Today's post is brought to you by the number 34.

It really hasn't been what I expected it would be.

Turning 34 in my mind many, many years ago, I imagined a much more horrific scene. Like already having had lyposuction after birthing 6 kids....hating my job....and receiving my Golden Buckeye card.

Good thing THAT'S not the case. (Although I did get a new Kroger's card this month.)

In fact, turning 34 has been incredible. If there is something better than 'incredible'.....it'd be THAT. To the third power. Times 50.

And to be honest, nothing monumental happened this year. Not like last year. It was just a normal birthday. A day with birthday cards, singing, you know....the works. It doesn't take much for me to be happy. I have everything I've ever wanted wrapped up in my little world. I have a phenomenal husband/father, 4 outstanding kids, so many amazing friends and family. What more could you want? OK, BESIDES Kirk Herbstreit jumping out of your cake??

As a running tally, I have gotten the following "gifts":

1 birthday apple dumpling
206 217 218 Facebook notifications
breakfast with my husband
a super yummy candle from my in-laws
4 homemade cards from my artsy-fartsy kidders
lunch with my girls
1 Bahama Mama
9 singing waitresses with
1 fudge sundae
9 text messages from my homies
2 voicemails
8 cards
1 virtual high-five from Chicago

AND THIS:




Why wouldn't I love my birthday?! =)

Here's some pretty cool facts about the day I was born:

1976 Prices
Bread: $0.30/loaf
Milk: $1.42/gal
eggs: $1.28/doz
Car: $5,418
Gas: $0.60/gal
House: $48,000
Stamp: $0.13/ea
Avg Income: $16,870/yr
Min Wage: $2.30/hr
DOW Avg: 1,005

People born on October 11
1948 - Daryl Hall rocker/songwriter (Hall & Oates-Sara Smile)
1918 - Jerome Robbins choreographer/composer (Tony-West Side Story)
1884 - Eleanor Roosevelt 1st lady/crusader

On TV in 1976
Happy Days
Little House on the Prairie
Mork & Mindy
Laverne & Shirley
Alice
Barney Miller
M*A*S*H
Charlie's Angels
The Bob Newhart Show
The Rockford Files

Hot New Toys in 1976
The Bionic Woman
Evel Knievel Stunt World
Stretch Armstrong
Barbie glamour head
Atari
Marie Osmond TV Makeup center
Little People
Little Professor Calculator
Muhammad Ali Action Figure

The price of gas makes me kinda sick...ok, alot sick. And so does the price of milk for that matter. It's kinda cool to know I share a birthday with Eleanor Roosevelt, but Hall & Oates??? I would totally be DVRing Laverne&Shirley if it were on TV today and Alice. And I can also remember getting the Barbie Glamour Head for Christmas one year (probably waaaaaaay after it was cool to have one).

Funny. NOW I feel old.

Austin turning 3!

It only seemed fitting to me.

I mean, he DOES love fire trucks. And his dad IS a fireman. So why wouldn't we take his 3 year pictures there!?

I met Austin and his mom at the Covington Fire Department bright and early Labor Day morning. (Yeah, I'd hardly call my job "laborous" so that whole holiday is knoll and void for me.) Anyway, Austin recently turned three and his mom thought it was time for some updated pictures to celebrate the milestone. Yeah, 3 is a pretty big deal!

It was the first time for me to do a session at a firehouse, but I definitely fell in love with it. Especially for a kid who loves the place. I have a feeling I'll probably be heading back there to do a few more.

Ain't he cute!?

Presley

I just love this girl.

Presley and I (and her mom, Hi Cindy!) met in downtown Tipp City. I absolutely love the old historical parts of small towns. The knooks and crannies are endless for taking pictures. Old brick building, railroad tracks, or old withered doors....they all have so much character.

I spent a little over an hour with Presley and had an absolute blast with her. She's so laid back, and down to earth. She knows what she wants to do with her young life and I have no doubt that her independent spirit will get her there. She is funny and content with the person that she is.

