Welcome Elora Grace!

Remember gorgeous pregnant Elise? Well she had her baby girl! Please join me in helping her welcome Elora Grace! It's looking like I will be doing her quarterly photos for the first year as well! So stay tuned to watch her blossom into a running little toddler!

This cracked me up!

Thank you to those of you who choose not to scan the images that I create for you and your families. This is what I do for a living to help provide for and feed my family. This was something posted to my photography board today and it gave me a laugh so I thought I would share...

For more information about federal copyrights please visit this website!

:)

Congratulations Missy & Kyle!!

I just couldn't wait to share these... we just got home a few hours ago, and I'm so excited to give Missy and Kyle a sneak peek! John and I played with some off camera flash, something we are learning quickly! I always seem to get so bored with my style and love to force myself outside the box. These were taken about 15 minutes before sunset and as the sun went down. We had such a great time with these guys! Thanks to Missy's sister Chrissy for sending them my way. It was fun to be at a wedding with friends and just really enjoy the night. You can tell just how much these two mean to each other, and their wedding was so beautiful! Here's some from their sunset. We snuck them away alone from the busy reception for these. I think it was well worth the break in the action for a quiet moment for them! More to come! You can view their entire wedding slideshow HERE!

More Video Light!

Lyles and Dan allowed us to play a bit with the video light after dark... had to share!

Playing with Video Light!

We bought a video light for weddings. It gives a different effect than regular flash and is much more dramatic of a light source. We are diggin it. John took a few of me using it that I thought I would share! Figured getting some good ones of me would be fun before I turn into the stay puffed marshmallow woman!

We are PREGNANT!!!

Yikes! I'm scared and excited at the same time, but we are pregnant!! Looks like baby is due sometime in December. Shaylee is SO excited to be having a baby brother or sister. John is hoping for a boy... I'll take whichever sex we are blessed with. So far so good with this pregnancy. I was so sick when I was pregnant with Shaylee so hoping I'll get a break from all the nausea this time around.

I will be taking limited appointments thru the summer and into the fall. We will probably cut off taking weddings past November, and won't return to weddings until probably February at least. We will still take shorter smaller weddings, but the all day ones are out! Just had to share with everyone since we're pretty thrilled! It's almost like starting over again, but we're excited to give our little girl a sibling! Here's a shot John took of Shaylee and I on Easter.
And a shot of the family! Taken by my cousin Jess!
And our gorgeous blue eyed girl in her Easter dress and her new haircut!

Lyles & Dan!!!

These guys are just too cute, and so stinkin gorgeous! Their wedding is April 28th and we're really looking forward to it! If their engagement shots are any indication, we are in for some hot shots from their wedding! Dan is a Biology teacher at one of the local high schools...now tell me ladies does he look like YOUR Biology teacher??? I think NOT! And Lyles is just going to be a gorgeous bride! Keep checking back in early May for shots from their wedding! You can view the rest of their engagement images by watching their slideshow at www.cristynielsen.com/LylesDan.exe

Catching up!

After being out of town so much this month, I have been behind on work, at home and in general. When all gets crazy my blog gets left behind... I apologize!

Anyway lots to say! I traveled to Waterloo, Iowa for a photography convention with other photographers who have all become my friends over the last two years. I entered a print competition and took 2nd place in the individuals categories for this shot which was titled "Perfectly Pregnant". This was taken of my client Elise, who actually just had her baby last Wednesday! I'll be photographing her baby sometime later this week so stay tuned for a new cutie! Thank you to Elise for being such a gorgeous model for me!

Looking for Brides to "Trash The Dress!"

This link was passed onto me from a fellow photographer. I've always wanted to do a session like this, couple on the beach, in the ocean in the dress... in a fountain in the dress, etc. I've not yet had a bride willing to do it...

SO... I put this out there to my previous brides, or clients that haven't had me do their wedding but might be interested, or we could call this a model call of sorts. If you have a wedding dress you don't mind getting dirty, wet, etc please contact me for a shoot! Afterall...you won't wear it again! So might as well have fun with it now! For participating you will receive a proof book ($700 value) of all of the images we shoot... so a great way to get some more cool photos of you and your dress!

To see what I'm talking about, read this blog. I'd LOVE to get some of my shots on that blog! So bring it ladies! http://trashthedress.wordpress.com/

Gotta love when they can't stop kissin!

Meet Devin & Josh. And Devin's son Noah... he's quite excited about this wedding! These guys are going to be a ton of fun. They are new love at it's finest... cuddly, giggles, laughing and lots of smiles. You can tell they are just comfortable together and that is always fun! Their wedding is at Leu Gardens in May. We shot these this afternoon at about the same time as they will be getting married. Leu Gardens is so gorgeous and such a fun place to shoot. Check back in May for their wedding photos!

Check out the new stuff on here!

