cup (finally!)
He will take 2 steps before falling face first into the arms of whoever is standing in front of him.
There is no such thing as pulling one toy out, he has to have EVERY toy he owns within reach when in his toy room.
He says "butt" at least I'm convinced he does. I say "come here, let me change your butt. And he says "bu bu bu" lol.
Now here are some pictures of our last year together.

I'll probably be MIA for a while. My mom, dad and sister are coming in on Thursday (WAHOOOOOOOO!) and then of course Saturday will be the big party!

Happy Birth Day Mom!

2009-03-11T11:42:00.003-04:00

So, 23 years ago today, my mom welcomed me into the world! And it's certainly one of those things that you never quite grasp all the way until you have a child of your own. The endless days because nights just ceased to exist, the pain of recovering from actually HAVING the child, the diaper changes that just all kind of run together, because all you do is change diapers, all of it. So, instead of posting all about myself today, I'm going to share some pictures of my mom and I. She truly is my best friend, I talk to her every day and if we skip a day, I feel like it's been YEARS. I miss her so much, even the thought of her being so far away brings tears to my eyes.
So if you see my mom today, give her a BIG hug today, for me.
I love you mom! Thank you for having me :)

P.S. I'm taking these from my myspace page, they are no copyrighted, they are STILL MINE. Do not take these pictures without my permission.

Please ignore the fact that I look like poo in the next picture.. I had just been ripped open and had a child torn from my body. I was allowed to look rough. LOL.

I love you mom!!!!

tears of joy.

2009-03-05T09:47:00.004-05:00

my baby is turning 1! I am planning a 1st birthday party! I'm trying to order him a party hat from ETSY (if you haven't etsy-ed, you should!) and I need to go visit my father in law and plan out the first birthday cake! I'm so excited and blessed that he will be making & decorating Darin's birthday cake. He actually made Matt's older brother and twin brother's wedding cakes, but because our wedding was out of town, he didn't make ours. I'm also going to be able to go up to the store and take pictures of him decorating.
I'm not sure when I'll be able to take Darin's 1 year pictures, but we're going to try again later today or tomorrow. I finally got my charcoal paper, and I'm thrilled to be able to use it!

I'd take rain.....

2009-03-04T15:25:00.003-05:00

over snow anyday! I am so stinkin' tired of snow. I'm not a snow girl (too cold), I don't ski(to fast and scary!), I don't crosscountry ski(too much work), I don't ride snow mobiles(repeat the fast and scary part). I don't like cold weather. I'm a beach bum kind of girl, I like to to feel the sand between my toes, and feel the whispers of the ocean on my face. I actually like the feeling when you open the door on a really hot day and the hot air sucks all life from your body. I love it. Weird, I know.
Anyways, here are my rainboots in the snow.

The Paci Chronicles.

2009-03-04T15:10:00.004-05:00

Okay, so I was just having one of those days. I needed to feel inspired, take something good. Ya know those days? Well, after doing the 100 step challenge (google it. very interesting.), I went out on my back porch, shot some landscapes, and still was just not feeling it. Later, I was trying to come up with an idea for Week 5 of D&Me, and thought of The Paci Chronicles. Our plan with the paci is to slowly start phasing it out at 12 months, it will only be for bedtime, then around 18 months we'll hopefully be done forever. Once again, just the plan, and we'll have to see how to goes.
I was thinking about Darin and how cute he is with a paci, I love the way he looks when he has it in his mouth, when he holds it with his chubby little fingers. So I decided to chronicle all of my favorite things about the paci in pictures. That way I can print them and love them and remember the times.

why the blog break?

2009-02-28T22:27:00.004-05:00

Well. Where do I even start? At the beginning of February I was honored with the opportunity to shoot a wedding! Now, I am not a wedding photographer and to be quite honest, I never thought about shooting weddings solo before. I have second shot and assisted at several weddings, and like to keep things simple and not on my shoulders! Anyway, Rick & Christina were in a real pickle and asked if I could step up to help. I, of course, said yes. Well, duh, if I had said no I wouldn't be posting these!
Here are some "for blog only" edits I've done. I say "for blog only" because I understand that a lot of couples prefer a more simple look for wedding albums. But a photographer just wants to have fun :)

Darin's First Valentine's Day!

2009-02-17T10:09:00.003-05:00

Okay, so now that the holiday is over, I thought I would post the serious shots from Darin's Valentine's day shoot. I was thinking about it today and what's really sad is that come 2 weeks from now, I'll be working on his 1st Birthday shoot! My baby is turning 1!

This one went on his Valentine's Day cards. We had them mailed to his Memaw and passed out at Crossroads for all of his friends!

On a scale of 1 to 10.

2009-02-08T01:13:00.001-05:00

How badly do you just want to kiss this face?!?!

I'm pretty convinced this is going into the "order big for my wall" folder. Everything about this face, just makes me fall in love with him over and over. Even on the days he's obviously teething and makes me want to pull my hair out. Wait... did I just say that?

he's going to hate me for this.

2009-02-06T14:27:00.005-05:00

But I can't resist. I'm trying to get some Valentine's Day pictures of Darin, and got everything all set up today, I got a ton of great shots and a bunch of funny ones. Darin is definitely mobile, and not so much interested in mommy and her camera anymore.
These are my favorite funnies. They gave me the giggles when I first pulled them up.
I'm also trying out a new logo, I'm going for something simple and elegant. What do you think?

What is up with that tongue? He does the most adorably cute things now! If you look at him and stick your tongue out, he'll stick his out and start "wagging" it. Imagine a dog's tail wagging and then picture his tongue doing it against his chin! I giggle EVERY time.

safe and sound.

2009-01-10T14:12:00.003-05:00

We are here. Safe and sound. The trip was rather unadventurous (just the way I had hoped). Darin travels SO well, he got really irritated about 6 hours into the drive the first day. So we stopped and walked around a local Target in Huntington West Va. After that he was fine. We stopped early that night and got a good nights rest in Lexington, KY. Our 2nd day we made it all the way to Brainerd without a fuss. Although there was one particular exit in Indiana where we had to stop at 3 different gas stations and 2 restaurants before we found a Denny's with a changing station! Gosh golly urg.
Darin's had a rough few nights, I'm not sure what his problem is, but we're hoping tonights a good night.
I'll be back to regularly blogging shortly. I've got 2 sessions I need to edit and get out to clients first.
See you 'round!

