VLV Photography

What a sweet and adorable little boy I got to spend a few hours with over this past weekend!!  Anthony (I’m partial to the name too, gee…..wonder why? lol!) is also my first Baby Steps Plan member.   So I will get to see this little boy grow up and fill his little face full of cake!  At least, I haven’t told mom that’s part of my plan for his 1 year old session!

I have only done 7 newborn sessions total, including Anthony’s, and I struggle every time with what to bring/what to use.  I am a very indecisive person sometimes and when those little people are so darn cute, I wonder to myself…how do I possibly make them any cuter?  I have a newborn session tomorrow with a little girl and that’s even worse as I have a stash of headbands to mull over too!

In case you missed this little guy’s first debut in his momma’s belly, you can catch that blog post sneak peak here.  As I was leaving, we were talking about how six months from now, when I see them again, it will be April and nearly Spring.  The time really does go by fast but winter may make it seem to take forever to come around.  I look forward to seeing this little guy again, as well as his big brother.  Big brother wasn’t much for the camera and lucky mom, he’s a boy that loves his naps.  Hopefully next time around we can get a few adorable ones of these two cutie-pies together.  Anthony seems to be a carbon-copy of his big brother, so I really do look forward to seeing how much alike these two look six months from now.  I’ll actually see them between six months and one year, when Anthony’s aunt Brittney gets married to her sweetheart Matt.  Can I say how much I adore this family??  Thank you all for choosing me to capture your family’s history.  THIS is huge reason why I love what I do.

Now, onto the cuteness that is Anthony….

I have been MIA from my blog and Facebook page lately.  I’ve been working on several orders and custom design products for clients and am just now caught up. A wedding album,  four accordion albums, a few dvd’s, dvd case,  a storyboard, several holiday cards later and it’s just about Thanksgiving.  October flew with sessions and November has been a blur too.  I honestly have no idea where the time went.

I have so many plans for my website and blog posts and also the January bridal show coming up, it’s not wonder too, my mind is always racing.  I’ve also had some personal things going on in the mix too, including neck issues.  I guess that’s a hazard of being in front of the computer too much.

These last few months have shown me what my limitations are and that a few things need to change.  There are some changes coming to my business in 2012 and am excited to see what my 3rd year in business has in store for me.  I’ve been inspired so much lately too, and I look forward to bringing some ideas I’ve had nestled in my brain for a while-to life in the coming year.  In the near future though, coming up on Saturday, Dec. 10th Hague will be having it’s annual holiday showcase with area vendors from 10-3 and also Santa will be there.  More information on this event to come on my Facebook page.  Please stop down and check out what local businesses have to offer and maybe get some Christmas shopping done too!

I had the pleasure recently of second shooting with a photographer from Sioux Falls, SD who has been in business going on 10 years.  I first started following Shalista Photography back when I was just a photographer blog stalker dreaming of taking beautiful pictures.  She offered me the opportunity to second-shoot with her at a wedding in Bismarck and I was extatic to say the least!  It was so fun to finally meet her and share ideas and get to know her.  We hit it off right away (I’ll call it ”photog-chemistry”-lol!) and I most definitely look forward to working with her again!

That’s basically been the run-down of the last two weeks.  Fast-forward to Thanksgiving and being thankful.  I had such a great day today and I don’t know about anyone else but I was LOVIN’ the weather!  I was outside most of the afternoon with the kiddos and it was just perfect.  It really was a ”picture-perfect” day for a session, no pun intended! lol!  I had made a roast for my family and this weekend we’re doing the whole turkey kit-n-kaboodle when more family comes home.

Today I am thankful for those in my life that have a hold of my heart.  I could not imagine my life without them.  I’d probably have a house full of pets.  Ironically though, we don’t have a pet.  We’ve tried a few times but either my son goes fishing for the goldfish (true story-he was 2 years old), the hamster dies, or we just didn’t get the right dog for our family.  So we’ve been down the pet road with no luck.

Anyway, back to being thankful.  My life is full today and I am thankful.  It wasn’t always this way and so on a day like today it’s good to be reminded.

Tomorrow I get to meet the future President of the United States.  Okay, well it’s kinda hard to think that far ahead when talking about a newborn;  however, little Anthony can be anything he wants to be.  He will be 10 days new tomorrow and I’m so excited to meet him and see his lovely family and big brother Brevin again.  The rest of the weekend I will be with family.

