Twas The Morning of Christmas

Twas the morning of Christmas when all through the house, all the creatures were stirring, including the mouse.

All the boxes were full of presents galore waiting for kids to come down to the first floor.

The children were up and out of their beds, with visions of presents stuck in their heads.

With him in his flannels and I in my tee had visions of kiddos unwrapping in our dreams.

When out down the hall there rose such a clatter, I pretended to sleep and pretend not to matter.

Away to our bed they sprang with a clatter, "It's Christmas, It's Christmas, it's time to go down." "Wake up, Wake up." they continued to hound.

So we hopped out of bed and began to get ready with attempts to get rid of my bed heady.

Away to the tree they flew like a flash, they tore open the gifts and thew up the trash.

When, what to my sleepy eyes should appear, but a huge mess of boxes and wires to tear.

More rapid than lightning out of the room they ran, off playing with toys, including my man.

"Now Andrew, Now Abbey, Now Daddy come too, you've left this big mess, come clean up too.

To the top of the porch, to the top of the wall, they dashed away, dashed away, dashed away all.

With a bundle of trash flung over my back, I looked like a peddler going out to the trash.

Now off to prepare my Christmas day dinner and thoughts of my menu not making me thinner. I noticed my husband saying come hither.

With a wink of his eye and a twist of his head, soon gave me to know I had something to dread. He requested a turkey with lots of good bread.

As we prepared the table fit for a king, I knew I had all of everything. My husband, my kids and my mom there too, I knew we were blessed with more than we knew.

As I sat with fine china and fancy stemware, I was still comfortably wearing my overnight wear.

To sit with pajamas at dinner, giving thanks for all that we hold dear, I look with excitement to do it all again next year.

MVP Babysitter

When we moved to AZ several years ago we quickly realized the perks of living near family. We never needed to call or pay a teenager to watch the kids. We had many volunteers, and free ones. Finding someone who you can trust with your perfect little devils is an arduous task. We probably went a year without a sitter before we met Victoria. When we met her she was in high school, had a car and did not have a boyfriend. The perfect babysitter trifecta. She instantly hit it off with the kids, and only sent Abbey to the ER once. When she started out with us, Andrew was our good kid and Abbey was the little monster. Looking back, it's hard to even think that's possible. They have totally switched rolls, but that's not my point.

This fall my dear sweet Victoria betrayed us big time. Not only did she decide to start dating a boy, she went away to college. It really took us some time to adjust, but we have managed. We use her protege, Laycie, for the most part. Every once in a while I'll get a text from V that she is coming to town, and we leave just for the occasion. Tonight, we had some last minute mommy/daddy time before the crazy Christmas week begins. Thanks Victoria!!

What to Wear, What to Wear

I get asked all the time about wardrobe. I always tell people to stay simple and classic. Most people answer that with a black or white tee paired with denim or khaki's. That is safe and it looks great. It makes the pictures come out simple and draws attention to the face. When it comes to kids, a little color is great. In fact, when it's done this well it's pretty awesome. Most people would never consider putting red patton shoes on with a pair of bright yellow and white polka dot tights. Most would never dream about the two of those with a grey wool skirt and a bright pink sweater. This mom got it all right. This little outfit is by far my favorite. It is so crazy that it totally works. It was also totally her little girl. She was just as much fun as her bright yellow tights. My hat is off to you mom, you totally nailed this one!!

Some of My Fav's

This picture will surely be seen again. I'm considering this for my next ad. Dylan had decided that I had taken enough of him, and he wanted to take a couple of me. He probably has the other side of this photo somewhere in that memory card.

I was actually at Dylan's house to do a newborn session with his new baby sister. He quickly stole the show and dominated the session.

I love this picture. Bella had decided early on in this session, that she would not be participating the way mom wanted. We took a walk in the front yard as well as here in the backyard. As you can see the ball in the background, we made several attempts to engage her in play that would involve an acceptable prop. She nixed that idea and stuck with the Dr. Pepper can, this turned out to be one of my favorites. It shows her little budding personality so well.

This is Bella's twin brother Lex. He's almost too pretty, but we won't let daddy hear that!
Normally by the time I'm done editing out a project, I have my favorites. It's so much fun to see if they are the "chosen few" when it comes time to order. Rarely, that is the case. When I first started shooting, I followed all the "rules" and had all eyes on me and most teeth showing. I wanted to make sure every one's face and smile was focused on the camera. As time has gone by, I feel like I'm settling into a "style" of my own. I LOVE the natural pose and smile. Some of my favorites are when the face is obstructed or the eyes have shifted off to more interesting things. I love the smiles and expressions that say "I'm so happy and comfortable". I love capturing the "less than perfect" moment (see nose pick) or the stubborn obstinacy of a one year old. Typically, these are not the poses put on frames, but they are the ones that make us smile 10 years later.

