Christmas Tree Oh Christmas Tree!

1st Christmas

Merry Christmas to the Belcher Family and thier newest additon!!

Raeleigh Grace, you are so blessed to be part of such an amazing family!!

Wishing you a very Merry 1st Christmas!

Collecting new memories

I have been so wrapped up in getting things ready for Christmas, that it has been easy to forget to take the time and appreciate the season and what it is all about. So tonight, before I put the boys to bed I pulled out the book my mother recorded for the boys ( one of the one's from Hallmark). I loved watching Cole's face as he heard his "Mammy" read him The Very First Christmas; the story of baby Jesus. As it turns out that is exactly what I needed to get myself back in the Christmas spirit.

So after I put the boys to bed, I took a minute to sit on the couch and truly enjoy my Christmas tree and be thankful for everything and everyone that I am so blessed to have in my life. While enjoying my tree, I looked at each ornament. Every year I pick out new ornaments for everyone so, as I was looking over each one I, thought about what reasoning it had for being a part of our family tree. I love all the memories and stories that a Christmas tree can tell about a family.

There are the ornaments from before Adam and I knew each other such as: my first Christmas ornament and his John Deer Stocking.

Then there are ones that describe our personalities and interest. Some of my ornaments show off two of my favorite things Photography and Coffee!!

 Adam and his love for Comic books, takes up some space on the tree, although in all fairness Cole is just as big of a Hulk fan as his Daddy, and I don't seem to mind the movies.

And then there are the kids ornaments that we collect each year to best describe either their personality or something they seemed to be interested in for that year.

There are also the ornaments that show how are family has grown over the years.

And lastly, but most importantly there are ornaments that remind us what Christmas is all about!

So  let us not forget Christmas is the day that our savior was born, and take time to enjoy our loved ones during this holiday season.

Blessings

Thursday, I got together with Brittnay Belcher and her mom, Melanie, to take Fall/4month pictures of Raeleigh.

We met at Trunnel's Farm to take some pictures of her sitting in front of pretty mums and colorful pumpkins, but poor Raeleigh was so tired. She looked as if she were going to fall asleep sitting up! She was such a trooper though and didn't fuss at all!!! I couldn't believe it, as tired as she was.

So, we decided that we would let her sleep on the way to her house, and that maybe a little nap would refresh her for some pictures in a more familiar environment. Our plan may have worked, had we not made a big mistake as soon as we got her out of the car.....

In front of the Belcher's yard, is a beautiful tree, and with all kinds of fallen leaves, Mommy (Brittany) and Mimi, both agreed that it would make a beautiful picture to lie Raeleigh down in a pile of leaves.

From the start, you can see the look of uncertainty on her face.  However, things went down hill fast when she heard the sound of crunching leaves!!! That is when she decided she had, had enough! As it turns out the one sound that Raeleigh is most scared of is the sound of a  potato chip bag, and the sound of crunching leaves sounds an awful lot like a potato chip bag.

Before we could give up on the outside pictures, we had to get a picture of Raeleigh with her mom under that same tree. As Mimi had pointed out, that was her dad's tree, so what better place to get a picture of Mommy and Raeleigh, than under Raeleigh's Great Grandfather's tree!

And fortunately, She was perfectly happy as long as Mommy was holding her!

One of my favorite parts of  photographing babies are all their TINY features!

Raeleigh hold her hands together like she is praying, whenever she hears her little doll pray...So sweet!

And if you ever want a smile on that adorable little face, all it takes is Peepaw saying "Hey Stinky"

I am fairly certain, that being called stinky will not make her smile in years to come, but her Peepaw's voice will always brighten her day. I am also positive that she was NOT stinky!

Raeleigh was such a sweetie, and as I was leaving I heard her Mimi tell her that they were so blessed to have her.

And although you were right, Melanie, you are blessed to have her in your lives, she is equally as blessed to have so many wonderful people who care about her!

Can't wait for Christmas pictures!

