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!



:)

More prayers for Kyleigh please!

Kyleigh is still in the ICU in Lexington, KY trying to recover from her open heart surgery. She's having a rough go of it, and has had a very hard day. She's had fevers, seizures, a collapsed lung, and now they think she may have fluid surrounding her heart. She's had a really rough day, and I just couldn't sit here any longer and be so far away. I am flying to Lexington tomorrow to be with her momma and dad, Amber and Troy, and will care for their two little boys Ross and Owen until Wednesday when I will return to Orlando.

I will be available by phone at 407-619-1359, but will not be checking email while I am away. John will check email in the evenings, so if you email me and I don't get back to you that is why. I appreciate your patience and understand during this time. Please keep your prayers up for Kyleigh... she needs all the love and good thoughts that she can right now.

Hugs to everyone! I'll be back on Wednesday!

For anyone waiting on DVD's/Slideshows

I have been having computer problems when trying to burn discs for months now. Tried a new burner, tried downloading 3 different burning software programs, none have fixed the issue. Now today, I'm trying to download yet another program and it won't even download without errors. Computer problems are a photographers worst nightmare... I'm NOT technical, nor do I even know what to look for when something like this goes wrong. So for those of you waiting on DVD's of your slideshows from me, I apologize, I'm working diligently to try to get this figured out and have contacted my computer guy yet again to come over and try to fix it....cause at this point it's getting ridiculous. So again I apologize for any delay in getting these out. As soon as I have it fixed, discs will be in the mail. *Sigh*...ugh!

Prayers for Kyleigh today!

Some very dear friends of mine and fellow photographers in Lexington, Kentucky~ Amber and Troy Schmidt have a beautiful little girl named Kyleigh. Miss Ky was born with a hole in her heart, and she is having open heart surgery today to repair it. Just wanted to post about it and ask that you keep them in your thoughts today and over the next few weeks. They are very near and dear to my heart and have been some of my biggest supporters since I started my business. Their work can be seen at www.kentuckystudio.com .

There were blessed to have our other wonderful friend and fellow photographer from Salt Lake City, Utah, Julie Williams come to stay and help care for their two older boys while they are with Kyleigh. LOVE you Julie! You truly are an angel to everyone who knows you! Man we photographers stick together eh?

Hugs guys! WE LOVE YOU!

Here's a few shots I took of Kyleigh when visiting in October. To read more about Kyleigh, you can visit the Schmidt family blog at http://the-family-schmidt.blogspot.com/

Welcome Baby Taegin!

My cousin moved here with her husband and newborn baby a few weeks ago. They are staying with us until they figure out where they want to live and get settled in. So I have a new baby to practice on whenever I want! It's soooo fun to have a newborn around again, altho he seems to be giving John a case of baby fever...lol. We went to my dads in Ft. Myers to visit and I was able to take some shots of him on their perfectly white couch, and thought I would share. He's the sweetest and cutest little guy!

Bridal Fair was GREAT!

Sorry it's been a week since any update. I was down visiting my father in Ft. Myers this week. I have loaded the photos from the bridal fair to the slideshow section at CNP. For any of the models, if you would like copies of any of the photos from the fashion show, please email me at cristy@cristynielsen.com. The show was great, and we got some great contacts with local vendors and brides.

You can find the slideshow at www.cristynielsen.com/slideshows , the password is bridalfair

CNP at A Wedding For All Seasons Bridal Fair!

Please join us this weekend for A Wedding For All Seasons Bridal Fair! ohn and I will be setting up shop at the Rosen Plaza Hotel this Sunday from 1 - 5 p.m. to display our work, and wedding services. If you have considered CNP for your wedding, stop in to meet us, see our work, and say hello. There will be a great group of other wedding vendors for your wedding needs as well, as well as door prizes, and a fashion show. They are also giving away a Honeymoon! For more information please visit http://floridaweddingexpo.com/ See you there!

:)

Remember Abigail & Huy??

Just finished their wedding album this morning... Check it out!

http://www.cristynielsen.com/HuyAbigailWed/

These guys were a blast and have the coolest vibe about them! It's always bittersweet when I am in the final stages with wedding clients. I fully enjoy working with them, so when all of the prints, albums, and canvas's come back it's a sad day for me... I'm excited to show them, but then quickly realize that it may be a while before I work with them again. I always can't wait till they have kiddos so we can continue to capture the big things in their lives!!

:)

Crazy Day!

It's been a nuts day here in Central FL. This morning we awoke to find out that huge tornadoes had destroyed lots of homes in the Central FL area. Our thoughts go out to those families who lost their homes and loved ones. At this point there have been 14 fatalities. So sad... John and I were woken up by the wind, thunder, lightning and rain at about 5 am. I really didn't think anything of it and went back to sleep. And then woke up to phone calls from people wondering if we were okay, and I had no clue about what had happened. Then to turn on the news and see the devastation.... sooo horribly sad!

I'm busy here as well, leaving tomorrow for Chicago to teach a workshop with Misty Woodward and Kimberly Smoot. Should be a ton of fun, and I'm really looking forward to it!

Also thought I would post a few shots from a maternity session I did a few days ago. Elise is 30 weeks pregnant with a little girl. She hasn't figured out a name yet, and is going to see her baby first before she picks out a name. For 30 weeks she looks amazing. We are going to do one more session before she has this little girl, and a newborn session after. Can't wait to do those! I always love mama and newborn shots. Congrats Elise!

Some Thanks and a few Welcomes!

