The Hermans

You know those people you have such history with, that when you get to see each other it seems that no time has passed since you were last together. That is exactly how I feel about the Hermans. I have known them for just about all of my life. I have so many memories with them, that they are just part of who I am. They now live in Liberty, SC, and are part of an awesome church plant 5 Point Fellowship. Since they are in Easley, I get to see them often for which I am glad! Hermans- I hope you like your first pictures from me and hope there will be plenty more to come!!!! :) Click HERE to see more pictures!

Busy Bee

Lots to accomplish today.

-Clean my house! It seems like I'm doing this everyday I know.

-Go to the grocery store to get everything for this weekend.

-Portrait shoot @ 5.

-Matthew & Megan are coming late tonight.

**All the while still editing away on the Hermans and Clarys. I promise I'm working hard on them!

30 days

I think it's ok to mention this. It's only been in our (Beth and I) minds and hearts, but hasn't really been spoken or shared. I guess, two weeks ago, Beth and I were feeling this contagious excitement for what God is going to do through the Rock soon. Neither of us could explain it to you, it was just there! After we talked, it seemed that everybody around us (including us) has taken a beating over the head. Whether money, family, personal, you name it.. We were talking about what else we could do to lift up the leaders in our church, to keep people in the Rock from Satan, to pray for the needs of our good friends. What we decided is quite simple, but
ferocious at the same time. We will pray. Before church, 8:30 a.m. . Get some of our friends together and beg God to protect us, bring on more excitement, etc. I think this 30 days series is the perfect time to start. If you'd like to join Beth and I, just let us know. Here are some of the challenges that I will face in the month of November.

1. No sweets for a month. Including Thanksgiving Day. ;/
2. Exercise everyday. EVERYDAY.
3. No Burgers & Fries at all. No exception.
4. Spend Quality -Quiet- Alone Time with Kevin at least once a week. (With a baby and football, this is a lot, I promise.)
5. Spend an interrupted hour in prayer every week.
6. Spend a day each week with NO TV or computer.

These are all I have so far? What have you decided to do for 30 days? Do you know what 30 days is about? This is what the church website says about the series:
30Days. OK, 29 if you start on Sunday. OK, 28 if you skip Thanksgiving Day. But "30 Days" sounds much cooler. It can be "the month your life changed." How many of us need to be shoved out of our comfort zones? How many desperately need a spiritual kick in the pants to dislodge us from our medium-heat mediocrity? Get ready for 30 Days of SPIRITUAL I-DARE-YOU's that cover ever area in your life: your soul, your body, your mind, your stuff, your time, your relationships. If you are a spiritual coward or so set in your ways that you refuse every new challenge, well, go visit another church for the month of November. We're about to turn the heat WAY up @ The ROCK. You probably can't take it.

Movin' on up!

My stress level is on the downard slope. I feel myself making my way through the trenches and crawling out of the valley. I'm looking foward to what is ahead, instead of sitting in a pool of worry and stress. Life ...............is getting better. :)

I'm stoked for Gray's birthday party this weekend. We have friends and family coming to watch her dig in her little cake. I cannot wait!!!

I enjoyed my weekend and got to shoot some special people. What do you think of Hayes the pirate? Is he not adorable?? And, how gorgeous is Melissa! I told her I was sad that I couldn't share all of her pictures with you guys until after her wedding in December, and she said she wanted them posted now!! So you'll be able to enjoy them later.

I'm still clicking away on the Clarys and Hermans. (You can't take a computer into a pool, so I didn't get as much done last week as I wanted. :( But do not lose hope, they will be up soon.)

Back to getting my house in order, so I don't lose my husband. JK :)

Bab-tiz-um @ the ROCK

What could be better than gathering on the sand, singing along with a few guitars, and watching people walk into the freezing cold Atlantic because they are pumped about making a statement of faith??? A Bloomin' Onion & a Thunder from Down Under from Outback come very close, but the answer is nothing!!!! I know it doesn't really matter the body or pool or tank of water you are baptized in, but there is such a rawness to having it done in an ocean that God himself formed. AND... if you thought you held your breath when people walked down the steps to the "baptisimal".....you've got to watch people try to avoid being knocked down by enormous waves. It's great! :) I'm so happy and feel so honored to be a part of what's goin' on at the ROCK. The experience, the worship, the people, the teaching, the challenges, the laughter, the crying, the outreach, the future.........

Click HERE to see more pics.

