Life Is All Around

The afternoon sunlight and I...we're friends.

I see it, shining all beautiful and golden out there, and I must go out for a visit.

And I usually like to bring my camera. :)

What a cool thing to see!

I just picked up the May issue of Creating Keepsakes magazine, and my photo is on the cover!

How cool is that!

Sweet-Part 2 & 3

It's so hot. It really is so hot- today is supposed to be 95 degrees! I have been trying to take advantage of the breezy, beautiful afternoon's that we have been having, before it gets too hot to go out!

So here is Sweet part 2 and 3! Chayse lasted for about 3 minutes before she ripped the hat off and complained that she was too sweaty.

and then after the hat came off:

then it was Brooklyn's turn:

At least I was able to get one of her!

I recently did a newborn shoot for the sweetest couple and their first baby...I had such a wonderful time! There is such a sweet feeling in a home with a new baby. I felt so lucky to share this special time with them! Their little girl is so beautiful, so perfect and precious. Here are few of my favorites-

Contagious

I wanted to share a few more photos from the shoot I did the other day...Contagious opens the first week of May, and I'm exited to start shopping! It's located in the same building as Glitterbox Rack in downtown Mesa, and everything is under $50! Visit their blog HERE!

 

 

I just sent these two Delight Pieces off to the printer, and I can't wait to get them in my new office! It's been so fun selecting the pieces that will hang on the walls when we move into our new house. I am choosing a little bit of everything, Galllery Pieces, Delight, canvases...I can't wait to show you how it turns out! For now, here are two 20x20 Delight's that will hang just like this, one on top of the other. They have the words from one of my favorite songs...I tear up just thinking about it!

Sweet- Part One

My awesomly talented cousin Karyn made this adorable cupcake hats for me, so I thought I would show them off in a 3 part series...hopefully part Two and Three will cooperate! :)

For now, here is my sweet, as sweet as can be with sprinkles on top!

Sneek Peek for Emily

A few of my friends are opening a clothing boutique called Contagious, and when they asked me to do the pictures for their store I was so exited! i had a great time with these fabulous girls! Here is a little sneek peek!

"You must be the change you want to see in the world."

-Mahatma Gandhi

By the time you read this, 3,000 children will have died today from a totally preventable disease: Malaria.

Did you watch Idol Gives Back the other night? I did, and ever since then I haven't been able to get those faces out of my mind. The rows and rows of babies in hospital beds. The tiny faces with eyes filled with fear and helplessness. If you have ever had a sick baby, you know how heartbreaking it is when your baby is sick, and doesn't know what is happening to her. They just look at you like "why do I feel this way?"  You just want to make them all better and take away their pain. 

"Malaria is a disease of the blood that is caused by a parasite transmitted from person to person by certain types of mosquitoes. Malaria symptoms, which appear about 9 to 14 days after the infectious mosquito bite, include fever, headache, vomiting and other flu-like symptoms. If drugs are not available for treatment or if the parasites are resistant to them, the infection can lead to coma, severe life-threatening anemia, and death by infecting and destroying red blood cells and by clogging the capillaries that carry blood to the brain (cerebral malaria) or other vital organs. Worldwide, malaria causes around 350 to 500 million illnesses and more than one million deaths annually.

Malaria is particularly devastating in Africa, where it kills an African child every 30 seconds. Many children who survive an episode of severe malaria may suffer from learning impairments or brain damage. Pregnant women and their unborn children are also particularly vulnerable to malaria, which, during pregnancy, is a major cause of mortality, low birth weight and maternal anemia. And while we know malaria is preventable, the lack of resources, coupled with a climate very hospitable to the deadliest strain of malaria, has made the disease a leading cause of death among African children."

3,000 children A  DAY. That number haunts me. I feel the overwhelming need to help, but I also feel like I am just one person, and Africa is so far away. What can I do? What can I do?

$10 buys one bed net, and saves one child.

So for 2008. ten dollars from every session I do will be donated in your name to Malaria No More.

I can't just sit by anymore and not do something.  I'm going to be the change I want to see in this world.

Together, we will make a difference.

Total Chicago Randomness

I'm just now starting to go through these...

I call this one "The Girl Who Owned The City"

( I LIVE HERE)

Call this one "the Fugly Dog"

(can I say fugly here?)

and this one... "Where's Waldo?"

(Waldo aka Kristyn aka ME!)

click to make it bigger :)

and I'm not really sure what to call this one...