For anyone out there that is at all familiar with wedding photography or this industry you’ve probably at some point heard of Mike Colón. Mike has made a name for himself in this business catering to the ultimate-high-end bride and clientele. He’s photographed some top notch celebrities like Usher and most recently Timberland. I’m not going to go into the phenomenon he actually is….it’s apparent in his work….you can check that out on your own. However, what I find incredibly admirable is that this man, who literally is “big time” (per his own wife, Julie, in his most recent post on his blog) is what was reeling through his head the next night as he lie in a hotel room plagued by jet lag after she had pegged him, indeed, “big time”

“Something Julie said to me last night before we went to bed is still
ringing in my head. It was something she has never said to me before
and it kinda felt weird hearing her say it. She said “You’re big
time.” She’s always told me how proud she is of me but has never
straight up told me I am “big time” before. I have to admit that for
a second it gave me a big head, but I quickly realized that everything
we have accomplished in our business and in life has been 100% by the
awesome and undeserved grace of God. Although we have worked extremely
hard, I simply can’t forget about the dozens of times God bailed us
out of sure financial disaster! “

Take the time to read his entire post here…. it will surely humble you.

I’ve not been in the industry long enough to remember what it was like before this new breed came along. I’m not old school. I’m VERY new school…..I don’t know what it was like once upon a time when pro guys & gals alike were so uber competitive that everyone held onto their deep dark little secrets and certain claims to fame, never sharing or taking the time to network with other industry pros. I’ve heard about this…..and I will say that occassionally and unfortunately I think it probably does still exist on some level…or maybe it’s a raging out of control problem that i’m just too naive to realize. But I’ve expereineced so very little of that….an occassional snub or someone not bothering to return an email when I’ve tried to reach out but overall I’ve been super lucky to connect with some amazingly talented photographers who have been more than willing to share their insights, mishaps and dreams when it comes to their photography business.

I just think it’s so refreshing to see people, regardless of how “big time” they really are, completely and utterly be humbled by what it’s really all about. Giving praise and glory to He who is really at the root of that success. Guys like Dane Sanders, Becker and David Jay are all in that “big time” circle but who continually humble themselves and show without mistake, what it truly means to be a success. And when you’re getting paid 20k for your mad photography skillz I think it says alot when you can sit back and really be at peace with what that actually means….and Who is actually responsible for it. And find time to share that with other professionals, openly and without this pretentious, selfish idealism that it’s all because of something you did or you’ve controlled.

Pretty cool stuff.

Remember Lindsay & Logan?  Their beautiful wedding was last week at Los Encinos here in San Antonio. I’ve known Lindsay and her family for almost 7 years now. We first met at church where Lindsay worked in the nursery and our lil’ Hudson dude was younger than lil’ p-diddy is now. He was probably about 4 months old. He got VERY attached to Lindsay. So much so that when it was time for him to “graduate” up to the next room when he started walking Lindsay had to ease him into the whole transition by staying with him for a little bit. He loved her. And now, she takes care of lil’ p-diddy Parker man on Sundays (when we actually make it these days).

I then started working with her mom, Traci at church and we became super good friends. Traci is the kind of woman that is a role model not only for her daughters but for other women. She loves to share her wisdom…um, with everyone. She has made me a better woman, a better wife, a better friend, a better Christian and a better mom and I was honored when they asked me to shoot both Tara & Lindsay’s weddings this Spring and Summer.

Like I mentioned before in the engagement post Lindsay is …very….very…organized. She made my job very easy. So I had to defiantely get a shot of the schedule she posted in all of the dressing rooms at the venue. No one was ever wondering what time we needed to start the next task.

We were pretty good in keeping with the time too. I wish I would’ve gotten a photo of Lindsay’s watch that she wore until the last possible second. I made her take it off once when we went out to shoot a few of her but she put that sucker back on so fast.

Here are a couple getting ready shots. Her cute little ballet slippers. Gotta love a girl that goes for comfort.

And a lovely shot of her mother tying up her ribbons.

She’s a pink girl. So naturally her colors were celdon and pink. The bridesmaid dresses were so cute. I loved that they were short and sassy…a little flair for the girls.

And here are a couple of my favorite shots of Lindsay. We did a full out bridal last month and I’m excited that I’ll finally get to share those too. We’ll get to those later though.

I always love doing detail shots and this time was no exception. The cake was so beautiful. Lindsay has impeccable taste when it comes to the flowers. They were gorgeous.

Logan’s father had passed away several years before but I was so glad to see him there. It was so touching to look over and see this photo of his father looking on and blessing this amazing day for them.

