Momma got a new lens from Santa...50mm 1.8...and the kids got new pictures!

Ok, here's my first wedding and it's for my brother and his bride. I was scared to death but I hope you guys are happy with the results. Enjoy...



It takes a lot of work to be beautiful!



Cool shoes and hats for the guys...



The Bible verse says it all.



A little bling for the bride





How cool are the Groomsmen?



A little relaxation before the ceremony begins takes the edge off.



How beautiful is the Bride?





We couldn't use the grass because it was too wet so we made do...





And they lived happily ever after!

The End...

Today, I hit my 100th post while doing some catchup blogging. So exciting! I would've hit it a while back but I shut the blog down for a while and deleted all posts last year for personal reasons. But this time, hopefully, it's here to stay. Thanks to everyone who has visited...I appreciate it! Leave me comments though to let me know you care : )

Still to come: my very first wedding (thanks for the prayers!), a family of five and my mom and dad...stay tuned!

My friend, the interior designer, has been working tirelessly on this project. Below is the final product. She's been asked by HGTV to submit photos for possible selection as a participant in a forthcoming show. Hope she gets selected because her work is wonderful.

What a truly wonderful family! Thank you for letting me capture some moments!





Can't forget Mr. Photogenic!

This was the cutest family and so easy to work with! Their daughter was a little shy at first but then...totally awesome in front of the camera...love that!







Thanks for the opportunity to photograph your wonderful family!

Some pix for Christmas...



A family shot...

I'd almost forgotten to blog this. Several weekends ago, I volunteered for a project that Neighborhood Ministries, a local charity, put together. Teens who come to their center went out in teams of two (plus a photographer) to interview residents of their neighborhood. Now, this center serves a portion of the Phoenix barrio that is extemely poor and gritty. The purpose of this project was to find out how the neighborhood had changed since the interview subjects had lived in the area and how they felt about these changes. These were two of the men the kids interviewed. Their stories (and faces) were very interesting.






I found it very interesting as we walked the sidewalks to hear the teens point out matter-of-factly that "this house is where there were two dead bodies dumped in the yard last year" and "down this alley is the local crack house" or "there's the meth lab." Having led a sheltered life myself, I was somewhat taken aback at their candor and acceptance of the violence that surrounds them. It was an altogether eye-opening experience. I have such great respect for these teens who've survived living in this neighborhood and are doing something positive about it. Those kids were terrific and I really enjoyed spending the morning with them.

This is a friend of mine who bravely let me take a try at maternity pix. She isn't quite eight months yet in this photo. What do you think for a first try?

This young lady was terrific! A great smile and wonderful with her sibilings and cousins...