Jefferson, GA Engagement Session

It's disgustingly obvious when people are in love. No matter what one says, the other one smiles or laughs like they've heard the funniest joke in the world. There's a smile that they reserve just for each other. You know how you and your friends would make up a modified version of pig latin when you were in grade school and no one else could follow what you were saying but they still were intrigued by the conversation? It's the same with people who are in love.

I liked Hillary from the first text message. It was obvious that she shared my offbeat sense of humor and I realllllly appreciate that in a person. She told me how she and Jay were looking forward to having their engagement pictures done and I immediately thought, "poor girl....men don't enjoy having pictures taken" and I mentally questioned how well she knew this man who she was marrying. Still...me being the reserved person that I am, I withheld my opinion and decided to schedule the session anyway. I knew that she was going to see just how "sweet" Jay really was when he found out an engagement session is not over in 12 minutes. She was going to learn a hard lesson but it's better that she know this now than later.

The poor guy looks miserable here, doesn't he? Almost like he's completely repulsed by her. Wait, maybe he doesn't look that way right here but it's coming.

Yeah, this is the shot....the one where he's politely trying to get away from her......

I'm almost entertaining the thought that I could be wrong about Jay but I'm not one to give up easily. I just can't remember very many sessions when the guy was patient, sweet and totally ok doing most anything that we asked of him. I know that he will snap soon so we trudge on

 and mentally prepare ourselves to have to console Hillary when Jay's true side shows. 

It seems that these two may be the real deal. No matter what pose we ask for or how many fire ant beds we have to dodge, they never break. The smiles are constant and the sweetness is still there. These two just melt when they see each other.

Hillary can make Jay laugh with total ease and I don't know if he truly knows what to expect to come out of her mouth at any given time. Her comments never seem to be censored and I think that he loves that she keeps him on his toes. 

But, make no mistake about it, the adoration certainly isn't one sided. Hillary looks at Jay like she's found the person who makes her heart skip a beat. I'm pretty sure that she knows he's the kind of guy who will always have her back. I'd be willing to bet you that she knows with 100% certainty that she's going to marry her best friend. 

Hillary and Jay are one of the sweetest couples that we've ever met and I have a feeling that they are going to have one of those sweet, fun marriages that all of their friends will envy. 

Because of ungodly high winds, we actually had to do their engagement pictures in two sessions and it ended up being really nice. We ended up meeting clients that we now consider friends and we can only hope that they enjoy their pictures as much as we enjoyed taking them. 

Congratulations, Hillary and Jay!

Time Flies Whether You're Having Fun or Not...

I remember getting the baby shower invitation. I’d met Mark and David several years before and always loved hanging out with them, although it’d always been that it was long periods of time between gatherings so Tanya & I were excited to get to see them. The shower was beautiful and they were as fun as we remembered.

I remember when our mutual friend, Carla, told me that Lorelai was born. She said that she was a beautiful, healthy baby and that they guys were over the moon excited. Our intention was to plan a time to go and see her but, like it always does, time just got away from us and she was already almost a year old when we met her.

 She wasn’t walking or talking yet. Turns out, she didn’t need to do either one of those things because she had a way of getting exactly what she wanted with just cute little grunts and pointing. Mobility was never an issue because we were always running all over each other to hold her. We were feeding her cake batter and ice cream and making all kinds of noises just to make her laugh. She'd walk through the door and we'd go from TV watching zombies to a pack of performing monkeys. 

It soon became obvious that we weren’t dealing well with limited visits and we started having dinner together once a week (at least). We’d all sprint to the door when we’d hear the dogs barking to signal their car pulling up in the driveway. There was the preemptive argument over who was going to get to hold her first. I had no problem with cheating so that I would get her. In the animal kingdom, only the strong survive. If I had to push down a kid to get to her, I was only better preparing them for the brutality of the real world. Through no extra effort on her part, she’d completely wrapped all five of us around her little finger. She started being referred to as the kid’s “weekend sister”.

She started having overnight visits and our hearts would hurt when she’d go home. Finding her little left behind items after she was gone could reduce us to big puddles of weepy! Our cabinets became jammed with sippy cups and these itty bitty t-shirts were showing up in our drawers. 

I don’t know exactly what the point was when she stopped being our friend’s cute kid and became a child that we absolutely loved but it happened.  It’s not just liking her little (or should I say “BIG”) personality, it’s loving her sweet little soul!

All of our lives have gotten so much busier and we don’t see her even close to often enough now. Still, the sight of her just makes us happy. We still run to the window and try to race to the car to get her first and when she wraps her little arms around your neck, there’s a reassurance that all is right with the world.

She walks now. And talks. And runs. And skips. And sings. She has NO trouble communicating what she wants….or getting it for that matter! She’s funny and smart. She sees clouds that looks like T-Rex dinosaurs. 

She’s still got that baby sound in her voice and it hurts my heart to think that’ll be gone one day way too soon. I’m sure it’ll be less fun to come to our house and she’ll be busy with her friends one day but, in the meantime, we’re going to savor every minute of time with her.

Lorelai….one day you will read this and it’ll be a reminder that WE LOVE YOU!!

My friend, Amanda, tries to keep me motivated to set goals. She said that a teacher told her once that the time is going to pass no matter what you’re doing. In editing the last McClure-Wolfe session, I see just how fast the time really does fly.

Tanya makes fun of me all the time for holding Victoria whenever she wants me to. She asks me if I will be holding her when she’s 40 and I can’t honestly say that I won’t be. I have a feeling that she will be 40 giving her Presidential Address to the nation but in my head, she’ll always have that little voice that couldn’t pronounce her “L” or “R” sounds. It's going to be the same way with Lorelai. If she wants me to hold her so that she doesn't have to walk down the aisle on her wedding day, I'll do it. I ain't ashamed.

 Call us to take pictures for you or make sure that you take them yourself. I can assure you that the time is going to pass fast. Make sure that you have lots of pictures to look back on and remember that the teenager asking for your car keys is the same person that used to draw you pictures and sing songs about itsy bitsy spiders.

OH yeah, save up your energy, too. There will be grandkids one day and then the payback for ruined carpet, sleepless nights and stress will be unleashed. I, for one, will be stocking up on Pixie Stix, Mountain Dew, Play-Doh and Legos (the 31,000 piece set).

I giggle just thinking about it. 

I honestly don't think that Maggie has 

a clue how pretty she really is.

You'd think that there would be no way that she could miss it but if you spend a little time around her, you'll see that she so isn't wrapped up in herself! In fact, I don't think that her looks cross her mind at all. She's too busy being 14 and enjoying everything around her and doing everything that she possibly can to make everyone around her laugh.

She is one of those kids (excuse me, TEENAGERS) that you just like right off the bat. She steps out of the car talking about a mile a minute and it doesn't seem to cross her mind that she doesn't know you. She is full of mischief and fun and if you can be around her without smiling, more power to you! She and her friend Daisy made sure that the morning never even got close to approaching dull or quiet.

You'd almost stop and ask yourself if this was the same person because we'd get her all serious and she'd strike this gorgeous pose....

And somewhere around a millisecond later, you'd get this.....

What you quickly come to realize is that Maggie enjoys the dress up part of things but she also enjoys what it feels like to be 14. It pretty refreshing to meet someone her age who seems to have a good grip on the important stuff in life. I'm sure that she's thankful for her looks but I'd be willing to bet you most anything that she's even more thankful for her family and her friends. 

Maggie is sweet, fun, grounded, energetic, beautiful and just a sweetheart overall. She seems to have a knack for choosing friends who share the same qualities, too. Our morning with Maggie, her mom Debbie and her friend Daisy, was a complete joy! 

I'll leave you with a couple of other pictures of Maggie in "model mode"........

But if you want to know what personality you'll get if you meet her, 

look here.......

Maggie, Debbie, and Daisy....thank you all for a very fun day! 

You guys are the best!

Maggie....when you're famous one day, remember me if they need someone else to pose as 

a swimsuit model along with you. Photography or stand-in model, I'm here for you!

~Smiles~

The Power of a Laugh

The older I get, the more I have come to realize the true value of laughter.

Here I am getting closer and closer to 29 years old (to anyone who may say that this isn't the truth, I challenge you to keep your opinions, and possibly copies of my birth certificate, to yourself) and I realize that true, heartfelt laughter can move mountains!

I was blessed to have been raised in a home where we laughed. A lot. Maybe not always at the most appropriate times but there was never a short supply of laughs when we were all together. Tanya and I have continued that tradition in our own home and I don't know what families do if they can't laugh at and with each other.

When we started Sweet.Happy.Life, we quickly began to realize that the pictures that we fell in love with were the ones of people laughing and just being themselves. You can almost immediately tell the families who don't sweat the small stuff and the ones who have a little more trouble letting go. Not to say that one is necessarily better than the other, I just know that--for me--laughter has helped me in more ways than I can count and I love surrounding myself with wonderful people who feel the same way.

There's no way to spend time with all of these wonderful people and NOT laugh!