I hope all of you have a wonderful weekend and don’t let those sales on Black Friday (or shall I say Black Thursday this year?) bring out the crazy in you!   I think next year I’m shopping online in my pj’s!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Families like branches on a tree, grow in different directions but the roots remain one. - Unknown

….the ones who have my heart…

It’s another start to another crazy-busy week.  This week I’m working on several orders and some custom-design pieces.  I can’t wait to photograph everything when it all comes in.

My weekend was quite productive as well.  Most people probably Spring clean but I tend to “prepare for Winter” clean.  I gave the entire house a deep clean and started the daunting task of rotating clothes in the closets for the changing season, as well as go through stuff that doesn’t fit anymore.  Also, got all my Halloween decorations put away too.  Sundays are suppose to be my relaxing day but it’s been a while since I’ve had a weekend of doing absolutely nothing.  I could use some of those days as I have some unfinished crochet projects I started last year.

It was nice to see a little glimmer of sun this morning at 7am;  however, I’m sure I’m not alone when I say that Daylight Savings Time stinks as it only means one thing.  DA-DA-DA……S-N-O-W.  Bleh!  But you know, I had a conversation over the weekend with family and I can’t imagine living somewhere where my kids would never see or experience snow.  Living here, we expect it and although we may not get use to it;  however, kids love it and look forward to it.  Could you imagine being a 6 year-old kid seeing snow for the first time and building a snowman for the first time as well?  I just can’t fathom what that would be like and it would surely be something to photograph.  I mentioned that if my family lived somewhere that doesn’t have the seasons, I would have to take my kids on a winter vacation because how sad is that to go through life without that experience?  Like I said, we think nothing of it living here a.  Heck, most probably dread it every year, but as much as I may dislike it, I have an odd appreciation for it when I look at it from that perspective.

I’m still surprised though, there are some trees still not feeling like letting go of

In preparation for the long, dark winter months ahead, I’ll leave you with this beautiful reminder of the Spring and NEW YEAR ahead.  This monarch was quite the little model for me.    I know its wings were wet and so I took advantage of its vulnerability before its wings dried.      

And before the snow flies and all the trees are naked, I’ll throw in a couple Fall what to wear inspiration boards.

Until next time…Live, Laugh, and Love the one you’re with all the seasons through.

Just a quick little post today to wish all my fellow veteran’s a Happy Veteran’s Day and all the hunters out there a safe first day of deer hunting!  I always hate deer opener day because that means I need to be even more watchful night driving and I hate night driving in the first place!  But, I know it’s necessary to control the deer population and I gotta admit, I do love a good venison steak!   My family does make a pretty good ring of deer sausage too.  So I do reap the benefits even though I don’t hunt myself.  Right now it’s a little hard since we have young children but I do hope to start hunting eventually.  I think I prefer pheasant hunting though, but only because it’s warmer weather! LOL!  I HATE being cold!  So here are a couple pictures to get you feeling a little warm and toasty and wishing you had those flip-flops back on your feet!

These were all taken by me while on my deployment over in Iraq with the 141st ECB back in 2004.  Hard to believe it’s been that long.  Now with news that the troops are coming home, it will be interesting to see what the results will be.

Anyway, because there is far less air pollution over there (even though it is the dirtiest and smelliest place EVER) the night skies seemed to just twinkle with a billion more stars, like you could almost reach out and touch them.  The sunsets made the whole sky appear like it was on fire too.  And don’t get me started on the heat.  When you can pull your shirt and plated vest away from your body and literally feel the heat come from your body go into your face and you’re drenched with sweat, then you know it’s hot-as in a 123 degrees hot!  I call it the “Iraqi sweat diet.”  I dropped 20 pounds on that diet.  True story…and had some hair that grew so long I had ” 80′s metal band hair!”  I got a kick out of seeing a tractor there too….made me think of home.  I also wanted to capture an image of the irony of it.  When I heard the Chinook coming, I grabbed my camera (which I ALWAYS) had on me and snapped that picture.  I hope we never see any Chinooks on our horizon.

I have literally hundreds of photographs and many videos that I would love to share but in an effort to remain sensative to others, I selected just these few.  So Happy Veteran’s Day to those who I had the pleasure of serving alongside, to those who served in the past, who will serve, and continue to serve.  And not to mention the families that stuck by tand supported their veteran.  Home wouldn’t be home without you.  Have a safe and wonderful weekend everyone!