And Hudson’s best buddy Cole made another outstanding appearance as the ring bearer. Totally cute lil’ dude. Loved this sweet detail shot of him prepping for the big walk.

and here he is again after the ceremony flirtin’ with the girls.

And obvioulsy we can’t leave out the bride and groom.

I loved this group family shot of Lindsay, her two sisters, Niki & Tara and her parents. This was after the father daughter dance and they all cut in and danced as a group.

and i love this shot of the single guys participating in the tossing of the garter. i’m guessing that there were women involved in the cohersing them up there to begin with. Take a look at how they are all just standing there looking at the lonely garter on the floor in front of them. Even Cole didn’t want to pick the darn thing up!

Cole ended up with it in the end but we all know John is next on the list!

And this next shot is quite possibly one of my favorite shots ever. Lindsay had arranged for a special dance for her mom & dad. They will be celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary in September and she wanted to make sure they were recognized for such an amazing accomplishment. This was am amazing moment for me to witness. As I looked on and watched Traci & Jess dance I got so emotional at one point I couldn’t even see out of my viewfinder. I watched as their 3 amaingly beautiful daughters and their newly extended family watched them from the sidelines. Each of them admiring the love they witnessed before them. I wondered what they each thought. Each of them so young, so in love and so ready to live their lives together. I thought about my own marriage and how one day I hoped and dreamed of such a moment in my own life. A moment where I would stand dancing with my husband as our 3 children and their spouses stood on and watched.

Celebrating and rejoicing in LOVE.

Congratulations Lindsay & Logan! Thank you both so much for allowing me to be a small part of your great big love!

it’s your best friend after an emergency root canal. i’ll spare you the details but here’s a basic break down of the past week.

*wednesday-school’s out for summer-woot! mommy is sleeping in people
*thursday-prep for friday and saturday weddings and rock out the first day of summer
*Friday-wake up, shower, ready to get out the door for last minute errands and preparation for the 2 weddings only to discover i’ve locked my keys in the car. yea, i rock like that.  wait around for 2 hours waiting for pop-a-lock dude to get here and then spend the a.m. frantically trying to shop for a couple new outfits for the weekend, pick up a couple lenses i needed, pick up a cake for brooklyn’s end of the year brownie party and pack my entire family for the weekend getaway to houston.
*get everything done with 1 hour to spare….enough time to shower for lindsay and logan’s wedding and head out to start the festivities.
*wedding was awesome. so fun. so emotional. promise to post pictures when i’m not high on vicodin…..getting to that in a minute.
*make it home sometime after 1am.
*sleep for a few hours.

*Saturday-wake up, finsih packing, dress 3 kids and one husband…ok he dressed himself but barely. piled in the car headed for houston. stop and grab breakfast, eat…..and FREAK OUT! my toothe suddenly feels like someone is grinding an icepick into it. 2 hours into the trip we stop for tylonal at a gas station where i almost beg a trucker to cut every one of my teeth out of my head so i never experience this pain again. instead, i pop the tylonal and grab some water. make it to houston w/ 2 hours until i have to be ready to shoot another wedding. check into the hotel, curl up into a ball on the bed and groan. that lasts 15 minutes until i have to shower and get ready to leave. kiss my family goodbye and directing mark to do nothing else before he goes and finds me something to take for this pain…..go downtown houston and find some crack for all i care. i want it to go away.
*put on a happy face, triple up on extra strength tylonal and meet david and ashley from barron and barron and get ready to shoot the sensational wedding of Chad Hedrick and Lynsey Adams.
*manage to make it through the day/night….the only thing that got me through was sweet ashley and a room full of beautiful people, one of the most touching and emotional ceremonies i’ve ever witnessed and one rockin’ party afterwards.
*stumble into the hotel room sometime after 1am.
*sleep for a few hours.

*Sunday-wake up feeling as if i’ve been hit by a truck. every inch of my body aches….and oh, yea that toothe. by this time i’ve not eaten since breakfast on saturday morning and i’m starving. i force my family out of bed so we can get to the nearest place that serves anything remotely ediable. i eat. and i regret it almost instantly. we quickly realize our nice family trip to the beach, nasa and the boardwalk are going to have to be postponed as we head back to san antonio so i can get into my rockstar dentist.

*Monday-1:30- root canal. nothing else matters at this point.

*Tuesday-vicodin, antibiotics, a trip to the pediatrician for hudson who is having problems w/ his asthma AGAIN, more vicodin, a nice leisurely couple hours by the pool, a nap, a husband that comes home and cooks and takes care of me while i groan some more. between him and the vicodin i’m lovin’ life…..

even with a root canal.

promise to post pictures tomorrow……hoping to make it through the day w/out meds and pain free!

