Hannah - Class of 2010 - Farm Session.

You may remember Hannah from her session this past summer. We had a lot of fun on that urban shoot, and late in the fall we met for a shoot at my friends', Amy & Clay's farm.

We climbed up into the hayloft and that is where we got some of my very favorites.

I started to title this post "Move over Jane Russell."  She reminded me of a young Jane Russell in the hay.  I told her that, but I wondered if she even knew who I was talking about. ;-)

I love the light through the wall of the barn in this one.

Hannah is such a natural beauty. And if possible her voice is even more beautiful.  I sat in front of her at church Sunday morning. Beautiful, beautiful voice.

Denim and pearls.  Don't you just love it?!  Oh, and don't forget the cowboy boots!

I think this is one of Hannah's favorites.  It is her Facebook profile pic at the moment.  It's a favorite of mine, also!

Juniors and Seniors make sure to see Hannah to get on of her cards for your free gift when you book a session!

Mini Valentines!

Make your Valentines a little extra special this year! I am offering these custom wallet size valentines for my clients.

Choose your favorite image from your session and one of these 4 templates.

Valentine #1.

Valentine #2.

Valentine #3.

Valentine #4.

These valentines are wallet size and come eight to a sheet.  They wil be die cut for you. They are the perfect size to attach to a goodie bag for your little one's classmates!

Pricing as follows:

1 set of 8 = $15.00

2-3 sets of 8 = $12.50 per set

4 or more sets = $10 per set

Added bonus: with every 4 sets you purchase I will include one free set!

Note:  To receive quantity discount must be one pose/valentine and all sheets must be ordered at the same time.

Her Golden Day.

I shared Molly's Golden Birthday Tea Party on my personal blog, but since it was such an event for us I thought I would also share it here. 

For those of you who do not know, your Golden Birthday is the year that you turn the age of your birthday.  So since Molly was born on January 7th, this year was her golden birthday.  We had been talking about it for a few months because it was such an important day.  She decided on a small tea party at home with a few of her closest girlfriends (she had a very difficult time narrowing it down to a handful).  She wanted it to be very fancy so I went from there!

We bought all the gold tulle Wal-mart had and I covered the backs of the dining room chairs with it.

We lucked up at the after-Christmas sale at Wal-mart where we found gold tablecloths, chargers and large spools of ribbon.

I had Ivy Wreath create an arrangement for our table centerpiece and an arrangement in my swan container for the foyer.  We also found the wooden “Wish” on clearance at Wal-mart in the Christmas department.  Truffles on the lower shelf of the table were the party favors.  Once again topped with gold bows we found after Christmas at Wal-mart.

For her Golden Birthday she of course had to have a golden dress.  That was an eBay find. $15 plus shipping (included the crown)!

Her cake. Our friend, Carla Gault, always does our cakes.  He cakes are just as delicious as they are beautiful.  Molly and I had looked through cake decorating books and she decided that she wanted a cake with pillars.  We told Carla we wanted a cake with pillars with the golden theme and this is what she came up with.  Just beautiful!

When we started planning for her party, I tried to convince her that it would be better to have it at the fellowship hall at church, but she insisted on having it at home.  Having it at home meant that she couldn’t invite as many friends. She had a very difficult time narrowing it down to 5 friends and we ended up having to borrow a small table from my sister so that she could invite 7 friends. She still had a very hard time deciding. I love that she has so many friends that it is almost impossible to narrow it down to just seven.

Chris and I acted as servers. He is such a wonderful daddy.

The girls had fruit tea with their meal and then we served punch from my grandmother’s punch bowl when it was time for cake.

I love this one of Molly.  It captured her in the moment of her special day.

It was such a special day.  I am so thankful for this little girl.  I hope I made it a golden memory for her!

Deloris & Rick - Just the Details.

How better to start the new year than with a wedding? Rick and Deloris decided to start 2010 off as husband and wife.  I was so thrilled to be there to photograph their day. 

January 2nd was a very cold day, but you wouldn't know it inside the Fayetteville Museum where the ceremony and reception took place.  These gorgeous hydrangeas and roses were as beautiful as a summer day. Ivy Wreath did a beautiful job on the flowers.

  But let me backtrack just a little. As the guest arrived they walked through this courtyard.  I just loved the touch of the wreaths with the white bows. So simple and elegant.

I have been to many receptions at the museum, but I have never seen a wedding there.  It was so neat to see how it was transformed for the ceremony.

My dear friend, Monica, was my second shooter for this wedding.  She was so much fun to work with and I will be calling on her again. She took this cool shot of the chairs, and I loved the centerpieces for the cocktail tables.

Deloris' dress was stunning! Here's a detail shot of it.

Then we took it outside.

The shoes. I LOVED that they were Deloris' something blue!

Deloris and Rick's rings were gorgeous.  I thought Rick's was so unique!

I loved Deloris' bouquet of hydrangeas.

I love seeing things through the eyes of others.  I really like this shot of the flowers at the alter Monica took. 

And the bow on the flowergirl's dress.

I love this one of the bouquets. 

This post was all about the details, but I couldn't end it without a favorite of Rick and Deloris.  You would never know it was like 24 degrees when this was taken would you? Deloris was just a great sport. They are such a wonderful couple.

Deloris and Rick are such a neat couple and this was such a neat wedding. I will be sharing more as I edit them. 

Deloris and Rick, I hope you like the little sneak peek and thanks once again for letting me share in yur day. 

The Three I Call My Own.

Life is hectic. 

Life is crazy.

But every once in a while in the chaos that we call life in the Barnes household something will cause me to pause.  I think that something is Someone.  I think it is God.  And at that moment I am amazed that these three are mine.  I've been here the whole time, but sometimes I stand and wonder how I got here.  How and when I became the mother, nurturer, caretaker of these three amazing people.

Elizabeth.

Intelligent. Caring. Outgoing.  

I see parts of me in her. We share a love of the written word.  We are both resistant to change. But I see so much more in her.  I see in her so many things that I would like to be. She can be so very patient with her little brother. She is thoughtful, and thinks of other. She has an intense focus on whatever she is working on at the moment... a book, a game, a puzzle.  She isn't easily distracted. That is something I struggle with every day.

Molly.

Beautiful. Graceful. Loving. Artistic.

My middle child.  The one I butt heads with more. Maybe that is because we are alike in many ways. Stubborn. Dramatic. Yes, Molly may have inherited some of my worst qualities. She is harder on herself than she should be (something else we share), and is her worst critic.

But there is so much in Molly that I can learn. She stands up for herself.  I have heard this recently from her teacher. She doesn't succomb to peer-pressure. She is prayerful.  At 7-years-old she says some of the most beautiful, thoughtful, heartfelt prayers I have ever heard. She cares for others and takes time to do thing for others to show them that she cares. 

Stewart.

Imaginative. Adventuresome. Sweetheart.

He fills my days with joy.  His imagination is amazing. Even his sisters think it is remarkable. If I could have but a small portion of his imagination I could do amazing things. He is a lover. He shares hugs with everyone he sees.  He loves life and finds fun in everything. I need more of that.

These three.

 I am the one that is supposed to teach them, but I seem to be the one that has so much to learn from them.