Out of the mouths of babes...

My three year old, who went outside THREE times yesterday to play in the rarely seen 3+ inch snowfall, had this to say today as she looked longingly outside:

"It feels like I am in jail."

(I'll have pictures of the white stuff to post soon.)

iheartfaces week 7, Hands :: Harker Heights Photographer

iheartfaces with no faces?! Seriously? Well, silly contest category creators, I will show you hands WITH faces. (And welcome to Becky Earl as this week's judge...fabulous photographer if you haven't ever checked her out before!)

Give us a "hand" this week and enter the contest by clicking the button below:

Sacrifice :: Harker Heights Family Photographer

Military families are like no other. We move. Often. We say goodbye to more friends than we can ever imagine, then say hello to a whole new group of them. We shed tears as our soldier deploys for a month, a year, 15 months. We shed more tears when they return home safely. This is what we are asked to do and this is what we say yes to every day, sometimes begrudgingly, sometimes with excitement, sometimes with fists thrown in the air in defiance.

But no one is asked to do more than the military family with two soldier parents. One parent deploys while the other keeps the family going. When Daddy returns home, it is Mommy's turn to head out the door. So it is with this beautiful family. They are so proud to serve their country, and proud of the job they do in the field, but the sacrifice of missing a first birthday, missing Mother's Day, missing a third birthday is a great one. But she will leave with head held high, the Stars and Stripes proudly worn on her uniform, confident in the strength of her family to persevere in her absence.

In the parlance of the Navy, may you have fair winds and following seas. God speed you home!

City Garage :: Salado, TX

Salado is a quaint little Texas town located right off I-35 North. Every time I drive down to my mom's (and that is fairly frequently!), I see this really cool building from the interstate. And I have never stopped. I didn't have my camera in the car. The girl needed to use the bathroom. The baby was crying. Any number of reasons for not stopping. Finally, I stopped. I explored. I wandered around the nooks and crannies of this old gas station and let my camera capture the scene.

Happy Valentine's Day!

From my lovin' family to yours, have a very Happy Valentine's Day! And for those of us who don't get to smooch the one we love best today, remember to hang on to those kisses until you next see one another.

Remember, it is always okay to eat chocolate on Valentine's Day. Always. You don't have to be under 4 feet either. Everyone. Chocolate. (especially paired with peanut butter.) Acceptable. Eat!

Big and Little Together :: Harker Heights Children's Photographer

And here is the final installment in my triad of "Fun Experimenting with Lights" series: the girls together. This was a much harder undertaking, trying to coax loving, gentle touches out of the toddler before the baby decided she would protest in her only possible way, by screaming.

I was working with a very shallow depth of field, so I sacrificed sharpness on both faces, but I just love these early interactions. Last night, my big girl was asking me to list all the fun things the baby will be able to do with her when she is two. (I left "Help you entertain yourself so I can photoshop during daylight hours" off the list!) Obviously, she is eager to have a playmate, a sister, a best friend.

(Awesome onesie being modeled in photos courtesy of Karyn's creative mind. It says "I drink until I pass out...")

And for the curious among you, this set up was arranged on my living room floor, squeezed between the coffee table and the TV and involved one static light that is not slaved to my camera, with a diffusing umbrella attached, and a black sheet purchased from Wal-Mart that was not free of lint. I laid on the floor or stood over them to get my shots. You know, the home studio really can be created nearly anywhere!

Little Girl :: Harker Heights Children's Photographer

My little girl is not mobile, which means she cannot run from me. Yet. I place her on the floor, turn a bright light on overhead and she has no recourse but to lay there and look as cute as she can. If only all jobs were this easy...

Big Girl :: Harker Heights Children's Photographer

I'm a natural light photographer. I am. But I am also a gal who happened to live under a rain cloud all day. And I have these lights. And I wanted to play with them. And my big girl was cooperative...for a three year old.

Oh, Daddy's going to close her up in a convent.

iheartfaces week 5, Kisses :: Harker Heights Photographer

In case you need a reminder, Valentine's Day is coming up on Sunday. This is one of the least celebrated days of the year for me, for I am not a particularly romantic sort. And I fear this manifests itself in my work, for I struggled to find a kissy picture for this week's iheartfaces challenge. I tried to get some kissy pictures with my three month old, but they all turned out looking like she was a fish out of water, gulping for air...I guess that IS a baby kiss. It just doesn't photograph well. Then I remembered this sweet one of my big girl and her dada.

Come on over to iheartfaces and get into the lovin' spirit with your own kiss!

Drum Roll, Please! :: Harker Heights Children Photographer

We made it to the three month mark! According to my mom, who was right with my first daughter, everything changes at three months...for the better. The baby will sleep better. The baby will be more interactive. The baby will not cry for no reason at all. As much. What I did not anticipate was that this baby would decide to roll over from her back to her tummy to commemorate this milestone. I think this one is going to be a mover and a shaker. Batten down the hatches, it's going to be an exciting ride!

My older daughter contends the baby is an elf and she needs to return to the North Pole. Then she says the baby is cute. Our cute little elf. I think we'll keep her. I am too curious to see how these sisters develop into friends.