Summer time! It’s our vacatioin! What time is it? Party time! School’s out! Scream & shout!

Just a little diddy from High School Musical 2.

I promised the kids I’d pick them up from school yesterday for the last day of school. Brooklyn was stressin’ big time that she’d have to ride the bus with a giant garbage bag full of stuff and since she’s not big on being the center of attention I said I’d pick them up.

As I sat in the carpool lane I got all emotional. I’ve mentioned before I’ve never been one to cry when the kids went off the kindergarden or anything like that. But I was so sad that the school year was over. Yea, partly because I’m thinkin’ what the heck am I going to do to occupy 3 kids for the next 12 weeks….but more so because my kids have had the most amazing teachers this year. Seriously, they rocked. So I was just totally bummed to be saying goodbye to them. I know, sappy.

Anyway, to snap myself out of the sappy funk I decided to key up the iPod to blast that catchy lil’ pop song …Track 1 on the H.S. Musical CD. Yes, my iPod is loaded with that, Miley Cyrus, Hannah Montana and the Jonas Brothers for pain-free travel with kids.

As I began pulling through the carpool lane and I got about 20 feet from the kids I hit Play and rocked out. I thought Brooklyn would crawl into her backpack….but she surprised me and was jumping up and down and singing as she came up to the car.  They were both stoked to officially begin their summer! As we pulled off…I realized I was too.

Mark was out of town but we decided we wanted to go out to dinner to celebrate the beginning of summer and the end of an awesome school year. The kids wanted to eat at Johnny Carino’s. Aftewards we ran through Target to grab some stuff for ice cream sundaes. We got home, got P-diddy to bed and then made our sundae’s and rented Agent Cody Banks on On Demand and chilled for the night.

This a.m. we headed out for a couple errands then hit Starbucks real quick and then headed over to a newly constructed park to play a while. I love finding little gem parks nearby. This one was great since it had an area for Parker Man to play and a place for the older two to wander around.  There was a rockwall and plenty of running space.  It was a perfect morning since the wind was blowing and it was overcast. But then it started to RAIN…HARD! Just out of nowhere. We got a good 1.5 in though so it wasn’t too bad.

We’re heading to the pool around 5 to meet some friends from the neighborhood and Hudson’s little girlfriend from his class. (they are so stinkin’ cute) he totally wants to marry her. We’re going to get a few pizza’s and let the kids swim a bit up there.

So, it’s summer time! I’m embracing it….and all it’s humidity!

Happy summer people!

*let me preface this entire post with the fact that I HATE using “seniors”( cuz don’t you think “over 65″? )when referring to highschool seniors. yet, “highschool seniors” seems so redundant…and graduates or grads doesn’t really apply as of yet. for instance if i titled this post “attention GRADS!” you would automatically think i was referring to the graduates of this year right? what’s up with that? it’s the same as I hate referring to doing “belly” sessions as “maternity” it’s so matronly….but when you say “belly” not everyone knows what the heck you’re talking about….and pregnancy…again…too redundant.  just a lil’ something to ponder peeps.

So, it’s JUNE! And though I’ve been talking up my senior rep program for a while to many of my clients i haven’t “officially” launched anything…..so here it is.

If you or someone you know is interested in becoming a Senior Rep for Studio 423 pass this along! It’s good stuff!

Not only will each rep get their rockin’ session for FREE you’ll also get your own rep cards with one of your favorite images to hand out to your friends. With each and every friend that is referred in you then will get a $10 credit. But NOT another photo credit to be used here with me (though i’d love for you to spend as much as you’d like with me…i highly encourage it actually…it just feels good… ) because let’s face it…how many photos can one person really have of themselves?

 Nope, with each friend you send in you’ll get a $10 credit that is cummulative over the course of your entire senior year. At the end of the year we’ll add it all up and you’ll get a gift card to one of Studio 423’s favorite vendors!  Some rockstar places like Francesca’s or Veronyka’s. 

I’m assuming if you’ve made it this far in your academic career you can do basic math but let me break that down for ya….um, that means

10 friends - $100
20 friends - $200
30 friends - $300
and so on, and so forth….

do you even know how many cute freakin’ tunic dresses you can buy at Francesca’s for $300?

And guys….don’t worry! this isn’t just for the chicas! There’s plenty of love to go around for you too! so MAN UP!