Another Family Editing Session Bites the Dust....

the boots....ROCK!
They have a lot of energy. JK..I asked them to do this.

Love this pic of every single person.


H-O-T-T..

This is one of my faves. It's in black and white in the slideshow too. I'm not sure which one I like more.

Here are the Middleton pics. Curtis, Karen, Katie, Hannah, & Becca have been my family's friends for really as long as I can remember. We date all the way back to the good ole' Sea of Green. They now live in the upstate, so I get to see them once in a while when we visit Five Point Fellowship. I was so glad they jumped on the picture train on our most recent trip to Easley. When I saw they were wearing COWBOY boots, I was so stoked. (The location was beckoning for a family in cowboy boots! Don't ya think?) I hope I did all of them justice; they are a beautiful family inside and out. Show the Middleton family some love, blog readers, and let them know which is your favorite!!!! To see all of their pictures click here.

P.S. My comments record is 6! My goal is to have a 25'er before the new year, And they cannot all be my husband.....hear that K-Lock! Look for the Hermans and Clarys coming soon!

Yummy Video...

Did you know I also do make-up? Check out this Rock commercial. Pay special attention to the last 10 seconds.

The State of Yuckness....

It seems that Gray and I are connected even further than the fact that she lived inside me for 9 very, very, very long months; we just have to be connected in a deeper sort of way!!! These past couple of days, she is showing on the outside what I feel on the inside....SICKNESS! Her's is physical; mine is mental. She has slept, whined, and cried, and I have just let myself go at it with her. If you know us, this state of mind and being is rare.... so if you have an extra second in the day whisper a little prayer for Gray and me. We need a little extra help this next week, and both of us need to be better by Gray's birthday party next Saturday.

***Isn't Gray's dress beautiful? Megan & Matthew picked this up on their honeymoon to Mexico. She wore it one day is September, and I had to snap some pictures of her for them. I hope she made that seamstress and her Uncle Matthew & Aunt Megan proud!

Coming Soon.....The Clarys....

Here are some of the Clary pictures, followed by two other blogs of Herman & Middleton samples. Hope these wet your appetites, but keep you a little full. Until later......

***Don't forget to check out the Prosser slideshow and tell Stacey which pic is your fav.

Coming Soon....The Hermans...

Here are a few pictures from the Hermans Photo Shoot. More to come in the weeks ahead.

Coming Soon...The Middletons.

Check out the Middleton family pics I'm working on.......I love, love, love the first one.

The Prosser Kids

By far, my favorite. It's so different than any other.

Love the jump pictures, and the fountain....love it!!!
I really wanted to get the turquoise bar in the picture.

Strong, sensitive, full of life, spirit, and personality. Bri takes care of her other two siblings and keeps them in line. Ethan is a modest strong and seems to take care of his sisters without having to prove it. Haley is the baby and living in a world of her own, a world that makes you wish you were dwelling there. Yes, they're kids, but great ones! I had too much fun traipsing around Conway capturing these kids as are they in this moment in time. I'm in love with some of their pictures, and I hope they are too. Prosser family....Thank you! :) To see more of the Prosser kids, click the title to see a slide show.

Carnival of Thoughts......WIDE OPEN!

I hunched over and stared out of the window, pondering all the things that I have coming up in life. Thoughts in my mind are like a carnival ride that goes round and round and round. Each thought and worry has its own seat. I get done thinking and stressing about it and then before you know it, here it comes again. I look over to my husband, who is looking quite content with life and start to express my worries and explain to him over and over how stressed I am up about everything coming up. His calm repsonse, "Baby, if there is anybody who can handle it all and do it well, it's you!" Nice statement, I know, but still....it didn't help. There's only one way to deal with these worries and stresses. Pray, Face them head on, and Take them out....one by one.


***Thanks to everyone who called, texted, and emailed about Evan, my favorite sister. She had her appendix taken out, rather quickly, and she is still in the hospital recovering. She's a toughie and I love her lots! :)

***Look for a lot of picture posts this week. I have the Prosser, Clary, Herman, and Middleton Families on the "editing burner". I'll write more about each family later.

All About Me; The Daves Faves!

These are the Daves' Faves! Hope you liked. ***There is no link to a slide show for all of you, mom, who say that you can't get to see more pictures. :)

All About Me ?......

1. When was the last time you cried.

I cry all of the time now. The most random things bring tears to my eyes. The WORST was one night I was up watching ABC's Extreme Home Makeover. Family after family, I sobbed and sobbed!

