Children
Families
Seniors
Babies
Bellies
Love
Posted on January 17, 2012
Okay first things first…..We all know how much I absolutely love blogging…hence, why I have been so awesome at keeping up with this one. Sorry. Life/Work/Kids just to seem to always get in the way of blogging. And I’m okay with that. It means that my life is full:)
Okay….so secondly, I am completely and utterly overwhelmed with gratefulness at all of the emails, fb messages and text messages that I’ve gotten since making my announcement that I will no longer be doing family/child sessions. You all sure know how to make a girl feel loved. It was not an easy decision for me to make. It’s actually a decision that I have been mulling over for quite some time. You can read more about that whole process HERE. It’s not that I don’t love, love, love meeting and hanging with all of my fab family clients… I so do. I have met some of the most amazing people through my work. I’ve gotten to reconnect with high school friends that I haven’t seen in nearly 20 years and meet their awesome kiddos. I have had brand new clients turn into some of my very dearest, closest friends. It just doesn’t get any better than that. It’s heartbreaking for me to give that up. But I heard a quote the other day that sort of sums it up for me. ”God does everything in seasons. This season was just shorter than you thought it would be.” Wow. So true and so relevant for me. When I started this business…it was with the intention of being able to do what I love while also being able to focus on my family more. Over the past year or so, I have found myself to be so busy and so consumed with the business and work and editing that I have lost sight of why I started it in the first place. Believe me, I’m not complaning. I know how unbelievably blessed I have been since starting all of this. More than I deserve! But in order to continue to put my family first in my life, I have to take a step back. I have to really focus on the aspects of my business that I can give 100% to without feeling like I am taking away too much time from the things and people that matter most to me.
So all of that being said…..I will most definitely be doing one weekend of family/child mini sessions in the Spring. {May) And also one in the Fall{late October}. These will essentially be the only times during the year that I will be doing these types of sessions. The rest of my time will be divided between seniors/couples/maternity/boudoir/weddings. Info on Spring mini sessions will be available soon:)
Again, I can’t thank all of you enough for continuing to support me in this crazy journey. I am muddling my way through…learning as I go. I don’t pretend to be a great business person{or a great blogger for that matter:}…far from it actually. My hope is to continue riding this amazing wave of blessings for as long as God allows and to not make too many ginormous mistakes as I go:) Looking forward to an amazing 2012:)
Posted on November 23, 2011
So there is this girl…..she is pretty darn cool. And I read her blog, because that’s what I do, spend way too much of my time reading blogs and procrastinating. Anyway..this girl. She inspires me. And not just with her writing, but with her motivation, her talent, her faith, her friendship. Recently she wrote a blog entry titled “If tomorrow never comes” and it stirred something in me. It made me laugh…and cry. And it made me think. What would I want people to know if all of the sudden tomorrow didn’t come for me. More importantly, what would I want my family, my kids, my parents and sister to know? So here is my lame attempt at putting all of those things into words. Inspired by my beautiful friend Rachel.
So here goes…In case you wake up tomorrow and I have moved on from this amazing, crazy, emotion-filled life…Here is what I want to be known:
My angels-There is nothing that can keep me from loving you…nothing. Not even the bonds of this Earth. My love for you knows no end…it is infinite and I will spend my eternity making sure that you can feel my loving arms around you…even from Heaven.
Chris-12 years ago..you saved me. Mostly from myself. You are the only person on the planet that knows me inside and out. Thank you for your constant devotion to your family and for loving me when I could barely love myself. Thank you for teaching me patience and for showing me how strong I can truly be.
Mom-You are the most amazing person on the planet. Period. Hands down. No contest. You are the strongest person I know.
Dad-I love you more than you know. And my heart hurts for you and everything that you are going through/have been through/will still go through. It’s all worth it. All of the hurt, the pain, the loss, the love…it’s all worth it. I have faith in you. Probably more than you have in yourself.
Ape-Thank you for giving me the most beautiful niece and nephew in the world. Please make sure you remind them daily how fabulous their Aunt Sheila was. And how much I adored them.