Fabulous 4.

2008-12-31T19:00:00.003-05:00

I don't even know where to begin explaining how much I love this family. They have always been such a blessing to my life and to my family. I had the most amazing time photographing the kids, and can only pray that these pictures reveal how awesome they are.

Quick Admin Note: I am moving next week. So I will be unavailable to reach here on the blog. I am hoping to be able to log on shortly after we get to our destination and let everyone know how we're doing and perhaps show a few pictures from our trip there. And I have another sneak peek that I'm going to want to show!

Top Secret: Classified.

2008-12-30T12:48:00.003-05:00

Remember when I mentioned I had secret photos that I was DYING to share! Well here are some. This is my Uncle Mark and his family. They were a gift for my Great Aunt "Moomaw" and for other grandparents. Here are some from that session. I had so much fun working with them! They are such a blast, and I love them dearly.

9 months old.

2008-12-28T20:35:00.003-05:00

oh goodness. I can't believe my little guy is getting so big! I'm so excited to see him get bigger and play and have fun, but at the same time, I don't like it! I tried to take his 9 month pictures, but I'm afraid they didn't turn out exactly how I thought. So, tommorrow we will retry and see what we can do. I've got a few ideas up my sleeve. This one shot today, did turn out and I am so going to have it printed as a 16x20. It needs a place to call home, and I think my wall will work nicely. Happy "moving" present to me! LOL.

Happy Birthday Jesus!

2008-12-26T00:29:00.003-05:00

Today we celebrated the birth of our Savior! What a wonderful day to sit back and think of all the goodness and blessing God has given us throughout the past year. Have you ever noticed on Christmas (when we celebrate HIS birthday) we get all the gifts? And throughout the year, He just keeps pouring them out, and all He wants in return is our love and for us to accept and believe in Him. What an amazing God we serve.

Now, I will be the first to admit that, well, with it being Darin's first Christmas and all, I went all out. I don't think I went overboard, especially the more I sit and think about it.... Granted his Christmas days aren't over, as we'll be celebrating with the Minnesota crew in just a few weeks, but I can honestly say I think I did well staying within my own boundaries. Go me! Here are some pictures to some up our day. Matt blessed me with a new Canon Speedlite 430 ex ii. I'm so excited to learn how to use it! Now with that being said, I haven't learned how to use it, and still today I shot with it. So enjoy the memories and not so much the artistic photography skills.

My little man. I don't really even have words for how much I love him. Isn't he beautiful?!

Do I have any mommies in the crowd? I am beginning to wonder why I didn't buy a couple rolls of wrapping paper to stick under the tree... It seemed to be Darin's favorite part (well, okay, after we threw the paper away he enjoyed the toys). Here he is trying to eat it. Apparently, he wasn't a fan of the protein taste.

This picture gets my heart. I swear Matt's been waiting for this moment since he found out Darin was a boy! Heck, since he found out we were expecting Darin! So here is Daddy teaching Darin to play baseball. I love the look of concentration on their faces.

This lion is so neat! It can be a push toy (as demonstrated by Darin here) or the push part will go down and he can ride the lion! Darin's getting pretty brave with it. One handed, pushing (but not walking with)it, and even pushing it while crawling on his knees!! Earlier he was standing with it and let go completely!! I'm not sure I'm ready for that!

Just what he wanted! More paper!Turkey makes us tired. Thanks to my sister for this one. I think my favorite part is my turkey induced coma smile. Gotta love some deep fried goodness. I hope everyone's Christmas was wonderful!

Be Blessed!
Matt, Kassi & Darin

Top 5 of 2008?!?

2008-12-19T21:09:00.003-05:00

So this message board I'm apart of wants me to pick my top 5 favorite pictures of this year! I don't know if I can do it! I'm going to try... But not right now. I just wanted to review on some of my favorite pictures of the year. These are in no particular order, because that would be cruel! Let me explain some of these.

This one I just had to pick the "set" because it's so great. I'm actually going to be having this printed for myself sometime soon. Merry Christmas ME!

This was taken in August (I think). I never leave home without my camera and this was a once in a lifetime accident. I was still pretty clueless about how to operate my camera to it's fullest extent (although sometimes I feel that way!) and was so excited to see it on my computer. This stunt guy was AMAZING!

It's the O Boys!!! It's been a while since I blogged about them. D (on the right) is doing so much better after breaking his femur during the soccer season. After several weeks stuck in a wheel chair, this boy is WALKING!!!! Everytime I see it, it makes my heart pitter patter. What a miracle this young man is! And of course I can't leave out A. He's fabulous! Every Sunday/Wednesday/time I see him he's asking for Darin and Darin LOVES him!

This picture was Darin and I's first day at home alone!! I remember how scared I was being left alone with him, and remembering how thrilled I was when Matt got home! But we survived and have done pretty well if I don't say so myself!

Another one of mommy's photo shoots! I can't help myself!

This one I was going to keep safe for a while, but I can't help it! I still have a few favorites that have to wait until the end of next week, but this one I just can't hold any longer. Everything about it makes me want to swoon.

Do I even have to explain? I love T.

It's Phil & Candy!!! Their special day is coming up faster and faster! Pretty soon, I'll be living a little closer (okay A LOT closer!) and will get to see this girl more!

This one is more special than I could ever of imagined. This was at a wedding I was the second shooter for, my job was to take candids at the reception. With my crappy internal flash, I was really shooting just for the heck of it and didn't really know how any of these were going to come out. But this one did. Just recently, Brother Red (in this picture) passed away. While it still brings tears to my eyes to think of a world without him, the love in this picture captures his life and his heart wonderfully. He was an amazing man, and is well missed.

Can you handle another Darin shot? It's an oldie but a goodie, and makes my heart pitter patter. Those eyes! I love him.

The eyes, they get me everytime.

I LOVE these kids. In just a few weeks I'll be seeing them and I am incredibly excited! They are so much fun! This picture captures their personalities so well!

