Just a few days left...

to get in on October's blog special! Here it is to remind you:
Leaving a comment is EASY! You just click on the bottom of any post where it says "_ Comments" (whatever # of comments there are) and leave a comment. You don't have to register, you can just leave your comment as "anonymous" but please add your name at the bottom so I will know who you are and can contact you if you win. If you want to leave your email address too that would be great! Also, if you have any suggestions for a November blog special, let me know!

The bridal show that I did last week on Sunday went well, I have had several calls/emails from interested brides and am setting up some meetings. However, I did want to clarify that I am taking off from photographing weddings from February-May of 2008. I feel that this is time that need to set aside for the new baby. He will be so little then, and will need me all the time, and I will not want to leave him! (plus who knows how much sleep I'll be getting at that time?!) So it is my own little maternity leave! I do have 2 weddings already scheduled during this time, but one was scheduled before I knew I was pregnant, and the other is at the very end of May, (scheduled before I decided about my maternity leave). So to be fair to my new baby, myself, and my clients, I am not going to schedule any more weddings during those months, but I am booking starting in the summer. So if you are interested in having me do your summer/fall/winter 2008 wedding, please contact me asap to schedule those dates. Also, I will continue to do sessions after the baby gets here, (probably not in February though since he is due Feb 14th! More like March/April) because those only take a few hours, as opposed to weddings, which take all day. So if you are interested in sessions in the spring, that will be fine, and if your wedding date is June 1st, 2008 or later, I will be happy to meet or talk with you now to go over details and get your date reserved!

Back in August our family went to Current River with my parents and all my siblings (all 12 of us!) and I posted a few pics, and promised to add some from my sister's water camera once I got them...well, yesterday she finally gave me the cd's with the photos! (to her credit, she said she just got them herself) So here are a few I thought were fun, but I must say, I didn't bother to edit them. I mean, it's water camera pictures put on a CD at Wal-mart, you can't expect too much!! :)
This is Ava in her Daddy's hat and Dora life jacket! She does still use a pop sometimes when she is sad or tired. Sorry to anyone who thinks that is bad! :) We know it needs to stop, but it helps her sleep, and we hate to buck the system that is currently working so well!

This is what happens when you wear a diaper in a hot tub! Ha ha! (Awesome face, Sweed)
This was the big thing to try to do: find a big currenty spot and make a chain in the water!
This is Troy underwater. It just looks freaky so I thought I'd add it!

This is me and Mom sitting in the edge of the water with Ava, just watching everyone else play. I would have loved to be playing with everyone else, but being pregnant, I felt like I needed to be extra careful on this trip, so I did a lot of watching!
Here I am trying to get Ava to play a little in the water, but as you can see from her face, she wasn't too interested, plus it is freezing cold! And I know, my hair looks super cool...
This was a little more Ava's speed! You don't have to touch the water this way!
We didn't have a high chair or a booster in the house my parents rented, so this was how Ava kept sitting at the table!
I really like this one! We had a good time, and I hope we can do it again next year! I don't know how it would go with a new baby though, he will be so young next summer! I am so looking forward to his arrival! :)

I know there are some of you out there checking for your previews, so I thought I would let you know that I will be posting wedding photos and hopefully some fall kids pictures in the next few days!

Jessica

Ava's very late 2 year pics & Two Seniors

Today I was on the phone with a guy about the Bridal show that I am doing on Sunday. Ava, of course, chose that moment to scream and cry and need everything in the world that she had not needed in the past hour! Why do kids do that the second you get on the phone? Anyway, I got her to be quiet and go into the other room, and when I got off of the phone I went to check on her. She had gone to the potty by herself, which was a good thing, but then she had started dipping the plunger in the potty and unraveling loads of toilet paper all over the bathroom! It was just a second, but she managed to make quite a mess!
Believe it or not, Ava turned 2 back in August and I hadn't officially taken her 2 year pictures until this past Monday! I know that is ridiculous, you'd think the photographer mommy would be doing a better job than that! :) I took her and Maddie Kate and tried to get some of them together, but really I didn't feel like it went that well! Once I got home and looked at them on the computer though, I was happier than I thought I would be! Maddie Kate is a pretty good assistant, she helped me get a few shots of Ava's dimples! I have only edited a few of them, but they turned out cute, so I thought I would share them!

