the L fam

Last week I had the pleasure of doing a 'mini' shoot for a friend of mine. This super cool chic marches to a beat of her own and always has others wanting to join in! The idea was to capture her life @ 30 - a recent milestone for her. I did my best to focus on her, but my lens simply couldn't resist these kids! Such sweetness & curiosity. Mary & Rory are high school sweethearts who share a wonderful love for eachother and God. Thank you!

SWEET opportunity!

I can honestly say - and most of you already know this about me - that I have been a HUGE fan of The Coffee Shop since it opened in Gilbert, AZ. It feels like a little slice of Seattle in the desert. It is contemporary and sophisticated, yet family owned and run so it manages to keep that small town, 'mom & pop' feel that is rare around these parts. I have found myself thinking at times, 'when I grow up I want to work at The Coffee Shop' or wondering if they are ever hiring for a Scone Salesman - man I would be GREAT at that job! Anyways, you can imagine the excitement when Jessica (one of the owners) contacted me and needed some pix to represent them on The Food Network's website for a recent show they were contestants on...Cupcake Wars. It was a blast and an honor to work with these girls. Not only are they drop dead gorgeous but hilarious and down to earth too! This shoot didn't even feel like 'work'. And because of it, I've seen my pix up in their shop and in the local newspaper.

i {heart} faces challenge...PLAY

So the i{heart}faces challenge was a tough challenge for me...as a mother of THE most adorable two boys on the planet, I have a pluthera of pix demonstrating PLAY in its rawest and rarest form. For some reason the one posted below just spoke to me. Maybe because it was January and 70+ degrees out in sunny Arizona and yet my boys were puddle jumping... maybe because it was only the 2nd time they'd worn those boots in actual water...maybe just because they are my boys! Regardless, I hope it makes you want to 'play'.

For more 'fun & games' check out the other entries at...

The W Fam

The Dubb-yuhs...oh how I love the W's. If you want to laugh so hard you'll cry...call them. If you want to experience true friendship...call them. If you want to see more cuteness than one face can hold...call them. If you want to eat off your floors...call them, well call Dale, he owns and runs Clearly Clean carpet & tile cleaning (480) 664-3322. Seriously though I had the pleasure of taking Emily's Senior Pix last year and was so excited when they called to schedule a family session.

i {heart} faces challenge...Barefoot Week

the challenge from i {heart} faces this week is non-competitive and allows more than one entry. the idea is to introduce us all to an amazing organization souls4souls

About Soles4Souls: Soles4Souls is a Nashville-based charity that collects shoes from the warehouses of footwear companies and the closets of people like you. The charity distributes these shoes free of charge to people in need, regardless of race, religion, class, or any other criteria. Since 2005, Soles4Souls has given away over 7 million pairs of new and gently worn shoes (currently donating one pair every 9 seconds.) The shoes have been distributed to people in over 125 countries, including Kenya, Thailand, Nepal and the United States. Soles4Souls has been featured in Runner's World, Ladies’ Home Journal, National Geographic’s Green Guide, and The New York Times. It has appeared on CBS, ABC, NBC, FOX, BBC, CNN and thousands of regional news outlets across North America. Soles4Souls is a 501(c)(3) recognized by the IRS and donating parties are eligible for tax advantages. Anyone can join our cause

please spend some time checkin' it out.

4 grown hands + 4 fresh feet...what could be cuter?

the protection of daddy's hands will remain even when the feet no longer fit

my feet would much rather be there right now

note: please excuse my older watermark...'designedbyemily' is my other site and how i started. but it is still me.

To check out more entries head, or rather 'foot' on over to i{heart}faces

your help.

i {heart} faces challenge...celebrating mom

this weeks challenge at i{heart}faces is all about motherhood. they've asked that we share a photo that illustrates 'celebrating mom' somehow, someway...so without further adieu I present to you one of my favorite moments as a mother. Yes I am actually in this photo, with my first born son Colby (2 years old at the time) and my 2nd boy, Parker (6 months in the oven). It was Colby's first time at the ocean/beach and we had a blast getting sand everywhere we could!

To do some more celebarting head on over to i{heart}faces

kaydee

I was blessed to work with Kaydee three times. Go here and here to see our other sessions. I feel so honored to have played a part in capturing some amazing milestones in her life. She helped turn some of my ideas into reality and they turned out even better than what I saw in my head.