2010 Holiday Mini Sessions

It's that time of year again... get the family cleaned up and into their holiday best 

for that special holiday photo.  This year I am offering a bundle that is 

such a good deal, you won't be able to pass it up!

click above to see image larger

Mini sessions will include 15-20 minutes of shooting time, 

with one clothing option and up to 5 people. 

The end result will be 5 digital negative images on CD

with full printing rights and 25 custom Christmas Cards.

A $60 deposit will be required to hold your session time.

For more details or to book your session contact Miranda at: miranda@luckystardesigns.net

See examples of photography at www.luckystardesigns.net

Little Sisters Grow Up

A few weeks ago I blogged over on my photography blog about doing my sister's engagement pictures. It was such a fun day to spend with my sister and her fiance. Well, the big wedding weekend finally came and I realized how bitter sweet seeing your baby sister get married is.

First, I will admit, I was an emotional mess. I won't blame it on Fed Ex (who mis-delivered the engagement picture canvas I did for the reception hall) or on the fact that my fiance and son ended up being late to the wedding because they were tracking down the aforementioned package.

There was just something about seeing my little sis all dolled up and ready to walk down the aisle. It just squeezed my heart and made me so proud of her, and the role I have been able to take in her life.

Megan is 11 years younger than me. I always felt more like her second mom than her sister. I remember getting up early when she started going to school, so that I could help her find something cute to wear and curl her hair (which ironically, she still asks me to do when I happen to be around, ha). Back then I was "Mandy" and I can still hear her squeaky little voice asking me to do one thing or another. Yes, I hear it right now in my head and I am smiling BIG.

I headed off the college when she was only 7 years old (younger than my own daughter is right now) and it was hard on BOTH of us. I missed her sweet smile and cuddles. She missed having someone to get her fixed up every morning. I left her with a teddy bear that she nicknamed "Mandy" and would confuse my mom at bedtime when she would cry "But I need MANDY to go to sleep!" (meaning the bear, not me, but boy did my mom feel frustrated, ha).

We made it through those years and Megan never seemed to go too far from home. She chose a college about 10 minutes away and a boy she had known nearly her whole life. Even now, it doesn't feel like we are losing Megan, just gaining Joe as the brother he's always unofficially been.

The rehearsal was more like a family reunion than anything. Both sides of the family have known each other for years and we all gathered at first the country club to go through the ceremony steps and then off of Campania's in Southlake for some yummy pizza and lots of love and laughter.

jenna & nate (who wasn't real impressed)


my sister misty & jenna before the rehearsal

my parents and megan laughing over something (love this)

nate, me and jenna (a rare picture together)





my mom with the kids (I adore this pic!)


a sweet pic of my girl jenna


one of my faves
they had only been apart for about 30 minutes
but for soon-to-be married, it's eternity


this one makes me giggle
chase is playing with forks
nate looks like he's in trouble
and jenna is giving me a "another pic?!" smile

most handsome nephew EVAH!

Thanks for looking at the pictures. I will share more about the wedding later... off to get some other work done.

Have a blessed day!

Six years of Embracing Life

My dearest Monkey,

About this time six years ago, (I was finally getting a good dose of an epidural) after laboring most of the night, I was about to meet my little boy and was giddy with excitement. When you entered this world, it was to a mommy that was giggling and laughing with glee. They laid you on my chest and I've been completely and utterly in love ever since.

You had a rough few months there in the beginning... diagnosed with a kidney issue called hydronephrosis in the womb. And then diagnosed with reflux a few weeks after being born. Amazingly we found out what a tough little guy you were! You were sweet and loving and full of smiles all the time. Granted, those smiles sometimes meant you were about to upchuck on whoever was holding you, but we all rolled with it and loved you none-the-less. (I just did a LOT of laundry back then... some things don't change however).

Over the years, your climbing and crazy wild ways earned you the nickname Monkey... and it has stuck. You don't even seem to mind it. I love that you go with the flow like that and just want to see everyone around you happy. Your sister is your hero, and you follow her around like she was born just to show you what life is all about (and she acts as if she was born to boss you around... sorry buddy). But your love for her is so pure and awesome, it's a treat to watch it blossom and grow as you get older.

This has been a big year for you. Your transition from five years old to six has brought a lot of new adventures. Riding a bike, reading, swimming (even diving and doing flips off the diving board) and a new ability to have self-control, even when you haven't had your ADHD meds on days we forget to take it. You make your mama so proud.

I was a little worried when the doctor said I was going to have a boy. I mean, I am the oldest of three girls. We don't have any boys in our family. What was I suppose to do with a BOY? The thought definitely intimidated me. Now you are turning six and I can't imagine my life without you. Someone said that there is nothing like a boy's love for his mama. Well I am living breathing proof it's true. No one has ever loved me the way that you and your sister do, and makes my life worth living everyday.

Right now you are embracing life and all the wonderful things it has to offer. You are excited about starting some sports soon and starting first grade in the fall. My favorite is watching the concentration on your face as you are building something or working on a craft. You are so intense and focused and then suddenly you are DONE and your face lights up as you look for me to share whatever it is you have created. My heart rejoices at that pure happiness on your face with you receive praise and accolade.

Nate, you have such a sweet and accepting spirit. You love your family and friends and go out of your way to make them smile and laugh. Don't ever lose that. But also remember that your happiness is important too. Continue to be my adventurous monkey. I will always be here ready with a smile and encouragement.

I love you my little man. My monkey. My Nate.
Happy Birthday!

Love you bunches,
Mommy

Nate's Kindergarten Grad, a late mother's day gift and my sweet nephew

It was a good couple of weeks around here.

Nate graduated from kindergarten, my sister and her little boy came for a visit and I finally got my custom made necklace from the vintage pearl. For yays. Fun!

This is Nate with Melody... his crush he's had all year.



Problem is, his best buddy Joseph ALSO has a crush on her. Ha. Kindergarten love triangle at it's finest.



Ms. Harbster is a first year teacher, and just super adorable. We loved her so much. She was so patient with Nate and helped him overcome ADHD challenges and go from barely recognizing half of his letters at the beginning of the year, to full on reading and writing by the end. So proud of him and just LOVED her!



This is the "lip"... his new maveauver to get me to do his bidding. Here he was wanting me to go sit on the floor next to him.



Walking across "the stage" ha



I love this little guy



So proud



Nate & Mommy (TERRIBLE pic of me BTW)



with some of his classmates





Again with the lip:



And now for my sweet nephew Chase eating mash taters at my mom's house. Garsh I lurv him soooo much!

Last night's convo with Nate ---->

Nate: Mommy, can you live if you cut your foot off?

Me: Um, yeah, why?
Nate: What about your arm or your leg?
Me: Yep, there are people who are alive with NO arms OR legs.
Nate : But you can't live without your head right?
Me: Nope, I think you would probably have to go live with Jesus if you lost your head.
Nate: Yeah, cause how would you eat?

She's eight and she loves to ice skate...

What an awesome birthday party for my sweet girl this weekend. The cake was fabulous and made the whole table stand out. Jenna was in heaven with her friends and family surrounding her. And who knew she was so awesome at ice skating? Doing turns, learning to skate backwards and absolutely NO FEAR!

We, of course, had a Twilight-themed party, and although I could not find ANY Twilight party supplies (EVERYWHERE is sold out of them), we were able to do a black, red and white theme (to match the new movie Eclipse colors) and I hired a cake artist to make a truly marvelous centerpiece. And it tasted as good as it looked. Red Velvet layer with pecan filling and buttercream frosting, as well as a strawberry layer with real strawberry filling. OH EM GEE... delicious!! (If you want the cake lady's info, just email me, as I'd be happy to share it. She was awesome!).

Thanks to everyone that came and helped celebrate my girl's eighth year in our lives. She is truly a blessing to me.

Things I love about Jenna:

• Beautiful Hazel Eyes
• Quick Wit
• Sensitive Nature
• Love for animals
• Passion for knowledge and education
• Grasp of historical facts and desire to learn more
• Graceful and Athletic
• She wants to be just like her Mommy
• Creativity and Artistic Abilities
• Love of Music
• Hugs & Kisses
• Inside Jokes
• Mature and Mindful
• Protective of her little brother
• Always wants everyone around her to be happy

Enjoy this slideshow from her party.

A convo with Nate

So we are sitting at the reception, after enjoying the beautiful (although a tad bit chilly) outdoor wedding of our favorite babysitter, Amanda. She has been the kids' babysitter since they were too old to make complete sentences. She is truly an important part of our family. Miss Duh'manda is what Jenna use to call her.

At the reception, after raiding the fruit tray and having some iced tea, Nate tells me he had to use the restroom. He's a big boy now and wants to go by himself when we are out in public, so I got the light turned on and the door shut, always worried about letting him have so much independence, but knowing I should.

I sat back down to enjoy my raspberry tea and chat with Jenna about how pretty Amanda was, one eye on the bathroom door. I get up and get some more fruit (bathroom door is still shut). I check my cell phone for messages. I send a text message to Rod telling him how much we missed him. Look back at the closed bathroom door. Nothing. 15 minutes later and Nate is STILL in the bathroom.

Getting a bit worried (okay a LOT worried), I go and knock on the door and ask if he's okay. "YES MOM!" he says in an exasperated tone. Sheesh. I am already THAT mom. You know, the one that always makes you feel like your mom is never going to let you grow up. Yep. He said it in that tone. He's FIVE. Come on now Nate, cut your mom some slack here. You are still my baby, dangit!

So he finally emerges and says "MOMMY! that was the BIGGEST bathroom I've ever seen! It's bigger than my bedroom." I peek in to check and say "yes, that is quite a large restroom Nate, but hardly as big as the bedroom at home," followed by a chuckle. "Come on and let's go get some more fruit."

We get back to our table and sit down and I ask him "so do you like the wedding Nate?" And he says yes. Then he says something that had me laughing the next day when I thought about it. "Mommy my wedding is going to be even better than this!"... amused, I asked him how so?

"Mine is going to have a bathroom that you have to walk down a LOOOOONG hall to get to!"

LOL.

Well, there ya have it folks. The key to knowing if you are at a big fancy wedding: if the bathroom is impressive enough for my little Nate. I guess if you spend as much time in there as he does to do his business, then it makes sense that it's the most important addition to any traditional wedding.

tee hee.

Snow Day

In Texas, we don't get to claim a "snow day" very often. Okay, sometime we get an "ice day" or two, but snow is kinda foreign for us. So much so, that you will often hear people refer to ice as "snow". I grew up for a bit in Oregon, so I certainly know the difference.

So you can imagine my joy and surprise when we got the actual white fluffy goodness that can be considered SNOW and be rolled up into balls that are thrown and mounds that make "snowmen". I admit it... I was a kid again and enjoyed every minute.

Of course, we had the BEST snowman on the block, because he was a REAL TEXAS COWBOY. (thanks to my mom's cowboy hat) --- the kids laughed and played til their lips were blue and teeth were chattering. Heck, not sure who had more fun... me, the kids or MY mom! Some people never really grow up... especially when you are making mouths out of raisins.

However, I must admit, I was a bit annoyed when the weather wreaked havoc on my Valentine's weekend plans... the airlines shut down for over 24 hours and after hours on the phone with airlines, and a couple re-bookings... we were able to salvage our romantic weekend, even if it was a delayed start for a day or so. The important thing was we were together and appreciated the time we had.

The weekend was exciting, with its fair share of tragedy (not just the delayed flights). It included a VERY fantastic Miranda Lambert concert (the kids first concert ever... and they did great. Even if Nate slept through part of it, ha), a couple movies, some yummy food, and unfortunately the goodbye of my precious Nikon D90 (along with my favorite red Coach purse, Chanel sunglasses and some other personal things) when my purse was taken... but we salvaged the weekend with some ice skating at the Galleria before it was time to say "goodbye" to Papa and send him back to our other home to spend some time with our other favorite guy.

All in all... it was a fun and memorable weekend. Snow, fun, laughs, love and best of all, FAMILY. I am truly blessed.

Find laughter in everything.

Nate: So, Mom, that one judge on American Idol... Pepper? She doesn't like Simon does she?

Me: You mean Posh Spice?

Nate: Oh yeah, Spice.

Me: (snicker...haha... Pepper) Yeah, she did seem annoyed with him didn't she?

Nate: I know!

Just another day full of chuckles with my Monkey. Had to share that little convo tonight, as it was just too cute not to.

I have a bunch of ideas for articles churning in my head, but life is a whirlwind and I haven't had two seconds to put pen to paper (or hands to keyboard, as the case may be). I promise to be better with blogging and writing this year, despite the fact my photography business is thriving. It has truly become my new passion and I am having so much fun with it. Be sure to go check out the newborn shots I did right after the new year on my photography blog (www.luckystardesigns.net). She was one adorable baby.

This weekend I am taking a break from the crazy pace of life and heading off to D.C. Looking forward to hitting up Georgetown for my favorite pizza place and maybe even a little 80's and 90's music at one of the little pubs. I will get some work in too, I am sure, but it will be nice to get away for the weekend too.

When I come back, I plan on putting together a workshop for learning Photoshop basics if anyone local is interested. Let me know. I'll post in more details about it on the photography blog later this month.

Hope everyone is having a great year! Be sure to reply with some articles you would like to see in the next couple of months. I'd like to merge some of my single-mom advice and some of my photography and design skills to put some articles together that teach you how to take better pictures of your kids, crafts you can do with kids, and even create your own holiday cards and scrapbook gifts. What else would you like to see?