2 + .5 = (almost 3) ~ Luke & Leslie {Florida Maternity Photographer}

Luke, Leslie, and I braved the stinking HOT sun this morning for their maternity session. What troopers. Honestly - I think this is the hottest I've ever been . . . well, no. Not the hottest - but the sweatiest I've ever been while shooting for sure! And somehow Leslie managed to continue to look gorgeous right up until the end. Me, on the other hand, looked rather....wet and bedraggled. :) Good thing the camera's not on me, eh??

Luke - it was so nice to meet you - and Leslie, so great to see you again. Congratulations to both of you on the impending arrival of Baby G...I can't wait to meet him. :) Hope you like this little sneak peek - I couldn't help myself and hurried home to play with these!

OK so I just realized that Luke is hardly represented in the images above - and Leslie, we only get to see your beautiful face once. :) SO, I'll just have to share some more in the coming days!

Grandma's Love {Central Florida Photographer}

Meet Vicki and Alex. Well, actually - meet Vicki, Alex's Grandma. :) You've already seen Alex on my blog many times....she's my beautiful niece whom I LOOOVE to photograph. It's something about those beautiful brown eyes that sparkle with life - and that HUGE smile surrounded by the cutest dimples.

Vicki was here visiting a couple of weeks ago and it was suggested that we do a quick mini session with the two of them. I of course JUMPED at the opportunity -- I think EVERY grandma should have something like this with her grandkids -- and was very happy to do this for them.

Vicki doesn't live nearby (as you may have guessed) but that doesn't stop her from being involved in Alex's life. It is so funny to listen to Alex talk about her Grandma and Grandpa....and then there's the Auntie with the new baby.....she happily carries around her little photo book with pictures from her last trip up to visit. I think every time I see Alex she sits me down to share pictures of "Grandma and Grandpa Bob" - oh and of "her baby cousin". :) It's so good to see how much she loves them and how much a part of her life they are, even though they don't get to live close by.

Anyway - here's a little preview for them. Vicki - I'm so glad you were able to come down, especially for the birthday party and then some nice quiet days with Alex. I hope we get to see you around more often!! ;)

I love the warmth in this next one - and tried to reflect that with the warmth in the colors....Vicki just adores this little girl, as you can clearly see. :)

There are so many more to come - these are just a handful out of the first few frames I took .... I'll have more to share later I'm sure. :) Happy Monday!!

Pro-Tech AC: Company Photo Shoot

Recently I worked with Pro-Tech Air Conditioning in Orlando to update their company photos. About a year ago I did Pro-Tech's company pictures and I have to say - what fun! It wasn't my first time photographing something in the business world (headshots, anyone??) but it was the first time I'd done this type of group photos.

This year we tried to mix it up at least a little bit - changing the composition and location a little. Fortunately, Pro-Tech has beautiful trucks that they take very good care of -- and they make a perfect prop for me to work with.

I'll go ahead and plug them a little here on the website -- and it's only because I LOOOOVE Pro-Tech! Matthew and I are part of their Comfort Club and it is SO worth the investment. They come out twice a year and service our AC, cleaning it up, checking for problems, changing the filter -- and I always .ALWAYS. notice a difference after they leave. Immediately it seems to be running more efficiently - not as long, not as hard, and yet the house is cooler. Matthew is a super handy guy -- but air conditioners, as long as they continue to work, never really get LOOKED at. Having Pro-Tech come out makes sure it doesn't get missed because God-forbid the thing gives out in the heat of summer!! (Oh, and that's ANOTHER cool thing - if it does go out - night or day - I call Pro-Tech and somebody comes to help me, with NO overtime charges. Cool, eh??!! And from what the helpful people at Pro-Tech tell me, even on Christmas EVE they will help me!)

Alright, enough shameless plugging - Ooh no - just one more. I LOVE the techs at Pro-Tech. They are always so friendly and CLEAN when they come to work in the house. Ever had to clean up after a technician comes to the house? I can't tell you how many times I'd have to vacume after somebody's been to the house to work (new home construction, ya know??). And I'm not talking about the "regular" construction dust or whatever - I'm talking dirty shoes. Gross.

Oh - my favorite Comfort Club story. :) Herb - the most awesomest tech at Pro-Tech! - came out a couple of years ago, the first time I think, and Ella was just a little baby. He immediately won her over (and Micah too - who thinks his help is "necessary" for the poor techs to do their work inside!)and then as Herb was leaving, he wanted to make sure I was inside the house WITH THE DOOR LOCKED because he wanted to make sure I was safe before he left. Sure, I was going to be inside with the door locked -- but just that he cared was sweet. :) (Especially for an emotional mother of a toddler and new baby!!)