Okay. So those are my top favorites. Almost. I still have a few others than I can't share YET, but boy watch out for when I do!!! After that we'll narrow them down some more and maybe pick a top 5.

I've got a picture of that...

2008-12-16T21:57:00.004-05:00

This video explains my love for photography perfectly. I'm hoping to make it to one of her conferences one day! This girl is PHENOMENAL!!!!!

Go here

Look what we can do!

2008-12-15T12:48:00.002-05:00

Updates

2008-12-12T11:33:00.004-05:00

I still have those secrets that I can't share (and I'm DYING to!) but I'll keep them secret. And, no I am not pregnant! They are some projects that I've been working on that are surprise gifts for the people that are recieving them!

Here is little T. I shot his family last weekend. I've known his family for YEARS and was even in his parents wedding! I've got a ton of shots to show, but I'm only going to preview a couple of my favorites. I LOVE this family. They were a blast, and this kid... wow. I may have to order a copy of this one for my own wall! Those eyes, that stare--can we say model?!

And the winner is.....

2008-12-10T07:28:00.002-05:00

I had to change things last minute with the blog. I still only used comments from the dates the rules stated, however because there was one person only one comment away from the deadline, I realized perhaps 15 was unrealistic. So, if you commented at least 4x then your name went in the bucket (or in this case, on the walker). Here is Darin picking the winner.

It's our favorite Texas girl in California!!! Sevi, make sure to get me your address! Email wife05mommy08@Hotmail.com. I'll have your $5 Starbucks Giftcard in the mail this week!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-11-28T15:37:00.002-05:00

So it's really black Friday, but I guess you'll just have to forgive me...
It's been so amazingly busy, I don't know where to start to even try and update, but give me a couple more days and I'll have it all done!
I just wanted to post a few things that I was incredibly thankful for.

1. A husband who loves us so amazingly. He does so much providing us our freedoms, working hard to provide money for us to live wonderful lives and I could not be more blessed!
2. A wonderful, beautiful, amazing son, who in all of his wiggliness is the happiest baby EVER. Even cutting teeth, having a horrible bleeding diaper rash and eczema that is acting up the doctor didn't believe me when I said he was sick! He smiles and giggles and talks and wiggles and is so much fun. I never imagined loving another human being so much. God is good!
3. A family that takes care of me when my husband is away, who searches for houses for me so that I have a place to live when we move. They are so fabulous!

I have so much to be thanful for this Thanksgiving, God continually blesses us beyond my imagination.

Rock N Roll

2008-11-12T23:24:00.002-05:00

This week has already been such an amazing week! We are having our 5th annual Worship Extravaganza at church. Our guest speaker is Luke, who is our Pastor's son. He is the worship leader at a church in Oxford Alabama. I've known his family since I was 10! His parents are very much like my grandparents and they are Darin's great grandparents.
Anyways, tonight Luke started teaching Darin how to play the drums. I think we've got a few lessons left before we're rock stars... but he is the cutest baby rock star I've ever seen!

Don't forget the contest!! Right now, NO ONE is entered! I have one person who is 1 comment away from being entered, and that's all! So I'm changing it up a little bit. For every comment PAST 15, you're name will be entered. So if you post 16 comments, then you'll be entered twice. Make sense? Start here and work you're way to this post!

Just a quick thing....

2008-11-12T00:20:00.000-05:00

my time was set for pacific time! OOps. so if it said I posted a post at 6:30 AM it's because that's what time it was in California! haha. I'm never up that early. hahahaha.

3 years! Really?

2008-11-11T23:01:00.001-05:00

Today is the day I have been married to my best friend, my soulmate, my main man for 3 years. I cannot believe how fast time as flown by. He is such an amazing man, and each day I love him more and more.
Unfortunately for the 3 anniversaries we'll have celebrated, he's never once been home. Luckily for the 1st I was able to drive to Norfolk VA where he was going to school and I got to see him on the actual day. But I don't count it as him being home...because well in order for him to be home, he'd actually have to BE HOME at our house. Next year, maybe it'll work in our favor!
Here are some pictures I've gathered of us over the past couple of years. The wedding picture is by Legacy Art Photography by Susan Varvell, as well as the one of us kissing on the beach. Susan rocks, she's taught me so much and I LOVE her to death. And the one of the b/w in front of a brick fireplace was taken by Valerie a dear friend in Minnesota!

Not only is today the anniversary of the day I married my Superman, but today is also the anniversary of the day our families grew. We don't have "in laws" in our family, we have 2 moms and 2 dads and a lot of brothers and sisters. We are so lucky to be surrounded by soo many wonderful people, and we love you all dearly. Here are the most recent pictures I have of our family. So to the "H" family, thank you so much for welcoming me into your family and allowing me to be apart of it! I love you guys! Happy Anniversary! And to the "M's" if Matt blogged he'd say all the same things I did, but he'd probably add something sarcastic to Kyle, about being his sisters baby daddy, or to Kristin about how much he loves picking on her.. And to my mom and dad, he may even ask if he can get a refund! haha. J/k. He'd probably just say "what Kassi said"

Things I need to remember

2008-11-11T13:43:00.000-05:00

These are the moments I need to remember! These are the moments I can't forget. Apparently naps can't wait any longer. Several times in the last few weeks he'll just fall over and fall asleep while playing. It's so sweet because when he's in deep sleep, his pacifer will fall out.

And this one is just too sweet. I know I've cut limbs off, but it's still my baby and I love him.

well, that's just sad.

2008-11-06T09:37:00.000-05:00

So I'm going through pictures of our trip to Minnesota, earlier this year. We went back in May/June. How sad is it that I never posted pictures? Well, with Christmas coming up, I'm trying to decide what gifts to get both sets of grandparents, and what gifts to get the neice and nephews. All the decisions!! And why is it that Matt is always gone when it comes time to decide all of this? Gosh. So anyways, here are some pictures. Enjoy. Looking back at these, I realize how much I've grown in my photography skills. All of these were shot in full auto and only parts of the faces are in focus. But they are still close to my heart, I LOVE these kids.

This going on my wall. I wish all the kids were in focus, and I had taken a step back.. BUT I still love it. I love the personality, I just love it!

