Yesterday began with an early morning birthday session by the lake for Baby E. I have to tell you, it took quite a bit of coaxing to get him to smile for me. As a matter of fact, he acted very non-chalant, lookng away whenever I tried to talk to him. My feelings were kind of hurt that he just totally dissed me for quite some time. We had a bit of a time getting what we had hoped for in our original location so we scooped up Baby E and all the periphenalia that we needed and headed to a more familiar place for him.

Turns out ... Pop Pop's tractor and Pop Pop's hat were the keys to making him a happy little boy. I'm not sure he ever took a fancy to me, but JK stood behind my camera and did something that brought out a few belly laughs. I'm afraid to ask what. smile. It's okay though ... just thankful JK was there ... whatever it takes.

Here is a sneak peek into our morning. Don't you just love those big blue eyes?

It was just about a year ago that we spent a sunny morning by the lake with this brother and sister pair for our first photo session. Then 6 yr-old Cash and I, had some very serious conversation about his computer hunting skills and his upcoming softball tournament. That was the beginning of a special relationship that I am blessed to have with these sweet kiddos.

Last week, they were in the studio for another visit and an updated portrait. Cash would be celebrating his 7th birthday the following day ... and we once again had some interesting things to talk about. We had a lengthy discussion about the differences between softball and baseball ... though he still couldn't tell me why they call it 'soft' ball. He is very smart, sometimes serious, and always sure to knock you over with his amazing smile and killer blue eyes. I'm praying for all those girls he'll make swoon (and his parents) ... starting now!

Though Camryn is always a little shy when we start shooting, it didn't take her long to warm up to my room full of frilly pink things. We had a great time playing dress up -- for ballerinas and princesses are just an imagination away. For some reason, Cash was unwilling to put on my fairy wings or tutus (I don't understand ~ smile) ... and he was fairly adminant that it wasn't 'manly' to put on my plethora of cowboy regalia either. I guess those will have be saved for another day.

They are both a joy ... whether capturing images of them with my camera or receiving warm hugs whenever I see them elsewhere. This is what I enjoy the most about what I do.

Here is a peek -- hope you smile ...

Today, like most days, started out with a long list of things to do.

My night had been filled with pouring rain and thunder, a few visits from my little one (she's almost 16) who was frightened by the storm and a mother cat who was in the mood to 'chat' several times in the wee hours. Morning didn't come with excitement, as you can imagine. The day started out cloudy and gray ... and my spirit was feeling a little gray as well.

I worked for a few hours this morning but just felt an urge to get away for a while and do something creative. The kids and I decided to jump in the car with our cameras and head to this wonderful little outdoor museum in Stephenville. We have gotten some pretty cool photos there before and it was just what we were in the mood to explore. So ... after stopping off at Sonic to get us something to drink for the road, we drove the 40 minutes there, talking along the way about all the happenings of the week and what was coming up. We drilled KK on road signs to make sure she was ready for her upcoming driving test and enjoyed slurping on our icy colas (diet vanilla coke with extra ice for me). We excitedly arrived at the museum only to find that there was some kind of photo shoot going on there already. The cameras were MUCH bigger than ours and the lights were the size of a small swimming pool. I don't know what was going on, but we were not privvy to enter. Bummer!

After a quick drive around the square in the big town of Stephenville, we decided to make our way back to our town. Desperate to find something to photograph, we made a quick stop off at the Windmill Farm in Tolar ... we trapsed through some great old stuff, took a few pics as we watched the clouds roll in .. then headed on home.

I'm not sure we captured anything artistic on our little excursion but I was thankful to have a nice couple of hours away from the to-do list. Thank the Lord for blessings such as these.

Here are a few of the treasures my camera saw today ...