Tricks and Treats

         A picture really is worth a thousand words…over and over again.

"P" 10 months~2005

"P" 2006

 It amazes

me how pictures evoke all sorts of emotions and memories when you look back at them.  When Miss "P" was only 10 months old I wanted to take her pictures in her costume in a pumpkin patch.  I didn't know then, but this would become an annual tradition.  We all work our magic with our schedules in order not to miss this opportunity.

Later when Miss "L" and then P’s little brother "Q" came along they joined in the tradition and it’s been double and triple the fun!      



"P" and "L" 2007

                                                                                                                 

 We love these three little cuties and will cling to the tradition as long as they are willing to humor us.  Our plan is to include more “characters” as they come along. Look for #4 in next years pictures!

2008

  

2009

             

This year marked the sixth year of pictures in the pumpkin patch.



2010



Our pumpkin patch pictures are some of our favorites. 

They ALWAYS make us smile! 

Happy Halloween! Tina

         

          

2010

     

  

Life Line



The value of a photograph should not be understated as all I have to do when I’m needing a life line to get me through until the next vacation is look at some of my pictures from what I like to call my “home away from home”.  Back in the 70’s I had the good fortune to live in this little paradise, but now resigned to the desert, my little visits will have to do!

This is one of my favorite places on earth.... and hands down my favorite place to stay is The Glorietta Bay Inn.

The Glorietta Bay Inn

 

One of my favorites..The Albright Room

 

The famous Hotel Del Coronado



Right about now this beach might be where you could find us both.  Chillin'...with a cool ocean breeze in our face and sand between our toes in the company of one of our favorite “back East” cousins. 

We having been looking forward to this long awaited 3 day weekend to join her for a “girls weekend” in Coronado, California!  Look for a Tale of Two Sister’s-On the Road and hopefully a few good photographs of our journey!

                Ta-ta,

Tina



Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang

The "Thing" v.2.3

A Tale of Two Sister’s would not be complete without mentioning my sister’s better half.  It’s all part of the package since I’ve known him since I was 14 years old!  He’s really more like the brother that I never had.  A few weeks ago as we were driving down the forest service roads in “the Thing” I was singing along to the words of Jimmy Buffet under the roar of the muffler, remembering how many times we’d been down “the road” before.  From cutting Christmas trees in the forest, to scouting elk, to scouting photo ops and everything in between…we’ve all been down the road of life together for one heck of a long time.  I laugh every time I see this picture, because it really felt like a scene from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.  The “Thing” is sporting a new paint job and rag top, and we a few more gray hairs, but pictures like this remind me how thankful I am to have traveled the roads of life with my sister and her better half!

                                            Love you "B"!

       Tina

Perspective

This is my husband giving a bottle to his tiny little granddaughter for the first time.  He was nervous but he looks like a natural with those big strong arms cradling this tiny little person that he already loved so much.   I love to look at how tiny she was in his arms and how huge that little bottle was next to her.   In photos you can’t always tell how large or small something is unless you have another object to show the perspective.  How precious it is to have this memory to recall through the photograph.

Yesterday Lucy tap danced on a big stage at the State Fair!  This tiny and precious newborn has grown up before our very eyes, and we don't know where the time has gone!  It's scary and wonderful!  Scary... because we will blink our eyes and this darling four-year old will be wearing makeup for real, graduating, getting married or doing who knows what.  Wonderful...because we get to watch it happen and because we have photos we can look back on to help us remember some of the details!  Some details like how much she looks like her mom right now and how she's suddenly so into posing!

Blessings to you and yours…

Karen

"There are always two people in every picture:  the photographer and the viewer."  ~Ansel Adams

 

Lucky Penny

Yesterday “Miss P” found a penny on the floor and picked it up.  It was the perfect opportunity to teach her the old tale “find a penny, pick it up, and all the day you’ll have good luck.” 

   

A lucky penny for Mia

Usually the coins I find go straight to my piggy bank…but after reading Mia’s mother's blog post yesterday on The Human Tribe Project  P’s penny is going with me today…in my shoe!  I’m counting on some “good luck” for Miss Mia as she undergoes another surgery today. With a little luck and a lot of prayers she will soon have relief from some of her symptoms!   

I’m banking on it!

Hugs Mia,

          Tina

Hope and Prayers…

This post will be a little different from any of our previous posts.  It gives me great joy to write about the privilege we had on Sunday of photographing one large, crazy and absolutely AWESOME family!  These people are my heroes in every way!!!  I also have had the honor of being their friend for over 30 years so this whole story hits me right in the gut!

The photos aren’t ready yet but stay tuned…they will follow as soon as we can get them ready!  This is about the AWESOME-ness of this family.  It’s also a request for some prayers for them.

In July, they were like most of the rest of us.  Kim & Sterling are the Nana and Papi of a growing family, all with crazy-busy lives and were awaiting a new grandbaby due in August.  Matt & Sandra are the parents of Mia and Charlie with the new baby due in August.  Ryan & Jaclyn just had Benjamin earlier in the year.   Mia was starting kindergarten just before the new baby was to arrive and things started to go awry.   Mia was sick and getting sicker; and beautiful new baby, Genevieve (aka Vivi), arrived right in the middle of it.

I don’t have all the dates straight, but I will never forget that the day after Labor Day I got an email that Mia was in the hospital and was very sick and would be having lots of tests.  This wasn’t more than a week or two after I had received the email about Vivi’s birth!  Late that night I found out Mia had a brain tumor and was having surgery the next day.  I can’t even begin to explain what that felt like for me so I really can’t begin to imagine hearing that about your child/grandchild/niece.  The good news is they got the whole tumor.  The bad news is they have a year of treatment ahead of them and it will be a long, tough year, but they are up for the challenge.