Shark Attack

2008-11-01T10:23:00.000-04:00

Darin's first halloween!! We spent it at Equine Country with our church family celebrating the harvest! It was so much fun, there were crafts, pumpkin carving, FOOD, and a horse drawn hay ride!! (Although, there was no hay.. so maybe a horse drawn wagon ride?) It was a ton of fun! Here are some of Darin in his costume.

how it REALLY is.

2008-10-27T22:37:00.000-04:00

really, ILLEGAL.

2008-10-27T22:03:00.001-04:00

Here are some of my family. I have some shots of Matt, Darin and myself, but I analyze myself way to much, so those will wait until tommorrow. In order, here is the entire family, then my sister, Kristin and her man, Kenny. Then my brother, Kyle/Kurt (don't ask...) and his girl, Cassie (yes, if we are in the same room things get a little confusing). Then the people who started it all, my mommy and daddy. Oh how I love them all.

It should be illegal....

2008-10-27T20:51:00.001-04:00

to work with as many beautiful people as I did today! Matt is watching hockey (blah), so I'm sitting on the couch next to him editing a few sneak peeks. Here is a sneak peek for the homecoming I did today. Jerry--welcome home!!! Elena--enjoy him sweetie!!! And can I just point out how wacky our NC weather has been? When I got to the homecoming today I was squinty and my cheeks hurt... by the time Jerry actually got to us, it was cloudy!! Then my family met at the beach for pictures and it was cold and rainy!!! It was WACKY! You can kind of tell in these photos what it was like.

This one is going on my mantle.

2008-10-23T18:44:00.000-04:00

Don't you think it would just look beautiful above my fireplace?

New Contest and a cute guy

2008-10-23T12:02:00.000-04:00

I haven't been up to much. I finished up my first homecoming shoot and I'm preparing for my second in the next week. It's officially official, I'm moving in Jan. Today was officially Matt's last day of work (supposed to be yesterday, but he had a few last minute things to do) and he leaves soon for school. There are 2 rooms in our house that have phenomenal light. One being the baby's nursery (which makes for NO fun, when it gets light at 6 AM!) and the guest bedroom. So last week, I noticed the light in the guest bedroom was phenomenal, so I threw up a white sheet and grabbed my camera and my kid. Darin did pretty well, didn't get too mad at him. He's actually started making faces to my camera! Then he tries to eat it.
Check out the top of my blog, there is a new contest going on. Definately participate!

What I have been up too...

2008-10-18T23:20:00.001-04:00

What have I been up to exactly? A whole lot!! I had my first homecoming shoot a week ago today, and I'm editing like a mad woman. In between that, I'm battling some weird health problems, and preparing for Matt to depart here shortly. Then one of my favorite boys ever, an "O Boy" hurt himself playing soccer. He broke his femur bone, and had to have surgery to fix it. He's got a long road of therapy and recovery ahead of him, so keep him in your prayers! He's such a strong guy and I know he's going to do so fabulous recovering, and next season he'll be back on that field kicking butt and taking names!
And because I can't leave you completely hanging! Here's another project I've been working on.

P.S. I'm almost at 100 posts! To celebrate, I'll be hosting a contest soon! So keep an eye out and don't forget to enter! I think I'm going to start a comment contest as well, start getting some comments.. Seems I just have a bunch of lurkers!!!

Home Sweet Home

2008-10-12T14:16:00.000-04:00

A fellow photographer shared with me this quote by William Shakespeare "All the days are nights to see till I see thee and nights bright days when dreams do show thee to me." And it so eloquently captures the heart of a military spouse.

Yesterday, I was blessed with the opportunity to welcome home an American hero. The husband of a friend came home from Iraq and I was able to capture his first moments home on camera. I'm not sure I could ask for a bigger blessing.
Ashlee--here's your sneak peek :) Enjoy, and your gallery will be up soon!

6 Months Old!

2008-10-07T12:21:00.000-04:00

Can you believe that Darin is 6 months old?!? His actual 6 month birthday was on September 28th, but I am finally being able to get his pictures taken and posted. I am in love with the way these shots turned out.
And to give you some peace-when Darin was sitting on the brick wall, Candy was sitting behind him, holding onto his shirt. He wasn't going anywhere!!! Oh and the one with my jeans in view was shot by Candy--I programmed the camera and she shot.

Dang it!!!! What about 6 on Saturday?

2008-10-04T09:27:00.001-04:00

So, yesterday I was not at home all day. We (being Matt,Phil, Candy, the baby and myself) got up and left for Wilmington where we spent ALL day long doing a bunch of stuff. So here are 6 six things on Saturday that we did on Friday (hehe)

1. The boys made us breakfast--crepes, sausage, eggs and toast! With some OJ! Yummy Yum Yum

2. I got to see Candy in her wedding dress and pick up my bridesmaid dress. Let's just say my pale self will be doing some tanning before I'm seen in person in a canary dress. Pictures don't show quite ALL of my whiteness. Let's just say summer passed me by extremely quickly this year, young baby and sun don't exactly mix! But here is the my bridesmaids dress! What do you think? I love it!

3. More engagement pictures. We didn't at all have the best sun today, because it was mainly direct, but I'm convinced we got at least a few good ones.

4. Guess who is growing up? And you thought I could make a whole post without anything on Darin? Yeah right! haha. Yesterday we got Darin a convertible carseat. After much research and thought, Matt and I made the purchase. Here is Darin in his new seat :) It's still growing on him. He's just so heavy now, that the infant car seat is just pointless.

5. I learned how to use coupons. Not just clip and use, but USE coupons. I now have the knowledge and skills to clip coupons and get things for FREE!!! I'm so excited! We didn't do that in Wilmington, but instead once we got home and left immediately to go to my parents house.

6. Last but not least, we are very tired. We left around 9:30 for Wilmington, got home around 7. Candy and I immediately got into the other car and drove to Women's Ministry and finally got home for good around 11:45. We are exhausted! But today will be fun and we're excited to go some more!

