HAPPY 2010...

I know, I have been a terrible blogger! The holiday workload just had me tied up and running in too many directions. I am in South Carolina re cooping and spending much needed quality time with family (while hubby slaves away at home- sad face) So, we are doing well. I have many prints to receive from the lab and distribute when I get home to have me caught up on orders and then I have 1 newborn gallery and 2 other galleries to finish for the lovely, awesome people that agreed to be patient with me!! (God bless them!!) There has been a price increase for 2010 (please, no sad faces!) I have been working so hard and I am trying to find the happy balance between price, number of sessions and ... my family:) I am limiting sessions this year and being very strict about it, so BOOK AHEAD! You can find the new prices in the welcome packet. I have spaces left for some February babies, so let me know if you are interested. I will be sending a newsletter to all on our New Client list from last year as soon as I get home and settled so we can get you guys in!! Gotta go shower for the get together at my cousins house! I am sure you will see pics on facebook- as the beckhams do not let me get away with anything:) Gotta love them for putting up pics of me shoveling beans from the pot in my mouth at midnight!!! Cannot wait to see you and all your sweet, fast growing little ones in the new year. LOVE_ KAREN:)

A Cutie...

Wanted to share little Austin!

I Did Not Drop off the Face of the Earth...

I have been piled under images of some pretty darn, cute kids! And now, we are finishing up our Thanksgiving Vacation with my in laws at the wonderful Walt Disney World! Very interesting trip, it has been. Bad timing for me, but how do you turn down spending time with your family at the most MAGICAL place on Earth??? Anyways, the computer came with me, but the downtime I had planned never happened. So, I will be pulling some all nighters this weekend!! Thanks to all for your patience with me. We are home early tomorrow, so if anyone needs anything....
PS- i have not touched my camera this trip! Just savored all moments:) Sorry!!

EEEK!!

I have just found out that our new invoice emails MIGHT go to SPAM. If you have placed an order on the PhotoCart BEFORE today and have not received a final invoice- please check your SPAM and let me know if it is there or if you need a new one. I will email everyone individually tomorrow morning. I am working away and have no pics to show tonight. :( I had a wonderful weekend with my fam (I am sure you have seen the pics on FB- many cousins- all armed with cameras ready to embarrass me!) I came home and that night Lily woke up throwing up. YAY. So far, it has not spread. WHEW!! Back to work. Thanks to everyone for their amazing patience!

I'm Off...

I will be returning late Sunday. Going to spend some quality time with some of the gals in the fam! Will miss the ones not with us:) I have been very busy this week! Here are 2 troublemakers I had to deal with!!!


BOTH BORN EARLY!
If you need assistance, just call me and leave me a VM. I will be checking messages.

Peeking in to Say Hello...

I am about to go to bed, but I wanted to let everyone know a few things. I will be gone the majority of the day tomorrow traveling to a newborn shoot (to see sweet baby Cash!) and will be working at night to get prepared for my trip. I will be gone Thurs- Sun. If you need anything- feel free to call and leave me a message. I am going to try and check email, but I am not sure who will have a laptop and If we have a signal. If you have your gallery and are wanting to do Holiday cards- PLEASE send me your ideas asap. This will help with the "flood!" Desi comes once a week to help me out and these are something we can tackle in that time. I have a new product announcement when I get back (or if I can get a pic of it tomorrow) SO excited!!! A GREAT idea for grandparents. My mom went NUTS over it! Simple, but perfect. I think that is all... hmmm... Oh- still running a little over 3 wks on galleries. I have had so many family shoots and those take much longer to edit. Crazy time of year! Speaking of families- we finally got our fam pic made. I set it up and my sis took the shots. She did great! I am very excited bc we already have a big one on the mantle. It is a little HUGE, but I think we will like it:) Off to bed!!

Happy Fall...

I hope you all had a wonderful Halloween! Our weekend was packed full. I had no shoots scheduled since my parents were in town visiting. I was spoiled by good food, good company and loads of babysitting!!! Scott had to work, so I took the kids out with friends in their witch and shark (SUPER CUTE!) outfits. We got off to a late start, so that means we only hide the candy for a month! Then, I (me!!!) got to have some Halloween fun! So, i dressed in my Halloween costume ( a very lazily put together jockey- complete with a polo shirt, leggings, boots and a hot pink boy cut pair of JOCKEY undies on top of my pants!!) They stayed on until people understood my wacky costume and then I was a girl wearing leggings and a polo shirt:) Anyways, I had a blast! Scott got off work and surprised me around 1:00 and I hit the hay about 5:00 am!!! Go me! Since I think I am super cool now, I might try a little dancing out with my cousins when I visit this weekend. (that is if my legs are not still sore!) So, the dreaded holiday was fun for me. End of story. Aside from visiting with my family and acting like a teenager, I am busy editing away on galleries. I need to get back to it, bc I have 3 more shoots bf I head to see all my girls in SC!! Here are some random peeks:

Sometimes a Stare is as Precious...

as a smile...

