Shan at WPPI!

Here is the blog post from Mpix. This is Day 2 at WPPI (which was Tuesday). The show ended yesterday afternoon and I am happy that my hubby is on a plane on his way home now. (He is the last picture on here.)

I am so proud of him and everything that he was able to accomplish this year at WPPI. And I am excited to see where it takes us in the future!

WPPI 2009: Day Two

We've wrapped up day two at WPPI and are preparing for our final day at the show. Again, we're at booth # 701, so come by and see us! The show is open until 3:00pm today.

We want to thank our presenters for the amazing work they have done for us this week. Our team of Jamie, Carey, Dale and Shannon have been great to work with. Don't miss out on their presentations today!

JAMIE SCHULTZ | WEDNESDAY 11:00AM

DALE BENFIELD | WEDNESDAY 12:00PM

CAREY SCHUMACHER | WEDNESDAY 1:00PM

SHANNON SMITH | WEDNESDAY 2:00PM

Here is a link to the Mpix blog where you can leave a comment for Mpix and Shan.

Great job Honey! Can't wait to have you home!

Shameless Bragging on my Hubby!

This was finally announced on the Mpix blog this afternoon and I couldn't be more proud to proclaim that the hot guy on the right is my husband, Shan!

This is the exact post from the Mpix blog:

WPPI: Mpix Presenters Unveiled!

JAMIE SCHULTZ
"Templates and the Press: Exceeding client's expectations using Mpix Press products!"

Jamie will show how to combine Mpix Press printing with easy-to-use templates. Templates are hot right now, and Jamie is one of the leading template designers on the market. Learn how Jamie uses MpixPRESS to create stunning products that impress her clients.

MONDAY 11:30AM | TUESDAY 11:30AM | WEDNESDAY 11:00AM


CAREY SCHUMACHER
"Mpix book software: A powerful tool for your clients, more free time for you!"

Leverage the power and ease of the Mpix Book Software to increase your income and get more free time for yourself. Learn how digital-savvy clients will buy your images on a CD, and then have the ability to use Mpix's simple drag-and-drop press software to create their own stunning books.

MONDAY 12:30PM | TUESDAY 12:30PM | WEDNESDAY 1:00PM


DALE BENFIELD
"Unique uses of Mpix products: Stand out from your competition!"

Dale is excited to share some non-conventional uses for Mpix products. If you are looking to add some hip, new ideas to your product offering, don't miss this presentation. Dales message ­ learn creative ways to use Mpix products to both differentiate you from the competition and up sell packages to your current clients.

MONDAY 1:30PM | TUESDAY 1:30PM | WEDNESDAY 12:00PM


SHANNON SMITH
"Simplify to Multiply: How to streamline your business for even more growth!"

Shannon will be covering many options available with Mpix to streamline your business. If you are looking to make life a little easier for you and your clients, you won¹t want to miss Shannon's talk. Topics include online ordering with both Zenfolio and Mpix, simplified album options, work flow and utilizing forums for continuous learning.

MONDAY 2:30PM | TUESDAY 2:30PM | WEDNESDAY 2:00PM

We would like anyone planning to attend to do so as our guests, for free. To register online, go to www.wppionline.com and choose to register for the trade show. Enter promo code "MC 26" and select Exhibitor "Mpix".

SHOW HOURS:
MONDAY 10:30am-4:00pm | TUESDAY 10:30am-4:00pm | WEDNESDAY 10:30am-3:00pm





I am so proud of him. One of his goals that he set last year was to speak at WPPI in Las Vegas in 2009 and he is doing it!!!

(For those of you who don't know, WPPI is Wedding and Portrait Photographers International and their HUGE annual convention is in Las Vegas next week. There are over 10,000 photographers who attend this convention and to be asked to present on the tradeshow floor is a VERY big deal!)

A HUGE thank you goes out to Mpix for giving him this opportunity! They are a wonderful company and truly have become a family to us.

You can keep checking the Mpix blog and here on my blog for updates on the convention! If you happen to be going to Vegas, be sure to check him out!!! It is going to be a great presentation!

I love you Honey! Knock 'em dead in Vegas!

I will stop gushing now! LOL

Caught Up!

Do you think that 3 pages of blogging is too much for one day!?!?

At least I am caught up! So if you are reading this, my first post of the day is 3 pages away! I think I ended up with 19 blog posts for today!

So to those of you who have been waiting for me to update.....It's done!

I will try to stay on top of it from now on...but with 2 kiddos to raise and a business to take care of, blogging falls down pretty far on the list! I will try harder though!

Thanks for the reminders to update my blog!

Happy Birthday to Me!

I turned 32 on Friday!

I had a wonderful birthday. On Friday, my Grandma had gotten me a cake, so we had some at midnight when I finished work and went to pick up the boys. My parents had also sent me flowers and I am going to get a deep freezer from them for my birthday! WOOHOO! I also had 41 friends wish me a Happy Birthday on Facebook!

Saturday, Shan and Ian made me yellow cupcakes with no icing (not a big icing fan). Ian also made me a princess hat since I was the Birthday Princess. I got to take a long bath and watch some of my favorite shows on my DVR uninterrupted. Then Shan and the boys took me to dinner with our friends Chris, Deb and their children at Red Robin. We had a very nice dinner and it was a very nice birthday! Shan bought me a beautiful card and a book and Ian made me a card!

Last night, I got to go out to dinner with some of my girlfriends and they surprised me with more birthday gifts. Dana made me yellow cake cookies (Did you know you can make cookies out of cake mix?!? I didn't until last night!), Stacy bought me flowers and Karol baked me heart shaped brownies! We spent 3 hours at dinner just chatting and enjoying a girls night out. They are such good friends and I was so appreciative.

It was a wonderful birthday! I have wonderful friends and family! I love you all!

Pray for Brianna!

I got a call this past week from my NILMDTS (Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep) coordinator saying that there was a baby due to be born that has a very serious heart condition. The family had requested a photographer to come out and do a session with their baby to be. This family had lost another daughter last March to Pneumonia at only 2 months old and they didn't have very many pictures of her. They didn't want that to happen with this baby.

Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep (NILMDTS) is an organization that Shan and I belong to. We provide photography for families whose babies are very sick or have passed before birth or shortly after birth. It can be very difficult sometimes, but we always know that what we are providing may be all that a family has left of their child, so it is always worth it.

Baby Brianna was born on Wednesday, February 4th and has a very long road ahead of her. I asked the mother for permission to put Baby Brianna's images on my blog so that we could get prayers going up for her. She has many surgeries in her future and a very long road.

She is a beautiful baby and I felt honored to photograph her.



This is a picture of Brianna in her "home." She will probably spend months in the hospital, so this will truly be her home.


So please say a prayer for Brianna. Add her to your prayer list and pray for her everyday. Prayers for her family would also be wonderful!

Frakenbaby Returns! (Graphic Post...Injury involved! Graphic Images too!)

I can't believe it, but my Christian once again had to get stitches this past week.

We were cleaning up the dinner dishes on Tuesday night (a week ago) and Christian climbed up on the kitchen stool next to the counter. In an instant (even though it seemed to happen in slow motion), the stool slipped and Christian fell down between the stool and the cabinet.

On any given day, Christian falls off something about a dozen times. He is ALL boy! But this time, the once in a million happened. His face slid along the knob of the lower cabinet and put just enough tension on his skin to tear it open. Then in a freak of nature...the knob went up in between his skin and muscle on his cheek and he hung on the knob! It was horrifying!

Shan was standing right next to him and I was at the sink, 3 steps away. Shan scooped him up and pulled him up off the knob and immediately laid him on the counter. I knew that we were going to be off to the hospital, so I got Shan a wet towel and then ran upstairs to put on my jeans. (I was in my comfy home clothes.)

Ian got Shan some ice in a baggie and then started to pray that Christian would be okay. He didn't know what else to do.

We grabbed both kids up and we were off to the hospital.

Amazingly, once Shan took the ice off his face, Christian was fine. He didn't cry and if you didn't see the gaping wound in the side of his face, you wouldn't have even known that he was hurt! He is a tough kid.

It took 3 internal stitches and 11 external stitches to close up the wound. The lady that stitched him up would have liked to have done more, but Christian just wasn't having anything to do with getting more!

Here are some pictures before and after the stitches.




He had his stitches taken out yesterday. I really hope that it heals up well. It is partially healed but because it is in an area that moves a lot, it is going to take a bit longer to heal.

So my Frankenbaby is back! Poor little man has had 24 stitches in his 28 months of life!

I guess that the Lord feels that I am strong enough to handle this child! LOL

Bowl-a-thon!

Ian's school, Chapel Hill Christian School, had a fundraiser at the end of January that was a lot of fun for the kids.

Bowl-a-thon!

Ian had a great time and scored a 74! He was so excited to get a ribbon and he even let his little brother help him bowl a frame. (Christian was very upset to be surrounded by so many kids and so many balls and not be able to play, so Ian let him help!)

Great job Ian!

Congratulations Krista and Rob!

Krista and Rob were married on January 17th at Glenmoor Country Club in Canton. They had a beautiful wedding and the dance floor was so full all night, that I couldn't even get on it to get images. I ended up having to do most of the dancing pictures from the fireplace or the edge of the dance floor.

The whole day was beautiful and you could feel the love and fun all around them.




There was an amazing floor to ceiling window in the Women's Locker Room, so we took advantage of it for some beautiful shots of Krista.