Now I have a senior girl preview! Seniors are always fun to shoot, and this one was no exception! She was willing to go on a hunt for some new locations for her pictures, and that's always fun for me! Here is Alecia!
Thanks so much, and I will call you next week with your proof book! :)

This next Senior boy is very near and dear to my heart...he's my brother! It was sprinkling on us while we were doing some of the outdoor shots, and my daughters were in the car watching a DVD and eating pretzels, but I think we did well despite the distractions! It was fun for me, because with family, all the pressure is off and I can have total artistic freedom! Here's Logan!
This weekend is going to be a crazy one for me! I have a session tomorrow afternoon, a wedding on Saturday, and as I mentioned earlier, I'm going to be at the "Once Upon A Dream" bridal show on Sunday afternoon. It's going to be at the Rend Lake Resort and Conference Center on Sunday, October 21st, from 1-4 pm. So if you are a bride or helping someone plan a wedding, come see me and all the other vendors at the show!

Jessica

This week...

..is one of those weeks that at first glance I look back and think, "Didn't get anything done this week!" but reality is that I have been very busy doing what I call "maintenance" on my business. That's the not as fun business-y part of the business that I don't really care to do, I love the part that has to do with people and pictures! Maybe someday I'll be able to hire someone to do the business part for me, that would be great!!! Dreaming here! :)
I did get something pretty cool set up though, and that is my new online client viewing site. I still need Troy the computer guru to help me link it up to my website, but I am really liking it so far, and I think you clients out there will too. It is much prettier and better quality than the old viewing site was, but you cannot order online there, you will have to order through me by email or phone (or in person if need be!) but I don't think that will be a problem, as that is how most people order anyway! :)
And I did a Senior shoot on Monday, and wow, it was like 95 degrees that day! But now it's freezing, and I don't know how outdoor pictures will go with the change in temperature. Everyone's been sweating and boiling all summer and fall, and now no one's gonna want to go out without a big jacket! Tonight is Sesser's Homecoming game, so of course we will be going to that, and I am hoping the girls and I don't freeze to death! Maybe Ava will cuddle with me instead of running away like usual! (Dreaming again...)
Yesterday I had a baby Dr. appt and it went well! He scared me for a second when he said that the ultrasound technician at the hospital had reported that my amniotic fluid was low. I asked "what happens when it is low?" and he said "Some people have to go on bed rest." so I was all "AHHHHHH!" for about 2 minutes until he checked it and said he was measuring lots of amniotic fluid and that it was fine and must just have been the technician. Bed rest for me would be such bad news! What would I do with Ava, and would Johnny have to stay home with me? and what about the 3 weddings I have scheduled in the next few months? Wow, I am so glad that it's not reality! he said everything looked fine and I was measuring right on at 22 weeks (even though when I told Johnny that he said, "really? because I've been thinking you look really big!" Thanks, hon.) If you are interested in seeing what the baby's development is like at this stage, click HERE.
As I mentioned it has been Homecoming week here at Sesser, so that means lots of extra events and the kids at High School dressing up funny for each day of the week. They had to dress up like "laundry day" and "Halloween day"etc. Well, Wednesday was "formal day" so Johnny and the youth group boys decide to wear the white tuxes that they bought at the thrift store last July in Little Rock, Arkansas. (see July posts to read about that!) One of the original youth group boys is in college, so they borrowed his and loaned it to another kid, so it was a slightly different crew, but they did it anyway! Here are a few pics of them leaving in Johnny's Malibu that morning!
One of the boys wasn't here yet so he missed out on the photo op, sorry Kyle! Tyler is really asleep in this one!
License plate changed to protect the innocent...or insane!
I just wonder how many other teachers would do this....my husband is so funny! I think they look like they are on their way to a wedding in the 80's!
Well, I'm going to do my best to get some editing done today, between the Ava chasing and running with her to the potty, and stopping her from playing with DVD's and reading her books...that's pretty much what we do!

Oh, and one last thing...I am helping out Regions Bank in Sesser with a United Way fundraiser, and am going to donate a gift certificate for a free session. I think you can bid on the basket full of goodies at the bank (LOTS of businesses in town have donated, so it's probably a really good deal if you win it) starting on Monday, the 15th. So go win some fun stuff and help out United Way! :)

Jessica

Here is...

...a quick post for a senior! I have got to get to bed because I have a wedding tomorrow, but I wanted to get this up so Michael and his parents could see some of his new photos! Here are some of my favorites! I think the first one (above) is my absolute favorite, I always love B&W!




I should have your proof book by sometime next week! Thanks!
Jessica

A Beautiful Couple and a Beautiful Wedding!

Here is a wedding preview post for a beautiful couple, Ashley & Isaac. I did their engagement session back in the spring, and they are just so wonderfully photogenic! I love weddings and appreciate them for allowing me to be a part of their special day! On to the pictures!

The following images were taken by my assistant, Alisa. (Edited by me) She rocks!


Your book will be ready later this week! I will call you the second it is ready! Thanks! :)

Jessica