Boy #4

This morning was our big morning! Our boys have been waiting for this day for a looooong time, in fact the oldest said..."I never thought this day would come!"

They were very excited and it has been an exhausting day. Our babies name is Jasper, and he is the sweetest thing!











This week will be busy, I had all of those amazing family sessions this weekend (everyone has seemed to turn out GREAT!) and I've now set up Jaspers kennel by my computer. So, this week will consist of edit, edit, potty, edit, edit, edit, potty, etc......

TASTE- Overland Park Photographer

In June I had the honor of photographing a really great event. It was called TASTE and was a benefit for The Kansas City Autism Training Center which is a really neat school for Autistic children.

I went and took photos there a couple of months ago and was so impressed with what they do there. The ratio is 1-1 which is incredible and expensive maintain. What they do there is so amazing, I think anyone that has had a special needs child would understand what it takes to have one on one care for their child all day. These parents have to really sacrifice sometimes in order to give this kind of schooling to their children, but it is so worth it.

The fundraiser was a success and a lot of fun. There was a fashion show, amazing food provided by Lon Lanes Inspired Occasions (which was soooo good!), Photo booth and a beautiful Martini Ice Bar created by Cool Carvings. Great music was provided by Kenneth Ham of DJ Kreations. (All links to follow)

The event was orchestrated by Laura Van Zante and Emily McNulty of Moxi Events and they were really amazing and soooo great to work with. I highly recommend them for any event large or small that you want to be extraordinary. They have a contact in KC and St. Louis.

Kansas City Autism Training Center
Catering: Lon Lanes Inspired Occasions
DJ: DJ Kreations
Ice Sculpture: Cool Carvings
Event Space Host: Arsalon Technologies
Photo Booth: Say Cheez Photobooth
Mercedes Giveaway: Aristocrat Motors
Coordinators: Moxi Events


Now, onto the photos!


Arsalon Technologies



I'm pretty sure these girls are from HERLife Magazine!













I was really hoping the Mercedes winner would be there...what a great shot that would have been. But they weren't! :(


Some of the wonderful teachers of KcATC...and their husbands!! :)

Lon Lanes did such an amazing job. The presentation was beautiful, the servers were incredibly friendly...and those chocolate cookies below. OMG, soooo good!!! I could have eaten 20.



The slideshow from my visit to the school. The kids were so wonderful!!

I cant go on about the food enough...

Some of my amazing clients got to spend a night out there!! So glad they could come!!








If you were at this event and would like to see more go to www.luckyphotographer.net and click on clients. There will be a thumbnail to click on to view them all. Remember, for each image ordered $1 will go to KcATC.

Oh and to my sister...THANK YOU for coming with me!

Sometimes we need a reminder...

of how wonderful life is.

How grateful we should be.

How important our family is.

How special the everyday moments are.

What makes a personal beautiful.

That everyday is a gift.

This video has made the blogging rounds as of late, but I cant help sharing it again. I personally need reminding of these things DAILY. I read Stephanie Nielson's blog periodically before her accident. I remember liking it then, and even remember seeing her featured on another photographers blog I read. She had the most AMAZING photos of her family taken. I remember hearing about her accident thru the blogging community and was so sad for her. Now reading her blog is such an inspiration, I believe one purpose of her life now is to be an inspiration to others but especially mothers. Mothers who forget about the importance of the little things, and take for granted the importance of what we are to our children.

She has made this video and I just love it. I personally am not part of this religion but whatever religion you practice this video will speak to you. Hope it makes you feel grateful today.

A Special Day!

Happy Birthday today to my wonderful, smart, funny, hard working, lovable husband!

Many of you have asked how the new job is going. It's going great, and we LOVE having a normal family life. We actually get to say "What are we going to do this weekend?". I love it. Going from walking around in a restaurant all day and dealing with lots of people and stress to sitting at a desk is a huge transition, but its been totally worth it and he is doing well!

Love you Mikey!

The emotional "love my husband" post.

