I heart families

I absolutely LOVE it when a family calls and wants pictures together...this is definetly my forte. I love the challenge of capturing a family being, well, a family...snuggling, laughing, playing, teasing; all the fun that makes being together so special and cherished.

After multiple attempts to get together and make this family session happen, we finally had THE perfect morning, and all the stars aligned for this:

***Announcement: I am currently searching for Mommies of all shapes and sizes for a big project I am starting work on. More details later but if you are interested please send me an email at deanna@devine-memories.com . DFW area is preferable but not mandatory.

Ever heard of Speed Dating??

Well, this is speed blogging....

I've been a bad blogger, so here are some of my favorites from as of late.

DON'T FORGET!! I will be off next week (Sunday through Friday) to celebrate Thanksgiving with my family, and will not be checking phone calls or emails. ORDERS NEEDED IN TIME FOR CHRISTMAS MUST BE TURNED IN BY TOMORROW: SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 17TH.

I will return to the office on Monday, November 26th and will return all messages at that time. I hope that you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

D

Sneak peeks coming out of my ears

Mom and I have been planning this session since, oh, January? It has been a long time coming and I know how excited she is about this sneak peek! Brittin is the owner of Sweet Peaches Interiors, which is an awesome online children's bedding boutique, and I was so excited to work with her extended family and her absolutely adorable kiddos:
With her aunt:
I could have done an entire session just of the sisters, so much fun!
And the entire family:

The session that made me want a fourth child..

...but that idea was quickly shot down by my husband :)

I LOVE big families, especially now that I have a semi-large group myself. I know it's not easy (as of right now, my oldest child has strep and my baby girl has strep and a stomach bug) but I absolutely love the chaos of a large family. I kept telling Mom that but I don't think she believed me as the kids ran around us; but I loved every minute of it. To me the more chaos, the more love and fun and friendship, and that is what life is all about!

Big brother: Big sister:
Precious younger sister:
And baby:
As I mentioned above my kids are very sick and I am unabable to get much work done, but hopefully we are now on the rebound. The doctor yesterday said they had seen a ton of strep and viruses the last two weeks so if your kids are in school, look out!

Playtime!!

First of all, I have a new way for clients to contact me- the wonderful world of IM! These days with the gaggle of children I have running around my house, I sometimes do not answer the phone because of all the noise and chaos here. IM is a great way to talk to me live and get your questions answered quickly, without all the background noise. Just add devinememories@hotmail.com to your MSN Messenger contact list and if I'm available, you can ask away!


I know I've talked about having the best job in the whole world. If this set of pictures doesn't prove it I don't know what would. I get to go to work and talk to 2 year olds and hear their views of the world--this little firecracker had me CRACKING UP and I got to play all morning. Not to rub it in but as some of my little clients would say, "Nah nah nah booo booo!"
Blowing me kisses... Calling Daddy to tell him about our little photoshoot
Reading to me and Mommy her favorite bedtime stories
Hugging Mr. Frog
And talking to her new baby sister, who will make her Devine Memories debut in December!!

My life summed up by Excel.

I just had an interesting evening of creating a personal weekly schedule for my kids and I to abide by now that we have three children attending three different schools. I had to laugh when Excel prompted me that my schedule took up 3 pages. Fitting it onto one page meant tiny little letters, that's how jam-packed we are this fall. I'm sure that many of you out there can relate. I feel much more in-control of this chaos when I have things written out and posted somewhere, just the act itself is more important to me than the final product; a confirmation that it "can be done". (I'll let you know!!)

It has been a busy couple of weeks to say the least so I have lots and lots of pictures to share, and I will spread it over a few days so that everyone gets their moment in the spotlight!

First of all, today was my middle daughter's first day of dance class at a real dance studio, and I have to show her off: (By the way, if you have a special event coming up in your child's life, such as the first day of school, a birthday party, or even a dance class/recital, be sure and check out the Personal Paparrazzi package that we now offer.)

Now that I have that proud mommy moment out of the way, check out this incredibly gorgeous couple expecting their first baby, a new addition to my baby planner family!

