merry christmas

i am sure that there will be more postings about christmas, but i wanted to start with our trip to "old baker farm." this place was so neat... look at all those trees:


mason is the newest addition to the family, and he just snuggled all day - he had the best seat for sure!

he sat right on aubrie's shoulder the entire day. that's my roommate, by the way, if you've ever wondered...

looks like they found the tree they wanted!!!!

there's our little reindeer. (precious, huh?)

and, there's my little cutie-bug.

both the grandkids LOVE their nanny... i mean, LOVE their nanny.

all the family members got in on the action...

riley wanted to be a big helper, as you can see:

and, boy does she love adventures with her paw-paw.

there was this CUTE little station to write letters to santa. the man there was so precious to riley. she wrote:
"dear santa, i want a hermaine granger wand. i have been a good girl. love, riley." she made me write, too... we'll see if i get what i asked for. :)

a final shot of what there was to choose from...


if you live in the birmingham area, you NEED to go to this place. it was so much fun to bring home such a great-smelling tree. i mean, it is wonderful already, and we've only had it about 4 hours.

i love what christmas means... i love that it gives me a longing for christmas morning but also brings excitement and anticipation -- believe it or not, the excitement of the season also gives me excitement and anticipation for jesus. there are so many "secular" things of the season and this world that make me want jesus, and i love that jesus shows up in the every day.

christmas music has such meaning and hope, too... i could listen to it all year long, i think.

"hope of all the earth though art...
by thine own eternal spirit, rule in all our hearts alone."

happy thanksgiving!!!

we all have so much to be thankful for... i am learning that more each and every day.

isn't his smile wonderful?

Mr. and Mrs. Shell

What a beautiful wedding I got to shoot on Friday! Lane (bride) is the sister to one of my best high school friends. Thankfully, we still keep in touch, and it was an honor to shoot this wedding on Saturday. There are a few things you need to know before viewing some shots from the wedding:

1. The reception was held at the WONDERFUL Sonnet House. I love every wedding that I get to shoot with Jared and Corey!
2. There are some photos of me in this preview because it was like a high school reunion... Uncommon, I know!
3. Lane's dress was spectacular. Absolutely beautiful. She looked fantastic!
4. The bouquet toss was INTENSE. Janet, my friend, had caught 5 in a row before this one, so the pressure was on. She did it -- number 6. Impressive.
5. Matt and Lane are in Hawaii, and I am jealous.

4-H Center

I was not sure how the photos would turn out from the ceremony on Saturday. It was getting REALLY dark once everything started up, and I was concerned. I, however, LOVE the "mood" of the photos. Here's a sneak:

preview of yesterday's wedding

meet dane and jenna:


i love that shot of them with their converses... they rocked it out!

dane and jenna were married yesterday evening at the 4-h center in columbiana, alabama. it was a beautiful day, and i must say that jenna was absolutely breath-taking. enjoy this preview and be checking back for more:

Patrick and Mallory

Patrick and Mallory were married last night at Meadowbrook Baptist Church. The reception was held at the Avon Theatre downtown in Lakeview... It was a beautiful day for a wedding, and there were many family and friends to celebrate the big day.

Mallory and I go back probably 10 years, so it was fun to be reconnected with people I've known for years... Plus, she and her family were nothing but a pleasure to work with the entire process.

Many thanks to Meadowbrook Baptist Church for being so welcoming and accommodating; I was thoroughly impressed.

I have already previewed a few photos on facebook but thought I would share these, too:

Roll Tide!!!

Well, I braved the cold day last Saturday for the University of Alabama's homecoming game... It was so fun to be back on campus and enjoy the day with some family. It's rare that I have a Saturday without a wedding or not working at the hospital, so I REALLY enjoyed it:

more aras and jasmine

Kristen shot this wedding with me, too, and I love the images we got together. It's taken a little longer than usual to merge our photos, but I wanted to share these few that I saw while looking through what she captured.

Thanks, Kristen!

I'm sure sure if this is me tormenting the ring bearer or the ring bearer tormenting me... Probably a little of both!

album page designs

I get asked a lot about my album designs, so I decided to post some pages/spreads from my recently designed pages.

Imagine these a lot larger: printed they are 10 inches x 20 inches, leather-bound in a beautiful wedding album.

Enjoy this BIG post: