After meeting with Kyndra for the first time and hearing all about her vision for her wedding, I longed to be the photographer she chose to capture her day. Their November, nautical themed wedding, was right up my alley and I knew the detail in her day would have my heart racing with excitement with pretty much every turn. Besides photojournalism and capturing the candid moments of wedding days, strategically placed detail just wraps up the day and turns the perfect love story into a fairytale of a day. Needless to say, once Kyndra emailed me and told me that they had chosen me, I was completely ecstatic.

Kyle and Kyndra wanted to create their engagement photos as a little sneak peak of what’s to come for their big day, so we decided to head out to the beautiful island of Boca Grande to set the scene. I truly don’t think they could have chosen a better location for their vision- the place was just spectacular and had so much to offer with a great mixture of beach and buildings. Add to that a little burlap, fishing nets, some flowers and a beautiful couple, and I was a photographer in heaven.

There’s no way I could post this without saying THANK YOU to Stephanie of Along Came Stephanie, for coming to help style this engagement session! You’re fabulous and were a huge asset in detailing this shoot ever so perfectly!

Ahh, I’m always a sucker for a high school sweetheart love story.

You’re gorgeous, Kyndra!!

Kyle, you did GOOD and Kyndra, you’re one lucky lady to get to wear this bling the rest of your life!

The Boca Grande Lighthouse- definitely worth the drive to visit!

They say engagement photos are practice for your wedding day. I’m pretty sure you guys are ready.

Meet sweet, little Daisy the dog!

Kyndra and Kyle, November 12th can’t come soon enough.  You have no idea how excited I am to be chosen to tell your amazing love story through photographs. The countdown is on…276 days!

- Four blog posts in a row…this might just be an accomplishment (for me, at least).

- Today, I get to do the maternity session for one of my fabulous photographers. Lauren has been working with me for 8 months and she has been an incredible blessing and a true joy to be with.  Seems like just yesterday, we we’re sitting in the car on our way home from a wedding talking about her exciting news and next month she’ll be holding her little girl. Cannot wait!

- Staying somewhat on that note, I have the absolute best second shooters and photographers working with me. So, thank you to Alicia, Katie and of course, Lauren for everything you’ve done and everything you do. Seriously, THANK YOU. You are all amazing and I am grateful I get to do life with such awesome people.

- A couple we’ve worked with from surprise proposal (captured by Alicia) and then onto their beautiful Miromar Lakes wedding, had their little girl yesterday. Thank you Kevin and Alisa for allowing me to be a part of your incredible journey. I’m excited to add a new chapter today as I head to the hospital this afternoon to capture some of the most precious moments life has to offer! LOVE LOVE LOVE hospital sessions and I totally LOVE this couple, so to say I’m a bit giddy is a bit of an understatement.

From their proposal in 2009…

…and from their wedding in 2010…

- Schedule. I had a blast on Christmas break, but I am looking forward to the normalcy of a schedule again. So long, waking up at 9am and hello, buzzing alarm at 6!

- Cold weather. I’m flat out LOVING it (as long as it doesn’t get any colder).

- 2012 weddings. Our wedding season kicks off in less than a month and I don’t think I’ve ever looked forward to a year of weddings, as a whole, as much as I am this one. There’s a whole bunch of fabulous in store.

Off to spend a day doing my favorite thing with some of my favorite people!

We’re already 4 days in and my brain seems to be going about a million miles and hour trying to narrow down my 2012 goals. Since I’m a list-maker, combined with what most would consider a ridiculous amount of competitiveness, there’s something way more motivating about making a written out list of these goals for the new year. Ya know, because being able to cross or check something off a list just gives me a sense of accomplishment. I should probably be clear just in case my husband reads this, this list making just doesn’t seem to work when it comes to laundry (which he graciously does for me), cleaning or the like.

Here’s a few of my 2012 goals I’ve created for myself.

- Family first. I need to be more diligent in putting my family first…even when I’m in great need of a date with my computer.

- Read more.

- Put myself in more uncomfortable situations in every area of life (who makes goals like this?!).

- Pray more.

- Stop comparing myself to others. I’ve never really been one to do this…but I notice myself doing it way too much in this business.

- Quality over quantity.

- Be a better and more consistent blogger.

- Keep a work journal. I keep a personal journal but I want to really use a work journal, where I solely write about work, mistakes I can learn from, things I want to change and the things I’m proud of. I know it’ll be useful and purposeful for later.

Because every blog post is better with a picture, I leave you with little Naomi (or NJ for short). My BFF of over 15 years is down with her fam so they stopped over yesterday for a belated Christmas session an early Valentines shoot.

Unfortunately, NJ doesn’t respond to bribery and she was more interested in the grass than the camera. Therefore, when all else fails, we can almost always rely on the trustworthiness of a dog…who knows exactly what the word treat means.

Happy Wednesday!

PS. Today is most definitely one of those days where I am sooo glad I can stay in my pajama pants, under my covers, while drinking coffee, and blogging. And yet, it’s still entirely too cold for my Florida blood. Hopefully though, this means scarves, boots and the like can make an appearance in today’s outfit!

I’m still thinking it should be the year 2000, so I can’t possibly be the only one who can hardly believe 2011 has already come to an end. More importantly, how in the world has time seemed to pass in the blink of an eye? Literally. For some reason, whenever we close the book to an entire year, my heart aches a little knowing it’s 365 days that will never be gotten back and an endless amount of memories I’ll never fully remember. Most of all, I think I dread knowing my kids are one year closer to adulthood and I desperately want to cherish every ounce of their little being while they’re still little. I guess it’s safe to say that time and I have a love/hate relationship.

With that said, 2011 has been fabulous, amazing, beautiful, love-filled and an absolute blast (most of the time). I am grateful for a lovely family filled with my favorite people, a year of great health in our family, a God I’ve grown closer to over the year, wonderful friends and the most amazing clients a girl could ask for. It’s been a great year and I feel like it’s an understatement to say I feel blessed. Thank you to each and every person in my life- family, friend, client, etc.- who has made 2011 a year to remember.

With that said, even though I’m sad to see 2011 go, I’m totally ready to welcome 2012. I am excited for the changes that are ahead this year and the fresh start in all areas of life. So, as I sit here in my love/hate relationship with time, I know there is nowhere I’d rather be than my current spot- cuddling with my family on the couch while watching the New Year’s Eve shows and awaiting the big ball dropping. Goodbye 2011 and welcome 2012! Happy New Year..and here’s hoping it’s a great one!

I love summer. I love the flexibility of our schedules, the endless days at the pool and beach, no homework, sleepovers, hanging out with my kids (most of the time), sleeping in, doing whatever we want in the evening without having to watch the clock and spending so much time with our family and friends. And then, the week before school hits.  Anybody feel me here?!  Chaos, antsy kids, doctors appointments, open houses, haircuts, back to school shopping, nervous kids, fighting kids and life is just plain old crazy. The picture above pretty much describes our life the past few days. Feel free to put your own caption on it.

So, as of this week, it’s official…I’m ready for school to start. I’m ready for the schedule and routine to be back in our life, even if that means kids in 3 schools, a few kids playing soccer, a daughter with gymnastics 4x a week (FYI, this translates to a practice/game every single day except Sunday) and becoming the taxi mom who is constantly toting her kids from place to place everyday. I’m ready to have a quiet house from the hours of 9-2. I’m ready to take only one super cute little 3 year old with me when I need to go to the store and I’m ready for the hours when this awesome little 3 year old naps (which equals absolute silence in my house for a few hours each day). Truly, the last thing I want to do is wish time away because I see my kids growing with the blink of an eye, but I’m definitely ready for this next season in life to begin.

So long, Summer of 2011….I know in about 4 weeks I’ll be looking forward to Summer 2012! Happy Friday and happy last day of summer, for us!

After a few months hiatus, and numerous people asking why I stopped, I figured I would get back into the routine of listing my favorites of the week. Ready, set, here we go- in no particular order…

1. Sephora. I’ve fallen head over heels in love with this store. Find something you want to try in the store, but don’t want to spend the $$$ without knowing you’ll love it? Ask them for a sample jar to go. How awesome is that?! Also, if you end up not liking whatever you purchase, you can return the empty bottle for a complete refund!

2. Summertime. Beach, movies, the pool, books, lots of time with our friends and endless time with my kids. I am simply, LOVING the laziness of summer.

(iphone photo)

3. Kyla’s gymnastics. She started 6 months ago and has already moved up to a level 5/6 ( which translates to 4 days a week, 3-4.5 hours each day). We are continually impressed every single week as she learns and masters new skills. Yesterday, she got her kip on the bars and she is absolutely ecstatic about it. Kyla absolutely loves it and we are so, so proud of her. Hopefully, I’ll have video to post next week!

4. Paint! We finally painted our living room after pretty much turning an eye to it for the past 7 years. It was a darker red so the task of painting the room was extremely overwhelming and we tried to do whatever we could to just make do with the color. We decided on a wet cement, greyish, brown color and although it took some getting use to, it’s now my new fave sitting place in our house. How great that a few hundred dollars can totally change a house- I love paint!

Before (furniture had already started being moved):

It only took us about 10 hours (the living room and kitchen are a big open room together) and I ask myself everyday why we waited so long. After:

We also painted our dining room (it was a green color before):

5. I’ve been loving my quiet time with the Lord this week. It truly is amazing how different my day is if I spend a little bit of the morning in the Word. I also came across this article this week and I think it’s a great read for ANY mother (or father) out there:

http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/motherhood-is-a-calling-and-where-your-children-rank

6. Words with friends. It never gets old and the competitive person in me takes it oh so seriously. Let’s play: MGlassford5.

Happy Friday! I’m off to take my little ones on a Winnie the Pooh movie date.