Mom and Dad..I really did look at the Christmas receipts that year that we were living on Chester. Yep, I did. And Craig blackmailed me for a month because he caught me doing it. I still have the diary entry that I wrote sitting on those basement stairs proclaiming my life was over because you guys were going to KILL me if you found out. Well..it’s out. And man…that’s a load off.
Tiff-We had a pact!!!!!!!!! And I know, I know..I broke it. But know that I am so proud of you. For going to Dallas on your own, for being an amazing mom, for making the most out of what this life has given you. So now….Once a year{at least} I am going to need you to have a pity party….You will need: A quarter pounder meal with a diet coke, a copy of Dumb and Dumber, Swingers and a DVD of old Seinfeld and King of Queens episodes. Once a year, that’s all I ask. {or more if it makes you feel better} And if a bird ever hits your windshield while you are having a moment of silence for me…..Know that that is me. {serious}
Tara-Thanks for being my monkey. Always. That says it all. And promise me you will take Aubrey to WOF conferences when she gets old enough.
Rachel-I would soooo leave all my camera gear to you….but dangit if you aren’t a Canon girl! Ryan….It’s all yours. 
Make me proud.
And speaking of Ryan and of course Sara…..I hope there are cul de sacs in Heaven…and if there are…I’ll save you a spot. I love you both more than you know….
Everyone else- Don’t waste your time being unhappy. Please. Do what you love, even if it means you’re poor. Be fulfilled, love so much that it hurts, be sweet to each other, CARE about each other, SERVE other people….it will be the most fulfilling thing you have ever done. Live the best life that you can. It can all be gone in one instant…what will your legacy be?
At my funeral….please play The Dance by Garth Brooks. And if Kent Humphrey is available to sing it…even better. I know my mom will want “It is well” but talk her out of it. Please LORD talk her out of it.
Think of me when you hear someone cackling loudly in public, when you hear someone say “that’s what she said”, when you do the running man, when you lean too far back in your chair and have to grab for the table to keep from falling and say OHHH shiiizzzznit, when you hear Kenny Chesney singing “Old Blue Chair”, when you step foot on the sand in Hilton Head, when you find yourself losing your temper and saying ”YA KNOW WHAT??!” when you eat egg whites and avocados, when you tell an inapproriate joke and no one laughs, when you pretend like you’re talking on your cell phone in awkward situations and then it rings when it’s up to your ear, when you hear someone say “You’re so money and you don’t even know it!!!!” when someone makes you sit through a documentary on the Vietnam War, but most importantly…remember me when you look at the faces of my 3 angels. And remind them that their momma was in love with them and that every.single.thing. that I did, I did for them.
So now that i have sufficiently depressed everyone reading this……Make the most out of today..It’s all we’re promised.
xoxo
Posted on November 8, 2011
Oh where to begin? Lets just start with saying what we are all thinking…I suck at blogging. I really do. And I’m okay with that. I may not blog every session that I do or every event or every wedding..BUT….I will make dang sure that I blog about my sweet babies every year on their birthdays. I can commit to once a year…anything more than that is just getting out of hand:)
Okay..so on to my girl. Little Momma. We’re big on nicknames around here. My dad always had tons of nicknames for the 4 of us growing up and I’m no different. On any given day she is, Aubs, Dings, Auberdinger, Little Momma, Dingers, Meanie Cat, Meanie Katherine.
Five years old today. Fastest 5 years of my life. I still remember leaving the house at 5:30 in the morning to go to the hospital, still not knowing whether this amazing life inside of me was going to be a boy or a girl. I will never forget the moment she arrived in this world and her daddy saying in a choked up voice ‘It’s a girl” with tears filling up his eyes. I remember the head full of black hair as soft as little feathers and her tiny little smooshed in face. I remember her big brother meeting her for the first time. Such amazing memories.