Something amazing is happening tomorrow.

My husband is going to drive to work....at a new job.

This may not seem amazing. But, for those that know us very well know how amazing it is. My husband has worked for the same company for 16 years. (he started there when I was a freshman in high school...sorry had to throw that in there!!! Only to put things into perspective of course.) We first laid eyes on each other at this job, we fell in love at this job, he was my boss...at this job!! He obviously continued to work there after I quit to become a mommy. He worked at many different locations during the span of this 16 years, but he has been a manager for the last10. The General Manager of a particular location for the last 8 I think. This job has physically been exhausting. He may go in at 5 in the morning and stay until 8 in the evening. Then the next day be there at 10 am and work until 9 pm...or go in at 4 pm and work until 2 am. These are all very TYPICAL days in a week. We missed him, a LOT. I was used to doing things alone with my boys. Going to scouts, gymnastics, sports, school events, parties, family events, ALONE with my boys.



To say Mike is a devoted employee would be an understatement. He is the most amazing employee I have ever known of. EVER. Not just because he's my husband. He makes me look bad. I could NEVER be like him. He is the hardest worker I've ever known. I thought he was amazing...always. But I had no idea how much others loved him. This past week has been so amazing.


When you are the General manager at a place that employees lots of people its a challange. Anywhere. Dealing with stressful shifts, customers, drama, food, adds more of a challange. He did this, wonderfully. He was ready to go, he was just ready for something dififerent. I dont think either of us saw the fall out coming this past week when his employees knew it would be the last. He received lots of cards, gifts, tears, phone calls, texts. They pretty much said the same thing....

"I can never thank you enough for all that you've done for me. You've always been there to talk to and help me see things in a different way. You've been my mentor and made me a better person."

That is a summerization of pretty much what every note said. Lots of notes...even several from ex employees!! I couldn't believe it. I could believe he was capable of this kind of affection, but I didn't know it was happening. Lots of cards and gifts referenced incidents, and inside jokes. I had never been prouder of Mike...EVER. It was a weird feeling, knowing that others love the person you love so much and you had no idea!

It made leaving difficult. Not the job, but the people. They were all upset he was leaving. But tomorrow is a new life for us. We are scared, really scared. That job has supported us thru the beginning... 3 pregnancies, 3 kids, building a house, all of my endless endeavors, my business, new cars, and obviously countless monthly bills. It's all we know, and its so scary. But it's very exciting. He will have a consistent schedule for the most part, he will be here on weekends!!! I almost cant even imagine that I will be able to cook a meal and know that he will be home!!!!!!!!! It's almost unthinkable.

Most of all, I'm just so happy for him. He deserves this, and he will be wonderful. I know it. I'm so proud I could bust!!

I love you Mikey! I'll be thinking of you tomorrow!!

A Treat For Your Sweetie

Made from the perfect combination....Peanut Butter and Chocolate!!!

I guess I could say I'm pretty good at making desserts. It's sort of my thing. I like to eat dessert too, but that's nothing to brag about.

Part of the problem is that I'm married to a man that has a SEVERE sweet tooth. That enables me to bake to often, therefore eat sweets too often. But, sometimes this is expected. Like on Valentines Day. This recipe for Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars is definitely a contender for his all time favorite treat. It comes from the famous Cake Mix Doctor cookbook. The original I think, because there is like a million now.

It's kind of extensive (for some, not for the experienced cook!!) but it's worth it!! Also, I'm sort of a cake pan/cookie sheet snob. This recipe (ANY recipe baked in a 9x13 pan) will come out so. much. better if baked in one of these! A Magic Line Cake pan. They are amazing. They cook perfectly and the corners are perfectly straight which just makes things look so much better. No more baking in a round corner pyrex dish...please!!! You wont regret it. There is a baking shop in Old Town Lenexa that sells them at a decent price.


Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars

1 box yellow cake mix
1 cup smooth peanut butter
1 stick butter, melted
2 eggs

1 package (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
1 can sweetened condensed milk
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup grated coconut
1 cup chopped pecans
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 325.

Place the cake mix, peanut butter, melted butter, and eggs in a large mixing bowl. Blend with a mixer on low speed for 1 minute. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula. Mixture will be thick. Reserve 1½ cups for the topping. Transfer the remaining crust mixture to the pan. Using your fingertips, press the crust evenly over the bottom of the pan so that it reaches all sides. Set aside.

For the filling, place the chocolate chips, condensed milk, and 2 tablespoons butter in a medium size heavy saucepan over low heat. Stir and cook until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is well combined. 3-4 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the coconut, pecans, and vanilla until well distributed. Pour the chocolate mixture over the crust, and spread it evenly with the rubber spatula so that it reaches the sides of the pan. Using your fingers, crumble the reserved crust and scatter it evenly over the chocolate. Place the pan in the oven.

Bake the cake until it is light brown with a few gold spots, 20- 30 minutes. Dont over cook!! They get dry fast. Cut and serve! :)

And yes, if you haven't noticed....I'm kind of on a roll with this blogging thing!! Trying to keep it interesting!!

I LOVE books!!

If you know me very well...you know I love to read. A. LOT. I have always loved to read. My favorite store has always been a book store, for as long as I can remember and i could easily spend thousands of dollars in one trip if I had the money. These books below are a recent read. I first noticed them one day at Target, because the covers are just so pretty. These are YA (young adult) books. However, any of you that read the Twilight series know that a YA book can be just as enjoyable as a grown up book!! I didn't read these for awhile but was finally persuaded by one of my wonderful senior girls. She loved them, so I finally read them. AND, they are sooooo good! For my generation, think BH 90210 set in 1900 New York City. Wealth, servants, balls, carriages, manners, and lots of betrayal! Good stuff. For the younger generation I guess think....Laguna Beach in 1900..I guess...I dont know!! :) But, either way, these books are really good. You can even read the first one for free online at the website. HERE





Feel free to share some good books you've read...IN THE COMMENTS.....I get a lot of hits on this blog and I'd love some of you to comment!!! Please...it would make my day!! :)

All Made Up ~Spring Hill Wedding Photographer~

I love makeup. I always have. I still remember my first real set of makeup was some cast offs of my aunt Dellene's (Thanks Dellene!) :) I remember perfectly that there was a big chubby stick of BLUE eyeliner and I used it up.

These days i still love to play with makeup, although I've found that being mainly a stay at home mom for the last 10 years I sort of lost touch with my makeup loving side. I guess because I wasn't going and doing a lot that caused me to try to look really pretty, and even if I did I just used what I had and put it on the way I was used too. Sad isn't it?

A few months back I stumbled upon this gal on You Tube. Kandee Johnson the Makeup Artist. And as I do when i find a blog online that I really like.....I spent the next 2 hours reading and watching her videos. She is amazing!! She is a real legitimate makeup artist who has the sweetest personality, and who charmingly lets us into her life and shares deep emotional feelings sometimes in her video's. I have her bookmarked, and love to keep up with her. She is also a mother working hard to make a name for herself in a big industry...that makes me like her even more! :)

Her videos are VERY easy to follow, and she gives product names and often even gives the "cheaper" equivalent if you need to do the drugstore version of her look. Some of these looks are obviously not for repeating...but they are amzing none the less...



The one I wanted to highlight her was her Bridal Makeup video. Some brides may be wanting to try their hand at their own makeup. While I definitely see the value in hiring a makeup artist....some just are trying to skim some costs out of their budget. And I think Kandee's video's are wonderful. Most of her other tutorial videos on her blog are way back in the archives so to see some more it would be better to double click this video and browse her on You Tube. They are all GREAT! But beware, you'll want to run to Sephora and buy the place out!!

Holiday Mini Sessions Olathe Photographer

Session is Immediate Family Only, Additional Persons are $10 a person and may require more time.