BRRRRRing on the wedding...

...a beautiful bride + a handsome groom = M & E are married!! What an amazing and FREEZING day (hence the lack of many outside pics...M spared her bridal party the frost bite). It's wonderful to see how much family and friends adore these two...and who can blame them?? It truly was a fantastic day. Thank you M & E for including me in your happiness. And a special thanks to my lovely sister/assistant who I love dearly and appreciate more than she can know...

...and a shout out to our new friends at Reflexion Videography...

the exquisite cake was done by the artists at Yia Yia's Bakery and the amazing flowers were done by Flowers By Design

tragedy or triumph...

...the end of a year brings with it reflection...the end of a decade brings a tally of sorts. Good things, bad things, things we want to change, things that made us happy, sad, fearful...what did we accomplish and what will we hold onto for the next 10 years. I decided to do a little research trying to remember all of the defining moments of the last decade. I didn't want this to become a eulogy, but I'm finding it difficult not to be struck by the enormity of tragedy that befell us not only as a nation, but as a global community. 9/11, tsunami, Afghanistan, Katrina, Iraq, space shuttle disaster, mad cow, bird flu, H1N1, global warming...the list goes on and on. It's truly overwhelming when you look at the scope of events and how different our world has become. My child will never know the joy of greeting someone at the gate in the airport. This world that he knows is defined by words like terrorism, financial crisis, obesity, and amber alerts. But in the same vein, his world has seen such things as Mars rovers, iPods, hybrids, and the first African American president. While it's easy to get caught up in the whirlpool of tragedy and crisis, we must remember that sometimes the worst of times brings out the best in humanity. There will always be bad people who do despicable things...but there are also wonderful, caring people who make our world a better place. When you see a parent teaching her child the importance of volunteering, people of influence and wealth donating time and dollars to help others, the tears of joy and pride at the success of another, or even the simple act of holding a door...you realize that WE shape our world. We take these catastrophes and either learn from them and improve, or wallow in them and become stagnant. It's our choice. Our children deserve the best world that we can give them, and while there will always be bad influences and terrible situations, we can show our kids that those are not the routes to happiness and fulfillment. Genuinely caring for, helping and empowering others, THAT is how we become rich. So in retrospect, despite the significant losses and tragedy, we will come out stronger and more united...if that is what we choose to do.

...don't forget to have your black-eyed peas for good luck =)

catching up...

...wow...it's been quite a while since my last post! Good or bad...I'M BACK!!! =) So, those of you who know me or follow the blog know how devastated we are by Savannah's death. Our other dog, Caylee, took it especially hard since pretty much all of her 10 years have been spent with her "sister". We decided that we needed something positive and to give Caylee something to get up for...enter Eddie, a 5 month old shepherd mix. He's our newest addition and quite the character! We've not had a puppy since Savannah was one 15 years ago...it's pretty much like having a toddler again! He's wonderful and although he plays the role of annoying little brother quite well, Caylee seems happier and even shares her bed with him.

...a few weeks back we got almost 2 feet of snow...pretty impressive for this area!

...a new recipe for Christmas...ham covered in a blanket of crescent roll dough...YUM!! Taking pig in a blanket to the extreme!

...a 12 year old boy and his tv crush...

...I say Balti...you say more...Balti...

...my handsome boy and my stunning mother...

...details...

...Gus...

sweet savannah...

...this is the impossible blog. One I had hoped not to have to write for a long time. Unfortunately, the time has come. How do I begin to explain our love for our first "child"? I know it might seem silly to some, but Savannah was more than a dog to us...she was part of our family. There is no us without her...until today. Our beautiful 15 1/2 year old best friend has moved on. While we know it was time, it was impossibly difficult to say goodbye. How do you say goodbye to a being that had nothing but love for you throughout her entire life? She came into our lives as an ornery 4 month old puppy in North Carolina. She travelled with us to Georgia, Alaska, Ohio, New York and finally Maryland. She loved our son from the day we brought him home 12 years ago and was unbelievably patient throughout the years and many ear and tail pulls, horseback rides, and new additions to our pet family. She was perfect in our eyes...smelly breath, bad habits and all. We were blessed to spend so many years with her and our hope is that she felt same. My stepmom says that every time a dog dies, she finds a child in heaven who needs a loving companion. That's the perfect job for our sweet Savannah.

Savannah

May 1994 - December 2009

pigskin & patriotism....

...what is it about the flag the evokes such a sense of pride? It's a piece of cloth. Stripes, stars...that's it...yet the symbolism of this simplistic banner defines an entire nation. If you think about it, the flag is made up of different colors, shapes, sizes...each special in their own unique way and each representative of something different, but coming together to make something bigger and better, much like us. When I hear the national anthem sung as I did at yesterday's football game, I feel a swell of pride that reaches to the depths of me. To see everyone stand and face the flag, hands over hearts, is just phenomenal to me. That all these people...different backgrounds, religions, political affiliations...each one taking time to honor our flag, our country...it is pretty amazing. It may seem like such a little thing, but to me it is awe inspiring.

