How’s your summer going so far??

Here’s hoping it’s going swimingly and with only the best kinds of surprises:o)

We had this week off & played a lot . . . In the interest of being real . . . my kids absolutely drove me crazy & I can’t wait for Monday. Of course I left all the pouting, fits, time-oust, mom hollering pictures out;o) BUT, we did manage to make a lot of sweet summer memories & I even got my real camera out (meaning – not just my iPhone – for shame) and took pictures of my kids! If you want to see more of our pictures from this wet day in the Fountains with our friends at Market Street you can watch our family slideshow here. These are mostly SOOC snaps – but hey – it’s documented! (If you follow the very little that I write on our FB page, this was obviously not from the same night as Concert in the Park – we kind of lived at Market Street this week!) They have lots of family fun events planned for the summer – Wine & Food week starts next week! – check it out! See you there??

Thanks for reading!

you’re awesome, Allison

1) Check out Silly Nilly Designs if you are here in The Woodlands or anywhere else in the world! They are responsible for these “ridiculously cute” custom made kids clothes. They have an etsy shop or if you’re local . . . even better! They promote quality, cute, local, American made, fun kids clothes. Jennifer, the owner, posts ideas for having a “silly nilly” day on her blog & in her e-newsletters. I always look forward to them. I had fun with her girls when they came out for our bluebonnet mini-sessions last month. We fit in a few product shots for Silly Nilly because the colors were just too perfect!

2) Which leads me to number 2! I’m in love with their clothes!!! I can’t wait to show off my girls’ coordinating outfits when we get them. So, if you are local & want to see some of their clothes AND MEET ME and some other unique/handmade local vendors PLEASE COME to the Mom’s Favorite Finds Trunk Show this Thursday!! It will be in Sterling Ridge right here in The Woodlands. I’m already eyeing some of these really sweet hair flowers from Silla Soup.

A new favorite artist of mine based in Houston, Holly, fromTembo Studio will also be there. I really think her work is fantastic, creative, whimsical and earthy. I loove it a lot. She has the most creative kids alphabet flash cards. Check out her etsy shopif you can’t come this Thursday! BUT, if you can come. . . please do! We’d love to meet you & there will be some excellent shopping (and visiting) to be done all in one place! Download the flier here. The basics: 9:00 – 3:00, Sterling Ridge, The Woodlands, Wednesday June 2nd! See ya!!

Oh yea – I’m having a drawing for a free session;o) If you’re interested in that sorta thing.

Sooo many of us in The Woodlands - Houston area and across the world spent many a days praying for the family of Layla Grace Marsh as she was fighting a battle with the nasty cancer Neuroblastoma. Sweet Layla was here for a very specific reason. I’m quite sure it was to bring our community collectively and simultaneously closer to God. We wanted so badly to do what we could to end the tangible pain that Shanna wrote about on her blog. It was so real and she was so transparent that no one read it without stopping short of breath and crying out for it to stop. We pleaded, demanded, begged, stormed and cried for Layla to be cured.

And she finally was.

She is not forgotten . . . because it would be a shame for us not to realize that God had a hand in it all & we must, we must, we must look to him every minute of every day to see the kind of changes we saw in our city during those days.

So, this brings me to my friend Christie Lacy ) She asked for our help & I/we said absolutely . . . tell me what to do & I’m there. Not just for the family of Layla Grace, but also because she asked. I continue to be amazed that through this business/art-form. . . I almost daily run into the most amazing Christian/business women?!? It’s by no coincidence. It’s because I’m following The path that I’ve asked for. Don’t know where I’m going – which, yes, annoys this Type-A girl most days. But, I’m confident – that [today] I’m going where I’m supposed to. BECAUSE of the angels that keep appearing on my path. There’s no point in re-inventing the wheel – read Christie’s post about our event or visit the site here. It was a success! I have a few more to come, but here are a few of the images we managed to bang out in 20 minute mini sessions a couple of weekends ago! See – told you I’m blessed – He sent me the most awesome baby, kids and families too!  

Have a happy Friday!

I’ll never forget the last picture of my sweet baby Raleigh with only 2 bottom teeth! It’s one of my favorite that Brooke captured for us last summer. I’m telling you – I wouldn’t remember that sweet face if it weren’t captured with a macro capable lens showing every single tooth. This guy sat still for about 2 pictures. That’s ok because those 2 were amazing. The other 75 are great & hopefully I’ll find time to share them. I have a few shots of him yelling “touchdown” with his little arms up. I didn’t realize the significance or what a legacy/dad he had to live up to until my husband pointed out his not so coincidental name;o) You’re too sweet little Boston.

. . . post waaaaay too many images from this session?? They were all equally awesome and some of my favorite ever images. This family just completely and totally got it! If some of these images aren’t screaming print me on a massive canvas and hang me on a wall, then I quit. Linsey Hasenbank of LLH Designs in Houston is just way to neat for words (well mine anyways). She is a girl after my own heart . . . over thinker, perfectionist, lover of all things beautifully and thoughtfully designed. And, speaking of “thoughtful,” she one of those people that I’m always jealous of – she’s always thinking of AND taking the time to do such thoughtful things for others. She’s one of the other amazing Christian women I have met online of all places. I just dig her altogether. I felt this way BEFORE I even met her in person! Then she showed up bearing gifts. Stationary – of course. With a nest on it. I’d take a picture if I wasn’t drowning in images as we speak. So, you must check out her blog. It’s full of fun, fresh, authentic and positive inspiration (and beautiful paper designs of all kinds).

Needless to say, I was a little worried that I wouldn’t be able to meet her expectations. I guess we did alright?? hee, hee.

I’ll stick with my top two so as not to bore more than necessary. . .

1) I love, love, lovity, love the lay flat spreads. BECAUSE, it gives your book endless ‘display potential’ . Bored with that page? Just turn to the next! The images stretches across 2 pages. And, you really almost can’t see the page break at all.

2) These bad boys are thick, strong, sturdy & better made than any other album I’ve ever seen. Their worth is obvious when you hold one.

I fall in love with every album I make. So much time goes into their design & choosing the perfect images to tell the story. 

This family totally gets it. They cherish the small things & know they’ll need images to remember every single thing about their little guy. All the routines; the sink baths, the clever games that carry us through the cranky hours, the smushed potatoes in a jar for convenience and reliance on a hand or two to walk just  fast enough.

Well, they’re all fleeting.

And, I can promise you, you won’t be able to remember all of those moments once you’re on the other side. The other side that involves a lot of new memories toting the kid that replaced your baby to soccer games. You’d have never seen the love in those hurried moments. Later, when the moments have passed it’s obvious . . . but then they’re gone.

Now, they have a book with their story. . .

to enjoy . . .

 forever.

one moment per page.

priceless.

(they said you could see it too – they get all the credit for the text on this one!) (if you’re reading this from a reader or your iPhone - you’ll have to come to the blog to view the book below)