{even more}::in love::

2008-10-02T22:32:00.001-04:00

I just can't stop myself. I need to, but I can't make myself stop! LOL. It's past my bedtime and Here I keep going, just uploading and editing, uploading and editing. But every picture I see, I fall more nad more in love with! So here are some more, and I am MAKING myself stop. I have to stop, I have to go to bed. We're going to downtown Wilmington tommorrow, so we're gonna see how awesome those turn out! I'm kind of convinced it would be pretty hard to take a bad shot of these two beautiful people!

::In Love::

2008-10-02T19:35:00.000-04:00

So, Matt's best friend is Phil. Phil is engaged to Candy. Candy and I are now really close friends. Phil and Candy are getting married in May and Matt and I are in the wedding. While we were in Minnesota back in May/June, we told them they should come visit us. Well they did! In fact, Candy is changing Darin's diaper as I type. LOL.
Candy has been a fabulous supporter of my photography goals and asked me to their engagement pictures while they are here! We're breaking it into a bunch of small sessions, an hour here, and hour there at different locations. Today we visited the beach and I am SOOO excited with how they've come out so far. These are the first two I pulled up, and already I'm in love! They are such a beautiful couple and I love them so much!

And how amazingly gorgeous is she?

and here is Candy and myself on our way home from the airport. It's not that great, but I think we look good. LOL.

5 on Friday

2008-09-26T21:18:00.000-04:00

3 weeks in a row! Today is kind of a mismatch list. Nothing specific, just a few random things.

1.This week (Wednesday) Matt's best friend, Phil and his fiancee (my dear dear friend) Candy are coming into town. So I'm doing my "before guests come freak-out clean."
2. Laundry is evil--most of it is clean, it's just in baskets in the guest bedroom. I can wash and dry laundry ALL day long. But once it comes out of the dryer, my least favorite thing in the world arrives. Do you know how much laundry a 6 month old baby makes?
3. My monster is going to be 6 months old on Sunday! In 6 months I have to start planning a first birthday party! Well really in like 3 months. I'm not one for spending too much money on a birthday party (did anyone see the Rachael Ray where the lady spent $13000 on her daughters 1st birthday party?--That's more than my WEDDING!!!) I've got a few ideas up my sleeve though, especially since we are having 2 parties!
4. Right now I am at my parent's house on their laptop. Just hanging out, Matt has to work late. So I'm watching 2 young gentleman that are sleeping over at my mom's house play Wii. I wish I would of brought my camera, but I just didn't think about it. It's HILARIOUS. And Wii Fit is HARD.
5. And because we can't have a post without pictures (what kind of post would that be?!)--Here is my Princess

Meet Roxy. Matt and I adopted her back in April of 2006. 2 days after we moved into our house on base. She is a troublemaker.. If she gets out, she's gone. We got her about a month before her 1st birthday. She's pretty set in her ways. When we want to get her good and tired, we bring her to my parent's house so she can play with their 2 dogs. She is super protective over Matt, Darin and myself. If you go near any of us, she will freak out growling. Quiet humorous. She's sooo spoiled rotten but we love love love her dearly!

Who needs a pacifer anyway?

2008-09-23T22:08:00.000-04:00

This is how I found Darin this morning. He woke up 3 or 4 different times, and I would go in, give him his paci and go to try and make a bottle. Well, I always wait a few minutes to see if he calms down. well he did so I would go back to bed. Well, he didn't calm down and didn't calm down, so I made a bottle and as I was walking back to his room , I don't hear him.. So I go in, and find him like this. We let him sleep with a stuffed animal, he likes to hold onto to things when he sleeps. I know, goes against everything books tell you but whatever works right? After I stopped laughing at him, I took his picture.. About 3 shots into it, he started screaming.. Kind of a "so you see that I'm hungry.. but instead of feeding me you've decided to laugh and take pictures?" type scream..

Watch out Snapshot Overload ahead!

2008-09-21T21:36:00.000-04:00

So Friday night we celebrated Memaw (my mom's) birthday! I didn't take too many pictures, I was having too much fun, well doing that, having fun!! Tommorrow, I'm headed to my mom's house to take Darin's 6 month pictures (ahhh!) AND to get a work out. On what you ask? Just wait, you'll see. Here are some of the snapshots I took. I really need to invest in an external flash. But right now it's just not feasible. Maybe in a couple of photo shoots OR if I beg enough for Christmas... These are mainly Darin, because well let's face it, the kid is just darn photogenic. Oh and the last one is for my CW girlies, this is my Moby wrap. It was one of our best purchases for Darin. Matt won't wear it, BUT I love it. Tonight he was just in a cranky mood (he's coming out of a sick funk), so I cradled him in the Moby and within minutes he was quiet and happy.

5 on Friday

2008-09-19T16:32:00.000-04:00

Wahoo! 2 weeks in a row! Score one for me.

1. I am soooooooooo excited, in just 2 weeks Matt's best friend, Phil and his fiancee' (and my dear dear friend) Candy are coming down to visit us for a whole week! And when they get here, I'm going to be doing their engagement pictures! Ahhh. Did I mention I was excited yet? Watch out for a beautiful couple!

2. Little man is sick. He is currently stuffed full of boogers. I was really worried about him last night because he was just a mess. Coughing, sneezing, having trouble breathing through his nose. But never a fever. We were up several times in the night, and I even had to move to the guest bedroom with him so I could wake up with him. I want a King size bed so badly, a queen size is just not made for 2 adults, a baby and a dog... 2 adults and a dog, no problem, a baby in there? Not so much. I can't imagine when he gets older!

3. One of my favorite blogs to read is Emily Weaver Brown's, I'm not even sure I found her... It was like through a blog's friend's blog? Maybe. Haha. Anyways, she has been putting a few tutorials in her blog, and they have helped me grow so much. I'm also working on 2 Peas 12 Weeks to Better Photography (it's an old course, but I saved it!!! haha. It's GREAT). Anyways, yesterday I was working on white balance and aperture. Aperture is a scary word, but the process is not so much. I'm still working on some things, but I'm very much improving from where I was 9 months ago! Anyways, I took the little man outside yesterday and played around. Here's my favorite (and once again, there I go with the vintage.)