I know this will come as a shock, but I was at a football game yesterday =) ... I know, how did you ever figure it out?? It was the team an age level above my son's and they were playing in the championship game. While the game may not have turned out as they had hoped, it was great to see these kids doing what they love to do.

all in the family...

...so I spend most of my weekends taking pictures of OTHER people's families...which I love, but I decided that on this spectacular November day it was time for MY family. There wasn't even too much whining about going during the first half of the 1:00 football games =) Actually, I thought I'd come up against a lot more resistance than I did. We had such a nice time together... I just wanted to bottle it! Then when it's one of those moments that I want to run away and join the circus (as my dad used to say) I could just open the bottle and refresh my memory. So here you go...our family outing.

okay, I know I'm biased, but he's gorgeous!

my handsome boys

yes, even one of mom

love*love*love

Veteran's Day Pledge...

It makes me sad that we only choose a couple of days a year to honor those who spend their lives protecting us. Some of them give their own lives in this fight for our safety and security. What do they get from us in return? My hope is that they know the depths of our appreciation for them. And not only the soldiers, but their families as well. These are folks that sacrifice on a daily basis. A child born while his dad is overseas, a baby's first word spoken in the absence of her mother, a senior graduating with only pictures to share with his parents. There are countless holidays and family happenings that are missed because of their commitment to us, to our Constitution, and to our country. Here's my idea. For the month of November, try to make at least one gesture to show a soldier and/or his/her family your appreciation. This can mean going up to them directly and saying thank you, anonymously paying for a meal, finding out about a needy military family and provide them with a gift card...it can be anything. A selfless, random act of kindness. It feels great and you have no idea how much it will mean to them. I know, Jason was on the receiving end a few years back. Hopefully it won't be limited to just this month, but it's a great place to start. Happy Veteran's Day.

okay, this is an old picture I took from Memorial Day a few years ago, but I still like it

FALL-tastic...

...what an amazingly beautiful day today. Sunny, low 70s, no wind...PERFECT! Yes, one of the last top down days I'm afraid.

So...back to picture marathon :) On Friday I finished up the senior session for {B} with our outdoor shots. He was a good sport about it and didn't go running for the hills when I'd say "okay, I swear, this is the last place"...only to come to another cool place and say "alright, so I lied...THIS is the last place". I thoroughly enjoyed taking pics of my first senior boy. He was awesome!

Then today I had some family pics for dear friends. I adore this family! We've known them through school and sports just about the full 5 years that we've lived here. Mom makes gorgeous hair bows, belts, headbands, dog collars, etc. You should venture over to her website... So Pretty by Brookline ...great stuff!! I had so much fun hanging out with this gorgeous family. Although, I think the kids (especially the boys) will take off in the other direction if they see me coming at them with the camera again!

So here are the 2 previews for today...ENJOY!!

such a great looking guy!

{B} has 2 brothers and a sister...Mom really wanted a shot like this...fingers crossed that she loves it

and now introducing...the {M} family...

I love everything about this shot...she's SO adorable!!

seriously...

...no family should be THIS beautiful. Truly...it's annoying really. HA, just kidding guys -- well, not about the beautiful part...you know I love you! This is my 2nd time photographing this family and I just have such a great time with them. Hanging out with them & Grandad, Grandma & super awesome Uncle, I decided that maybe they'd let me sneak in as another family member. Just a really neat bunch of people who I thoroughly enjoyed spending time with. So here you go {G} family...your sneak peek :-)

um, yeah...see what I'm sayin'?!

halloween-ior...

...HA...get it...it was Halloween, and then I had a senior session...alright, not my best. Give me a break I freakin' tired! ANYWAY...Halloween. Well, I do believe we're getting to the end of my son dressing up for Halloween. At least to go trick or treating. I could be wrong, but he is getting to that age. How does this happen? These rites of passage seem to be throwing themselves at us, reminding us just how quickly time is passing. It's so wonderful to see what an amazing (although sometimes CRANKY...like today) young man he is becoming, but at the same time it's so sad to know that we'll never experience these things with him again. The past couple of years we've tried to come up with original/funny costumes. Somehow they've both ended up with football players. Last year was the injured Tom Brady, and this year was Brett Favre. It wasn't a real elaborate costume, but it made it's point :-)

Then on Sunday I had part 1 of my senior session with {B}. This is my first senior boy and he was great! We could only do the inside, more formal pictures because the weather was so rotten so be on the lookout for the rest this weekend. The formal pictures are not my favorite to do. I feel much more at ease outside and candid, but I think we did a good job...he's a pro now! CAN'T WAIT to do the rest. FUN!!!

So here you go...Halloween-ior...Enjoy!

Favre jersey, check...gray hair, check...cane, check

in his spare time, {B} enjoys table tennis and knitting...JUST KIDDING...he's a hardcore football-er all the way