The straw that just broke this camel's back

I am writing from my laptop because my pc is crazy infected with a nasty trojan. How did this trojan know that today was my catch-up day...

Once again, this is setting me behind by another day. Rest assured my files are all backed up and safe, this is just the inconvenience of all inconveniences and I am working to resolve it as we speak. Add the sick 1.5 yr old, soccer and baseball practices, a webhost who won't email me back, and this photographer is just about ready to crawl back into bed!

Will update soon.

It's not me!!!

Oh my gosh you guys, my deanna@devine-memories.com account has totally been hacked into. I am receiving huge amounts of "return to sender" emails with emails attached that I did not write (here's a hint...I do not have any dirty pics of Britney Spears). I don't know how this happened but I apologize now if anyone in my address book is affected. I have a ticket in to my webserver now.

How mortifying!!!!!!!!!

Finally

Another sneak peek...my gosh I am behind. Is it October or something? Where did this rush come from???!!!

By the way-one spot left for Saturday's mini sessions, going to the highest bidder, ha ha. Or just be the first to call :-)

I am also super excited to show off my first images from my yet-to-be-named mommy project!! My first shoot for this project was this morning and I've got lots more coming up! I am so passionate about this and can't wait to share all the details with you all.

OK and without further ado--a new family for me to share!
How cute is he???? And big sister--SO much fun!
The boys hangin':
And the ladies chit-chatting
Another sneak peek tomorrow!

Back from Break

I'm back! I had such a great break with my family and aside from the dog stuff, enjoyed every minute of it! We hit the zoo, the park, the movies, the bowling alley, and slept 'til *gasp* 9am every day!! Also over the break, my 5 year old daughter and I discovered Hannah Montana...umm hello, no wonder little girls all over the country adore her! Where have we been! We went to see the 3D concert movie just for fun and rushed immediately over to the store afterwards to buy her CD, and we've been dancing around the house to it ever since. *shaking head* When did I become so uncool...

I also had two great get-togethers with family this weekend for Easter-- lots of food, fun, and games . Hope you guys all had as nice of a break as we did.

I've got about a billion emails and calls to return so bear with me as I get caught up, I'm hoping soon to have a new permanent assistant in the office (*C*, are you reading this?? ;-) )

And I just wanted to share these pictures of my grandfather (I call him Pepaw and I'm proud of it, tee hee). He is in his 80's and still mows lawns and cuts down trees and fixes everything, and he'll never stop. He's also been smoking this pipe as early as I can possibly remember, which is why I love these shots so much. I grew up in front of his camera and I do credit him with my interests in photography!

Happy Easter!

checking in

Just checking in from Spring Break...it's been a very rough week-our beagle Lovey began having seizures Monday evening and didn't stop until 24 hours later. It's been exhausting and she's doing a little better but not sure how long we have with her. She's only 8 so it's really, really sad.

Before all the madness began Monday we made it out to the Fort Worth Zoo and had a blast, and a miracle occured--for 0.3 seconds, the kids sat together for a picture! That hasn't happened in 15 months!!! So I had to share:

And the beginning of the end, ha ha

Happy Spring :)

Don't you just love this weather??

Just a reminder that I will be on Spring Break next week with my kiddos, March 15-23. I will return all emails and phone calls the following week.

Thanks and have a great break with your families!

Deanna

So behind on sneak peeks

So here's one for one of my favorite families..I was so excited to see them again and I have to brag on them that this was one of the easiest sessions ever. We talked, we laughed, we drove Jeeps, what a fun morning!

More catch-up coming soon!

D

I'm a nice person, I sware.

I've been getting notifications from my webhost that our server has been having problems. All weekend I had trouble with email *again*. There is a good chance that if you sent me an email this weekend or Friday that I didn't receive it. Some I tried to respond to and they bounced right back, and I had to give up. I promise I always answer my emails, so if you didn't hear back from me-send it again or better yet, call me- 972-596-5500

I always know when I'm having email troubles when even the spam folder isn't receiving any action. :)

Feeling a litle self-indulgent

*warning...geeky photographer talk ahead*

I know most photographers are equipment junkies and while I do covet lots of their stuff, it's rare that I actually purchase anything (I have mommy guilt...the old "my lens is fine and middle child needs skating lessons", etc). However, I had a moment of feeling splurgy (I made that word up) this weekend and decided I have used my old tiny, uncomfortable, ugly camera bag for far too long. So I did a little research on something more girly and fashionable, and decided to add this to my shopping cart and actually click "buy". It ships tomorrow, woo hoo!!

I'm also contemplating a new lens for my camera to take on my New York trip. I want something versatile so I don't have to mess with changing lenses (I sware by fixed lenses), and I also want something with a wider angle for the city shots. I have it narrowed down to this and this...the price difference is huge obviously...any pros out there reading have experienced opinions?? I realize I'm gaining a couple of fstops by spending $1K more, but for these purposes, is it really worth it? I welcome your wisdom :)

PS-I do have a couple of Spring Mini Sessions still open if anyone is still thinking about booking, so let us know-first come first serve! Thanks!

D

Making lemonade from lemons...or great shots from head injuries!

*note to self...some insurance may be a good option in the future.

Sometimes sessions just don't go as planned. Sometimes we have grand ideas of running outdoors along long pathways, frolicking in the open air, and yet, the session may take a turn (or a trip) for the worse. Example:

Poor little guy was having his first birthday session with me out at my favorite spot. He just wasn't into it. It was windy, cold, and he just wanted Mommy.

Finally, he warmed up to the idea and wanted to run and play...

and then about .2 seconds after the above shot was taken, BAM! Little guy tripped straight forward and landed flat on his forehead. We all rushed to him and thought, oh I bet he's ok....and then this shows up:

So I'm feeling really horrible at this point, so I took the two of them over to a local coffee shop to warm up and grab some drinks, which turned out, was just what we needed.

And all was well again in Little Boy Land!

A face you might recognize...

If you have had a weekend session with me over the past year or so, you will definetly recognize this gorgeous lady and her gorgeous family-my assistant Erin! We hit the Arboretum on a *chilly* morning and had some fun...the least I could do for the amount of free time she spends with me carrying my bags and balancing a reflector. She's the best!

The whole fam:

Gorgeous big sis (I have a separate folder of just her, so much fun!!)
Sweet 1 yr old lil' sis:
And big brother:
The boys:
Mom and Dad
Love this one.
I love little sis in this shot...just barely keeping up....