4. Anyone notice anything different about that picture? Anything at all? No comments on the pink trim of my beach mat please, that's not it. Mmm... Could it be the fact that Little Man is sitting up with no support?!?! He's still pretty wobble-y but he's getting much better and the ground/carpet/floor doesn't bite as much as it used to. Although....

5. Today is the birthday of my wonderful mommy!! She is such a strong beautiful influence in my life and I'm honored to call her mom. She has been such an example to me as a Marine wife, and I'm glad I was able to learn from her! We celebrate birthday's around here. BIG. If we were morning people, we'd probably have birthday breakfasts, but we're not.. So we do lunch and dinner. I forgot my camera at home for lunch (drs appointments and baby sickness=crazy Kassi), but I will have it with me for dinner. So keep your eye out. And for now, here's Darin.

Sneak Peek.

2008-09-14T19:58:00.001-04:00

Had a shoot tonight. It was a blast working with these 3 kiddos! They were so much fun to play with today and I can't wait to see them again next week when I take pictures of them with their mom, Auntie, and Grandma! So much fun :)

Prayers from my family

2008-09-12T22:09:00.001-04:00

I've got some family in Houston and I would really love to have all blog readers praying for them tonight and tommorrow!

Thanks ladies and gents!

5 on Friday

2008-09-12T13:27:00.000-04:00

Something new. I'm horrible and 10 on Tuesday is just too much for me. Fridays are much more relaxed and I can handle 5! So here's to new traditions.

1. I'm in love with free actions. If there is a CS3 action that is out there and FREE, I've probably already got it. My current favorite action is from a pea http://ginsphotos.blogspot.com/ check out her blog. They're on the side, but no longer free. My favorite action is Feeling Blue

2. There is something about Darin's eyes that just scream at me everytime I put a vintage type action on his pictures. I swear it it were possible for his to get prettier, they do when a vintage goes on them! See what I'm talking about

3. Little man was trying to scoot yesterday! He'll roll over to his stomach and try to pull his way on the carpet, but our carpet isn't long enough for him to pull. It's quite adorable because he pulls his legs up and then stretches, all the while going no where! haha.

4. I should be cleaning my house today. In fact, I am going to clean today. But for now, I'm slacking. There is 3 loads of clothes to fold and put away and 1 in the dryer, 1 in the washer and 2 that need to! We are laundry slackers! And piles of laundry make me feel like our whole house is just filthy. Yuck.

5. I've got my first paid photo shoot this Sunday afternoon! I am beyond thrilled. I will be shooting (picture wise) 1 little girl and 2 little boys. Their aunt is one of my homecoming clients in October. So excited! Look for a sneek peek soon!

I met baby Lily!!!!

2008-09-10T16:07:00.000-04:00

So today I was blessed with the opportunity to meet baby Lily. You may remember that I took her mommy's maternity pictures here or here. She is such a blessing to her mommy and daddy and I'm so glad I got to meet her!! She is just 3 weeks old! So we layed her and D Monster down beside each other, and D Monster is officially A MOOSE. Yes, a D Moose! Here are some of the pictures I took today. I got a really beautiful one of Mommy and Lily, but that will be another post. And check out the last picture, apparently D Monster doesn't like when his mommy aims the camera in the direction of another baby!

Random finds...

2008-09-05T20:57:00.000-04:00

So, I'm just putsing around, wasting time waiting for the "wrath of Hanna." Haha. So I'm just putsing and I see a few images that just kind of capture my heart. Of course, the first two are of my little man. The first one is from early August, and I had NO natural light. LOL, it was cloudy, I was in the worst lit part of my house, and so I just turned on the camera's flash (I know every professional photogs out there are freakin' out, LOL).. Not too bad. The second one is from Labor Day, my dad was helping Darin stand up at the coffee table. One of the "O' boys took this on Labor Day. He was quite the photographer, posing people and snapping away. So he posed my entire family, and got this. I did the editing, but I did make the boys a cool watermark so the world knows they did it!
Laugh, laugh, ha-ha. This is a terribly over exposed photo, and it's not that great, but it's still fabulous. On Labor Day, we were showing the O boys that the ottoman in my parent's den can be opened, and it's about the right size for a small sized boy! And the greatness of the photo comes from the fact that the boy trying to close it is the older brother and then the polka dotted no faced woman, is the mother of both of the boys! Greatness.

The end has come

2008-09-04T14:18:00.000-04:00

Labor Day 2008 was a blast! The perfect end to summer. I'm sad to see it go, but fall is more than welcome! July & August are always SOOO hot here in NC (although, I've got family in Texas, and really shouldn't complain!). But September has come and it's already starting to cool down ,in the morning it's like 60 degrees!
Okay, back to Labor Day. We hung out with my family and the Oates family for the day. My dad cooked his ever so yummy Texas style brisket with homemade BBQ sauce. It was perfection. After we stuffed our faces Thanksgiving style, we enjoyed the beautiful outside weather. There was some football throwing, tennis ball hitting, and soccer ball kicking that all went on. I managed to get a million and 8 pictures of the D-monster, and even let the Oates boys click around with the camera. Quite a photographer, that young one. Well, this post will probably be edited a few times as I finish editing pictures and add them.
P.S. Did I mention that D Monster is ALMOST sitting up on his own? He's quite wobbley and leans over to far forward, but it's progress!!
also, Matt let me take his picture!! Woohoo, he wasn't looking at me, probably didn't know I took it, BUT he wasn't throwing anything at me nor was he sticking his tongue out, so we're making progress.

Peek A Boo.

2008-09-02T13:13:00.000-04:00

Peek A Boo! I see you :) He moved when I was trying to shoot him. Oh well, surprisingly it's turned out to be my favorite of him! He's been sick lately. A cough and more boogers than this mom has ever wanted to deal with! But with the help of some great vitamins he's getting better!! Woohoo. Oh && following is a picture acting as a "peek-a-boo" of pictures to come from the 2008 Cystonosis Ride!!! Isn't T such a cool dude?

Could I BE anymore blessed?

