{we are officially ringing in the holidays!....}

I was sitting enjoying a hot mug of ginger peach tea, 

editing some of the last orders to go in for Christmas...

when the doorbell rang!

Could it be our very first set of Holiday orders coming in?!

Oh, yes it was!

I squealed with delight and told the good ol Fed Ex man thanks a bunch!

I LOVE this time of year.

LOVE  seeing all the Christmas orders come.

Can't wait to enjoy the first snow of the season.

Enjoy the smell of apple pie creeping through my home...

I just love this time of the year!

I LOVE our clients :)

I can't wait to see the many more orders sitting on my door step!

I got so excited and checked out the delivery status online.

You know what I found out?!

That every day there will be a packaged delivered here all next week...

It is like getting delightful holiday gifts each and every time I open 

these packages!

Plus I ALWAYS get a tootsie pop or blow pop from my lab...in each box!

HELLO....can you say BONUS!?!

So I did what any happy little elf would do...

I ripped open those packages..

grabbed my ribbon, scissors, and packaging material

and I started putting orders together!

Now I need to call these lovely people and tell them

YOUR ORDERS ARE HERE!

I think I get just as excited as they do!

Anyhooo....have a splendid weekend!

We are off this weekend to celebrate a very special birthday.

My youngest daughters :)

I can't wait to get off work this evening and cuddle up with her and enjoy a movie with some 

hot cocoa...white chocolate raspberry to be exact.

WITH sprinkles!

Now on to making those calls!

{wrapping up the holiday!}

Would you believe that our holiday season is almost over?!

This year has gone by so fast...

we are sitting here in the midst of all the "dust" from this chaotic

yet crazy beautiful time of the year!

Hope everyone is doing well :-)  

We are busy shooting and editing and designing holiday cards!

Please do not forget to nominate someone for the 

GIVING IS AWESOME!

We truly enjoy reading all the nominations...

we feel so blessed to be a part of all the amazing stories that come pouring in each year!

This is one event, that we hold close to our hearts!

Thanks to everyone who already nominated someone special.

To the FB world, your images have been added to our blog, 

click on them and upload them to your pages!

Please leave our logo on each image :)

If you are not on FB, your images are on your password protected page!

We honor your privacy to not share your images with the entire world....

Enjoy these last few days of warm weather!

We are working hard to rap this holiday season up and move on to our

conferences and portrait studies again this year.

God Bless, and thanks for another great season!

{our Holiday card session}

FINALLY we were able to do our Holiday session for our Family Cards this season...

It was a rough one for sure.  I shot it in 13 min flat and in 17* weather!  YIKES it was cold!!

I do not think that I have ever seen my beautiful girls work that fast....really.

3:30 strikes and we are running around  like chickens with their heads cut off!

where is the brush

hand me the hairspray

who has my bows mama

did you get the scarf and mittens

lipgloss?

I got the keys mom, you grab your camera...

wait, did you grab your purse?

Can I borrow your boots mom, mine don't match my outfit!?

and we were off, zooming in and out of streets trying desperately to make it downtown with enough light left in the sky to capture a few images for our card this year.  It was literally a race against time...one we wondered if we would win...but we did.

At last we parked our car...

Do we really have to jump out in this cold mama?!  How long will this take?  A few minutes if we hurry, now hurry please...put on your mittens, your scarf, and put your jacket over your shoulders!

Why don't we just leave our jackets in the car?

Really?!  I just do not think that is a great idea girls, now grab them and lets go!

We start off trucking down through alley ways and weaving in between buildings.  At last we arrive at our destination...drop coats on the near by ground and immediately jump into place to capture some cute holiday images for our cards!  Look smile, hug, put coats back on, walk  to next place and repeat.  DONE.

Now we RUN back to our car which we have started while running with the remote starter :)

Upon jumping into the car, the two little ones both ask to see the camera

they can't wait to see what we captured and neither can I!

Can't believe we did it, honestly!  All while I have bronchitis and am coughing and having trouble breathing in the cold cold cold (did I say cold) air!!!

Sent them in to the lab 2 hours after shooting them!  Sad thing is, we will not get them in until MONDAY :(

I have NEVER EVER been this late in getting my holiday cards shot and sent out EVER!

and now for a small, itty bitty taste of our session together

....after all, I can't give up the surprise of our card!...

oh those silly girls!

and before I get flooded with email.....NO this is not on our card!

Our card is beautiful and sweet I promise!

{It's beginning to look alot like that time a year again ....}

The yellow bus came rolling up the street, the doors opened and out popped this beautiful blonde haired, blue eyed delightful sight....tagging behind her were two little cuties themselves.  I could hear off in the distance her giggling and laughing....

She started skipping down the winding sidewalk, wavy hair blowing in the wind....

gently looking over her shoulder at her two bus mates

eyes glistening in the sun.

As she approached her home, she slowed down her skip...

and there it was, an abrupt stop

followed by a very anxious but serious......

"Mom, did you know Santa will be here in 38 days?"

This is where I smile, but panic all in one!

38 days......are you kidding me?!?!

I will be adding my 12 favorite things for Christmas this year!

and at some point we will play a little game together.....but not yet!

Stay alert, you never know when I will post something fun :)

But to start off my wish list.......

that's right folks, this is one of my top I want it, I need it, I gotta have it gifts :)

How wonderful to have a special cup of gourmet coffee, tea, or hot cocoa brewed to perfection in your very own kitchen while you anxiously await in your jammies!

I am going to give you a little heads up on this little beauty

* Wal-mart is the cheapest for the regular edition......not the individual one, but regular at $99

* Bed Bath & Beyond has the Special Edition for $129...however, if you use a 20% off

coupon you get it for $104!

That is a steal!  The SPECIAL EDITION is quieter, programable, etc

So it is seriously the best deal out there once you grab your coupon :)

A little birdie told me of this (thanks Becky!)

Anyway, you can even get GLORIA JEANS specialty coffee in pods for this beauty!

Gourmet Chai Tea....yummo!

I sure HoPe, WiSh, and PrAy that I get this one from Santa :)