Dear Caitlin,

You were the best assistant every (both on shoot in and in the office) and work days are now boring without you. Come back from Paris.

Kate

I love the fun little moments.

It really was so fun to second shoot. This is an example of a moment that happened while Ann was arranging the next round of portraits. These are my favorite images from weddings, it was awesome to be the one actually taking the fun spontaneous images! It’s not that I don’t capture spontaneous moments when I am primary on weddings, but I am trying to make sure all of the “must have” shots are taken and often times my second shooter ends up with more fun random moments (like the one below) than I do.

This next series of images really makes me smile.

It really was a lovely ceremony and the weather was perfect. Only in Texas can you get married outside in January!

The Duchman winery has moved to my list of top 10 favorite wedding venues. I love the versatility of an outdoor ceremony with an indoor reception. So many venues offer one or the other and it’s important to have a back-up indoor location in case of in climate weather. The indoor facility at the winery is lovely and could have easily been a beautiful ceremony location as well. It also had an abundance of locations for outdoor portraits which is pretty much my #1 qualification for picking a venue. Most Brides already have venues picked out by the time they get to me, but if by chance they do not, I keep a list of my favorites around. Duchman Winery, welcome to the list!

Ali & Cole you had a lovely wedding. I’m so glad I was able to be a part of it. Aunt Kristy was also happy to spend some time with River while I was shooting. This was my first wedding back since having River which is one of the reasons I wanted to second shoot and take it slow. I will admit, it was hard. I checked my phone every hour for emergency text messages. He survived and I survived so I guess this means life goes on. My baby won’t be a baby for long… Have you noticed all of my posts somehow end up talking about River? I guess it’s a mom thing.

And, I learned another important lesson from an almost 2 year old: sometimes when things get crazy you just need to get out.

This past week I did both. I escaped the crazy that is Corpus and went to Fort Worth where I have family & friends to love me and help with River so that I could “jump” for a while. Dan does what he can and I admire how hard he works and how little he sleeps, but residency is rough. With him working 80ish hours a week and me trying to raise two crazy dogs and a little human on my own, life has been rough. I have been escaping to Fort Worth for sanity sake and booking sessions so that I could count it as a work trip. I did shoot a wedding on Saturday with my friend Ann, so technically I was traveling for work, but I actually took it easy last week instead of booking sessions all week and it was somewhat…um…awesome. But, after a while a little boring. I was actually excited to get back to the chaotic life that is Corpus. River is starting to get into a nap routine and I am determined to catch up on work this week. I’ve continued to think about photography in terms of what should I do, and I think it is going to continue to be a balancing act. I’m not ready to throw in the towel, but I’m also not ready to book back to back weddings every weekend as I may have been a few years ago. Life changes and right now I am feeling really good about my life. I really do love the craziness. It was overwhelming at first, but as River and I are figuring out our little routine things are becoming more and more normal and I wouldn’t have it any other way. So yes, this means I’m coming out of my cave (so to speak). I’m planning on turning on my work cell phone tomorrow (something that hasn’t been done in over a month, I’m very afraid of how many voicemails I have), finishing editing all of my sessions, responding to new clients and mailing out print orders. New images for you soon! Thanks for stopping by and listening to me ramble!

Reflecting over the past few years I am amazed at how blessed my business has been. I really need to give all the glory to the Lord. I know people throw that phrase out occasionally and it either gets overlooked or a few eye rolls, but I am sincere at heart. When I decided to jump full-time into photography and quit my other full time job which provided a steady and secure income, it was a leap of faith. God has provided both financially since then as well as socially, I have been so blessed by all of the couples and weddings that I have been a part of! Thank you all for your support of my business and letting me into your lives, even if just for a brief period of time.

Happy 2012 everyone! Cheers!

I’ll be out of the office for Christmas starting today through Jan 2. I will be responding to emails sporadically and via my phone, so it’s best to not expect a legitimate reply until 2012. This is River saying, “Don’t email my Mom until next year.”

He’s kidding. You can totally email me before next year… just don’t expect a prompt reply! Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Enjoy your family this holiday season, that’s what I will be doing!

Our tree is #9, the stop motion video!

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