(one of the images below may be a little risque for some viewers)

2 more sneak peeks tomorrow--Christi, I know you're reading; you're next!

Pray for Gibby

I wanted to share one of my latest sessions for the Emily Project. My friend Krista, whose daughter is one of my daughter's school buddies, mentioned awhile back that her mother was undergoing major surgery to remove a mass. I, along with many of Krista's friends and family, offered to pray and added myself to an email list keeping up with her mom's progress and prognosis. Unfortunately, right after the first surgery, we received an email with some not-so good news-liposarcoma cancer, a very rare form. Nancy (or Gibby as all of her family and friends lovingly refer to her) underwent very difficult radiation treatments for some time, and just recently learned that the treatments had not helped and in fact, the cancer had grown. The family was very shaken by this news, as you can imagine, and as Krista's friend I felt so helpless for her and for the family. I was thrilled that they accepted my nomination for the Emily Project and hope that these images can be a bright light in a dark time. Nancy and her husband have made the decision to keep fighting this cancer, and she begins chemotherapy tomorrow (Thursday) morning-please, please pray for her, for her husband, and for her children and grandchildren as they come together to provide her strength.


If you would like to continue to pray for Nancy and follow her story, you can visit her Caring Bridge page here.

As you can see, Nancy is incredibly loved.

Three generations of beautiful women:
Their strength and love has humbled me:

A candid shot after the session was over with Gibby and her granddaughter:

Edited to add: I just received this email from Krista this morning and wanted to ask all of my readers to please help me pray for Nancy:

Dear Friends,

I really need you to stop what you are doing after you read this and say a prayer for Gibby. I just got off the phone with her and they are on their way to check her in to the hospital for chemotherapy. She is very scared and was crying. This totally breaks my heart that I cannot "fix" it for her. Pray that she some how find peace through all of this and pray that she doesn't get too sick. I love you all and please forward this, as I know I have forgotten many. Thank you all for everything. I am so grateful to you!
Love,
Krista

Can't resist

....sharing this little one with you guys, from the Fountain Sessions this weekend.

I had such a blast and am possibly interested in adding a second date. If you would be interested in doing fountain sessions and couldn't make this weekend, email or call me and if there is enough interest I will add an additional day.

Also keep the questions coming for the Q&A as my next blog will answer your latest questions about photography, etc.
Checking it all out... bathing suit is from Little Heiress
Doesn't she remind you of a classic movie star??

A Family You Need to Know

I first met this family last year about this time when Mom called me for some maternity pictures, and again when the little guy was just a couple of months old. Back in May, Mom contacted me again for one year portraits, but unfortunately, had some upsetting news. Dad had just been diagnosed with colon cancer, which had spread to his liver. She wanted to have another photo session, not just to mark her baby's first birthday, but also to bring up her husband's spirits and bring some joy to him.

If you want to know how to beat cancer, spend a day with this family. They know he will beat it. They laugh as much as possible, they love, they cuddle, they do the things they love, and only speak of how well he is doing and how he is beating cancer. It amazed me. I have no doubt in my mind after spending the day with them and keeping up with their blog, that Dad is going to beat this disease with flying colors.

Please if you could take a moment to pray for this wonderful family as they face this scary time, I know they would appreciate it!

I know Mom checks my blog every morning so I wanted to surprise her with an extra big sneak peek from our day.

Here is our little one year old - check out his AB/CD shirt! I want one! Isn't he adorable!!! With Daddy, eating Daddy's "Living Strong" bracelet
Part of the fun of the day was that Baby's Godparents came all the way from Alaska to visit, and got in on the fun!
Notice his wardrobe change..."My Dad is My Hero"...
Taking a timeout to take a few steps with his godmother.

After the outdoor shoot, we did something really fun and went back to their house for a big Louisiana tradition: cooking red beans and rice! I am told that this is an all day process, and I was lucky enough to get some red beans and rice for my own family that Mom had cooked up for us ahead of time. And it TASTED as great as it SMELLED cooking that day!! WOW!!! Thank you again D!!!