Sara and Derrick get married…

Oh my goodness, what a beautiful, totally-in-love couple. Sara and Derrick were married last week and it was truly a joyous occasion.

Robin and Tracy photographed their ceremony and I caught up with the happy couple at their reception. Their families, friends and congregation from their church were all amazingly loving people.

Sara and Derrick were married in the West Chapel at the University of Maryland by Pastor Gaskins. The fall colors were gorgeous on the campus as well as in the chapel…

Here’s the happy couple after their ceremony…

I love this picture of Sara and Derrick…

Okay, some people might stuff a little tissue up top for other reasons (hey, don’t look at me 😉 ) but Brenna reveals to Tracy that it’s only for when she gets emotional later…

Here, Derrick serenades Sara during their dance…

Doesn’t their love just shine…

Sara and Derrick, I’m speaking for Tracy, Robin and myself when I say THANK YOU. Thank you for allowing us into your lives and the lives of your families and friends. The love you show for one another and for each of your guests is remarkable. I wish for you a wonderful life together.

Marvene, thanks for contacting me, I’m thrilled that we could do this for you.

Robin and Tracy, thank you for photographing the ceremony, you did a terrific job.

Surprise Barbara!!…and Dave!!!

Family and friends gathered together last weekend to surprise Barbara and to celebrate her birthday.  Her daughters, Amy and Jen, had arranged a wonderful party for both their mom and dad….but dad thought it was for Barbara only….surprise Dave!

The fantastic party was at Baldwin Station Restaurant in Sykesville.  What a great place.  Check them out if your ever in Sykesville…or just go to Sykesville to check them out!! 

Friends and family got together and caught up with one another while waiting for Barbara to arrive.  She thought she was having lunch with her girlfriend, what a surprise she had when she entered the back deck of the restaurant….

I just love this picture of Amy hugging her mom while holding her dad’s hand. The emotion on Barbara’s face was shared by everyone there!

After making her way through the room collecting hugs and kisses, everyone sat down for a wonderful meal. Amy and Jen did a great job sharing their thoughts about their mom and dad…

Here’s Holden demonstrating his peek-a-boo abilities, a cutie, huh?

Another sweetheart…

…and another…

Here’s Dave and Barbara with Jen and Amy and their beautiful families…

There were so many nice people to help celebrate another year for this couple, it was really fun to meet everyone.  Dave and Barbara are fortunate to have a great group of friends and family to surround them.

Special kudos for Jenaire, the manager at Baldwin’s and her team that served everybody. Thanks to Kira, Chris, Joy, Casey and Nicholas; you handled yourselves as true professionals.

Amy, thank you for hiring me to document part of this special day. You and Jen really did a great job executing this celebration. I had a great time with you all.

Thanks also to Joan and Heather for referring me.

Christmas pictures for the Mason cuties…

I had the pleasure of photographing Peyton and Paige today along with their mommy.  I had a lot of fun getting to know this family.  Mike, we missed you, hope to see you next time. 😀

Cheryl had seen one of the Christmas cards I made last year and loved the idea of a custom card for her family. I won’t reveal her pick for her Christmas card, but here are a few of my favorites from the shoot…

Here’s Cheryl and her cute 4 year old twins…

Mike, we’ll get you in the spring 😉

How cute is he??…

a doll…

Thanks Cheryl for a fun afternoon; your kids are dolls. I’ll have fun creating your holiday card.  I appreciate the trust you placed in me today. 

Thank you Christin for referring me. 🙂

School pictures are FUN!!!

I photographed the awesome children as Academy Child Development Center in Potomac on Monday.  I had soooo much fun!  The kids were terrific, the staff was fantastic and the pictures turned out great….I can’t wait to finish the edits to show the parents.

Anyway, as I was finishing up, I noticed Tatiana.  Tatiana used to attend Academy and her mommy, Nidian, works there.  I had never met Nidian’s husband Luis, what a beautiful family.  Luis had just stopped in with Tatiana for a hello to mommy.  I gently talked them into taking a couple of family pictures.

