Okay as promised the story of Elijah and Poppy. The day Ron (my husband, Elijah's Poppy] was scheduled for a test at the hospital to find out why he was having chest pains (for over a year without letting anyone know}, our daughter called us an hour or so before we were suppose to be there and told us she was having contraptions. Our son in law rushed her to the hospital. While Ron was having his procedure she was in labor at the same hospital. Rons procedure lasted longer than I was told so I was so worried. While our daughter was in labor, the doctor came and told me Ron needed emergency bypass surgery. All your of his arteries were blocked. They needed to do a quad bypass. I walked beside his bed as they wheeled him into the elevator to the or. One of the worst experiences of my life. My daughter was 3 floors down. Her doctor did not want her to know about her father surgery. It seemed like forever before the doctor came and told me Ron was out of surgery. As I walked to the ICU the lullaby song was playing over the loud speaker. Oue Grandson, Elijah was born. The whole time I was waiting for Ron to come out of surgery I was thinking God takes away and gives. I thought Ron would be taken, but he lived. Our 1st Grandchild was born at the very minute my husband was coming out of surgery. Our family was so blessed. Elijah is so special to all of us. He is an old soul. Ron and him have had a special bond since he was born. Needless to say Ron was so touched with what Elijah wrote about him. This type of thing just brings into perspective what life is (or should be) all about. Life is about love of family and friends. We all have become desensitized. We don't talk to our love ones, we text them or Facebook them. We are so busy trying to eek out a living that we have lost sight of what's really important. Just my opinion. Just saying…...

Our sister Sam's battle with cancer…… I hope my images speak to those that are fighting or about to fight or knows someone fighting this terrible disease. During our session I watched her expressions change. The camera captured her thoughts. I saw her strength, sadness, dignity, humor, faith…. and many more emotions in this one session. I'll always be thankful to her for allowing me to capture part of her fight. She's my hero.

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Willow came to work today
I just love photographing my fav little redhead.  She truly loves her picture taken.  I decided to use window light since it was high noon outside.  Both windows were North light.

Spring is coming, right?
I wanted to share some images I photographed of my Willow during the most recent snow fall.  She's such a little trouper.  Loves, loves, loves to be photographed.  We had a great time even though the wind chill was below 0.  I must say I'm kind of getting sick of it.  Enough already.  How about some 6o's or even 50's.  Hope you enjoy the images.

A Lost Generation

Okay I know I've said this before, but here goes again. My husband and I were talking last night about the fact that this generation is going to be lost. Children won't have pictures to share with their children. The children of today won't know what their Grandparents and other family and friends looked like. We all have become so desensitized. I'm not sure what has caused this but I'm thinking technology has played a big part in it. This generation is one of immediate gratification. We want it and we want it now. We love to take pictures with our many devices but do nothing to archive those pictures. They often get uploaded to our computers, but there they stay. We have a false sense of security. Hard drives fail, cell phones get lost or destroyed. Things happen. The reason I chose photography as a career is because I'm a second child. There are little if any pictures of me (not even snapshots). This fact has made me so sad. You want to know what you looked like. Breena (my daughter] and her children will know exactly what they looked like. They won't be lost. Please print hard copies of your families. Don't wait till tomorrow to do this, do it now. Just because you don't like an image today doesn't mean you won't treasure it tomorrow. Quit deleting and start printing please. Use a reputable lab (not your home printer because the inks and paper are not archival and will not last). Store these images in a safe place. There are all kinds of archival storage containers. Okay, I'm done. I hope this rant has convinced at least some of you to preserve your memories now.

Happy Valentine's Day!!!