I do want to wish everyone a very HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!  I am so thankful for so many things....namely:

• my husband who is serving proudly in Iraq....I LOVE HIM SO MUCH!!
• my kids who make me so happy
• my family, they keep me grounded
• my JOB----I'm doing what I love!  I get to spend my time with some truly fabulous people and I love them!!
• I thank GOD everyday for this wonderful life that I am blessed with and that I try each day to prove that I deserve

I hope you all have a wonderful Holiday, that you get to relax and spend some quality time with your friends and family.  I'm sad to be away from my incredible husband, Shamon.  But we're spending the holiday with my brother and his family, and HE'S DOING THE COOKING....so I think we'll have a decent time :)

No photos to post today.....I have TONS to share after the long holiday, so I will leave you all with one my favorite songs by Jack Johnson....all about just STOPPING to enjoy life and all it has to offer.  Personally, I look forward to a few days of just stopping and doing NOTHING!

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!!!

xoxoxoox

But I'm sad too.  I missed my husband this weekend.  I miss my husband every weekend, and every week day and night and every moment in between. I am so proud of what he is doing, serving our country in Iraq.  I'm just selfish that way... for even though he is doing something for you and me and our children and our country....I want him all to myself.

Saturday wasn't about tears though.  If my husband isn't already PERFECTION INCARNATE he had to do the sweetest thing possible by sending me flowers!

Aren't they gorgeous?!?!  The perfect  Autumn colors to warm up a very cold and blustery day, which gave us our first snow flurries of the year! (I LOVE snow, btw!)

Not only did I have these beautiful flowers to brighten my day, but I had CUPCAKES.  And not just any ordinary cupcakes....these are CUPCAKES!  Yes, all caps are necessary.  I tell everyone I know how INCREDIBLY AWESOME these cupcakes are, but sadly, no one ever has any proof or reason to challenge me because I eat them before I can share with anyone.  So apologies are in order to several people (you know who you are) and I will do my best to go down to Bakery Gingham later this week and get some more of this delicious awesomeness so you can finally see that I am not just some crazy CUPCAKE freak.... YOU WILL DIE AND GO TO HEAVEN WHEN YOU EAT THESE!!!

So you see, I had flowers and cupcakes to brighten my birthday, but I also had the love of my three fantastic kids.  They each MADE me a card this year.  Sharif's card included a long, beautifully written letter that brings tears to my eyes each time I read it.  Cherie's card listed all of the people who love me.  And Chanel's card listed the top 10 reasons why I am NOT old.  My favorite was because I don't "wear Mom-pants!"  LOL!!  Thank God!!!

My daughters had all-day dance rehearsals for their upcoming Christmas show, so I enjoyed the time I spent with all of my friends at the dance studio.  I also got to spend some great quality time with Sharif (he and I have the SAME sense of humor---which is kinda scary lol!), then we went to church with my Mom, which is always incredible.  Afterward, I went out with my great friend Gina, and we saw The Secret Life of Bees.  If you haven't seen it yet, GO!  It was a great movie!  I would have cried, but the guy in the row behind us started to snore and I got distracted ;)

Yes, it was a bittersweet birthday.  I missed my husband, but he is always right here with me, for I am constantly surrounded by the the love that we share and this incredible life that we have built together.  But it was mostly just a SWEET birthday.... becasue not only did I have gorgeous flowers, incredible family, and awesome friends to share the day....I had CUPCAKES!

On to more personal stuff...

I've received quite a few emails from people asking about my husband.  He is fine, doing well in Iraq, but misses us terribly!  We all miss him too, but we are now more than half-way through this deployment so it's all downhill from here!  Plus he gets to come home in a couple of months for a 2 week vacation, and we're really looking forward to that!  ;)  And with BARACK OBAMA as our new PRESIDENT the chances are awesome that my dear hubby will never have to go back to that God-forsaken place again, so we're super stoked about that too! (Two times is more then enough!)

My kids are doing well too.  I bought Sharif a piano a couple of weeks ago and he's having a great time with his lessons.  I was surprised at how well he played already, after a few months of lessons he'll be the next Beethoven, I'm sure.  Next on his list: a guitar.  Not sure if he's gonna follow in mama's footsteps as a photographer since he seems to have been bitten by the music bug, but that's okay.