Mia started six weeks of daily radiation treatments last week.  She is going to lose all her hair and it won’t be back until after all the treatment ends.  We were already planning to take family photos of this growing and beautiful family  but we moved the date up a bit!  Mia wasn't having a good day yesterday but I think you'll see from these photos that she rallied for just a little while so we could capture her spirit and her beauty.  Her nana has seen it and she says "she's betting on Mia"...and so am I.

So – that’s why it was an honor and a privilege to take the photos of this AWESOME family. 

Awesome because:

…they have shown me what family – and love - is all about…

…they have banded together and done what families do at times like this…

…they are scared about the year ahead, grateful for each other and optimistic for Mia's full recovery…

...they will be there lifting each other up with support and love and whatever else is needed...

…they believe in miracles and the power of prayer…

…they are honest and aren’t afraid to show their true feelings…

…and just because…

You might think I’d be done rambling by now, but…I’m not! 

Jaclyn Foutz is singularly responsible for starting a wonderful website called Human Tribe Project.  She quit her job as an attorney and started it after watching a good friend of hers suffer through cancer.  She saw a need and unlike many of us who just think about something that would be a wonderful contribution, she found her passion and acted on it.  Please check out Human Tribe Project and while you’re there, check out the Tribe Page for Princess-Mia…and maybe even join Mia’s tribe so you can follow her progress through the coming year.  If you know someone who is suffering through a major illness or trauma, share the site with them.  Many people who don’t yet know about it could really use it.

Have I told you I believe in miracles?  Well, I do…and I believe there’s a big miracle happening now in this AWESOME family!  But…they have a long road ahead of them and could really use all the prayers they can get, including yours!  Have I told you I also believe in the power of prayer?

From both of the sisters to the entire Foutz clan, thanks for letting us share for a little while...share the chaos, the love, the smiles and the frowns, the laughter and the tears...AND the babies (we love those beautiful babies!).

 

Keep an eye out for the next installment with photos of the whole gang!  You won't want to miss them because this family has some pretty darned cute kids!

Blessings to you and yours…

Karen

"Those blessings are sweetest that are won with prayers and worn with thanks."

~Thomas Goodwin

A Tale of Two Other Sisters…

On a very hot day in September we had the distinct pleasure of taking photos of two very beautiful and classy sisters.  It was quite a special occasion because Leah, who is quite the world traveler, had just breezed back into town for a few weeks in between her travels to other continents.  She had just spent nine months “down under” and came home for a few weeks before heading off to England.   Wisely, Lauren decided to seize the opportunity of freezing a few sister moments in time while she could catch her sister.

Of course, it was another day of record-breaking heat in the valley and it was probably the most miserable I’ve been on a photo shoot.  But these two did not miss a beat and they were as cool as could be while we made them strike pose after pose.  I think you’ll agree with us that they are beautiful and my sense is that they are as beautiful inside as they are on the outside.

Ladies, we hope you love your photos and we hope you will cherish them as time goes on…just as we cherish the simple snapshots we have of ourselves together at various stages of our lives. 

Check out some of our posts under A Tale of Two Sisters and keep your eyes peeled for more of those too.

Blessings to you and yours…

Karen



Beautiful and Busy...

I looked forward to this photo session from the moment it was booked.  I have been friends with Sarah’s dad since high school and her mom since college.  I have known Sarah since she was born.  It was a very special experience for me to see her as a beautiful, loving and competent mom.  To make it even sweeter, as I edited each photo I felt as though I was looking at her mom.  Nancy is there in her gorgeous eyes and her smile and in her quiet, calm and loving personality.  And as for Dads, Brian is engaged and full of life and spark for his kids.  This is definitely a special family! 

We made them wait until September so the days would not be quite as hot and it turned out to be the hottest day on record…of course!   We had a ball chasing around an 18-month old and a 4-year old and trying to get them to sit together and both look at the camera at the same time.   It was perfect when they weren’t together because we could each take one child and go for it!  These are some beautiful kids so even when they weren’t looking at us, we think the photos look great.   Notice how H loves his little sister and looks at her so lovingly…even though she tried to push him off the suitcase!

I’m gushing with pride just for knowing this wonderful little family and I hope they like their photos!  I also hope we’ll be able to help them document their growing up years by being their personal photographers!

Blessings to you and yours…

Karen

Fall On the Road

According to Merriam- Webster’s Dictionary:

Fall (noun) : the season when leaves fall from trees : autumn

“In Arizona?” you say!  With record temperature still hovering over the 105 °mark it doesn’t feel like fall at all, and we certainly don’t have any falling leaves! However if you're willing to take a one hour drive straight east of Phoenix a fall paradise awaits when the time is right.  Boyce Thompson Arboretum near Superior is a 330-acre "Arizona oasis" that has nearly three miles of paths and trails winding through colorful gardens, woodlands and along native riparian habitat. We had the opportunity to visit one fall and walked away pleasantly surprised, relaxed, and loaded with a few hundred pictures.  Check it out this fall, you won’t be disappointed. 

                                       Happy Fall!

                                                     Tina

                                            

"Come said the wind to
the leaves one day,

Come o're the meadows
and we will play.

Put on your dresses
scarlet and gold,

For summer is gone
and the days grow cold. "

Author: A Children's Song of the 1880's