 Aren’t they beautiful…

Luis, great meeting you. Nidian, can’t wait to get those tummy shots in a few months! 😉
Ya’ll are beautiful.

Thank you, Sappy and Kusum, for your persistence and for patience with the scheduling.  It’s been a blast!

For any parents in the Montgomery County, MD area, Academy Child Development Centers are fantastic.  I have taught my ABC Jamboree program there for 15 years (that doesn’t age me, does it??!)  I’ve always noticed consistency in their centers, the staff turnover seems to be really low and the morale is always up.  Click here to check out their website and locations.

Becky and Trevor in love….

Tracy and I were able to spend a morning with Becky and Trevor last week.  They’ll be getting married in March and we can not WAIT for their wedding…these two are just awesome; we had a great time with them.

If I blogged every picture that was adorable of them, the blog would go on for 10 miles!  They were either laughing with one another or kissing and just having fun.

Introducing Becky and Trevor (aka:  adorable and adorable)…

Stud meets pretty girl…

Stud and pretty girl chill…

Stud gets pretty girl…

I call this one the “do you really trust me enough to marry me” shot…

p.s. George and Trish, that was not my idea 😉

Tracy caught this great shot…

Becky and Trevor, you know how we feel about you. You have an amazing life ahead of you and I’m thrilled to be able to capture fun memories along the way for you. Thanks for choosing me for this honor.

Tracy…you took fantastic pictures….I’m so glad you’re on my team.  Great work!

A FUN afternoon with the Stuart family…

Oh my gosh, where do I start with these cuties. I had the fun pleasure of visiting the Stuarts last week to photograph their family. I’ve known Deedie for several years now and just love seeing her and her family. 

Last Christmas, they had the best gift ever…the adoption of their third son, Ashen!  He is a DOLL!

Here he is with his brothers RJ and Trevor…

cute, huh?!

Mommy giving him loves…

Mommy and her three boys…

WOOHOO!  Let the FUUNNNNN begin…

When Ramsey got home from work, we headed upstairs for some cozy pictures…

…and expressive pictures…

You all are a blast to hang out with. Thanks so much for having me photograph your beautiful family. You have so much love within the walls of your home that I think you could adopt the entire country of Ethiopia and everyone would feel equally loved. Thank you for being you, you’re just great.

xoxo

Meeting Chanda Bell, co-author of Elf on the Shelf…

My mother-in-law called me last month to inform me of the “Elf on the Shelf” and to see if I’d like it for the girls….during the holiday season, this elf will hang out at our house daily and observe the behavior of our girls.  Each night he will go back to the North Pole to report to Santa of their behavior, good or bad.  Of course in our case, it will be good GREAT behavior.  😀

Each morning the girls will wake to find him in a different spot after returning from the North Pole….to observe again.  Awesome, what a cool tradition this will be in our home….the girls will love it!  They also get to name their new buddy, can register the name online and receive a special note from Santa Claus!!

Then today my friend Sarah called to tell me that the author will be up the street at Banner’s Hallmark for a book signing.  I was so excited for Hayley to meet the author of this great story.  Sarah and Tito picked us up, we stopped by Grandma Patsy’s to pick up our book and off we went. 

Chandra could not have been sweeter.  She’s a natural with children, very welcoming, someone you think you’ve known before.  She co-authored this book with her mother, Carol Aebersold. 

Here she is with Tito…

…and with Hayley…

…and with one of her friends that traveled with her from GA and one of the elf helpers at Hallmark…

I liked this idea so much that I bought another book (& elf) for Lexi so when they are grown with children, they both have the storybook to pass along.

This is a fantastic story and tradition, I know I haven’t done it justice so please check out their website by clicking the Elf on the Shelf.

Thanks Patsy and Sarah for bringing this story into our lives!  I know we’ll have a great time with it.

Thanks to Chanda for taking the time away from your family to bring joy to ours.  We appreciate you.