Chanel and Cherie have been busy with dance rehearsals for their dance studio's big holiday production called the WESTERVILLE CHRISTMAS SPECTACULAR!  If you are in the area and want tickets, let me know.  I've written about this show in the past and it is is AMAZING!  I'm not just saying this because I'm a stage-mom....it really is SPECTACULAR!!!  The show will be on December 6th in Westerville, OH.  SAVE THE DATE!!!

November is my favorite month because it's.......(wait for it)..... my BIRTHDAY!!!  YAY!  My birthday is on the 15th, and I'm like a little kid, I get so excited.   No big plans though since Shamon isn't here to celebrate with me, but you can bet your derriere there will be CUPCAKES involved.

So, this week I will certainly try to keep up with the posting.  I still have a few things I'd like to share from Dance Week, but also, just lots of awesome photos I can wait to show you.  Today's photo is just something that caught my eye during a photo session a couple of weeks ago.  I'm going to print this BIG and hang it somewhere in my house.....

Jazmin is my daughters' dance teacher and she's pretty much a rock star around here.  She is an AMAZINGLY talented dancer and the most positive role model any young girl could ask for.  She's beautiful, smart, determined, self-assured, and modest.  And Eric knew exactly what gem he found and scooped her up as soon as he could convinve her that he was her Prince.  And not just any ordinary Prince....but Prince Charming, no less, because Eric proposed to Jazmin at the Magic Kingdom in Disney World this summer! 

I was so happy to spend the afternoon with Jazmin and Eric as we walked around Uptown Westerville for their Engagement session.  We talked about their Wedding plans, shared goofy stories, and best of all I got to know this amazing couple even better and I'm forever grateful to be able to help document the beginning of what is going to be a very long and happy life together!

Here are a few of my favorite images of the day, be sure to watch the SLIDESHOW to see more!

Chanel began dancing when she was 6.  She started with just one Ballet class, and as she got older and her talents developed we added a few more classes here and there, and now she dances between 15-20 hours a week.  She does Ballet, Tap and Jazz and is so incredibly talented, we are all so proud of her.  Of course, Cherie is following in her big sister's footsteps and is also taking Jazz, Tap and Ballet.  I hope someone is reserving my front row seats on Broadway!

The girls' dance studio had Parent Obvservation last week and I snapped these few photos....

Alex will be applying to a number of schools this Fall in pursuit of her career as a professional Dancer, and with those applications, come auditions.  She needed a few photos that illustrate her beauty and strength and I was so happy to spend an afternoon with Alex and her mom.  I look forward to seeing her perform in the Spring, and I'm SO excited to one of the first photographers to professionally photograph this future star in action!

Here are a few of my favs:

Here's what you can look forward to:

-my beautiful daughters in their DANCE classes

-a very talented Senior who is also an amazing DANCER!

-my daughter's DANCE teacher's Engagement session

-some of my favorite FIRST DANCE photos from some recent weddings

-and anything else DANCE related that I can dig up!

Be sure to check back later for more.....

I started this project back in March, just for something to do.  I wanted a project to keep me busy while my husband was deployed, and just to remind me how much I love photography, beyond it being my full-time  job.  I had no idea that it would change me forever, both as a photographer and as a person.  I am forever grateful to Jennifer and Tim Tribbie for allowing me into their lives, and for allowing me to share this experience with all of you.  I love them dearly, and I look forward to spending more time with them and their amazing extended family in the future!

Their son, Connor Ryan was born on October 9 at 12:26am.  Below are just a few photos from our last Maternity session, followed by some precious photos of our Newborn session, just the other day. 

To see the FULL PROJECT in it's entirety, watch the slide show HERE.  I highly recommend you take a few moments to see this slide show.  It's about 10 minutes long, but it's beautiful and I am so proud of the outcome and of Jennifer and Tim who are already such incredible parents!

 LOL!!

Found via Yahoo! News

Here are just a few of my favorites from our session: