manly men

I am under-the-weather or in other words, I have been attacked by the nastiest cold known to mankind…

on a brighter note, look what I have coming up…

more manly men heroes

 

Be Blessed

no comment …

due to the unbelievable amounts of spam hitting my blog I have deleted all comments, sorry. Until I get a handle on how to stop this I will not be reading or posting comments through this site, please contact me directly through my website until this is solved…

thanks and since a post without a picture is no fun, here is one for you

she shows just the “drama” that I feel about this spam problem…

 

Be Blessed

finish strong …

if you need a little inspiration…

just click….

 

http://www.maniacworld.com/are-you-going-to-finish-strong.html

 

Be Blessed

so glad that I “don’t work”

so much to blog, but first I have about 80 hours of editing from the past three shoots … so forgive me as I go into hiding to get these done so the waiting parents can get see their precious ones… I have an awesome senior to show you … bunches and bunches of adorable girls … another hero … and a family … to get finished … asap… of course …

so my youngest says to me yesterday,

“mama, aren’t you glad you don’t work?”

“yes, sweetie I am very glad” I replied with a knowing grin!

you see, my kids don’t think I really work, because  they never notice that I do it! I only edit and lesson plan and grade papers when they are at school, sleeping (hopefully not sleeping at school!) or with hubby… You see,  my hubby and I made a rule long ago that we had to be BETTER THAN DAYCARE since we are the parents …

therefore

would you fire a daycare provider who was ”editing, talking on the phone, doing laundry, on-line, shopping, grading papers, checking emails, watching tv, etc..???? YES, you would.

so, if we would fire the babysitter/daycare worker then we better fire ourselves or shape up and be better parents “Seriously”, we said, “we can be better than a stranger at daycare,” so that’s our rule.. not a hard one, (usually)

Although, let’s be honest, somedays I would LOVE to plop them in front of a tv with a bag of chips so I could get my work done during the day, but then my hubby would have to fire me and that would suck, excuse me, be stinky,  so I don’t do it!

just be as good or better than what you would expect from a good daycare…

simple…

of course they think you don’t work, which is fine by me…

reality comes soon enough for kids these days

if I worked when would we have time for tape, baubles and crayola art?!?

or building snowman towers?!?

or playing our favorite games?!? YES, these are “just the favorites”

or making cool rock frogs and gadgets?!?

or making  more art by an Hp …

and who among up isn’t up for a game of hopscotch that goes to 127?!?  I was so tired!

then of course there must be a game of monster … actually, they got my floors clean, which left me more time to play!

I want to say papa bought this, but I can’t lie so I will plead the fifth …

I will leave you with this, art by a five year old … time, encouragement, interest and ”voila” you get greatness …

thank God I don’t work!

that being said … I only have 2 hours left … to “not work” … 

 

Be Blessed 

ps  for those of you who don’t know, I was a daycare provide and director for many years before becoming a teacher and photographer ~ I knew that at daycare our attention was required to be solely on the children… never would we keep our jobs if we behaved anything other than loving and respectful toward the children.  My point is that my kiddos would become my “job” just like a “real one”, just like daycare, or an office, or an airport, or a restaurant, or courtroom, it matters not that I compared it to daycare ~ if that bothers your senses, just substitute the word to office … wherever people work, they give their time and attention to their job, NOT the phone, errands, tv, laundry room, etc… it is in this way that we would focus on our kids and ignore the rest (just like we had to do at  a “real job”) ~ phones, errands and all the other stuff that I would be fired for if it was a “real job”… it is a simple switch in perspective and priorities … would you fire someone if they were not engaged at their job? that was our simple question …

so, they became a our “real job” and remain so to this day 

lucky me :) 

 

happy heart …

 

may your heart be filled with love and your home be filled with chocolate!

wishes you only the best dreams this valentine’s day!

 

be blessed

help needed …

fellow photographers, have you considered joining this wonderful organization?

I promise you will get more from these kiddos than anything you will give them …

 

www.littlestheroesproject.org

www.littlestheroesproject.org

please consider helping, there are SO many families that need your talent and time ….

 

be blessed

it was snowing …

Somewhere, it was snowing but certainly not here!

Another gorgeous February day in Southern California made for a terrific opportunity to capture this spectacular young man and his family …

Mark captured this, a favorite from the day …

another great moment …

 

so handsome …

you smiled at this one? didn’t ya” … many more coming your way M family, just wanted to show you some fun ones!

this was taken by Young Mr. R with my camera… we had been busy tossing rocks into a fountain for a while and then we decided to rest … well, one thing led to another and before you knew it he was ready to shoot some pics! he has quite an eye ~ this one however made me catch my breath: check out the heart pattern on his shadow … this says volumes about him … he is special that way, he is LOVE personified and to “see” it in the shadows leaves me breathless… does anyone else “see” it? My kids can .. do you???

God is everywhere…

Be Blessed

who’s your hero?

in life I have many heroes… my parents were my first and remain my heroes to this day … they are dedicated loving people who put the needs of others before themselves, they value marriage and family ~ When I was about 8 I found a baby bird that had fallen from it’s nest: it was all alone and helpless. Without thought I scooped it up, walking it and my bike a mile back home, where upon my arrival, my mom quickly helped me make it a home and even procured me a tiny eyedropper to feed it. I was certain it would live and be my special bird forever. My mom however had her doubts (which I never knew until years later) but offered me encouragement and support to save the baby bird. 

Fast forward… middle of the night… I screamed, cried, yelled, wailed from the depths of my being, waking up the entire house… he’s deeeeeeeaaaaaaad … he’s dddddead …  he’s dead.  Through my screaming and sobbing (you would have thought the entire world had come crashing down, because to me it had) my mom calmly got up (remember it is 2am on a school/work night) hugged me, found a gorgeous velvet jewelry box (for his coffin) and proceeded to make hot chocolate. Meanwhile, my dad put on his robe and shoes, went out into the pitch black night and retrieved a shovel, dug a hole and buried him.  I don’t recall any conversation, just the feeling of love and knowing it would all be OK ~

It didn’t occur to me that it was odd to bury him in the middle of the night or that I should wait until morning when everyone is rested. It didn’t occur to me because my parents, my heroes, are amazing. They took my pain and without thought of themselves, and how exhausted they would be the next day,  they comforted me and buried my bird and prayed for him. They are heroes because they are selfless.

It is my deepest hope to be that kind of parent. I am nowhere close, but I keep trying. However, I had the opportunity this past weekend to meet a family. A family of heroes. Not just one, but 5 incredible people who are changing this world one moment at a time. They have certainly changed mine. They touched my heart and it will never be the same. Little R, just thinking of you with my camera makes me smile all day.

this little boy and his entire family are now on my list of heroes

they epitomize love, compassion and goodness

thank you for coming up to Temecula and sharing your hearts with us …  thanks for being his hero, as he is yours, I am sure

more to come …

We’re back!

thanks for waiting and your concerned emails… it’s nice to know someone is reading even if you don’t leave a comment ~  gracias, danke, merci (that’s about all I have in the foreign language department, will have to work on that) maybe my kids will share Muzzy with me! ( a great program by the way for all you homeschoolers or just pushy concerned parents, like me)

anyway… we hope your New Year is off to a wonderful start. We have updated prices to include a’la cart items and prints (new) as well as updated packages. I have some great new templates that I will be offering as well as some gorgeous metallic for the canvas’… lots of goodies! We are booking Spring so send us an email or call us to set up your session.

so much more to tell… talent shows, little heroes, art shows, new book, seniors, marketing division … lots going on in the Hp household!

It’s good to be back and because a post without a picture is like a s’more without the chocolate ~ what’s the point? ~  here is a tiny bit of what we have been up to…

 

some new cards …

classic beauty ….

a wintery look ….

 this should be titled ” they grow up too fast”  

off to edit last weekends sessions… have a great one …

 

ps… someone commented that they are having trouble adding this blog to their feed, if anyone can help me out with this, please leave me a comment.. I don’t know if this is a problem for anyone else …

thank you… danke… gracias… merci

be blessed