Swimsuit Ready!

Just when you thought you were going to see me in my swimsuit...:) Today my friends brought this little number over for our Girl. I didn't ever think I would be the type to dress up my dog, but this was irresistible to take a pic of. I can here your giggles and sighs:)

Teeth

I went to Jalena's class the other day to take some headshots of the kids. I had a parent show me one of their favorite pictures of their kid from a "photographer mom" (like myself) that came to the classroom and captured them sitting in a chair. Seemed simple enough and the picture was a genuine smile that wasn't forced on "picture day". With Mother's and Father's Day coming, I figured the teacher might be able to think of a project to incorporate them. Well, the project took a little twist for me when Jalena brought one of her teeth to school, the third one that she has lost AT school, and the topic of the day turned int how many teeth they have lost. I just think the toothless smile is such a beautiful indicator of the kindergarten/first grade year. Some kids hadn't lost any yet and they weren't happy about it:) There is nothing better then the toothless smile in my eyes or even the big squirrel teeth coming in, smile! There is 3 pics of the same kid at the end because two kids were missing that day and these are place holders:)
I am not a huge fan of the process! GROSS! This is the latest that she lost at school and was able to go to the nurses room to get a cool ring to out it in to bring it home. She got her wish to the tooth fairy when she asked to keep a tooth, so the silly little fairy gave her some money and left her one of her front teeth;)

First Ambulance Trip

Let me start off by saying...the story ends perfectly fine:) While visiting our dear friends up North we had our first ambulance ride with Jamie. The kids were playing on an indoor blow up, jump house. Jamie climbed up the ladder and fell from the top down to the jumping area. He landed kid of on his neck and flipped and Tré called us to the scene when he saw that Jamie was hurt. As I got to the jump house and saw Jamie barely moving or making noise, I started to panic. But the part I will NEVER forget was seeing the ultimate fear in Tré's eyes as he started to scream, "Jamie's dying, he's dead, Jamie's dying". Just writing it gives me the chills and fears all over again. Tré saw him pass out and go limp and his mind went right to the worst scenario. I would have to say I know exactly where he gets it, because I was doing the exact same thing. I scooped him up, limp and what seemed, lifeless and threw him to Jake. He came to in Jake's arms and seemed to be a little out of it. In minutes the ambulance was there and they were giving the check over and getting the story from terrified, little Tré. As everything calmed down Jake and I were able to recall a moment when he was a few months old. He was choking and cried so hard that he passed out. We have never seen it again until now, and I guess it is fairly common in some people. That is why we didn't really hear him cry...he cried so hard and silent that he passed out when we got to the scene....SCARIEST moment ever!
Can you just see the stress in their eyes as they watched their baby brother leave in an ambulance!He was such a trooper but he quite possibly has the best puppy dog eyes in the whole world.This is his nervous smile. He and Jalena were so brave and while we weer at the hospital they made him "I love you" pictures to tell him how much they missed him. Best and worst moment all wrapped up in one.

Behind the Scenes

Now for a little "behind the scene, not so secret, secrets":) Aaron has been so awesome on shoots with me. You never know he is there and he is always ready to help at the drop of a dime. He also sees a story in me as I shoot and he has shot snippets of me shooting throughout the last few months. I love looking at these...the way I squish my nose, squint my eye, and pull out stances that should be on Top Model;) So here are a couple shots from a recent shoot with my beloved friend Tika. I had to climb down this steep hill to get in front of them. If I didn't stop and look back to enjoy the moment of Jeremy helping her down the hill....
I wouldn't have gotten this tender moment. You can feel the love in this gentle caress.
Or this...where dance originated...from loving moments of touch that sometimes we are too distracted to feel or remember.
Kathy, why are you so low...so far away? Nice lens flare Aaron:)

O.K. so maybe I know he is there every once in a while. Aaron, this isn't a shoot for you, how many times do I have to tell you....get the F out of the shot;)This is what I saw from far away...only they will remember what they were laughing about in this moment.Maybe I do have another secret that many people wouldn't be able to pull off...
How did I get such an angle from so far up? Was there a rock in the middle of the beach that I climbed? Could I have jumped and shot? Just glance at the look of "what the heck" on Tré's face:)Wherever I am, Jamie thinks it is the coolest thing in the world. The sparkle in his eyes shows how impressed he is in the moment.Of course....how else would you get the shot? I guess you have to have a 6'7" hubby that loves to carry you around like a sack of potatoes. One of my favorite past times is climbing on my Jungle Jake!We are such a spectacle! Please don't try this at home...we are professionals!How else was I to get this shot? Thanks Jungle Jake..I love you:)You might also be asking yourself..."Kathy, are you going for a desaturated, death look lately?" Why no I am not, it's this f'ing blogspot. I am so all over a new blog, here I come TJ:)

My Secret

I don't remember who was having the competition or what the prize was, but on that given day that I read about it, I felt compelled to write this. It was a competition on what our secrets are that set us apart from other photographers. There are very few secrets in photography anymore, but I feel like I might have one that not everyone has figured out;) Thank you Lindsay for the beautiful picture:)
"My "little secret" is definitely out of the ordinary...and I know it will be hard to understand and maybe even shocking. You see, I have an internal alarm in me, a switch that was flipped, that tells me when I am too stressed, not getting enough sleep or not eating right. The last time that this alarm was in me was when I was pregnant (3 times). I knew that I had to take better care of myself and live with intention when I was carrying that baby inside me, but then it would take the back seat when the baby was here. The alarm is on forever now.
How is this a secret tool for my photography you ask? What is my secret? Well, my photography career has been filled with new actions, new equipment, new styles, new scenes, new props and new ideas. None of which made me feel like I had reached my potential or made me stand out and get noticed. We all want to be noticed as artists. It wasn’t until I started noticing and paying attention to myself that I found fulfillment in my career and passion.
I blog because I want to blog and journal my life, not because everyone else is doing it or it’s good for my business. I take pictures because I want to be inspired and I make the time to get inspired. I love to take pictures of people because all I really want is to know them, to have a connection. I am a photographer because it ignites my soul and I want to make a difference and all of this is possible because of my “little secret”…. a diagnoses of MS in October. I have shed MANY layers of my ego. I am an open book, and I have no secrets and I know my passion is contagious. I have perspective. Maybe the secret that we are looking for to take us to the next level has been inside us the whole time?" Go find something to feed your soul today:)

NEVER FORGET

Foolish thinking this morning. I felt like a might have a bad day because my mood was just off. I got an e-mail from Heidi and Dave who are in Colorado. Heidi was asked to speak at a "Lie Down" at the State capitol. WOW...what a powerful moment the day must hold. Here I am walking around in the beautiful sunshine, finding something to complain about. In Colorado, all they can think about today is all the loss that happened 10 years ago and it still feels like it happened yesterday. My thoughts are with Columbine today and my prayers go out to all those still mending their hearts from all the loss. I will never forget them, and I hope this reminds all of you out there.

Remember the boy hanging out of the window on the live coverage? Dawn Anna is one of the most beautiful souls I have ever met. Because of her loss of her daughter Lauren, each day when I drop Jalena off at school, we give each other the sign for "I Love You". Just as Dawn Anna and Lauren did on that horrific day. We can't ignore what happened because it could happen in any one of our schools on any given day. I don't mean this to bring the fear into our lives, just to open our eyes.This shot was taken on the day of the memorial!

Beyond The Bullet

Let me start by saying thank you. Thank you Heidi for making a HUGE difference in my life. I don't want to write on and on and lose your attention. I just wanted to share one of the most beautiful videos. Amy sang this live at the book launch to this slideshow and it couldn't have been more important to me! Thank you Amy (I heart you). Click here for the youtube version. Also here is a link to our journal for the book that is linked to the site (www.beyondthebulletbook.com). We hope to track all the activity surrounding the book and the beautiful stories that come out of sharing our beauitful baby:) Thank you all for your suppert and I hope you buy a copy of the book from me. Or if you are ourt of town, order it off Amazon or Barnes. If you get it from me, then more of the proceeds will go to the incredible organization we are supporting (Families and Friends of Violent Crime Victims)...and the pictures are better in the copies I have. Oh, and I will sign it for you;)

Choose Civility

I saw this woman on the news the other night and I didn't watch her performance until this morning when a friend sent me the link. I know I wanted everyone to laugh yesterday and be filled with joy. But today I would love for everyone to cry with me and be filled with joy. Go watch this youtube and cry your eyes out with the biggest smile on your face. Go see how absolutely stupid we all look when we are so quick to judge, and are forced to swallow our judgmental, pride. Go see someone today without putting them in a box after labeling them and then forgetting about them. Choose civility today...we can't possibly know someone's story just by the cover!

JOY

Let this be contagious today. Let this light a fire. Let this be...This is joy. This is a reflection of what is in my heart daily. Sometimes it gets clouded by elements and emotions swirling in my being, but this is always inside us. It's happiness, it's love, it's content. It's a smile. It can change a moment in an instant. It can bring us out of our darkest hours. It can mend a broken heart. It can change someone's moment or maybe their life. Go out and find that something that brings that smile back into your life. It might just be the most important tool to get you through life successfully. Go smile at someone today. Go find something to make you smile. Go smile at nothing. I am smiling in this picture because I feel joy in my heart. I laugh in the picture below because sharing my joy. I laughed with a friend until my cheeks hurt and in my happiest moments I never ask "why", I mean, how many times do we really question why we are happy, and but in our saddest moments, we are so quick to define it? Laugh with me today...just because:)

Maintenance

It's not our anniversary until August, but I wanted to take a moment to celebrate almost 11 YEARS outside of the designated celebration month. I know that Jake and I have a lot to offer younger couples out there about marriage, but not in the form of advice. Advice comes when someone asks for it, and by then, they already know and are fishing for the answer they want to hear. It's more about being an example and being very real. Lately, as I have been running my mouth about, it all being about "maintaining before you have to fix it". I get frustrated because there isn't a lot out there in our faces reminding us to collect new tools to help maintain our marriages. We can probably all find a divorce lawyer before you could find a good marriage counselor or marriage encounter retreat. Why don't more couples get together to help celebrate their marriages along with the "my night and your night". How many times have we gone on dates because we "needed" to connect and the movie or club didn't quite do it for us...it just put another band aid on the communication breakdown? Well, this is me reminding everyone to find a new way to connect. A new way to go below the surface with your bestfriend and to go collect some new tools to bring to the communication table. Stare into your spouses eyes for 1 minute straight. No talking. No laughing. Just stare and try to free your mind of thoughts. Usually we stare into each others eyes right before a kiss, a hug, or being intimate. Just go take a minute to see each other! And here is a quote that comes to mind, "Joy seems to me a step beyond happiness. Happiness is a sort of atmosphere you can live in sometimes when you're lucky. Joy is the light that fills you with hope and faith and love." (Adela Rogers St. Johns)
So yes, we are lucky and happy. But what you see after 11 years is sheer JOY and we built that together and maintain it everyday:) Take that to the alter all you young couples;)

Happy Friday

Why so Serious?...the title of my next chapter book:)
Well, it's Friday and I wanted to post something deep....then one of my friends told me that I am so serious lately. I know why she said it and yes, beneath the surface talk is much more serious then talking about the weather, talking about others, and all that other stuff I am capable of talking about. I still laugh ALL the time. I still play. I have fun...I mean, I am still Kathy for crying out loud:) "I don't want to get to the end of my life and find that I just lived the length of it. I want to have lived the width of it as well." So this is me, at this point of my life, attempting for the first time to live in the width. Before MS, my ego wouldn't allow me to jump into others shoes so easily. I didn't have doses of perspective all around me to question how I was living my life. Don't get me wrong, I know I have been a good person, but I am challenging myself for the first time and I am living life with intention. I have faced my own mortality and I am not afraid to die...and now I am not afraid to live! It just gets better from here and I know there will be a lot more serious talks that I have with people because that is what makes the ultimate connection. I want to connect with people, I don't want to just know them. I want to capture connections and stories through my photography. I am headed in a new direction and I couldn't be more ecstatic. These fresh steps in the new direction, on this new path are headed to grow, fulfillment and excitement. What could be better then that? I will share a few stories from mine and Heidi's book (on sale now!), Beyond The Bullet that will shed some light on some of the perspective bestowed upon me. So thank you for bearing with the serious talks;) There is nothing better except for laughing! Laugh with me!
Thanks for the pic Cin!