Ray Family

Last Friday I had the privilege of spending some time with the Ray Family. Lindsey is a teacher at my school and will be moving to Florida this summer. She told me that her family hadn't had any pictures made since she was 13 years old. We decided it was about time for an update especially since Lindsey is leaving soon. Lindsey scheduled our session on her mom's birthday and it was her birthday gift to her. How sweet!


We started out with some shots of just Lindsey. This was seriously the first shot of her out of my camera and it is by far my favorite! Isn't she beautiful?!
Lindsey's dog, Dudley, came for some family portraits too! He was NOT a fan of my camera! I have never seen anything like it. As soon as he saw the camera, he started barking.....Lindsey said he doesn't like electronics! I guess at this point he decided it was easier just to sit there and be cute.

Since Lindsey is moving, her house is for sale. She wanted some shots since it was her first house. And how CUTE is that house?! It has an amazing story-let's see if I can remember the highlights.......It was built in the 1940s on the top of Bays Mountain. It was moved in the 70s/80s (?) by the developer of this subdivision to this prime location because it was his mother's house. Lindsey bought the house last fall and her dad completely flipped it. He told me, "I wanted to doze it down, but they wouldn't listen to me."
I LOVE the pink doors!!

I love the sun glow in this one.
First family picture in over 13 years!

You can see where Lindsey gets her outer beauty from.
Mrs. Kathy is beautiful too!

While the ladies had an outfit change, Dudley and Mr. Mike watched some tv.
I think Dudley was really watching my camera.....

It was right before I snapped this that Mr. Mike said, "This is as fun as going to Wal-Mart."
What a compliment! :)
He was a great sport for the women in his life-I know they appreciated it.

Mike, Kathy, and Lindsey-Thank you so much for letting me hang out with you. I appreciate you being patient with me this week as we had one computer problem after another.
Enjoy your slideshow with the great song Lindsey chose!
Click HERE to register to view all of the images when they are available.

Cleveland Spring Formal-Sneak Peek

Saturday, Wesley and I had the privilege of helping with the Spring Formal in Cleveland. That's right, TWO Spring Formal weekends in a row! I promised a sneak peek would be up today. I am sorry it's just now getting up at 10 pm, but we have had computer issues. It may take a little while longer to get the full post up, but hopefully I will be able to post it by next Tuesday. Stay tuned!

Sneak Peek

Friday evening, I had the pleasure of hanging out with the Ray Family.
A full recap and more pictures will be up later this week!

Lindsey's baby Dudley was on hand for the fun too!

Elizabethton Spring Formal

**EDITED TO ADD link of ALL images at the bottom of this post**
4-20-08
Is this a great looking group or what?

Hmm..okay, I don't know about that group though..............

Last Saturday, the First Annual Spring Formal was held in Elizabethton. The elders at our congregation saw the need for a prom alternative for our teenagers.
This event was put together by a group of hard-working, thoughtful individuals in about two months. I was absolutely amazed (not that I had any doubts!) at how fabulous everything went and how beautiful everything looked.
We started out with a photo hour at the church building and got all of those "formal" pictures out of the way. Then, we headed to House of Ribs in Johnson City for a wonderful meal, time of fellowship, senior honors, and crowning of the Spring Formal King and Queen.


After dinner, we went back to the church annex. The annex was transformed into a candlelit coffee house. The work put into this transformation and part of the evening was spectacular. There were almost 20 volunteers there fixing desserts, setting up games, and preparing to serve the attendants. It was great!
After a short devotional, we had a contest in which each group created a formal gown out of tissue paper, pipe cleaners, ribbon, and I don't even know what else.
The creations were pretty interesting!

The American Idol panel of judges stopped by to help us out!
That was pretty entertaining to say the least!

The rest of the evening was full of Rockband, Wii, yummy desserts, and a LOT of fun!

Even the adults got in on the fun!

This is the group of volunteers who were on hand that night. Thanks to Madison for snapping this shot for us!
Enjoy the slideshow to see our whole night unfold!
To those who attended, watch your email box for a link for all of the images-hopefully sometime this weekend or the first of next week!
**Click HERE to see ALL of the images!**

Elizabethton Spring Formal Sneak Peek

Saturday, Wesley and I had the wonderful opportunity to help out with the Elizabethton church of Christ Spring Formal. This prom alternative was a great event for our youth.
There are MANY, MANY more pictures to come, but I know the teens (and volunteers!) are waiting to see these.

Come back tomorrow or Thursday for a complete recap and slideshow of our big night!

Photography Forum

There are a lot of great photography forums out there, but the one that I check regularly is msgpix.com.
Our family friend (and undertaker!), Mark Grissom, has this great forum with the help of some other wonderful people. If you enjoy photography on any level, there's something for you. Enjoy!

Baby Matthew-10 Days Old

I have been so incredibly excited about these pictures. I can't even begin to tell you.....there are several great reasons about why I am so excited.

1-Jaime is my best friend from college-she was my matron of honor in our wedding. She was my first friend that I met at MTSU and proved to be one of THE best friends a girl could ever have. I could go on and on about all of the reasons she's so great, but you want to see pictures......
2-Jaime and Danny are THE sweetest parents. The bond they have and the bond they now share with sweet Matthew is very evident to anyone around them.
3-Matthew is such a doll! He was so perfect during our session. He only cried when Jaime changed his diaper and who blames him?
4-I got two new lenses last week and had them shipped so I would have them just for this session. And I am SO glad I did. I told Jaime, "With that baby and these lenses, we are going to have great pictures!" And I think we do....I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

When we first arrived, Matthew was asleep in his cradle by the window. I hugged Jaime and started snapping away in case he woke up. Danny assured me I didn't have to be in a hurry. Apparently he's a good sleeper!

After we moved him around a bit, he woke up and decided it was time to eat.

Mrs. Jeanette, Jaime's mom, had to get some video action during our session!

This next little series is my FAVORITE from our visit.

First family portrait
Danny is so sweet with Matthew.

This is one of my favorites from the day as well.
Jaime and Danny, thank you for letting us roll into your house in such a hurry! We decided 15 1/2 hours on the road in one weekend is TOO much, but we were so thankful to get to squeeze in some time to visit with you.
We love you so much!
Congratulations on your sweet boy!
Enjoy your slideshow.