Wow it was a crazy weekend! I actually took a day OFF! I spent most of yesterday cleaning the house, catching up on my DVR's shows, and playing with Shaylee. I avoided the computer most of the day, altho I went to bed early, then woke up at 1:30 am and couldn't sleep. Ended up yackin with my bud Misty about all the changes we are making to the new photography forum. FUN Stuff!

We would also like to welcome two of our newest couples to the CNP family! In the last week we have booked two weddings with Devin and Josh, and Melissa and Kyle.

Devin and Josh are getting married at Leu Gardens in May, and I've indirectly known Devin for a while through the Central Florida Birth Network. She works at a Birth Center where I will also be putting up a display here in town. We're excited about their wedding. It should be a ton of fun, and we'll see a bunch of people that we know there!

Melissa and Kyle are getting married at the Palms in Sanford in April. They were referrals from Chrissy, a client whose son I have photographed and she and I also know each other from my moms group. She's also the Matron of Honor at the wedding, so I'm sure we're in for a ton of fun that night as well! Thanks Chrissy for sending your sister our way!

Just a note also, I currently have 3 couples that need to get me your image selections for your albums. I can't start design until I know what images are most important to you, so if you can please get those to me asap that would be wonderful!

I will be taking this weekend off as well and flying to Chicago to teach my first workshop with Misty Woodward and Kimberly Smoot. The workshop is called Wake Up and Smell Success! You can find out more information by going to this link...http://www.wakeupandsmellthesuccess.com/workshops.htm. We have lots of registrants and I'm excited as many of them are people I have met before and grown to love and become friends. Should be a really fun weekend full of learning and growth! So if you are trying to get a hold of me over the weekend and I'm not around you'll know why. I leave on Saturday afternoon and do not return until Tuesday.

At home we have my cousin, her husband, and their new baby coming to stay with us for a while. They are moving to the area from Maine, so they will stay with us until they get established and find a place to live. I'm so excited to have my younger cousin Jess here with her new baby... be prepared, cause I'll have a newborn baby boy to practice on! Pics to come!

That is all for now... have a great week ya'll!

:)

Why I LOVE my brides!

Because they aren't like this! ACK!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10VmJ-8XGA4

Welcome Kristen!

This beautiful little flower I photographed yesterday. She is just sweet as can be, and soo teeny. Here's a quick preview of her newborn session! Congrats Jill, Chris, Christopher, and Will!!

Preview for Nicole & Enrique!

Thought I'd throw up a few from the wedding John and I did on Saturday! Meet Nicole and Enrique! This wedding was held at the gorgeous Shades of Green Resort at Disney, and YES the bride wore pink (LOVE that!). We did a few things differently for this wedding. One thing we did which gave me chills and I was SO glad we did was to sneak them into their reception room before any of the guests and give them a moment to dance alone. It was very special and I think the shot of them dancing alone in an empty room is quite cool. They were a lot of fun and soo loving with each other. Nicole will tell you that Enrique just can't get enough kisses, which was totally fine by us! LOL! Can't knock a guy who loves to kiss his woman! Without ado, here's some shots of their day. And the last shot... it does have a story. We call her Ms. Roboto...lol. We had some time to kill before the ceremony so we hung at the arcade for a few which had blacklights... what blacklights do to a bride's veil is quite weird! Look for the rest sometime next week at www.cristynielsen.com/ne/ne.exe

Cheers and Congratulations guys! We had an awesome time! Hope you guys are having a blast in the Dominican Republic!!

Jenny & Brian

Jenny and Brian requested beach engagement shots. The day of our session it was a bit windy, but we took the chance and went out to Cocoa anyway. And boy were we glad we did! Perfect weather, perfect couple, perfect day! Jenny and Brian are so young, and so in love! They both just radiate this energy that I wish I could just bottle up and save for a later date...lol. Stay tuned in May for their wedding!

Breastfeeding Display

I have been asked to display 6 images in a new Breastfeeding Resource Center. This office is run by a group of volunteer peer counselors that will help support nursing women and their families in the Central Florida area. They will offer classes on breastfeeding and parenting. This is a WONDERFUL resource for this area! I'm thrilled to be a part of it! They will be having a Grand Opening/Open House this coming Saturday at 10:00 a.m. Come to meet the volunteers, and see my display!

Their website: http://centralflbreastfeeding.com
430 Waymont Court Suite 100
Lake Mary Fl 32746

This is one of the images that will be hung in their lobby. Thank you to Dori, Kayla, and Brandon for modeling for me!

Happy Holidays and New Year...YES LATE!

Happy New Year, a little late, but I just wanted to post it. Hope you all had a fun and safe holiday season. This year was nuts in our home, between me trying to finish up clients in time for the holidays, Joanie and Carlos' wedding two days before New Year's and family being in town we've been busy! I'm also preparing for a bridal fair in February, and my workshop which I am teaching with Misty Woodward and Kimberly Smoot in Chicago in a few weeks. Life has just been NUTS! Here's to a happy and prosperous 2007!!!

Joanie & Carlos!

This wedding John and I did two weekends ago at the Orlando Museum of Art. Joanie and Carlos were SO fun and John and I had such a great time. I met Joanie's mom randomly at an event I did about a year ago, and she asked about our wedding photography. Fast forward to a year later, and the wedding has come and gone. Here's a few samples from their day, some taken by me, some taken by John. You can view the entire wedding, bridals, and engagement photos at www.cristynielsen.com/JoanieCarlos, click on the .exe file and download it to view. Definitely a fun wedding and one worth watching! Congratulations guys!