I’m only taking 2 reps for each school so DON’T WAIT! If you’re interested email me for a quick lil’ application and get ready to have some serious fun this summer! Sessions are booking NOW! When fall hits you’ll be able to sit back, pass out a couple rep cards and watch the $ start addin’ up!

so kick off the summer with some seriously good fun! email me TODAY!

or tomorrow…

or the next day…

WOOT!

i’m a pretty emotional person by nature. it’s what i do. i cry. i don’t do it nearly as much as i use to because for whatever reason when you get older you become more inhibited about how you feel and the emotions you show. so i try to stifle it alot. i don’t necessarily cry alot when i’m actually sad. i usually cry more out of compassoin. when i witness great triumpth or devastation around me. as i sit and reflect upon the last 24 hours…emotions have ran high.

i came home last night from a meeting in austin and as i sat at the dinner table i had this moment. people talk about “moments” alot. like their day is just littered with them. but in reality, my life is busy hectic and i’m sorry to say i don’t have alot of “moments”.  that’s my fault alone because i don’t take the time many times to sit back and actually witness the moments that are m life. for whatever reason last night was different.

i was sitting at the table. watching mark cook dinner since he made it home before me. he’s had a horrible week or so at work and the stress has been monumental. yet, here he was pulling together some grilled cheese sandwhiches for the kids and trying to juggle it all while i was out trying to live a dream.  it’s hard sometimes. to feel ok that your spouse has to take over sometimes when you are called to be somewhere for work. and you feel bad because ….it’s work you enjoy. that fulfills you and that you feel called to do. that’s just crazy. but it’s true. i never use to feel that guilty if i had to work at a job i hated. that was just life. but it’s hard when you CHOOSE to do the work you do and it takes time away from the family.

totally different point all together.

so dinner. grilled cheese. good stuff.

hudson is beaming because his class is in charge of the morning announcements. he has a “part”. he leads his entire school in the Texas Pledge. he’s stoked! he’s even practicing his smile.

brooklyn is on cloud 9 because she got to trade backpacks for the day with a girl in her class. and it’s a highschool musical backpack. i’m feeling the other girl got the short end of the stick when she got brooklyn’s dirty worn out plain jane pink target backback. such is life.

parker is happy as a clam gnawing on some apple jacks and bits of grilled cheese.

after dinner i played connect 4 with the kids and then it was bath time. this was the beginning of the moment.

i sat there in the bathroom floor watching parker. he had a cup. just a cup. and it was as if you had granted him every desire of his heart. he was giddy as he tried to fill the cup with water and then pour it out. he held it up to his face, and would yell into it and then smile at the echo of his own voice.

i sat there and thought, wow. this is a moment. the stars are aligned and life is good. right now. this is pure happiness. awesome.

so why the title “tears in the morning”

i was getting my daily dose of fox & friends this a.m. and i saw this story. i sat there and before i knew it i was crying. not the ugly cry. just these silent little tears. i was literally sick.  and i thought, while my 5 year old kindergarden son was standing in front of his school leading the Texas Pledge another little boy across the country was standing in front of his class while his classmates voted him out….at the teacher’s direction! people, this is heartbreaking. i am so disheartened over this. i can not even wrap my mind around such an atrocity taking place in a school system. not only is this little boy stood in front of his class and ridiculed and humiliated….the other children, his classmates have now been taught that it’s ok to treat another human being this way. what are we teaching our children? and then we want to stand back and be surprised that our kids are taking guns to school and hurting each other the way they do? it’s awful. it’s just so incredibly sad.

so today, my life is still beautiful. i still have my moment. but events like this remind me that it’s so easy to get caught up in our own little suburban bliss that we quickly forget what happens in every crevice of our community. 

 i pray that justice comes to those who are responsible for this and the other tragedies that plague our schools and our children.

i’m pulling myself out of a cloud of lysol for a quick post. 

what started out as a great week last week…going back to the 19th….ended up as the beginning of an 8 day full out attack on my family. 

mark’s birthday was last monday. i was rather proud of myself for having gifts wrapped and ready by saturday. pat on the back for me. monday the spurs were playing so we had plans to have dinner at some friends to celebrate and then watch the game over there.  mark came home a little early from work, we did presents and started packing up to head out. as we were walking out the door brooklyn begins to vomit….EVERYWHERE.

change of plans.

mark headed to our friends’ w/ the boys to celebrate alone and i got brooklyn squared away in a shower and jammies and began the task that every mother loves …. vomit cleanup. i’ll spare you the ugly details however, I will say in the midst of it I broke my mop and then had to get on my hands and knees and scrub the floors by hand. always a great time.

i spent the next 6 hours holding brooklyn’s hair back and catching glimpses of the game from the bathroom. brooklyn felt awful and was crying at one point, apologizing for missing daddy’s birthday and vomitting on the floor.  i felt so awful for her. i reassured her we would celebrate with daddy the next night when she was feeling better.