I don't think that Krista believed that the guys were going to pick her up. LOL








Now if you look closely at this image, you will see that Rob has his hand behind his back and you can see his best man on the edge of the frame. This was the moment that Bruce handed off the fake cake to Rob.

And this is what happened just moments later! At least he didn't do that with the real cake.

He did get her with a little icing though!





Thanks for having me to your amazing wedding! I had a great time!

Lift with your Legs!!!

Just a PSA to remind everyone that when lifting heavy objects....Lift With Your Legs!

As we were leaving Indiana to come home, I was getting a blanket out of the back of the van for Ian when Shan's camera bag rolled out of the back and onto the ground. The ground was wet and I wasn't thinking clearly.

I bent over and heaved Shan's bag (which weighs around 50-60 lbs) to get it back up into the van and in the process, I injured my back. I didn't lift properly and I was in a lot of pain.

After 2 weeks, x-rays, Vicodin, Norflex and a lot of Advil, I was feeling better. It still twinges sometimes, but it is much better than it was a month ago.

So remember, if you are going to lift something heavy....Lift With Your Legs!

Christmas in Indiana

Our last stop on our Christmas schedule was a few days in Brown County Indiana with Shan's Dad and Step-Mom. We enjoyed a nice visit at the Abe Martin Lodge. They had a great indoor waterpark and the boys loved it.

Congratulations Ashley!

One advantage to going to Kentucky after Christmas was that we got to see my sister in law, Ashley, graduate from Michael's College of Hair Design.

It has been a long road for Ashley. She started school last November, only to find out a few weeks later that she was pregnant with Tyson. She went to school all the way up until she delivered Tyson, took her maternity leave, and then got right back to it.

I am so proud of her for accomplishing this!! And I am very excited to have her as my stylist now! (I just wish I lived closer so that she could do my hair more often!)

Congratulations Ashley!




And a picture of my smiley little nephew Tyson...just for good measure!

Christmas in Kentucky

After a few days at home, we were off to Kentucky for Christmas with Shan's Mom and Step-Dad.

The boys got more presents and we had a nice time hanging out.



Shan even got in on the cooking and helped cook dinner. Isn't he stunning in his lovely apron?!?


I laid down on the couch to take a little snooze and I guess Christian decided to snooze with me. While I was sleeping, he climbed up on me and fell asleep. I woke up to see him fast asleep sitting on me. It was very sweet.

Merry Christmas!

We got to enjoy a nice Christmas at home for a few days. The boys enjoyed opening their presents and had a great time playing with them.



Christian got a percussion set from my Mom and Dad and he loved the little cymbals. He reminded me of one of those little monkey's with the cymbals! LOL


Ian got his very own guitar and enjoyed spending some time with his Daddy playing music.


Even Sofie, our cat, enjoyed a Christmas morning feast thanks to Ian. He bought her a cat bowl with a can of cat food at the Christmas Shop at his school. He bought everyone presents this year. I got a beautiful Mom bracelet and Shan got a "Greatest Dad" hat.

Then, in true cat form, she took a nap in a shopping bag. It was the perfect Christmas for Sofie!


The day after Christmas, Christian decided to do some "work" on his laptop while Opa did some work on his laptop.


Then later that night, Ian and Christian performed for us with the puppet theater. Christian just keep "singing" (aka..shouting) into his echo microphone. It was very entertaining.

Off to Santaland!

It has become a yearly tradition since Ian was a baby to go see Santa at Macy's in New York City. And this year was no exception.

The train ride into the city is always one of the highlights of our trip.





The boys always like Santaland. They do a fantastic job at Macy's and their Santaland is really amazing.




The boys got to see Santa and Ian asked for what he wanted. Christian on the other hand had no interest in Santa, but LOVED jumping off his foot stool! LOL Santa suggested that he bring Christian something to jump off of. LOL


Our trip was cut a little short this year due to both boys being grumpier than usual, so we didn't get to see the window displays or the tree at Rockefeller Center. Hopefully next year, we can see those things as well.

Christmas in New Jersey

This year's holiday schedule was quite hectic, but we were able to enjoy a few days at my Mom and Dad's in New Jersey.

This is their Christmas tree. (Remember, they hauled it from Ohio on the top of their car! LOL) Dad had set up a train underneath the tree and the boys were quite fascinated with it.


I just liked this image of Christian with his sippy.


My very inventive 5 year old figured out a way to keep his nose from running all down his face. Nothing like a Kleenex and tape!


Ian and my Dad spent some time creating a snow fort in the snow bank out front. It was so freezing cold, I don't know how they could stand being outside for as long as they were. They also did a little sledding in the backyard.


We had a very nice visit and wished it could have lasted longer.

And now...Cooking with Christian!

Cooking with Christian can take on so many meanings.