2008-08-27T18:28:00.001-04:00

I know you are completely hearing Chandler from FRIENDS, if not go watch some reruns and come back. I actually ACCIDENTLY posted this. I was just going to save it as a draft, but I totally forgot and hit publish instead! Ooopsy! So in my mess of former blog that accidently got posted, I put that I was shooting Phil & Candy's MATERNITY pictures, well I totally jumped them completely through engagment and marriage! LOL. I'm actually shooting their engagement pictures!!! Thank you mom for pointing that out!!
So in my blessed-ness, I'm shooting 2 homecomings, 1 childrens shoot, and 1 engagment! And I had someone ask about my shoots yesterday! God is really allowing me to expand and grow as a photographer and I can't imagine being more blessed. Thank you Jesus!

And because this is a photography blog and we've had what 2 posts with no pictures.. I'm adding this one.

Here is D Monster yesterday :) We put him in his cute little Vikings Outfit for church. I sat him in his bumbo so I could get ready and get the diaper bag ready to go, and when I came back, this is what I found... He was a tad sleepy, but then again a 3 AM wake up call will that do a person!

Welcome Aunt Nina :)

2008-08-26T13:43:00.000-04:00

Hello Aunt Nina! Mom said you were a new blog reader and I wanted to say HELLO! And I love you!!! So glad you're a reader now! Feel free to leave a comment :)

Love you!
Kassi

Bike Bash 2008

2008-08-24T20:52:00.001-04:00

First, let me just begin with I go to the COOLEST, most AWESOME church ever! In the past year, the church has started a motorcycle ministry, and they are apart of the local Christian Motorcyclist Association. Well, this past Saturday (8.23.08) they helped sponsor an event called Bike Bash 2008. Bike Bash was an event for riders of ALL bikes, and even for those of us "4 wheelers." I'd say there was a good 1000 people there! What an amazing turnout! Anyways, my mom and I went to show our faces and just to see what it was all about. Of course, I took my camera because well, just because. LOL. Anyways, I was taking pictures from the fenceline like everyone else, and then I saw Grace, one of the people who put the deal together, and she let me on the inside of the fence line, with 2 other photographers. All of sudden I was responsible for taking pictures for Grace! Woah! Yeah! Luckily, I've been practicing all my different settings and learning what works and what doesn't. Anyways, before I post pictures can I just say how freakin' hard it is to take pictures when your targets are doing tricks and wheelies and still moving?!? But I think I got some good ones. And at the end there are a few of the monster, because well.. you know you love him!
oh and p.s.----don't try this at home!!!

**These first 2, can I be completely honest and tell you, I just got lucky! LOL. But aren't they amazing?

Walk The Line

2008-08-20T17:53:00.000-04:00

Okay, so right now we're standing the line.. But we're still cute doing it! Here is little man in his brand new walker (thanks Memaw!!).
Hi Daddy!! Mommy and I love you! Come Home Soon!

Need to smile today?

2008-08-19T20:07:00.001-04:00

How amazingly beautiful is he?

Boys will be....

2008-08-19T17:44:00.000-04:00

girls? A & D are the O boys. Their mom and dad are the couple in the first picture of my last post. They are such great boys and I LOVE them. They are most definately ALL boy, but apparently Saturday night after the wedding, they decided to show their feminine side :) I know momma is gonna LOVE this picture when A&D get to high school :)

Wedding Bliss

2008-08-19T17:24:00.000-04:00

So, I had the wonderful opportunity to second shoot at a wedding on Saturday. I mostly helped the main photographer pose before the ceremony and afterwards, and then at the reception I was in charge of candids. As I was going through my card, I was thinking about how wedding always remind me of my own wedding, and all the love I have for my husand. Anyways, here are some other people I noticed that seemed to be thinking the same as I do.

And this last one is a picture of my sister and her friend, K. She was his date, he is cousins with the bride, J.

These are a few of my favorite things.

2008-08-13T12:04:00.001-04:00

I love the sound of music, and you've got to admit, it's a classic! So anyways. here are a few of my favorite things about D Monster.

~He smiles and smiles and smiles at me. I love that as of right now in his life, I can do no wrong. If I take just a few minutes too long preparing a bottle, and he's screaming his lungs out, and then I walk to him, it changes from an ear peircing scream to this high pitched laugh. It's fabulous.
~ When he hits that deep deep sleep, his nuk will fall out of his mouth, but he'll still keep sucking as if it's still in his mouth. It's honestly the cutest thing ever to watch. I could spend all day just watching him sleep.. But then I'd have to spend all night up with him, so we try to avoid the sleeping all day.
~ Even at 4 months old, he loves TV. I don't let him watch a lot of it (DUH) but lately, we've been watching a lot of the Olympics, and we'll sit down and I'll be snuggling him, and his eyes will never leave the TV. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately) he gets that from my side of the family. Me, my mom, and my Memaw could all sit all day and watch TV.
~I love his cough. Not his I'm sick cough, but his "I've got something stuck in my throat and just need to cough" cough, it's almost fake sounding. It's great.
~The other day he was having some stomach issues, and I finally got him to sleep, so we could just wait the issues out, and he was whimpering. It was so ridiculously sad, he just whimpered like a little puppy

Lookie what D Monster did...

2008-08-09T14:15:00.000-04:00

We started cereal last night. I've been doing my research and I had wanted to wait until he was at least 6 months old to start any kind of solids... But once again, Darin had a different plan. He's been waking up more throughout the night even with just a little bit of cereal in his night time bottle. So, with Matt leaving next week, I wanted him to be here when we started foods, so last night seemed as good as any. Here are some pictures. He was quite precious because if I didn't give him the food fast enough, he would stick his fingers in his mouth! LOL. And you call tell in some of the pictures that he was eating off of my finger. We started with the finger because I didn't want him to have to have a new food off a new device, it just seemed like it may be too many new things all at once. Once he got the hang of it I switched to the spoon and he did great! I'm so proud :) Oh and obviously since I'm the one feeding Darin, I did not take the pictures. Matt did.

We have now had cereal 2x and so far so good. It's never a clean process, but boy it's fun watching him enjoy new things. Once we get used to cereal (probably a week or so) we'll start our next food. I think we'll try avacado next, then sweet potatoes and then bananas. I want to start him on something different and less sweet first because I'm afraid if I give him the sweet potatoes and bananas first, he'll need their natural sweetness added to everything!! So something different before we move on.