So I'm always happy to work with Pro-Tech. I love the people who work there, their service is wonderful, and they are one of the few companies who mean what they say - and stand by their work and service. Here are some photos from the recent company photo shoot. :)

First up is Tom, the "cool man" - owner of Pro-Tech.


The Pros at Pro-Tech!


The Service Techs - a hardworking group of guys.


The Service Office Staff - friendly people you might talk to when you call. ;)

OH! - and check out Pro-Tech's blog -- lots of helpful information, NOT all about air conditioning - and definately listen to Tom the "Cool Man" every Saturday on Ask the Experts from 9:00-11:00 AM on 540 WFLA and every Sunday on Around the House from 7:00-9:00AM on 580 WDBO.

This Day

What are you all thankful for? (I asked the kids.)

Ella: OK. OK. OK. I am fank-ful for my things (toys) and my friends.

Emma: Um...for the flowers that I will wear in my hair when I get married. (yes, she is only just now 3 years old.) :D

Micah: I'm thankful that I can love God and for my cousins.

Levi: I'm thankful for....I'm thankful for....thankful for....um....for....cars.

We're still here!

No, we haven't dropped off the planet - but we are spending almost every moment that we can with my sister and her family. (I need to remind myself to back off a bit -- they ARE here for 6 months....but we can't help it, we don't want to miss any time with them!)

The kids are having so much fun together - already Levi and Micah are best friends, as are Ella and Emma. You wouldn't think they were just reaquainted in the last 3 weeks....you would think they've spent their whole lives together. :) (Whole, short lives.) But I think that even though they haven't been in the same country the last 4 years, we've all done a really good job of making them REAL to each other. They see videos of each other, pictures....sometimes they've even been able to talk on Skype - so as far as they are concerned, they've been best friends for a lot longer than just 3 weeks.

Matthew is out of town this week and we (my sisters and I) decided a sleepover was in order. It's been YEARS....probably 8 at least....since all 4 of us have been in the same place, and have had time for a sleepover. I mean - a PROPER sleepover. One that included way too much cookie dough, two boxes of yellow noodles (mac & cheese) mixed with hot dogs. MMMMmmmmmm........we ran out of room in our bellies before we could hit the double stuffed oreos or the ice cream - we're saving that for Tuesday night. ;)

The kids all slept together in the guest bed and though it took them FOREVER to fall asleep, it was a special time. We have a video of all of us singing together, and I have a TON of pictures of the kids in bed together. My heart is full. :)

Happy Birthday Slideshow!

For Micah and Alex - I think they had fun. :)

Two blogs in one day - go me!! ;)

Piecemakers

Yes, I CAN spell. Yes I know that I spelled "peacemakers" as "PIECEmakers". Do you want to know why? Because Matthew's Grandma - our Granny :) - is a PIECEmaker. She is part of a local quilting group. She and the other ladies from Westview Baptist Church - and then other women who wanted to get involved too - meet every week to work on these quilts. :)

Anyway, they were featured in the local paper this past week after a recent donation and I thought it was really cool. They had a picture online so I STOLE it (which is OK because the picture belonged to Granny, not to the paper) ;) and she won't mind. BUT - my purpose in blogging this isn't JUST to toot their horn. :) It's because you never know - there might be somebody out there, locally, who is interested in getting involved.

These ladies are so sweet, and they have a great time together. They work hard, yes, but they have fun doing it! So I figured somewhere there might be a person interested in making quilts for babies and others in need and who might want to get involved - either way, it's cool what they are doing and I know the Lord is pleased with their service to Him. :)

The link to the paper's article is here. Oh - and granny's all the way on the right. :) LOVE ya Granny!!!

Happy Birthday Day!

Yesterday, July 12, my son Micah and my niece Alex celebrated their 6th birthdays. Saturday the 11th we had the Party. :) I heard tell it was the best party EVER. From three different sources. Oh yeah. Auntie Sara and Auntie Elisabeth ROCK parties.

Here are a couple of pictures - with a slideshow to come!

Don't Hate Me...

But I laughed so hard at this - I even blew snot all over myself when I snorted loudly at the end. I'm not a mean person . . . but I'm more than willing to laugh at myself and usually other things that are funny. I can laugh at this dog because, sadly, I have woken up to find myself doing really stupid things in my sleep - so surely it's OK that I find this funny, right?? ;)

Jason & Sara, Part II {Central Florida Engagement Photographer}

I figured I'd share a few more of Jason & Sara's engagement session. The evening was pretty overcast with a big storm off in the distance but it never bothered us. :) It just looked a bit dark in parts of the sky and the rest of the sky was beautifully clear. Made for some fun lighting situations - ha! Turn one way, it's DARK! Turn the other way and it's SUPER bright! Both Jason and Sara love the water and it was only fitting that we headed towards the lake for some pictures :)

Anyway, I love how these turned out and I can't wait to photograph their wedding. Oh yeah - their wedding in DECEMBER. Not November! Poor Sara emailed me and was like, "Uh...Elisabeth? I just wanted to make sure you know that the wedding isn't in November - it's December." I would have been all by my little self in the church waiting for everybody to show up. :) HA! Fortunately I had just swapped the dates in my head - not on my actual calendar!