While I Was Out

It's so great to do what you love for a living. It's even better getting to meet so many different people that I might never know otherwise. The Shackelfords are a transplant family from the northeast. They were eager to send desert Christmas cards out to the land of snow and ice. The Hoyer family was so much fun to meet. Their two girls, Samantha and Tabitha where a hoot. As soon as I walked in the door they told me that they were expecting a grumpy old lady. I was happy that I did not meet their description. My kids, however, refer to me as the grumpy old lady. I'll take what I can get. Valerie and Randy were just as much fun as a a pair of twenty somethingers. Totally not a word, but I'm OK with that.

My Sister's Wedding

A rare smile and eye contact combo from both kids.

Another good pose from Andrew, and I'll take the fakearoo from Abbey.

This was a picture of her yummy cake. Good job Nicole. I just love this picture.

Everyone said their goodbyes, and they were off......to look at Christmas lights.

A rare picture of the bride. Her beautiful flowergirls were so cute, even if one of them had a neon yellow cast.
Last week, we each sold off a kidney and purchased tickets to fly home for my sisters wedding. It was nice being back home and seeing everyone for the holidays too. Going back home was a bitter sweet return. The last time I was there, I said goodbye to my dad. Being home was good, but not the same. You don't realize how someone really effects a family until they are gone. My dad was always the one to lighten the mood. He also spent most of his time occupying Andrew and I know Andrew was not the same without his running buddy.

After Thanksgiving we spent a lot of time preparing for Amy's wedding. We had last minute things to buy or pick-up, dinners and rehearsals. We put some serious miles on the car. Once the big day arrived were were all officially ready for this thing to happen, and we dreamed of conversations that had nothing to do with matrimony.
My sister has probably dreamed about getting married most of her life. She waited impatiently, excuse me, very patiently for Mr. Right to sweep her off her feet. As luck would have it, she married the only boyfriend she ever had. What are the odds? Anyway, she was a beautiful bride.

A couple of days after my dad passed away, the discussion of who would give away my sister at the wedding surfaced. There were a short list of options, but the only one that my dad would have approved was Andrew. This was a touching and slightly frighting proposition. With much thought Andrew agreed to take his Papa's place. We all cried, and smiled at the thought. As Saturday approached, Andrew made everyone sweat out the moment. In true Andrew form, he makes you worry and configure exit strategies for disappearing. The kid is a wild cannon. Truly anything could happen, and we all knew it. Being the matron of honor I was the last one to leave the hallway and walk before the bride. As I left, I glanced over to Andrew and noticed him dancing the Mr. Roboto. I began to sweat.

As the doors opened and the music played, my sweet perfect angel had the biggest smile I've ever seen on that kid. His head was up, his back was straight and his arm was firmly up. As he slowly walked Amy down the isle, the pride on his face was evident. As I resisted the urge to scoop him up and shower him with hugs and kisses, I just cried. My dad would have been so proud. He said his lines, kissed Amy's hand and interlocked her and with Barry's. However, his "call me" nod to some unexpected attendee was the talk of the reception. Awesome.

I Heart Texas

Saturday I went out to Flower Mound to "shoot" the Stevens family. It's really fluky how this even panned out. Melissa emailed me regarding a session and then realized I was in Phoenix. Long story short, we worked in the session for this week. They were such a fun family to spend the afternoon with. Little CJ was a carefree little soul who eventually let down his guard. I'm not really even close to finishing this job, but I thought I would throw out some teasers. Let's face it, I'm always just as excited to see how the session turned out.
Thank you, Stevens Family, for allowing me to get my favorite place in the world into the backdrop of one of my sessions.

Dang, They're Cute.

This Thanksgiving, I took a moment away from my turkey to check on my kiddos. I never found Andrew, but I did find Abbey. Hey, 50 percent is not too shabby. I did loose the problem child. If I had to pick one to loose these days, Andrew would be the one to loose. He's old enough to ask for help and he knows all of the right spots to kick if he gets caught. He's probably the kid that is most likely to be returned. I digress.

I found Abbey and her cousin Lacey out blowing bubbles. They were just so dang cute, I had to go for the camera. Just between you and me, I always have my camera, but that's not important here. Abbey was having such a great time and even gave the occasional pose. Rare.

They also made the best out of a spill by dragging their wand over the bubble puddle. Did I mention how cute they are?

Mi Familia

Here we are, minus three. It really is a bit of a miracle that I managed to get everyone in and looking in the same direction. (Click any of these to enlarge) (if you dare)

This is my mom and her sisters and most of the cousins. We are missing the oldest, Michael and the youngest, Robin and her older brother Chris. Robin would be in the front row sticking out her butt with me in the front.

These are all of the babies of us cousins. Our DNA improves with every generation.

This is my immediate family, minus my sweet dad.

This is my crew. We really dressed up for this one!When I get together with this group, memories of old times come flooding back. Memories, some good, bad and ugly. Some of my favorite include the year the famous kid table got moved outside. It was downright freezing, and we took drastic measure to stay warm. We went inside in intervals and swiped all of the brown and serve rolls and stuffed our jackets for warmth. On the rare occasion that we had Thanksgiving at my grandparents house, we spent most of our time in trouble for kicking and retrieving the ball from the forbidden garden. There were also the many Thanksgivings at Cottonwood Park. Our parents had no earthly idea what we were doing for about 7 hours every Thanksgiving. Most of our adventures included spinning someone on the merry-go-round until the involuntary vomit emerged. We threw stuff, and occasionally each other, into the creek. We also passed time by blaming everything on Chris and making Casey cry. We went way too far past our boundary's and did countless acts that we would never admit to. Than of course, there was the Thanksgiving that we lost April and Robin all together. They went "exploring" out in the woods behind our house. Several hours later the girls were found and all was well.
Today, there is a whole new generation of mischiefs. They seem like seasoned vets already. It's so neat to see a family grow and change. There also seemed to be a huge hole in our celebration. There was someone missing. My dad was sorely missed. He always kicked the dinner off with a prayer. I dare to say that some did not even notice that he did that every year and maybe no one noticed that he was not the one that did it this year, but I did. I love that he always wanted to take time to thank God for our crazy family and our over abundant lunch and dinner. I am so thankful that he walks with angels this year, and he is no longer in a silent pain, but he is desperately missed.

Let the Good Times Roll

I've been looking forward to "shooting" the Amiel Family for a while now. I think we started making appointments a couple of months ago. After several rescheduling attempts, we were full steam ahead. As soon as we pulled up we noticed the "Stay off the Grass" signs posted. As you can see, we fully respected the request. My favorite two things were in full effect here. No, wait, sleep and ice cream are my two favorite things, let me rephrase. My two most favorite photographic things are outdoor shots and candids, and I had both here. Mom gave me free reign on her family, and knowing her love for "real" expressions, I had a blast. Thanks Amiel family!!

Taking pictures of people I know really stresses me out. They are, however, my favorite to look at. I took pictures of my neighbor's family for their holiday cards. My neighbor has been my guinea pig for 3 years now, and she has been very patient with me. She has always been so supportive of me in all of my fancy photography endeavors.

L and Z and some of Abbey's best friends, and I had so much fun with them.

My Favorite Triplets

About 7 months about I meet the Stauss family. I had the honor of of being at the hospital the day they were born, and a couple of weeks later I did their newborn session. My two favorite things are going back to photograph a family after my initial session, and having the freedom to take some casual candid shots. The more I worked on these photos, the more I noticed little Brayden stealing the show. He has two beautiful sisters and a beautiful mother, but he continued to steal the show. Here's to you Brayden. Below is a link to their complete session.

http://jenniferweems.com/slideshows/Strauss.Family.html

Party Girl

Abbey is shown here with two classmates Abby and Rylee

Here is Abbey, my child who will find a way to not look directly at the camera. She is getting very creative.

Abbey with the oh so cute Johnny

This year we had a super fun party planned for Abbey's 6th birthday. I was unusually on the ball planning wise. I had made reservations for a bounce house and snow cone machine for the park down the street. I even went ahead and pre-printed party invitations with all of the party info.

All of our planning and prep work went out the emergency room window on Halloween. She confided herself with the thought of her bounce house party. I figured I would wait until we were home and no longer on morphine to break the news to her. We later decided to just have a pizza party. It seemed the safest anyway, physically speaking.

Abbey had most of her class show up for the party, with a couple of preschool Goldie-oldies. Her friend, Lily brought the Easy Bake Oven. She asked everyone for that silly thing, and I told everyone not to bother. My dear sweet neighbor fell for her scheming ways. The party could not have been more chaotic and insane. I think there were 500 other children there celebrating their own birthday's. They looked like a swarm of ants. Really, I don't know if ants swarm, maybe bee's would be a better analogy? Maybe a heard of elephants? No, much too large. Maybe a big 'ole bunch of alley cats. I can't know for sure.