Something we all agreed on

In an earlier post, I mentioned a recent trip to Gatlinburg. It is a trip that I look forward to every year, mostly because of the beautiful fall colors. Although the changing leaves, is what I enjoy most, it is not the only highlight of the vacation.

This year, there was a total of 10 of us that went on this family vacation, and we consisted of all different ages. So, as you can imagine, we weren't always in agreement as to what we wanted to do or see. Some of us wanted to shop, while others wanted to go horseback riding. Some of us wanted to ride the Sky Lift, while others wanted to drive through the mountains to enjoy the view. It seemed as if we all had a different idea as to how we wanted to enjoy our time in Gatlinburg.

One thing we all agreed on was the Aquarium. It is something we all enjoy and look forward to each year. So, on our first day in Gatlinburg, we set out for the Aquarium.

Tyler, age 4, talked about the fact that he was going to see sharks, for weeks before we even left for Gatlinburg. He was so excited!!!



His entire face lit up everytime one would swim by us. He couldn't get enough of these enormous creatures with terrifying looking teeth. Which was odd, considering he convinced himself (with the help of two girls, ages 11and 12) that there were sharks in the hot tub, and refused to get too close from then on!

Allison, age 11, loved the Penguins!

Her and Andrea, both thought they were so cute, and even picked out which two were "theirs" and even named them! As Adam would call them Goofy girls, but they had fun!

Cole, age 2, loved the seahorses

I am not quite sure what his fascination was with these, since he cannot talk all that well. But he seemed to spend the most time pointing and watching these beautiful creatures. Although I am not sure what he was saying about them, he sure did carry on about them long enough. It took some effort to get him to move on to the next exhibit.

Even Brody, 7 months, seemed to have a favorite!

I am fairly certain that it was the bright colors that caught his attention, but he stared at these jellyfish for what seemed like forever, and I am not sure why but occasionally let out one of his little giggles, perhaps it was because he liked the way they moved through the water. I guess I will never know for certain.

And as for me.....

Well I enjoyed taking pictures, as you can tell. 



Fall Wedding

October 23, 2010 I was granted the privilege of photographing the wedding of Kathryn Smiley and Shawn Clark. Since this was the first "traditional" wedding that I have photographed, it is a wedding I will never forget. Then the fact that it was a Fall wedding, (which happens to be my favorite season) made it all the better in my book.

I loved all the pumpkins used to decorate the reception!!

Kathryn and Shawn, you two are such a beautiful couple, and your wedding turned out just as beautiful as you two. Each and every detail was just as gorgeous.

I loved the purple shoes!!!

And since your colors were red and purple, it couldn't have worked out any better that the doors to the church were red! ( I have a thing for doors, and red doors are my favorite!!)

Kathryn, you made such a beautiful bride!

You two are such an adorable couple, and I truly believe that there is nothing Shawn wouldn't do for you Kat.

And if I know one thing for certain, it is that you two know how to have a good time together. You both were so much fun, and despite any obstacles that may have been thrown your way, you never let it get in the way of having a good time on your special day!

Congratulations Kathryn and Shawn Clark!!

And then came Fall....

I grew up in South Mississippi, and it is and always will be one of my favorite places to be. I moved to Owensboro, KY in the winter of 2008, and as you can imagine, I did not take well to the cold. I was pretty determined that I would never enjoy living up here. First there was the ice storm that took out the electricity for 2 weeks, and then the summers are no where near as warm as I am used to, which means very little time in the pool. Not to mention I miss my family terribly and often wish  I was near the beach again.

However, eventually Fall came around.....

I realized what I had been missing with all of the changing leaves and beautiful fall colors!

Although I will always miss the coast, I know now, that I can be just as happy living here......so long as I get to visit my family and friends in MS. I love the cool temperature, and the beautiful colors that you don't get living on the coast. I also look forward to our annual trip to Galtlinburg. I love driving through the mountains, and occasionally pulling over to wonder down a scenic trail in anticipation of  the beautiful view that awaits me at the end.

I absolutely love the Smoky Mountains this time of year, there is truly nothing like it!

And the boys.......

Well, they seem to enjoy being out in this cooler weather as well.