Thank Goodness for Some SUN...

I am still here! I have had so many SUPER shoots lately - as the weather permits. Today was gorgeous! I got a little excited about the light this evening and decided my blog needed a fall header. So up goes my friend, Jessi's adorable kids! I know it is a little big, but I am about done for the night. Long day. Maybe I will fix it tomorrow. I hope all of you are doing well- enjoying the fun fall. My parents are headed down tomorrow and we are all excited to hang and enjoy some good ol' Halloween activities. I MIGHT post my costume for the party i am going to. I am not a big Halloween fan, so for me to dress up.... Oh well! I need a little break from the ordinary- right? Until next time.... I leave you with one of Baby Planners who has grown up on me:( Precious, Trent-

Holiday Time...

I am feeling the crunch!! For those of you have never been a client of a custom photographer ~ this time of the year from us is full of emails, editing, phone calls, designing cards, no sleep and juggling our families:) Starting today, I am going to be very strict on extending gallery times and payments. Christmas is approaching fast! With that in mind:
IF YOU ALREADY HAVE YOUR GALLERY AND WANT HOLIDAY CARDS- PLEASE CONSIDER SENDING ME YOUR IDEAS TONIGHT! MY HELPER IS COMING TOMORROW AND I WOULD LOVE-LOVE TO HAVE SOME CARDS FOR HER TO WORK ON AND GET AHEAD!!! PRETTY PLEASE:) REMEMBER, ALL CARDS ARE VERY CHANGEABLE. SO SEND ALL IDEAS AND REMEMBER TO INCLUDE WHAT YOU WANT IT TO SAY. THANKS SO MUCH!

**OH, AND I AM SURE THAT YOU HAVE NOTICED THAT I AM NOT POSTING PEEKS. I HAVE SO MANY GALLERIES ON MY PLATE, I NEED TO FOCUS ON THAT. WHEN I DO POST, I WILL TRY TO INCLUDE A PIC- THANKS!**
HERE IS ONE OF MY RECENT FAVES...

Please Vote..

My mother in law has entered a picture of Lily dressed as Jasmine for a Disney costume contest for Facebook. The winner gets Disney $$$. Since we are going in Nov with no extra $$, that would be sooo awesome! I think she has to get alot of votes to go through to the judging. There are many levels of prizes, so maybe we can hit one! Thanks for your help! Here is the link- I think you have to be logged in on FB
http://apps.facebook.com/promotionshq/contests/7059/voteable_entries
THE IMAGE IS NAMED AWAITING ALADDIN BY SUSAN SIMONS. GENIE AND JASMINE ARE IN IT WITH LILY.
Oh- and I am working SUPER hard editing right now. My orders have been backed up bc I am still processing orders from the spring and summer. The new shopping cart allows 3 weeks for you to order. Please note that Chrsitmas is approaching faster than you know- it is freaking me out:) So, please get your order in on time (and payment!) Since i am behind on posting peeks- I might as well throw in one from today. Cannot believe how darn cute little Colby is!!!

Our Camping Trip...

I always blog at like midnight when I am super tired. Not fair to my readers:) So, I am going to try and recap our little getaway without wussing out!!
We went to the National Forest outside of Helen, GA. Scott (hubby) LOVES to fly fish (trout) so he drove around looking for a place on the river that had good fishing. Well, could not find anything. i was begging him to find the area that we used to camp at over 10 yrs ago. We totally found it! We even found a new spot that the kids would enjoy.

We set up and walked around a bit, but did not have much time to play bc we needed dinner. So, we roasted some hotdogs, cooked some rice on Scott's handy little cookstove for hiking and I got really creative and roasted potatoes in foil with butter and kosher salt in the fire. YUM! EXCEPT, I had the bright idea they needed to cook forever. Yes, our potatoes were burned almost all the way through- whoops! Realizing this is boring, so here comes the speed...
Went to sleep (very uncomfortably I might add- I thought 29 was too young to complain about sleeping on the ground!) I woke up at 6 to the sound of rain. Normally would have been fine, but we knew that even after waterproofing tent, it would still leak (Walmart!) So, we packed up in the rain bf daylight. Took the LONG way home (cool way) and BOTH kids tossed their milk all over. Scott has so kindly passed on his car sickness, we have found:( The mountain we went on was a little brutal for 2 kids with empty tummys except for milk!! I know- yuck! We will do this again. With a better tent, now that we know the kids enjoy it. Now that I have bored you to tears, here are the rest of my snapshots on my old camera with NO edits! Off to bed to try out my new- side sleeper pillow!! SUPER EXCITED!!

Hehe! Just realized Morgan is in his undies!! He is wearing more than the usual:)




Scott had a festival at work the day bf. He was "icing" his feet!

Updated Holiday Cards...

If I have sent you a link, there may be 2 cards missing. Click on this link!
http://piclily.smugmug.com/Other/2009-Holiday-Cards/9312489_Dn2sb/1/622507519_U3dJh
PS-IF YOU WANT TO DO A CARD WITH IMAGES FROM A COMPLETED SESSION- LET ME KNOW ASAP AND GET AHEAD OF THE GAME!!! I GET EVEN MORE BUSY AFTER THESE NEXT 2 WEEKENDS:(

Fly-by Posting...

I am literally dropping some pics for you bc i know I am behind on posting and many people are anxious to see their babies! BTW, I see that ALL of you refrained from emailing me for a peek. You are too good to me! Anyways, this is not all, but I am exuasted bc i just finished a big gallery AFTER we got home from our super-exciting overnight camping trip in the N Ga mtns! Will post tomorrow with pics! G' night!












and one more.... more to come:)

Need... to move.. out of...chair....

If I have major pancake butt next time you see me- you will know why! I have taken advantage of many canceled shoots to "catch up" and "get ahead." Ummm... yah. Not happening. Very thankful for the "catch up" time- what would I have done without it:)? So, about those cancellations- the weather has been a factor, but so has the STOMACH BUG-- **SCREAM** I am deathly afraid of it. Not only does it knock me out for at least 3 days, I have 3 other people in my house that can get it. So- moral of the story- PLEASE be like my awesome, thoughtful clients and cancel if there are any strange bodily fluids. Many thanks!
Lack of pics means I am still hard at work. So, I leave you with one family as the rest of you attempt not to send me hate mail:) I do love you guys- just have to stay on track- ya know?!!
Here are the Ava and Bennett (they call him "B" which I think is SUPER cute) Ava is the big 4 this year and "B" is 4 months. Their mother is a friend of mine and I SO appreciate her tracking it over her with her 2 little ones- about an hour and a half car ride- Love ya! Here are the 2 darlings-

Aren't they sweet?
Ava looking a little on the vintage side

Bennett in an angelic pose- awww!

Back to work- wish me luck!

Quick Post (or was supposed to be)...

Yes, I am still here! I have been working hard. I have many galleries and the longest *to-do* list I have ever seen! I have spent a little extra time trying to get my house organized so my life does not feel too overwhelming. It just does not help to come into a home that exhausts you just by looking at it! My friends are laughing at me bc I taped and cut in HALF of the kids bathroom 2 wks ago. When do i have time to paint??? Seriously, I guess I was not thinking that day. Anyways, galleries, orders, etc take first priority over blogging. So all of those very patient people waiting to catch a glimpse of your sweet little ones- please bear with me. Just a quick share that I have ready- one sweet little 2 yr old-
Isn't she a doll??


We had such a fun time doing her pics!
A little business-
* The Shopping Cart is up and running! It is not perfect, but it is already making lives easier:) It is not set up for Shipping and any additional discounts, such as the tier- (like if you hit $250, you get 10% off) So, place your order and we will send you a final invoice.
* Mini Sessions are all booked and ready for me to assign time slots. I cannot believe I have not done that yet- on the LIST! I will also be putting final touches on the Holiday Cards (yay!)
* LOOKING FOR LOCATIONS IN SMYRNA!!!! FARM- SOMETHING!! THE RIVER PARK FLOODED AND I NEED LOCATIONS OUT THERE ANYWAYS. PLEASE LET ME KNOW ASAP IF YOU KNOW OF A PUBLIC OR PRIVATE PLACE FOR GREAT SCENERY- THANKS!
* I will be uploading all unordered galleries onto the Photocart Site. Please consider ordering soon bc I will be adding a 15% charge to the orders in the near future. Not to mention, the holidays are super busy and I would love to have them to you and Spring/summer wrapped up.
I am about to fall over- soooo tired! Good night!

Gorgeous Day...

What a wonderful day we had here in GA! The rain is gone and the cool breeziness of Fall is here- well, until we have a random heatwave some in. I have accomplished quite a bit today - very proud:) Tomorrow, I will try the same. I have no shoots tomorrow, so it is house cleaning and picture editing time!! And, now I am sitting at my computer listening to my 3 yr old, Morgan, rustle through his neglected toys at 10:39- as my eyes are crossing. Little guy had a catnap and he is wild! He'd better be settled by the time I get ready to hit the hay...
I have had some great shoots over the past couple of days. 1 of these shoots was FINALLY done after rescheduling 3 times! Weather, sickness and more weather. I am glad we are out of that pattern. Since I am so tired, minimal commentary!
( Bc I know you all come hear to listen to me ramble-right??)
First up, sniff, sniff, Andrew. A one year old graduate of my Baby Planner (not really in existence anymore) Andrew loved walking and was pretty tough when he tumbled. His blue eyes were rarely on me. he had better things to see and do! Well, I got ya kid:) I will miss the little guy- been doing his pics since he was fresh from the hospital!



Next up, a family that is new to me. Of course they have been on the books for awhile and after 3 reschedules, I was anxious to meet Miss Madeline. She is such a tiny, sweet 11 mo old. Mom and Dad warned me she was serious. Boy- was she hard to crack! But when she warmed up- awwwww! (ok, wait... most of you know that I love me some serious faces. I would have been cool either way!) We met at the Atl Botanical Gardens to find it closed (on a monday- I know!) So, we did pics at the entrance and I am sure you will recognise good ol' Piedmont Park. I love putting on entertaining shows for the homeless guys:) Surprised none of them came to help us get smiles!

Thought mom looked pretty here-

Oh- a SMILE!

OK, so I lied about the commentary. I am going to stop there and get in bed with my book. It is now 10:50 and Morgan just snuck in my room and is hiding under the covers. Enough is enough.... why is he so cute? Going to be mean mommy!

Adorable Kiddos...

I went to a visitation for a friend, who's brother was killed in Iraq. It so crazy when you really think about the fact that there are people over there that you know. It seems so surreal until it hits close to home. My heart goes out to K and her family. What a tragic loss. He was a handsome devil too!! So, here it is Friday. I have a live Barenaked Ladies Cd on. And I am trying to get as much work done as I can bf I grab a blue moon and watch my recorded, Bones! the, I have GOT to get in the garage bc we have a neighborhood yardsale tomorrow!!! Have I done anything? Um- of course not! What I did accomplish this week... took adorable pics of these 2:)
Caleb and Isabelle- 2 yrs and 3 months.



I had such a nice time! Now, gotta get back to my editing and orders! Have a great weekend

FOUND MY PHONE....

with my face bright red- IT WAS IN MY PURSE!

MY PHONE IS MISSING...

IF ANYONE WANTS TO CALL IT OVER AND OVER- FEEL FREE! I am going crazy with errands to run, computer work to do and having my kids out of school for the 3rd day!! i need my phone:) Enjoy the sunshine- while it lasts!

Blue Eyed Andrew...

In case you are out of state (or out of the country) and have not heard about our wonderful weather and conditions- let me update you. Hmmm.... when did it start raining? Um, forever ago! I think it was Sunday night that I sent a text to hubby, Scott, and told him that we need to build an ark and get the heck out. We should have! We should have hightailed it to FL or somewhere nice bc this state is a disaster! All of the creeks and rivers have flooded, leaving a mess. Our schools have been closed Mon and Tues and just found out that they will be again tomorrow! I guess I can be thankful that the worst I am dealing with is my kids at home all day and us having to boil our drinking water:) So... I was itching to hold my camera. I emailed Andrew's mom and said, "What about tonight?" It was sunny with barely any clouds. She said YES! We have rescheduled 3 times (pretty sure). Little guy will be 1 in 2 months. So, without further ado, here is 10 mo old, Andrew-
.


We had such a nice, easy shoot. I was revived:) My heart goes out to all that are having a hard time right now. I know that this will be a struggle for most bc insurance does not cover flood damage unless you have flood insurance:(