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On this day of thanks, my children are currently napping (well, most of them), my husband is napping, my mother-in-law is busy cleaning up after lunch, other in-laws are resting, crocheting, and playing the guitar, and I am left in the quiet to reflect on why I am thankful.  So, here it goes…

I am thankful for…

my God who loves me as I am, my husband who supports me 100%, my children who make me laugh, Marble Slab ice cream (banana with chocolate chips to be specific), Christmas music, “The Office”, my friends who tolerate my craziness, my parents who always taught me that I could be whatever I wanted to be, Mentoring Moms, a career that allows me to be a Mom first, clear organizing boxes, my new Canon 70-200 lens, Laura Story, our country where we can be free, Behold the Lamb of God CD, Furman, my health, The Hicks, Australia (because my sister found comfort there), cool digital paper to use for Christmas cards, being the most tired I have been in all of my life because of the number of Christmas orders I have (I am so excited!!!), pumpkin bread, Earle Street Baptist Church, my MacPro laptop.

Well, that isn’t a very long list, but I have to get back to those Christmas orders.  I hope each of you are enjoying spending time with family and filling your tummies with yummy food.  I know it isn’t the end of the year yet, but I can’t wait to see what 2009 brings.  2008 was pretty cool!

A couple of weeks ago I was able to celebrate Ethan’s first birthday with him and his family.  Ethan is another Baby Program client and I have been able to watch him grow since he was about 4 months old.  For his one year session his mom wanted him to be photographed with a piano that was his father’s when he was a little boy.  We put the piano under some trees with the sun setting behind Ethan.  All of the colors together were just beautiful.  And Ethan couldn’t stop laughing during our session.  And I couldn’t stop laughing looking at his pictures.  Like I have said, I have the best job.  Who wouldn’t want to look at smiling, laughing babies all day!!  Happy Birthday Ethan.  Thank you for celebrating it with me.

Last Spring I had the privilege of photographing a sweet family in my neighborhood one afternoon at Furman.  It was their son’s first birthday and we celebrated it with pictures!  Ryan’s mom recently contacted me again to take pictures for their Christmas card.  We met at Furman again and had a blast.  Ryan has the most beautiful eyes and has a sweet spirit.  He loved playing “Peek-a-Boo” and we became fast friends.  I also found out that day that Ryan is expecting a new sibling in 2009.  Congratulations!!  I can’t wait to meet the new member of your family.  Merry Christmas Ryan!

I am always amazed at experiences I get to have now that I started my photography business.  I didn’t expect to have my clients bring their family members to be my clients too.  I am not sure I could receive a bigger compliment.  Another baby I recently met through his aunt is Baby Cohen.  His cousin is one of my Baby Program clients and his grandfather purchased a gift certificate so that he could come and meet me too.  I was so honored.  Cohen was a very sweet baby and very big baby!!  Although he was only a couple weeks old, we had to “pose” him like a 3 month old.  He was too big for my normal baskets, chairs, etc.  But that is the joy of my job; every day is different.  Thank you Cohen and your older sister for a great morning.

Burke, Burke, Burke.  Burke is another baby I photographed and I knew that my career had changed for the better.  As I said in an earlier post, when I decided to start my business as a photographer I e-mailed all of my friends.  As unnerving as that was, it was really safe.  I still needed to step out of my comfort zone and take pictures of “strangers.”  In walk Burke…  In my neighborhood, the women have a “Ladies Night” once a month.  A couple of days before Halloween I met a girl at a Ladies Night that was 9 months pregnant.  We talked for about 10 min and nothing was mentioned about our careers.  Then, I saw her again during our neighborhood Halloween parade and she was carrying her baby.  I was so excited.  An actual newborn to photograph!!!  I prayed that God would give me the strength to talk to her and who would ring my doorbell that night but Burke!!  I told his mom about my new career and wondered if she wouldn’t mind me using her couple day old baby as a model.  She said Yes!!!  Can you believe it??!!  It was wonderful.  So, there after I was known as the photographer of the “baby in the chair.”  I am constantly trying to reproduce that photoshoot or build from it.  And, I have seen other photographers use the same concept in their work.  How cool!!!  Burke’s mom is also awesome because she asked me a few weeks later to photograph her 12 member extended family (I hadn’t done that before either).  Words cannot express the gratitude I feel towards this family.  Thank you.

Here are some before and after shots.  The third picture is from his 6 month session and then last week.  Happy Birthday Burke.