5 Percent. (Relay for Life, Hamilton, Ohio)

"5 percent chance."

This was what my mother-in-law was told would be the chance of survival for her young son. At only 1 year old, my husband was diagnosed with leukemia. Chemo was new at this point and the survival rates weren't good. 5 percent.

Through the miracle of God's grace, healing and wisdom to physicians, I now have a healthy husband who has been cancer free for over 20 years. Unfortunately, cancer is something that we all know continues to ravage families & homes every day. This is where Relay for Life comes in to play.

The Relay for Life an amazing fundraiser hosted by the American Cancer Society. It brings together volunteers from all over the country into their own community to raise money for this much needed cause, in hopes of putting an end to cancer. It is a time to Celebrate, Remember, and Fight Back.

I was so honored that I was asked to volunteer my time yesterday to photograph the Relay for Life in Hamilton, Ohio. It was a moving experience which for me consisted of Celebrating the life of my cancer-free husband, and Remembering the life of my Grandfather who lost his battle with cancer 8 years ago. Two of the most important men in my life have been forever touched by the hand of cancer, and I stand with these other strong men & women to fight back.

It was a beautiful sunny (HOT) day!


The Relay was hosted at Hamilton High School's beautiful football field

The first lap was the "Survivor Lap".... All of the men, women and children who had battled and won against cancer took the initial lap around the track. This was SO moving.... As you look through these photos, look into the eyes of these beautiful people. Fighters. I, of course, was choked up basically the entire day. The next 4 photos were from that lap:

The was LOTS of walking through the day, of course! :)

The day was also full of fun & excitement! Games for the kids, fundraisers & raffles surrounded the track. Everyone had a great time while supporting a great cause!

The Relay began at 3:00pm and continued until the following morning at 9am. When nightfall came, the luminaries were lit around the track. Each luminary was either to remember a loved one whose life was lost or to honor a survivor.

PLEASE take a few minutes to check out Relay for Life's website by clicking HERE

Five on Friday

I'm snagging an idea from my fellow photographer friend Jennifer Weddington and I'm going to start a new thing here on my blog called "Five on Friday".... It'll be 5 random things going on in my life or about me.... A little bit of a "get to know your photographer better" if you will. :)

Coming up with these as I go along, so here we go...

1. I once handcuffed myself to my dads car. Yes, with real handcuffs & no, not on purpose.

2. I have an obsession with homemade potato salad (has to have hard boiled eggs in it).... and then I mix it with baked beans on my plate. Yum Freaking O. Seriously.

3. I'm trying REALLY hard to grow my hair out right now. I chopped it all, off from a crazy terrible perm, to old Halle Berry style the day before my senior photos in high school.... It has been short ever since... The longest being what it is right now. Every time it starts getting long I get annoyed with it & chop it all off again.

4. I have lived in Ohio, Indiana, Arkansas, Indiana, Colorado, Indiana, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Indiana, and Ohio. In that order. And I'm moving back to Kentucky in a week.

5. I would love love LOVE to shoot a traditional Indian wedding. Love. India is my most favorite place to visit in the world and I think their culture & people are beautiful.

On Marriage

Hayden is my husband.

Sometimes Hayden makes me crazy.... in a good way.
Sometimes Hayden makes me crazy.... in a "I'd-rather-stab-my-eye-with-a-fork-than-talk-to-you-right-now" kinda way.

This, my friends, is called marriage.

We married young... REAL young. Let's just say the bartender at my wedding shouldn't have let me have actual champagne :) - We "knew" we'd be faced with some tough times because of marrying at the ripe old age of 21 & 20, but we "knew" we'd be just fine.

Well, really... we didn't know anything.

We didn't know the work that it would be... We didn't know the fun that we would have. We didn't know the tears we'd shed in late night arguments & we didn't know the tears we'd shed when first meeting our son. Really, we didn't know much, but we learned together.

In 5 months we will celebrate our 7 year wedding anniversary (God, that makes me feel old...). And even though we have those eye-stabbing days where there seems to be more "work" required than not, it will be followed by 100 more fun days, full of laughter & excitement & our favorite word here... "change".

So to all of my brides & grooms to be who may be reading this, or to my couples of the past, I'll leave you with this quote from one of Hayden's all-time favorites... (enter eye-stab here :)

I got gaps
you got gaps
we fill each other's gaps.
-Rocky

Spring!

How I love thee, let me count the ways....

I know it's been "Spring" for a few weeks now, but it hasn't felt like it to me until today. Noah & I spent a large portion of the day & night outside.... Playing in the yard by day & going for a walk with Daddy to get ice cream by night. I took a few shots of the "signs of life" that I saw today.... and how I enjoyed them :o)


I'm enjoying my last "free" weekend for awhile.... Next weekend starts my crazy season & it won't stop for many months, but when I am home, you can bet I'll be there... feet propped up on my back deck, watching the world go by. Frosty beverage in hand. :o)

I hope everyone has a great spring! Enjoy this beautiful weather & prepare for lots of photo blogs coming your way!!

It's fun being 2!

....or that's what I hear! :)

This last week I met the "T" family at Whitewater Park in Harrison for some family shots & to capture their adorable son, Emmit, at his ripe new age of 2! Talk about ENERGY! I wish I had 1/8th of the energy that Emmit has! I had so much fun running after him with camera in hand... Here's a little sneak peek for the family from our afternoon together... Emmit has some MOVES!


*As a sidenote... The above is an example of a "Storyboard".... Sometimes I will add in a storyboard design with my portrait clients, or any client can ask for a few design ideas. Storyboards can be printed at any size (the above is an example of a 10x20) and can printed on matboard to be framed & hung, or on a "standout" which is very thick & looks awesome placed on a small easel & set on the shelf!

An afternoon of shooting.... Spring Grove Style Post #2

Hopefully you read the part 1 to this 2 part post... If not, then read the post before this one first :) All is explained there!

Let's jump straight to the photos... more of Olivia's Bridal shoot! I love the progression of the photos here... So pretty & romantic at first.... and some funky model madness at the end! Love it!

An afternoon of shooting.... Spring Grove Style Post #1

Sunday I headed out to meet up with my photographer friends Toby & Annie and Cailyn & Kevin for an afternoon of food, chatting, and of course... shooting! My very dear friend Olivia agreed to come along as our model for the day! Just wanted to share a sneak-peek from Sunday's shoot... More to come later!

PS... believe it or not, this shoot was done in a graveyard! Spring Grove Cemetery is over 700 acres large (one of the largest in the US!) and serves as a beautiful backdrop for photos! There are also a few chapels and areas in Spring Grove (that AREN'T surrounded by graves) that are used for weddings! It's a BEAUTIFUL location!

Here's the GORGEOUS Olivia (I mean, really.... being this hot is just WRONG!)... We started off "pretty" and ended up "funky".... If you know me well, then you know I couldn't pass up some crazy funky graveyard images, right?! Stay tuned for those!

Tracey & Jason - Engagement Session

Earlier in the week I showed a "sneak peek" from Tracey & Jason's session (check below if you haven't seen it yet), but thought I'd blog more tonight!

I met up with Tracey & Jason last weekend for their engagement session in Dayton, Ohio! I haven't shot a ton in Dayton before, so it was fun to check out new places... there's alot of "grunge"... which I LOVE :o)

They're having an outdoor wedding this summer & I'm so excited for their big day... Stay tuned for those shots in a few months!

For now, here's a few more from their shoot... They're such a sweet couple, it was an awesome afternoon!

One thing I did remember about Dayton is seeing this bus there..... I've been dying to shoot by this bus for months!

Wardrobe change!

Holy cow... those eyes! Jason's are equally as stunning...