Sarasota Bradenton Baby and Child Photographer » Custom newborn, baby, child and senior photography

We are in the throws of Christmas…..the trimmings, the baking, the shopping, and most importantly, the giving. We spent our week shopping for Angels, through the Salvation Army Angels Giving Tree, and I have to say, every year that we do this there is nothing more rewarding.  When I drive through our neighborhood and down the streets that are now a sea of Christmas lights I get this wonderful peaceful feeling of home….and when I pull onto our street and see all the kids from around the neighborhood playing and laughing I can hear the heartbeat of home….when I cross the threshold of our home and get pummeled by the dog and Addy screams with joy and leaps into my arms….when the smells of a home cooked dinner and sounds of chatter fill the air….I  look around me and feel so completely and utterly blessed…I have to take it in, and freeze the moment and thank God for all of His blessings in my life. Then I think of families who have so much less….so much less that the only Christmas they can give to their children is through the giving of others.  All of these good things in our lives should serve as gentle reminders of those that have not…we can choose to ignore this, or choose to listen and give.  I think it’s so easy to get caught up in our stressful lives this time of year and forget about those in need…so, in the midst of all your Holiday stress and joy, please don’t forget about those less fortunate. You can contact your local Salvation Army to find Giving Tree’s and drop off location…..and if not an Angel, I hope you all will take time to give in some capacity.

I have noticed that I am always on a quest for light-soft light, reflected light, back light or harsh direct light-even when I am miles away from my camera. I have become in a way obsessed with it’s properties and how it reflects off of surfaces or filters through the trees. I actually sat through a green light the other morning while gazing into the rising sun, hypnotized by the way it turned a field of fog into liquid gold. A single leafless oak and a cow or two silhouetted up against this scene really captivated me. It took a few annoyed drivers behind me to finally snap me to with a few honks of their horns!  So anyway, this year I actually made several resolutions, which is so completely unlike me-not because I don’t think I could use some major personal improvements year after year but because I know better then to disappoint myself down the road with unrealistic expectations! This year is different- I really want to improve a lot of things in my life, personally and professionally.  I wont bore you with a long list of wishes goals but one of them is to not let scenes like the one I described pass me by….which means having my big ‘ol camera strapped to me all day…and another is learning and finding new ways of capturing the light in all of its forms. Gage really is a happy child, despite “the look”….you know the one, the “mom, get the camera outa my face” look. Bless his little heart I puffy heart love him~

Over night it seems my little boy turned into a pre-teen. He is now 12 growing on 21 and I’m pretty sure I have the gray hairs to prove it! I think the highlight of Gage’s birthday this year was going to Tallahassee with Jim to watch Florida play, despite the 7 hour drive home on Sunday.  With all these birthdays so close to Christmas the poor kids are getting a little short changed in the party and gift department.  Even with pictures, as I tried to lump Christmas and a Birthday session into one. Yeah, fun.  As a matter of fact, I told my Husband to not worry about my birthday next week…really, we can just skip it and pretend it never happened.  How about we do that every year from here on out and I will just stay 32 forever

SO here is my sweet boy, all grown up and a few sneak peeks from our attempt at Christmas pictures.