Fellow photographer Brianna Hall helped me to get a header up on my blog! YAY! I'm happy to have a much cooler header up there! I also added a subscription box if you'd like to subscribe to my blog to see the lastest images I've shot, updates, and my typical ramblings on about weird things. I'm going to really try to stay up to date on my blog for all of you, family, friends, clients and all. I feel like I never talk to anyone because I'm so busy working and being mom and wife, so here's a way I can show you all what I've been up to, will be up to, etc...lol.

Enjoy!

Little Noah man turns 9 months!

And this little guy has to just be one of my favorites ever! He will just sit there and grin at you with this smile that makes you melt. Not quite mobile yet, so he's perfectly okay just chillin in a basket or watching the cars drive by. He also apparently like to grab your face and go in for a nibble...lol. Doesn't take much to bring on the grin, he's quite the happy little guy! We'll be seeing him have the cake fiest in a few months, so check back for more of this cutie!

The twin girlies again!

These two just crack me up every time I do their photos. They are quite funny together! We did two sessions for their 9 month photos cause miss Ava did NOT want to partake in the fun during the first session. Apparently little miss thang wanted her own photoshoot...lol. So her mom and dad brought her back a few days later to finish up. They are getting so big and changing so much! I look foward to seeing them grow up and watching them turn into stumbling toddlers and quick witted little ones!

Melissa & Kyle Engagement Session

These guys are gonna be fun, I can just tell! They were a referral from another client Melissa's sister Chrissy! Thanks Chrissy! Their wedding is in Mid April in Sanford... should be a great time! Stay tuned!

So much going on...

I'm going to attempt to catch my blog up here for a bit... I'm home, and have been working on albums, proofing, and have several sessions this weekend. Doing my best to stay on track and be mom and wife at the same time. My daughter has spring break this coming week so I'll be with her a lot. The pressures of self employment is a challenge for sure...lol!

Kyleigh is currently in a waiting "zone" if you want to call it that. They did a second operation, found infection, and she's back on her ventilator and sedatives. They are going to have her pretty much paralyzed and out for several days to sleep, rest, and let her body just try to get slowly back to normal. My good friend and fellow photographer Kimberly Smoot has been with Amber the last two days, took her home to see the boys, get things together, and then they got a hotel for one night to give Amber some time to gather her strength, rest and go back to be with Kyleigh for probably another week or more in the hospital. Many of us are currently trying to get breastmilk donations for Kyleigh. If you'd like information on how to donate, please contact me.

I'm going to update my latest sessions in these next few posts. I'm a bit behind, so I apologize. I have a few more coming this weekend, so I want to try to stay ahead of this...lol.

Bare with me...

Home... please continue to pray for Kyleigh!

I got home from Lexington this evening, after chaos at the airport with flight delays, having to book a different flight on another airline to get home, and a double Vodka Pineapple at the bar for my sanity, I'm here. It was a long emotional week, and it's not over yet. I feel horrible for leaving today, knowing that Amber and Troy were facing emergency surgery with Kyleigh again.

Please continue to keep her in your thoughts... we thought she'd be home today, but it's not turned out that way. To keep up on Kyleigh and her progress, please visit the Schmidt Family Blog. I'll be posting updates as well. http://the-family-schmidt.blogspot.com/

Those of you that got email replies from John, or emailed or called while I was away, I will get back to you before the weekend. Thank you for your patience and understanding during this time. It is appreciated by myself and the Schmidt Family.

It's good to be home, hug my girly girl, and my hubby. Back to the grind with a big piece of my heart still in Kentucky...

Kyleigh doing better, I'm still in Lexington

Kyleigh is doing better day by day. It's been a slow journey for her, but she's a tough little cookie so I'm sure she'll be fine given lots of time to heal. I'm still in Lexington watching Amber and Troy's boys... man are they giving me a run for my money...lol. Boys are so different than having a girl. They are cute and fun though and I'm enjoying how different they are.

I'll be home on Wednesday evening and trying to catchup and get back in the groove on Thursday. Thank you to my clients who were so understanding and moved their appts and sessions to make this happen for the Schmidt family. Those of you that I rescheduled, or need to, I will confirm with you on Thursday.

Thanks again!

:)

Kyleigh doing better today!

I arrived into Louisville, KY at about 11 am, and we got to the hospital at about 1:30. Kyleigh was sleeping peacefully, thank goodness. Amber showed me photos from yesterday that were very hard to look at, what a change she made in 24 hours. So I'm here now until Weds to help Amber and Troy care for the boys, help them at the hospital, and hopefully help them transition Kyleigh home. Here's a few photos of her from the hospital today. Thought I'd share... keep the prayers coming... she's not quite done with this all just yet! And also threw in a shot of Julie (left), Ky's mom Amber (middle) and me. These two women are two of my very best friends!



:)