She is by far the funniest kid I know. She is absolutely fearless. She will talk to anyone about anything and isn’t afraid to say EXACTLY what is on her mind. She does not know the meaning of the word tact. She is loud, slightly crazy, outspoken, STRONG-WILLED and has been known to throw a temper tantrum or two. She isn’t big into toys..she would rather have purses and shoes(dear God help me). She loves to dance and sing and adores iCarly, Hannah Montana and Victorious. She loves one on one time with her mommy and daddy and still talks about her ride in the limo on her daddy/daughter date night. She is the definition of sassiness and attitude. She is responsible for 99.9% of the gray hairs on my head. And I wouldn’t have her any other way. 
Posted on August 16, 2011
So many of you guys have been contacting me regarding what the plan is for 2012 and what the future looks like specifically for 2012….I talked a little bit about the direction that I would like my business to go in next year HERE. And I’ve spent the last week really trying to pin down some details. So ideally….here is my plan:)
Most of you know that I have been scouting out some studio space..okay not so much studio space as much as an office space/client meeting area. A place where I can go to edit uninterruped, do in-person ordering sessions and possibly hold a few indoor shoots in the winter months. And thankfully I have two of the most amazing photographer friends that are possibly going to be sharing the space as well. I honestly can’t tell you how great it feels to be taking this next step and I have been praying daily that this is the right move for all of us.
Also…my goal is to focus mainly on weddings/engagement/senior/boudoir/trash the dress and occasional maternity/newborn shoots. (Newborn shoots will all take place in the studio) I will be offering 4 weeks out of the year (2 weeks in the spring/2 weeks in the fall) that will be set aside for child/family sessions. These most likely will be the ONLY times during the year that I will be booking these types of sessions. I will announce those weeks the closer that we get to the end of the year. It’s important that if you are planning on booking a child/family session next year that you book early..these sessions will fill up quickly and time slots will be limited.
Whew!!! Decisions, decisions! I like soul searching and all but to be completely honest, I’m a bit whooped from all of the decisions that I have had to make over these last few weeks! And if you know me…you know I fear change. FEAR it. But yet there is a certain part of me that also gets a little bit of an adrenaline rush from it….Kind of like how I hate roller coasters but I HAVE to ride them because I almost like the fear. Twisted. I know. Apparently there is still a bit of that rebellious 17 year old in me that hopped a greyhound bus to move 1000 miles away from home because as much as I FEARED change and risk…….I feared NOT changing and taking the risk even more.
So here is to leaping fearlessly(yep…thats my new motto..and my friends are already sick of hearing it because I say it like 14356 times a day now:) And here is to change and risk….because I’m long overdue for an adrenaline rush:)
So….my dear friends, family and past clients…..thanks again for every single bit of support….every referral, every comment on my blog, every “like” on my facebook posts, every encouraging email, every unexpected facebook message just to tell me that you actually READ my blog and that you believe in me. Thank you. From the bottom of my very grateful heart.
I will have wedding pricing, 2012 portrait pricing and and other fun 2012 info up on the blog asap:) Yep…it’s only August…but I’m a planner people! You know this!!!
And because blog posts are no fun without a picture…and because its just purty:) 
7
Posted on August 9, 2011
Yes, I know it’s only August but the New Year will be here before I know it and for someone who procrastinates as much as I do…..planning for 2012 five whole months early??? Well that’s just huge!! Completely unlike me. But I have been planning, and praying, and sweating, and freaking out and biting my fingers down to the nubs and sending out mass emails to all of my photographer friends asking for advice, and having mild panic attacks, and researching and, and, and, and…..Deep. Breath.
