Happy Thanksgiving!

Ok, I know I am a tad late.. but every day should be Thanksgiving, right??

Anyways, I hope that you had a fabulous day filled with family, laughter, food, and good times. And that you were able to take at least a few moments to think about the many blessings in your life. Because we are all so blessed!

Thanksgiving day we got up and I had Mark assemble Anna's crib - finally! Here's a quick shot... I promise to take a picture of her whole room once we get it painted and set up.

Oops, these are out of order.. but this was Chris's preschool Thanksgiving "party". My little picky eater ate a piece of bread, a piece of deli turkey, and then ice cream and about 3-4 cookies :) He was in heaven!

After the crib was put together we headed down to Mark's parents' house to spend the day with his mom and sister. The first thing we did was head over to the park so that Chris could burn off some steam.

Mom cooked a yummy dinner! Chris wasn't interested in eating any of it, though - unless it is pizza he won't eat it. But he was fascinated with the electric knife!

The supervisors :)

Grandmom with her grandbabies

A rare family shot!

Aunt 'Issa with the kids

So what are you thankful for? I am grateful for my family - I have the best husband and kids ever. I am thankful for Mark's job, our home, and that we can provide for our children. I am grateful for my business - what a fun blessing it is! I am thankful for you: my friends, family, and clients. I am thankful for dark chocolate, pizza, flowers, clean laundry, naps, peppermint mochas, Target, and sunshine.But most of all I am thankful that each day I get to wake up and know Jesus better, for His love, His grace, His mercy, His forgiveness, and the sweetness of being His child. I am grateful for the hope that I have in Him - a hope that I WILL get to see my dad and other loved ones who have passed on one day. A hope that one day He WILL return, and all tears and sadness will end. Oh, come Lord Jesus!

Keith and Amanda are Engaged!

I had a lot of fun photographing Keith and Amanda recently. We met up at Cocoa Beach for their shoot, which was appropriate as they practically live across the street. I am looking forward to their wedding!

One thing that they enjoy doing together is playing cards, so I thought it would be fun to incorporate that into their session...

Mom, Dad, and Finn...

I recently met up with little Finn and his parents for some pictures.. he is such a cute little guy! It can often be a challenge to photograph the little ones.. they just don't like to sit still... :)

But it is sweet to watch them, especially when they are loving on Mom and Dad.

Love sandy little feet!

I think this next one is possibly my favorite from the day... TOUCHDOWN! :)

Congratulations Mike and Ashley!

Mike and Ashley's wedding took place on the beautiful Brady Ranch down in Okeechobee, and it was a beautiful location for a beautiful couple to get married! There was definitely a "country" theme to the day.. I think this is the first wedding I've shot where the father of the bride was wearing jeans! I loved it! But Ashley did a great job with all of the details; the fall colors she chose were gorgeous and complemented the location. But best of all, they were surrounded by their closest friends and family as they sought the Lord's blessing on their marriage. It was an honor to be there!

I think this one is my favorite from the day!

And here's the slideshow...

Anna is 6 Months Old and Stylish!

Oh, my sweet Anna!

In the past month, Anna has of course continued to grow - she is getting so big! However, I haven't taken her for her 6 month appointment yet, though, so I have no idea how much she weighs. But, she is getting stronger and learning new "tricks". She can roll over from her tummy to her back pretty easily, and is starting to roll the other way as well. We're working on sitting up, though she can only do it for a second before she tips over. And then just the other day Mark was letting her chew on his finger, and he commented that he felt something sharp... sure enough, her first tooth had poked through!

The pictures below I took as a newborn, and then on the 15th of each subsequent month. She isn't really fitting on the chair anymore very well - I actually had to catch her right as she rolled off the edge this time!

Recently I was reading the blog of one of my friends, Shannon, who has a daughter about Anna's age, and I noticed that she had on the most adorable little bow. I kept meaning to ask Shannon about it, but never got around to it. However, not long after she sent me an email, telling me about a business that she is starting. It turns out that she MADE the adorable bow I'd seen in the picture. Of course I couldn't resist getting a few for Anna...

If you are interested in purchasing some bows yourself, you have a few options. She has a website, http://www.loopdeloopbows.com/, but it isn't quite ready yet. So, in the meantime you can visit http://www.weewilliewinks.com/; just click on "loop de loop bows" on the left side. You can also custom order bows at orders@loopdeloopbows.com. I had no idea what kind of bows to get, so I just emailed Shannon pictures of a few of Anna's outfits, and told her that I wanted bows to match them. And she picked out the perfect colors and styles! I also love the headband.. it fits just right, and isn't so tight that it leaves red marks. Just think.. Christmas is coming! These bows make the perfect stocking stuffer. Her prices are really reasonable, and the bows are very well made.