There are times as a photographer when I feel like I really nailed a session. Like I showed up with my A Game. This was one of those sessions. The light was gorgeous, the location was perfect and my subject was a dang-near model. Her eyes were this deep brown that the light bounces off of like a mirror. Her skin was flawless. And her smile was nothing short of contagious. Plus, a cute pair of shoes always helps.

Presley, you're beautiful. Inside and out.

Mom, I'm sure you couldn't be any more proud of this audacious, young woman.

'Tis the season....for holiday portraits!!!

I went shopping last week and actually saw Christmas decorations in the stores. Don't they know it isn't even Halloween yet!??

Yeah, but who am I foolin'? It is nice to know that you can get that pesky Christmas shopping done early, huh? Why not cross updating your family portraits off your to-do list?? You know you will be kicking yourself when you're clearing the Thanksgiving table, wishing you had booked in September.

And portraits make such great gifts for everyone in the family! Is Aunt Bee complaining that the last picture they've gotten is one of your 12-year old on the first day of kindergarten? Wouldn't you love to see a fresh picture of the family hanging in Grandma's house without your big hair? Imagine how cool you will look to your family and friends when they receive your custom holiday card featuring your portraits!

Beat the holiday rush with the special below! If you have any questions, just shoot me an email or give me a call! And while you're at it, why don't you head on over to Facebook so you don't miss any more specials!!

Congrats Monica and Curt!

Remember waaaaaaaaaay back when I wore those super-cute boots on the engagement session down on the farm?

Well, Curt and Monica finally tied the knot on August 7th, 2010.

They had a very cute and personal wedding at the St. Louis Catholic Church in North Star and then everyone went back to her parents farm for the party.

And not only do those Batdorf's know how to party, but there wasn't one detail skipped, missed or forgotten. Absolutely incredible. They were very attentive to pay homage to Monica's Mary Kay career, and Curt's important job as a farmer. Right down to the tractors as backdrops and the steer ear tags as name cards.

I'm hoping to get caught up enough to post some of my favorite images from this wedding. There are so many! But until I do, here's a slideshow:

Shawn & Holly 7/3/2010

Shawn and Holly's wedding was one of the most unique and personal weddings I've ever done. She paid attention to every. single. detail.

This was the first wedding I actually covered at the Willow Tree Inn (the other two times I was there was actually attending one). I fell in love with it when I first attended a wedding there a few years back, but I fell in love with it all over again when I was shooting there. The little nooks and crannies were endless for pictures. And the light was gorgeous...even well into the reception.

I've had a lot of questions about this wedding, so I've listed as many links at the end of this post as I could.


It was really hard for me to pull out my favorite images from this day....there were just far too many. But my favorite group of pictures were -- hand's down -- the dancing pictures at the reception. The way these two looked at each other -- ah, so in love! Even Holly's dad was beaming with pride.

Venue: The Willow Tree Inn, Tipp City
Dress: a Maggie Sottero from Emmy's Bridal, Minster
Hair: Chrissy, Traci and Angie from Glamour on Mane, Piqua
Rings: Harris Jewelers, Troy
Caterers: Batdorf's Red Barn Catering, Covington

an APB...on myself....

Yes, I'm still here. In case anyone is wondering...

If I could have skipped over the last few weeks and woke up like it's been a bad dream, I would have already. But it's just not that easy.

A couple of weeks ago, my family lost a little piece of us. A grandmother, a mother-in-law, a mom. The hole that is left has us all searching for ways to fill it. And I fully believe that our rockiest road lies before us.

I apologize to those of you who are waiting for galleries, albums, or even an email from me. As many of you know, I have always, and will continue to place my family first....before myself, and even before my career. Please know that my time away from my "job" has been spent with my family, who needed me.....and who will continue to need me. I've tried to notify most of you, but if I have failed, please know that I'm doing the best I can do with the circumstances before me. I am working a couple of hours each day to clear the backlog.

Thanks to everyone who sent messages, texts, called us or simply prayed for us. We sincerely appreciate all of you who have supported us over the last couple of weeks. Chris and I are absolutely blessed to have such amazing friends and family.