I made a promise to myself last year. Remember THIS post? I wish I could say that since that post that I’ve learned how to balance family, and biz and friends and now I’m a pro! I wish I could say that I’ve learned to say ‘no’ more often. But alas, NOPE! Still say yes way more often than I should, still stay up all hours of the night editing, there are still times when I feel like the most neglectful momma on the planet because of all the work I have to do. BUT! I can say that I am learning….sllllllloooooowly learning and sllllooooowly trying to make positive change . And with each year, I gain a little more knowledge and learn from past mistakes and also gain more confidence in myself, my work and the decisions that I make concerning my business. My promise last year was to make better choices based on the priorities in my life. Faith, Family, Friends…then business. So with that promise to myself, I am making some changes. Most of you know that I continue to work as a nurse through the fall and winter months and focus on photography during the spring/summer. If I am going to continue on this crazy, scary journey…I am going to have to make a choice. It should be an easy choice. Do what I love? or do what’s safe and a sure thing and if Im being completely honest, a sure paycheck? I’ve realized after this exhausting, crazy year that I just can’t do both. So I’m at a crossroads, and I’m scared to death. Terrified of making the wrong decision. Completely and utterly sick to my stomach that I may make the wrong decision. But guess what? I am not one to live in fear. I started this business on a leap of faith simply because I couldn’t bear the thought of living the rest of my life doing something that I wasn’t completely passionate about. So here I am…..at a crossroads…and ready to take an even bigger leap of faith. (Hopefully my boss doesnt read this blog:) Ha! I do plan on most likely finishing out one more season with my current job at Childrens(October-April) But unless I get some crazy change of heart….that will be the end of my nursing career. I will still keep my license up to date(just in case:) but otherwise…..I’m taking the leap and not looking back:) Crazy? Yep. Scary? OMG….YEP. Does it make me sad? A little bit. I take pride in my nursing career, but I knew a long time ago that I wasn’t passionate about it. And I’m okay with that. Because I am passionate about my photography and my art and my marriage and my family, and living with a purpose and capturing life as it happens. It may not be quite as profound as saving a life, as in nursing…but I’m okay with that too.
SOOOO…….Here is how 2012 will look for SCP, I will be taking family/child sessions on a very limited basis.( no more than 2- 4 per month) Past clients will have first dibs on these spots:) My remaining sessions will focus mainly on seniors/maternity/engagement and commercial work…… AND……drum roll please…. in order to make this leap into full time photography feasible for my family and I financially, I will also begin booking weddings and events in 2012. I know, I know….. I always said weddings weren’t for me!!! But I have had the absolute pleasure of working with some of the most talented and fantastic photographers this year on some gorgeous weddings, Rachel Spears and Shawna Peto, and I am having an absolute blast! What can I say? I love, LOVE. And new beginnings.
So if you have read this far…thank you. Thank you to all of my fantastic clients. I honestly am in awe of all of the fantastic relationships and friends that I have made over the past year and a half. Thank you for enduring all of the changes as I muddle my way through all of this. I always tell Chris…I am a HORRIBLE business person!! But if I can continue to stay honest with my clients(and myself) and stay true to the work that I love to do, it’s all good. :) So once again….praying for balance and discernment as I continue on this journey that I truly, truly believe in.
xoxo
Posted on August 7, 2011
Just one more! Promise. Until November. And then I will get all mushy over my girl. So.. this time last year…THIS is the post I wrote about my sweet angel baby. He was joy and light in the absolute darkest time of my life. He was peace in the middle of chaos. He was an angel sent straight from God when I needed him most. And I can’t help but sit here with tears streaming down when I think of the 3 months leading up to his birth. The stress and the unimaginable grief that surrounded those last weeks of the pregnancy made me fear for the well being of this little angel. And then he was here. And the love and peace and calm that this baby brought me….was indescribable.
Joshie
Has me wrapped around his little tiny finger.
Has the best smile I have ever seen….it goes all the way to his eyes and lights up his entire face.
Worships his brother and sister and calls them “NeeNee” and “Lil Momma”.
Is a momma’s boy just like his brother.
Still gets rocked to sleep every night by his momma because I just can’t let him be a big boy just yet.
Loves cars and calls them ‘vrooms’.
Has at least 10 nicknames…Little Bud, Snausage, Pickle piggies, Deetdee, Little Deets, Snausy Bear, Little NeeNee, Stinkapotamus, Joshie Bear just to name a few.
Loves to run and thinks it’s hilarious to run away from us..especially in the worst places EVER…i.e. large crowds, malls or anywhere that would cause a panicked reaction in mom or dad.