2. Have you ever been in a car accident?

Yes, I ended up in a pasture of cows. LONG STORY!

3. What is your perfect pizza?

If you ask my husband, I either have my mind made up, bound and determined, or I can't make a decision at all! Pizza falls in the "can't make a decision" category, and it totally depends on where you get it from...Papa Johns (Thin crust pineapple) Pizza Hut (pepp. & mushroom) Bellacinos (Chicken Alfredo) California Pizza (Buffalo Chicken or

Veggie)......See...Told Ya!

4. What was your most recent dream?

That while my mom and dad were babysitting Gray, they let her get bitten by another child. Then, I was paranoid she had aids. Weird, I know.

5. Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

In five years, I see myself as a mom to more than just Gray. I see myself having discovered the job where I can use each & every gift that God has given me. I see myself more in love with my husband. I see myself being a better friend. I see myself in a small self.centered crisis because I'll be 30. I see myself serving people through the Rock. I see myself looking at hundreds of people's pictures I have captured. ;)

***Ya like the new layout???

Cheerleader Sketch

Here is my claim to fame.



Some things you need to know:

1. Yes, this was performed during church. My church rocks. (rockc3.com)
2. Mygroup is ...I guess the modern approach to Sunday School, but we meet during the week at people's homes. I heart mygroup.
3. If I look fat, the camera adds 20 not 10 pounds, and I'm working on it. So hush! :O
4. If you think TJ does not have rhythm, you should have seen him when we started. (Sorry T!) I can honestly say that I laughed as hard as I have in years when we were practicing.
5. We made our own costumes, so don't hate.
6. There are a lot of inside jokes hidden inside the sketch. Jerimiah is semi-short (You're welcome for the semi-), and has a really cool I-phone.

That's about it. Hope you enjoyed. There are more videos on youtube. Type in rockc3 and up they will come.....

I told you I liked to have fun! ;)

The Book; Grayson & Emily

Reading is a rarity in my life these days. Between planning for church stuff, shooting on the weekends, editing during the week, keeping two babies on Th. and Fr., doing the mom and wife stuff, there's not much time to go sit on the screened-in porch, lay out in a hammock, sip a cold Diet Pepsi, and lose myself in a good book. However, I did break down and order a book that came highly recommended, Fast Track Photography. I got it Saturday night, stayed up late, got up early, took it to the bathroom (You know you do it too!), finished it last night, closed the book and felt completely overwhelmed. I'm reading about photographers who have gone on before me who have made their business ultra successful in ONE year. The book is not a "how-to be a photographer" book, but all about soul-searching, finding out who you are as a photographer, and marketing yourself instead of a photo that somebody else in the world is just as capable of capturing. Along with the soul searching, it gives you a LLLLLOOOOONNNGGG list of things to prepare for....which I have not yet done. So in the middle of my stressing, I went to my blog and was reminded that I've been at the business side of photography for about 2 months. TWO MONTHS! My stressing immediately turned to feeling so blessed. In my attempt to begin the soul searching, I've changed my "about me" column to the right. There might be more changes in the works. Stay Tuned. :)

The photos at the top are some shots from yesterday of Grayson and Emily. Kid shoots are always interesting, but we got some great shots. I was feeling some black and white while editing. For a complete slide show click here!

da....da.da.da.doooonnnneee....

I love this picture. The colors, the poses, the looks, the angle. Doesn't Jess look gorgeous!

Ha.Ha. They said this represents their relationship, better than the holding of hands.

Old Buggy + Good Sports = Fun Picture

Love It! Another of my fave's!

I am home on a Saturday because of the icky weather. I hate that I didn't get to do my shoots today, but it allowed for some work time since Daddy is home. I've been editing away and watching Texas vs. Oklahoma; Texas is about to win!!! Tonight we are off to play Pictionary, and I am stoked. I love games, but I am WAY too competitive. "She get her from her Daddy."

Here are the Partins' pictures from last weekend. Help Sherrie, the mom, out by leaving a comment declaring your love for your favorite photo! I'll post some of my mine, besides the one below that I heart! Cick on the title to see even more!

***Can you find me in one of the pictures??? If you can find me, Sherrie gets a free picture! :) Help her out!! This means you have to leave a COOOMMMEENNTT! Do it! For Sherrie! (Sherrie you cannot play...sorry :( !)



Happy Weekend!