and she was. and we did. i cooked some killer steaks and shrimp and we enjoyed tuesday evening ….sans vomit. and she headed back to school on wednesday.

wednesday evening hudson began complaining that his throat hurt. like any good mother i took a look, told him it was irritated by a popcorn kernal and called it a day. that night he woke up screaming and writhing in pain. his throat looked awful. upon our trip to the dr. on thursday we were told his tonsils were so swollen he would have to get a shot of penicillin because they didn’t think he’d even be able to swallow the antibiotics orally. ugh! it was a nightmare. i bribed him with a new xbox 360 game but even that didn’t help. i sat there and watched him lay pathetically on the table spitting in the trashcan because it hurt too much for him to swallow.  another great day. he missed school thursday and friday.

saturday we had plans to go w/ friends to the Blanco State Park. We spent the morning packing our picnic lunch and loading half of Parker’s belongings into the car. you never know what a 14 month old might need at the river. everyone was feeling great. happy. healthy. enjoying the day. it was a perfect day. parker was so well behaved at the river. i was so nervous about taking him but he did super. the kids loved it. we had a great time.

sunday.

i get up early to do an engagment session. knock it out. get home and we decided to take the older two kids to the witte museum. we made arrangements for a sitter for parker and got ready to head out. 30 minutes before the sitter was going to be here. parker started vomitting.

change of plans.

mark takes the older two out to the witte and i stayed home cleaning up baby vomit. which by the way isn’t nearly as bad as 7 year old vomit. oh, and in between i watched when a man loves a woman and cried uncontrollably.

it was a great day.

memorial day!

woohoo! we’re all happy and healthy again.

we decide to bbq with some friends. things are going along perfectly. (you know where this is going don’t you?)

mark was next on the list. our dinner was cut a little short and mark headed to bed early to sleep it off.

and finally…..i woke up this a.m. around 5:30….and I was next. exactly how i wanted to start my week. mark got the kids up and off to school and parker headed to the neighbors. i spent the next 7 hours waiting for it to be over and praying costco sold Lysol in bulk.

it’s done and over. i hope and pray this misses hudson. he’s the last on the list. but i’m hoping w/ that shot of penicillin he had for strep it might help him out a bit. we shall see. it’s a quick little virus. only lasting around 6 hours or so. i guess that’s the silver lining?

so now i hope to begin my week tomorrow. vomit free. and high on Lysol.

do you remember what it was like? to be a senior in highschool. to have your entire world right in the palm of your hand. that feeling of sweet exhileration that you would soon begin making your own way. that your life would finally be YOURS to live. the choices you would make would and could be your own. i can remember the entire summer before i left for mizzou. i remember being so incredibly excited just to buy my own mini-fridge. i couldn’t wait to room with amy (i would totally link her but the girl doesn’t even have a facebook account) would be rooming together at Lathrop hall.  we bought matching bedding and her dad built us these rockin’ lofts. it was incredible. the entire summer we sat around contemplating life at college.

tonight we honored 11 amazing highschool seniors at church.  it was a great night. i was in charge of the night with the help and guidance of some other amazing women and youth.  as i sat in the back of the sanctuary listening to one of our senior girls talking about making choices and where their lives were heading i found myself praying for each one of them and hoping they really realized what lies ahead for them. it’s an overwhelming feeling when you sit back and watch these young kids ready themselves for the world. when you can see the joy in their eyes. the excitement. the trepidation. it just became a really awesome feeling to know that they were as prepared as they could be. they’ve been loved and nurtured by family, by friends and by their church family and they will head out in just a few short months ready to make the choices that will define who they are with each passing day.

it was a great night. i was honored to be a small part of it and feel blessed that i’ve known each of these young men & women.

so i only slept until 11. it’s terribly sad when you have to force yourself out of slumber because your body aches. i’m getting so old. it’s rather depressing really.

i’m kinda bummed today because mark wanted to go out to Blanco State Park which I was all for. Then I realized I haven’t went to pick up his bday present yet. Today is the only day I have to do it since tomorrow I’m busy with the grad banquet tomorrow at church and tonight we have dinner plans with some friends.  The kids wanted to go so he took the older two out with him and P. Diddy and I are going to go roam the streets of S.A. in hopes of finding the perfect gift.  When I told him what I had to do he said, “don’t buy me anything big.” which he tells me every year. His ultimate gift would be if i replaced the plasma tv that i caught on fire at thanksgiving but…hey, he said he didn’t want anything big. so perhaps a chia cow or something??