Example #1: Good Cooking with Christian
I made a Tres Leche Cake (which was delicious, by the way) and Christian really enjoyed licking the beater after I made the whipped cream frosting.

Example #2: Bad Cooking with Christian
While I was on the phone with a very important person, Christian had used the stool to climb up to the microwave. No longer happy to just open and close the door, he put a pair of scissors in the microwave and started it!

Shan came downstairs to the smell of burning plastic and a microwave that was very full of black smoke. (It was no longer running by the way. And never ran again after this episode!)

This is what scissors look like that have been Nuked! LOL


Thank the Lord it didn't catch the house on fire! We used the control lock out quite often, but Christian, being the smart boy he is, figured out that if he turned off the power strip that it was plugged into, it would reset and it would work again.

Needless to say, we have moved where the new microwave is plugged in so that he can't reach it and we use the control lock all the time now.

And of course, at the end of a very busy day of licking beaters and trying to melt scissors in the microwave, a nap on top of his bunny and the lids to the bins for his clothes was in order! LOL


What am I going to do with this boy!

Congratulations Kirsten and Jason!

Get ready for some image overload!!!

Kirsten and Jason were married in Tortola, British Virgin Islands in December and Shan and I were honored to be there for it. We had such a great time there! (As some of you kept commenting since that was the last thing I had blogged in a LONG time...but as I replied...I didn't want to come home!)

It was amazingly beautiful and Kirsten and Jason were the most wonderful hosts. We had a great time hanging out with them and their families. We truly felt like a part of the family by the end of the trip.

So here you go!




















This following series all happened in less than 3 seconds! And they didn't even see it coming! They were such great sports and really got into the artistic side of the photography!





We had so much fun hiking out on the rocks to get these images. Totally worth it!







The wedding was amazing! And we can't wait to do it again!

More big boy stuff!

How do you know that your 2 year is getting bigger and stronger?

When he is capable of opening the refrigerator and unloading the salad dressing shelf from the door onto the bottom step in your house!

This is what I found when I came downstairs from working up in the office one afternoon. Christian had very carefully lined up all of the salad dressings and such at the bottom of our stairs. (He added his sippy cup for a little spice I guess! LOL)


It was too funny and too cute to NOT take a picture of it!

Over the river and through the woods...

Not to Grandmother's house...but to Galehouse Tree Farm to get our Christmas tree. Once again, due to the constraints of time and travel, we had to get our Christmas tree on Shan's birthday. (Sorry honey!)

Even more of a bummer was the fact that it was raining! Hiking through the fields of trees in the rain really doesn't say Christmas to me! LOL But we had fun with it anyway.

My Mom and Dad got to come with us this year. And even more amazingly, somehow my Mom convinced my Dad to get their tree here in Ohio and then tie it to the roof of their car and take it back to New Jersey with them! LOL

It was a nice day and the boys had fun picking out the perfect Christmas tree!

Happy Birthday Honey!

Shan turned 35 this year! Ian, our little artist, made him a special birthday crown. It didn't fit the greatest, but it was great nonetheless.

My Mom and Ian made Shan's birthday cake for him while we were working at a wedding the day before his birthday. Ian did all the decorating.

And as usual, both boys helped Daddy blow out his candles.

Black Friday Sales!!!

So I don't have any pictures to go along with this because let's face it...who wants pictures of themselves at 5am?

But I just had to throw in here that...

I LOVE BLACK FRIDAY!!!!

I know I am weird, but I love it! I love getting up in the middle of the night, standing in line with all the other crazy parents at Toys R Us and getting those bargains!

It is even more fun when my SIL Ashley comes with me. This year, she was a total sport and came with me even though she had to be at school all day. (And to top it off...she stopped at Starbuck's while I waited in line at Toys R Us and got us coffee!)

We had so much fun, laughing and grabbing toys for our kids. The other reason that I love it so much is that I was able to get just about everything I wanted to get for my kids (and 2 of my nephews) and it cost $125!!!

So now you know my secret.....I love Black Friday! And I look forward to it every year!

Caedmon's Call - In Concert!

Caedmon's Call, a popular Christian band, played a fundraiser concert for Ian's school, Chapel Hill Christian School in November. The school had a silent auction before the concert and then we got to hear Caedmon's Call perform.

They truly are an amazing band. Their message is so strong and they are genuinely nice people. We had the privilege of getting to meet them and get to know them just a little.

If you haven't heard them before, be sure to check out their website: Caedmon's Call

Here are a few images from the concert.

Stay Tuned!!!

Alright...so some of you have called me out on my lack of blogging.

I'm sorry!

Stay Tuned for tomorrow!!

There will be LOADS of updates!

I am still getting everything ready for my Mass O' Blogging!

See you tomorrow!
Steph