I was "attempting" to organize some files tonight and move a few to an external drive. For anyone who knows me, they will attest to the fact that I'm much better known for my astonishing beauty than I am for my organizational skills but tonight I was so glad that I am messy.

 Each folder was like a little walk down memory lane.

I remembered the jokes that brought on the smiles...Some may argue that they were dorky jokes but I, of course, would beg to differ!

You can't fake true, genuine laughter. All of the posed smiles in the world will never measure up to one smile that comes from the heart!

 I know that I've said "thank you" before to everyone in these shots but I truly can't thank you enough.

Australian photographer, Sue Bryce, posted a quote by Paul Caponigro on her Facebook page that said, "It's one thing to make a picture of what a person looks like, it's another thing to make a portrait of who they are". That's our goal---plain and simple. 

If laughter truly is the best medicine, all of you have brought me a step closer to immortality and I thank you again and again!  :o)

Wikipedia defines Déjà Vu as:

Déjà vu (literally "already seen") is the experience of feeling sure that one has already witnessed or experienced a current situation, even though the exact circumstances of the prior encounter are uncertain and were perhaps imagined. The experience of déjà vu is usually accompanied by a compelling sense of familiarity.

I'd hung out with Rachel and Grayson before Christmas and we got rained out just a few minutes into our session. We managed to snap a few quick shots but it wasn't even close to enough time to wreak the proper amount of havoc on their parents so we decided to give it another go round this past weekend. 

You see, I grew up with Rachel and Grayson's mom and dad in South Georgia. We didn't hang out together lots of times but our paths frequently crossed and the memories of those times always make me smile. We shared lots of mutual friends and with our hometown being as small as it was, the stories of everyone's escapades were always shared.

My first memory of their Dad was in Elementary School and I remembered that he smiled ALL THE TIME. No matter when you saw him, he had this grin on his face that hinted that there was SOME thought in that head of his that was probably going to lead to trouble! 

Their mom was a wee bit more quiet (please place lots of emphasis on the "wee" part of this sentence). She was always laughing and smiling but she was a little more reserved than her future husband. She was always pretty and neat and could have a quick comeback for most any situation. 

Meeting Grayson and Rachel felt like I was experiencing a serious case of déjà vu. Grayson came out of the car, FULL steam ahead and you pretty much just had to take a chance with random snaps and pray that he was in the frame. Following in his daddy's footsteps, he had that trademark Conner smile that warned you that danger was ahead! 

Miss Rachel was another story altogether. She giggled at everything that her brother did but for the most part, she let him take charge of the entertainment and she just flashed her sweet smile! Several times, I'd catch a glimpse of her smoothing out her shirt or pushing back her hair. She has a sweet, easy smile and even though she's a little quiet at times, she can throw a quick comeback when the need arises! Reminded me of someone else that I know....

Our first session was something like what it feels like to try to catch a balloon that is deflating mid-air so I came prepared for session # 2 with my secret weapon...Tanya. I briefed her on how the operation would go down. I'd entertain and corral Grayson and she would snap. It was a foolproof plan. I knew that sweet Rachel would be where you needed her to be at all times so I wasn't too worried about that part of things. 

All I can say is that time and the promise of yogurt changes things and people. I'm standing there in full out wrestling mode and Grayson and Rachel approach me like members of the Royal Family. I sense something is up when there's no flash of blonde hair streaking past me and instead I have this newly matured gentleman offering to pose wherever I'd like to direct him to go. Rachel is just watching me and I know that she's giggling on the inside. She knows that I will keep waiting for the surprise attack that never came. Even still, I wasn't ready to let my guard down and I remained prepared to exercise my super karate skills should the opportunity present itself.

There's no way that I can easily explain the change and I still wonder if I'm just losing it in my old age. I mean, seriously, I expected Grayson to offer me some Grey Poupon and Rachel to pour me a spot of tea. I was freaked out on many levels. All I know is that the first sign that I got of a bow or a curtsy and I was out of there!

But, what I also saw (again) was the personalities of people who were familiar to me and who felt like home and it made me feel good. I love knowing that these little people will grow up and offer the world some of the things that they've learned from their mama and daddy. And, if they can refrain from those things that could have them end up in prison, well that's even better! (joking guys!) I like kids who have some personality to them and despite the polite behavior, these two didn't disappoint!

It took a little time and provocation but I knew that I could bring out the rebel in them. While their mother was talking to Tanya and we had free run of the place with no threat of not getting frozen yogurt, we were superstars!!!

Thank you, Rachel and Grayson (and a little thank you to the parents!), for TWO fun days! You two rock!!