Micah's birthday is this weekend - as is my niece's, Alex - so we'll have lots of pictures to share next week of all the festivities!! For now, have a great Friday and a happy weekend. :)

OH! And check this out! A mini-slideshow! Pretty nifty, eh?? ;) Just hover over the image to see the controls...

So far, so good {Central Florida Children's Photographer}

I've got something from every day - photos, that is. No, they're not earth shattering (nothing I take ever is...) but I'm going to keep doing what I set out to do. :) These are just a few from last week -- Thursday was a busy day and it didn't really end until Sunday morning!

We had friends visit and play with us in the morning (these pictures are from that day) and then we had my sister and her kids come play for a little while in the afternoon too. THEN some friends of ours had an emergency (appendectomy!) and my mom and I watched their four children Thursday evening/night and into Friday early afternoon. The kids had a BLAST. Who wouldn't? It was like one big party that turned into a "real" sleepover . . . but I've definately decided that I will not under ANY circumstances have 7 children. :) I'm not cut out for seven. DEFINATELY not cut out for seven!! My mom would have to move in with me permanently... ;)

Thursday night we threw an impromptu birthday party for my mother-in-law, Peggy, and I'm certain it's been YEARS since she's played duck-duck-goose at her party. The kids were very pleased to have been "invited" and we all stuffed ourselves full of cake before we tried to calm down for bed - ha!

Friday we went to the park, went to the park again....ate breakfast....swam in the pool, played some more - and all before 11:30. :) Mom and I attempted to keep everybody busy so they'd be tired and ready for a rest but it seemed like the only ones who needed the rest was us! Needless to say, we had a busy but very fun weekend - and praise the Lord, our friend is doing MUCH better now that he's missing that annoying little organ. ;)

Happy Monday!

Little baby parts :)



Delicious roundness!





My big boy :)



Little Ethan - having a blast...

My People {Central Florida Photographer}

I love my people. :) You know who "your people" are, right? The people - family or not - that you consider absolutely necessary. My people may not live in the same state - or country - but I count our relationships as some of the most important in this life I have.

My sister and her family have lived in the Philippines for the last 4+ years and recently have moved. I can't say back "home" though - because their home has become the Philippines. They are, however, living here in the States near us for the next 6 months and then they will be moving (as permanently as missionaries can!) to Norway. She and her husband are also missionaries with New Tribes Mission (as my husband and I are) and they'll be working there in Norway starting in January.

She's not been around (my sister) for the last 4 years - although we have been able to spend a good amount of time with them during that time while they were visiting - but the saying is true...absense makes the heart grow fonder. :) Having her here is even better than I'd hoped. The kids are all playing together as if no time has passed and they're already becoming friends. :) To have all 3 of my sisters in the same place - and at the SAME time - is . . . wonderful.

We four are WAY too much alike, and yet so very different. I'm really loud and probably the most obnoxious. I talk WAY too much and tend to want to mother the rest of them. Sarah smiles hugely and loves fiercely. We fought all those years growing up and that I regret -- I wish for those years back so we could be best friends for all that time. Joanna has the most beautiful eyes and smile - and singing voice. She's an amazing listener and I wish I could be just like her. Lydia....ahh...Lydia. :) She's the baby. She's so....special. :) I think she's "our" favorite, as in Sarah's favorite, Joanna's favorite, and mine too - for good reason. She's the quietest and can also be the loudest. She has an amazing heart and has always managed to be on everyone's side at the same time. She and Joanna are SO funny. Sarah is an amazing mother.

These are my people. :) Or rather, three of my people. My three best friends, and three of the most amazing people in this world.

Engagement: Jason & Sara {Central Florida Wedding Photography}

Meet Jason & Sara. :) Aren't they adorable? We met downtown a little over a week ago and I'm excited to share some of their e-session with you. (And a preview for them!) I know Sara from "way back" . . . we were in youth group together. It was so cool to hear from her a few months ago and now to have the opportunity to photograph them together. I'm SUPER excited about their wedding in December and mostly just very happy for both of them!

Jason obviously adores Sara . . . and I just love the look in Sara's eyes when she looks at him. It was fun to see them dance around in the alley - Sara even braved wasps and possible snakes for me! (Well, at least a LOT of mosquitos....)

Sara, Jason....it was a pleasure to meet with you and I hope these next few months are filled with laughter and fun as you plan your wedding together! Enjoy your preview - there's more to come. :) (As they can tell since these pictures are all from the first 10 minutes...ha!)

My FAVORITE (so far).....