Has a sweet little birthmark in the shape of Brazil on his belly and it’s essential that I kiss it at least 10 times a day.
LOVES Spongebob and refuses to use any toothbrush other than HIS “Bob-bob” toothbrush. I tried to replace it once nonchalantly, with a new shiny Cars toothbrush and he went postal on me.
He is completely 100% all boy. He loves to wrestle, bang on anything that makes a ton of noise and break things. We call him BamBam or Destructo boy.
He brings me an amazing sense of peace that I can’t put into words. He helped to heal my soul. 
Mommy loves you so so so so much. You were my sunshine when I needed it the most.
Posted on August 7, 2011
Is smarter than me.
Is a momma’s boy… and he is okay with that.
Is slightly OCD.
Loves Transformers and Legos.
Likes to beat me in Brain Surge.
Can already eat more than me.
Loves to write stories and draw.
Cried when he told me about the kids in Guatamala that he learned about at church.
Loves nuggets and fries and squiggly spaghetti and meatballs.
Torments his baby brother with kisses and hugs.
Hates trying new foods.
Is an absolute comedian without even knowing it. He makes me laugh harder than anyone EVER has.
Misses his Uncle David and reminds me so much of him sometimes that it makes my heart physically hurt.
Momma loves you more than you will ever, ever know Big Bud. To the moon and back….and then to Saturn and then back to the moon, and then to infinity and beyond.
Posted on June 28, 2011
A little late for this post but it could just as easily be used as a birthday present for someone. I can’t take credit for the super cute idea…I saw a picture on pinterest and thought it was a great idea. Oh, and sidenote…if you haven’t discovered pinterest yet, I recommend that you don’t. Not unless you want every ounce of your free time sucked right out of your day. I could spend HOURS perusing all the eye candy. (perusing?) So now I’ve peaked your curiousity.. but don’t go there yet..you won’t come back here. And I want to show off my craftiness first. Pinterest makes me feel like I can be crafty even though I don’t have an ounce of craftiness in me. None. Disclaimer…. Every single one of my craft ideas is unoriginal and stolen. K?
Okay so since we are busting butt on the Dave Ramsey train,(for those of you that don’t know what that means…it means we are cheap but nearly debt-free. Whoop.) we wanted to make our own Fathers day gift for Chris. I’m sure he was excited about that. Especially since what he really wanted was a tattoo. But the kids and I liked it, so that’s what matters, right? Right.
So the kids and I headed to Micheals with our super crafty selves and $8 later..this is what we came out with. Yep $8. The frame was on sale for $4.99 and the scrapbook paper was like $0.49 for each piece. AND I had a coupon.
And here is what we made! We traced everyones handprint, cut them out and voila! Work of art!
AND Chris loved it. Like seriously loved it. Like he hung it up right away and was so proud of it.
Ta.Da.
It is So easy to be crafty when you steal ideas from pinterest! Wife.of.the.year.
Posted on June 5, 2011
The majority of people that read my blog are mommas so I thought I would share an idea for a cool reward system that I found on another blog. I would so give that other blog credit if I could remember which one of the 1547 that I read daily that it came from. Okay, so I have been wanting to come up with a new reward/behavior system for my kids for some time now. We have pretty much tried everything. Chore charts, reward jars, star charts. You name it, we’ve tried it. Our systems usually last a month or so and then we end up as big giant failures. I wanted something easy and effective. Period. So after a not-so-fun first day of summer break with my kids, I knew it was high time to put some serious butt-kicking, reward system in place. After some advice from the fab Bridgette Davis from BD photography and some idea-stealing blog searching, here is what I came up with. Hoping this makes for a more peaceful, easy-going summer for us.
Heres what I did. I took bunch of foam paper and made Mommy bucks. Don’t be jealous of my art skillz by the way. We can’t all be artistic geniuses…..
