Tilly is 4!

Our Tilly girl turned the big 4 yesterday, so last evening when we got home from celebrating, I snapped a few pictures of our cutie.  

Happy 4th birthday, Tilly!  Mommy and Daddy are oh so proud of you!  

Smith family sneak peek.

This summer our church hired Josh to be our college minister, and we could not be more excited to have he and his beautiful wife, Lucy, at Hardy Street.  Being the sweet couple that they are, the two of them agreed to let me take their pictures one evening last week.  

Thank you, Josh and Lucy!  We are so thankful the Lord led you to Hardy Street, and we have loved getting to know the two of you.  

Harris family sneak peek.

Last spring, this adorable couple joined our church, and in the early summer, David had the honor of performing their wedding ceremony.  James and Jill are a precious couple, whose love for Jesus is so very evident.  One evening last week, they sweetly agreed to let me take their pictures.  

This is one of my absolute favorites!

Thank you, James and Jill!  I loved spending time with both of you!

Miss Lana sneak peek.

 This summer our church has been blessed to have three precious girls as interns, and our family has loved spending time with these girls.  When I began this little adventure, I asked one of our interns, Miss Lana, if I could practice with her.  She is such a beautiful girl and is so very photogenic.  I also knew she would work it for camera, and she didn't disappoint!  In fact, she even stuck around after her shoot to help me with the Gibsons.  What a great gal!

Isn't she just beautiful?  Thank you, Lana, for letting me practice on such a pretty subject!  

Gibson family sneak peek.

Our friends, the Gibsons, are running in the St. Jude Children's Marathon in November.  I already shared how our family wants to help them raise funds for this wonderful organization, so I felt it only fitting to shoot their family first.  We met last Sunday night at the old train station in Hattiesburg for a little family photo shoot.  Here are a few pictures from our time together.  How cute are they?  

Thank you, Gibson family, for allowing me to capture some moments of your cute family!  I'm so excited about our partnership to help you raise money for your race.  

the beginning.

I love taking pictures, love it.  I have for as long as I can remember.  Back in the day, I used to borrow my mom's Vivitar and thought I was big time.  Just after we got married, David bought me a Canon Rebel 35mm.  We took thousands of pictures with that camera.  When we began having children, David bought me a Nikon D5000 just to play with and to have good quality pictures of our children, most of which make an appearance on our family blog.  I have never really thought to take pictures for others, as there are so many out there doing photography already.  Perhaps, it was fear of failure, or what would people think?  Probably both!  David has been encouraging me for years.  He's good like that.  So, I've taken a baby step, which seems like a giant one to me.  Today, we are launching six photography.  Some of our sweet friends from church are running in the St. Jude Half Marathon this November in Memphis.  Out of a desire to contribute to their very worthy cause, David (the brains behind our operation) came up with the plan for us to take family pictures, with a portion of the proceeds going directly to St. Jude's.  I can think of no better way to begin six photography!

 As you can see, I'm charging $100 for a photo session, which will include a CD of all photos taken.  Fifty percent of the proceeds will go directly to St. Jude's Children's Hospital between August 1 and November 1.  You can find six photography on facebook and twitter.  

I do have a few people to thank for holding my hand at the beginning of this journey.  Chad Messa of Mesa Sky Photography has spent time with me teaching me all he knows, which is a lot!  I'm grateful to he and his wife, Sherry, for not only their encouragement, but also for their friendship.  Chip and Jennifer Gibson, our friends who are running in the race, have been so sweet to allow me partner with them in their mission to raise money for St. Jude's.  Several of our sweet church members have graciously allowed me to take their pictures to use for advertisement, and I'm so thankful to them as well.  The week before our launch, my dear friend, Kathryn, came to visit from Atlanta, and she helped me put together the collage pictured above.  And most importantly, I'm thankful to David, my love.  He has been such a sweet encouragement to me in this endeavor with the assurance that there is no pressure, and the minute it's not fun anymore, we are done!