Tag You're It...

2008-08-08T16:27:00.001-04:00

Let's do something different today... What I'm going to do is post 5 different or unique things about myself. Then if you read this, you're automatically tagged (so all you CW sisters, you are tagged, and I do blogstalk you, and will haunt your comments until you do it! LOL.)

1. When it started raining at the Kinston Indians game the first thing I wanted to do was take pictures... well and make sure my camera stayed dry! Luckily from my the little lip on the concession stand, I was able to snap this

2. I used to be fluent in American Sign Language. I probably still am or could be but I haven't signed in forever. It's a love of mine and I'm disappointed in myself for letting it go.

3. I LOVE this picture. I ordered it in 11x14, and it's now in a big beautiful black frame on my wall and I can stare at it all day long.. Although most times I find my self staring at the subject in the picture. I do a lot of staring. It's scary.

4. Every time I try to use my formula coupons at Wal-Mart, they have to call a shift supervisor. It's as if they've never seen a coupon before! Oh well, I still get my $5 off.

5. D Monster is going to be starting foods in the next couple of days and weeks. I've noticed he just isn't being satisfied at night time with just rice in the bottle. So we'll be introducing new foods in the next couple of weeks. Erin's Mama Monday post this week was phenomenal, and I'm excited to start Darin on real foods! And yes, I will be making it.

Alrighty sisters, I expect to see 5 new and fun things about you in your blog!!!!

My hubby has a syndrome.

2008-08-06T20:09:00.000-04:00

A lot of photographers will say that their children have "PCS" (no military girlies, not a permenant change of station)-PCS in photographer world is also known as "Photographer's Child Syndrome" and it's where they'll turn their head just a little too far, so you get a great picture of the back of their head, or they cross their eyes. Luckily as of right now, my subject,i mean child is too young to avoid the camera. HOWEVER, I do have a husband who is constantly asking himself "what was I thinking?" in regards to why he bought me my camera. haha. And he seems to think it his job to make my job harder (although isn't that a man's motto?), all of the pictures I've taken recently, he gets all kinds of onry and just downright difficult. And on Father's Day (you know, his FIRST father's day?) I believe I would be correct when I tell you that he threw CARROTS at me! Yes, CARROTS! A few examples, because I know you don't believe me that my beautiful husband could possible be so difficult. You will need to click to enlarge them in order to catch the fullness of his actions.

When he is not sticking his tongue out or throwing carrots at me, he gives the camera this "great" smile.. It's either way cheesy or hardly a smile. He's still cute, but man does he push my buttons!

and apparently, he's had my sister join forces with him...

I actually have a photo series in my head that I want to do with Matt and D Monster. I can picture it in my head (the initial picture thought comes from Lyndsay over at Life In Motion) and it's going to be FABULOUS. Now if only I could get Matt to participate!! I'm going to find a "temporary fake husband" who enjoys taking pictures......

Playing makes us tired..

2008-08-04T15:14:00.001-04:00

Finally found this beauty. I have got to get better about cleaning off my CF card! Anyways, here is the second picture to this beauty. I'm so excited to watch these 2 grow up together. T & D Monster. T is 1 day less than 4 months older than Darin. So he just turned 8 months old.

When Grandmas Attack....

2008-08-04T15:11:00.000-04:00

Here is Darin with my mom (aka Memaw) holding him and Matt's mom (Grandma) snapping his picture! Too sweet :)

{More} Maternity Shots

2008-08-03T20:57:00.000-04:00

Here are some more of the W's. H, it's sooo hard going through all of these because I fall so much in more in love with every shot! Little baby L is going to be an amazingly goregous baby and I cannot wait to meet her!

SILENCE...

2008-08-03T20:21:00.000-04:00

I KILL YOU! Hopefully, you've seen the dead terrorist and understand that. This face totally makes me think that! Doesn't D Monster have the cutest baby blues? I could stare into those eyes for hours and hours. But then unfortunately I would never get anything done! I love that boy more than all my luggage. (Steel Magnolias reference anyone?)

Just Because Photography

Surprise!

Raisin' little people~a come with me adventure in potty training.

Details, details.

straight off the presses

These girls make my job easy.

10 on Thursday?

wordy wednesday.

ten on tuesday.

nothing else like it. {traveling homecoming photography}

a moment like this. {traveling homecoming photographer}

Flashback Game.

10 on Tuesday {almost}

be still my heart. {shoot swap}

home sweet home. {random personal photography}

speechless. {Jacksonville Homecoming Photography}

sneak peek. {Brainerd Lakes Child Photography}

i'm still here.

storm the gates.

10 on Tuesday.

not me.

Raisin' a little person Kassi style.

not me! monday.

Happy Father's Day!!!

my little man.

more milk please.

child like fun.

we're home.

fresh cut.

pondering.

surrounded by beauty.

pray for the freemans.

IMG_7895.JPG

long lost birthday pictures..

been a while.

redirecting, renewing and perhaps going crazy.

Oh how I love Him.

51 Weeks Old Today!

Happy Birth Day Mom!

tears of joy.

I'd take rain.....

The Paci Chronicles.

why the blog break?

Darin's First Valentine's Day!

On a scale of 1 to 10.

he's going to hate me for this.

safe and sound.

Fabulous 4.

Top Secret: Classified.

9 months old.

Happy Birthday Jesus!

Top 5 of 2008?!?

I've got a picture of that...

Look what we can do!

Updates

And the winner is.....

Happy Thanksgiving!

Rock N Roll

Just a quick thing....

3 years! Really?

Things I need to remember

well, that's just sad.

Shark Attack

how it REALLY is.

really, ILLEGAL.

It should be illegal....

This one is going on my mantle.

New Contest and a cute guy

What I have been up too...

Home Sweet Home

6 Months Old!

Dang it!!!! What about 6 on Saturday?

{even more}::in love::

::In Love::

5 on Friday

Who needs a pacifer anyway?

Watch out **Snapshot Overload** ahead!

5 on Friday

Sneak Peek.

Prayers from my family

Watch out Snapshot Overload ahead!

Could I BE anymore blessed?