The kids can earn Mommy Bucks by doing extra chores, getting along, going a whole day without whining etc……They can then cash in their bucks for Happy meals, trips to the movies/park, a toy out of the treasure chest, a pack of gum(yes, I’m crazy), a trip to Petsmart(which is huge for my kids since I am a mean mommy and won’t let them have a pet.Don’t judge ) . They can also trade in their Mommy bucks for cash to spend at Target etc. 1 Mommy buck =$1
The kids are loving it so far and even dug their old wallets out of the toybox to keep their “monies” in. Jackson is a mini-Donald Trump, I swear. 
Oh and just a side note for next time I decide to start one of these ideas….Probably not best to start a reward system the week that my 4 year is on steroids for her asthma which makes her slightly demonic and psychotic. Not even exaggerating. Needless to say….her wallet is empty. :( I’ll keep ya posted on our progress this summer.
Posted on April 25, 2011
You knew it was inevitable..It had been way too long….I woke up this morning feeling especially philosophical……I know, most of you are already reaching for the mouse….but wait! I promise I will keep it short. Please… let me bore you with my verbal/emotional purging. kthx. It makes me feel better…and you all know I’m a way nicer person when I feel better.
Easter always does this to me. Always makes me reflect. Okay, not always…only for the past 2 years. Only since the unthinkable happened and my family lost Dave 15 years to the weekend that we lost Craig. Only since I realized that even when you think you have endured your fair share of grief…BAM…..it can smack you upside the head so hard and so unexpectedly that you don’t even see it coming. And in one teensy tiny second….this enormous, event-filled life…. this crazy, heart-wrenching, sorrow and joy filled life can be over in the blink of an eye. And then nothing is the same ever again.
For sooooo many years I lived for the future…Even after Craig died. In my teens, I couldn’t wait to be in my 20′s. Couldn’t wait to graduate from college and get my degree and get a “real” job….. In my 20′s I dreamed of finding the perfect guy and getting married. After marriage, I dreamed of the day that I would become a momma. Then it was the dream of my own business………and with each achieved milestone, I was left with a feeling of accomplishment and fulfillment and……yet, I still looked to the future for more. There was always a feeling of ..what now? What’s next? And I lived for what was to come. I heard a quote the other day that described me perfectly “Some people spend their entire lives indefinitely preparing to live……” I was always telling myself that once *this* happens…I would be happy. Once I got over the shock of my parents divorce or my mom having cancer, once I got over the loss of this that or the other..then I would be happy…then I could get on with the business of living. Once we were finacially stable, successful, lived in *this* neighborhood, had *this* car etc….you know the drill.
And then I got slapped squarely in the face. Dave was 27 when he died. He had just graduated from college the year before and had a whole lifetime of living to do. Or so I thought. How quickly my reality changed. It goes without saying that Craig and Dave’s deaths changed me. But when Craig died, I was 18 and invincible. I didn’t get it. His death made me an angry, angry person and it paved the way for a string of bad decisions in my life over the next 10 years. When Dave died….I was 33, pregnant with my 3rd baby and Life all of the sudden took on a whole new meaning for me. Life was no longer about what was going to happen 5 years from now or next month or even tomorrow. Life was about right.now. Period. Not tomorrow, not the 10 years of yesterdays and horrible decisions. Today. It’s all that I have for certain. There are so many things that I can’t go back and change between Dave and I. Had I known that the last time I was going to see him was a week before he died……I would’ve hugged him like there was no tomorrow and told him I loved him a hundred times. If I would’ve known that the last time that I was going to talk to him on the phone was 3 days before he died, I probably would not have played “I’m Proud to be an American” at full blast in his ear when he answered(okay..I probably still would’ve done that..yea, long story) but you get what I’m saying. I have to live in the moment. Do I always? Of course not..I’m human. Some days I fail miserably at it. Some days I’m so anxious and worried about the future and so ashamed and so unsure of decisions that I’ve made in the past that I can hardly stand myself. But……..I’m trying. No matter what this moment holds, whether it’s joy or happiness, grief, disappointment, self-doubt, regret, longing….I’m relishing every.single.second of it. I can’t live my life indefinitely preparing to live. I’m choosing to live now. It may be all I’ve got. xoxo