I adore the nostalgia of school days by Max and Mimi Photography. Hope everyone has a fantastic school year!
8.31.2011
8.30.2011
[tuesday talks] - let's meet.
I've known my TML partner's for what, almost 5 years and have not met any of the ladies. But that never seemed to matter. There was an instant connection between us and through that our friendship was born. I look back at that time and can't believe how little our children were and how much they have grown. How much we've all grown as women, mother's, photographers and of course friends. I remember meeting Megan of Trees and Bees Photography, on the site CafeMom (that's where we all met) and was immediately drawn to her. Perhaps it was her beautiful photography, her free spirit and energy. Or perhaps it was because we both have little girls, born in December of 2005 - for whatever reason the connection was there. Me the older sister to her, the younger one.
Well I am happy to report that Megan and I finally met face to face. Annie and I picked up Megan and her sweet daughter Marley at Boston's Logan airport two weeks ago. I remember a friend of mine said won't it be terribly awkward to meet someone you don't know?! I never thought of it that way - we had emailed and chatted online for so long. I felt like I knew everything about her and she knew everything about me. The minute our eyes met in the busy airport terminal - I was greeting one of my oldest friends.
Isn't it amazing how powerful the internet is. I admit, I am old enough to remember when there was no internet (and a big thank you to Al Gore for his invention!!). It is a huge part of our lives for so many reasons. Our businesses rely on it, kids use it for homework and paper research, we shop, we take classes, we read the news and get the latest fashions all from a click of our keyboards. And we meet true and honest friends that fill our hearts with joy. Annie and Marley were instant besties. We loved hearing them giggle and share secrets and have these wonderful conversations with each other. It was the best visit and I loved every single minute of being with Megan. I can't wait to do it again and I can't wait until my eyes meet Shannon and Jen and Sarah. One of these days. It WILL happen. xo
Well I am happy to report that Megan and I finally met face to face. Annie and I picked up Megan and her sweet daughter Marley at Boston's Logan airport two weeks ago. I remember a friend of mine said won't it be terribly awkward to meet someone you don't know?! I never thought of it that way - we had emailed and chatted online for so long. I felt like I knew everything about her and she knew everything about me. The minute our eyes met in the busy airport terminal - I was greeting one of my oldest friends.
Isn't it amazing how powerful the internet is. I admit, I am old enough to remember when there was no internet (and a big thank you to Al Gore for his invention!!). It is a huge part of our lives for so many reasons. Our businesses rely on it, kids use it for homework and paper research, we shop, we take classes, we read the news and get the latest fashions all from a click of our keyboards. And we meet true and honest friends that fill our hearts with joy. Annie and Marley were instant besties. We loved hearing them giggle and share secrets and have these wonderful conversations with each other. It was the best visit and I loved every single minute of being with Megan. I can't wait to do it again and I can't wait until my eyes meet Shannon and Jen and Sarah. One of these days. It WILL happen. xo
and the beautiful megan. would you believe we didn't take a picture of the two of us together!
{for more images from our visit check out my blog - a twist of lime}
8.29.2011
.Mommy Monday.
As moms, sometimes we can get stuck in a rut with all the taxi-ing around, meal planning, work, child rearing, and all the countless other daily tasks that we perform.
Sometimes, it takes doing something really daring to snap ourselves out of it.
Take skydiving lessons, dye your hair something that you would have never dreamed of, buy that outfit that you thought you couldn't pull off. You'll probably be pleasantly surprised.
Recently, I stepped out of my comfort zone and got Bombshelled. Think vintage pin-up photography. The good folks over at Bombshell make you feel so at ease--I had a blast!
(If you live in northeast KS, you really must go. If not--it's worth a trip to Lawrence, KS!)
This was the end result.
...and I must say, I had so much fun. So today, I urge you--be daring!
Step out of your comfort zone for awhile--it seems that is where life really happens!
xo
Sarah
Sometimes, it takes doing something really daring to snap ourselves out of it.
Take skydiving lessons, dye your hair something that you would have never dreamed of, buy that outfit that you thought you couldn't pull off. You'll probably be pleasantly surprised.
Recently, I stepped out of my comfort zone and got Bombshelled. Think vintage pin-up photography. The good folks over at Bombshell make you feel so at ease--I had a blast!
(If you live in northeast KS, you really must go. If not--it's worth a trip to Lawrence, KS!)
This was the end result.
...and I must say, I had so much fun. So today, I urge you--be daring!
Step out of your comfort zone for awhile--it seems that is where life really happens!
xo
Sarah
8.23.2011
8.22.2011
8.18.2011
photos of the day...lots of them!
There are so many amazing photos in the TML flickr pool, I thought I'd pick a few to share today. Love, love them all!!
1. looking down, 2. cherries, 3. Friends come in all sizes., 4. 19~Smile, 5. momma's boy, 6. clickin chicks shooting clinic , 7. maternity, 8. wedding day feet, 9. 227/365, 10. perfect moment, 11. 32 | 52, 12. 31:52. lifestyle, 13. Boys at rest, 14. FB2, 15. Lost in the frame :), 16. Fast as Lightning
8.15.2011
.Mommy Monday {personal edition}.
This is a sort of different edition of Mommy Monday, because I am going to share some of my (Sarah) personal journey of motherhood with you all.
This week marks a very special week for the Long clan, as we are officially growing two-fold this Friday, our Adoption Day! [It's been a long time coming!]
Let me tell you part of our story.
This is Miss K. (for privacy purposes) In her 15 years, she has seen some very dark places. Her mother passed away of Cancer when she was only nine years old, and through this time she has seen several foster homes. K is our first foster child. She is completely Deaf. Our primary mode of communication is American Sign Language. (Besides photographer, one of my other ‘labels’ is sign language interpreter, so this works. Ü) She is such an amazing young lady. She is vivacious, kind, gentle, and has such an amazing gift with animals and young children. We took her in only "for the summer," while her placement agency would look for more permanent placement. It didn't take long though, to realize, that she wasn't going anywhere. We all soon realized that God had put us together, to stay together.
Many people asked me why I would take on such a thing–being that I already work two jobs (owning two successful photography businesses, then a part time “day job”), and having two wonderful buggars of my own already to focus on. To tell the truth, my two little ones were a large portion of why my husband and I decided to go for it.
We felt that while it is good to talk to our children about kindness and helping others, it is even better for them to see us do it. Live it. Live deeply and purposefully. So, when this opportunity arose, we felt called and blessed to share the love that we have found, with someone less fortunate. This experience has made us reach deeply inward, and give parts of ourselves away, that truthfully we didn’t even know were there. Even my children have had to share more of their parents, and learn a new language.
Through the natural progression of things, it was not long before her younger sister, (Miss W) joined our family. She is the quiet, introverted, artistic polar opposite of her sister, and she brings much joy and laughter into our home. Miss W. is hearing.
Then, there was, and is, the business of mending. Hearts that have seen so much darkness have some barriers to break through, before letting love again. I know this well. In my life, there has also been darkness. I know what it is like to be a frightened child that carries around a lot of hurt. But, the blessings that I now behold each day upon waking, sometimes literally take my breath away. I will hold their sweet hands, and show them that the world is not all darkness. We can find the light together.
So this Friday, I ask for all of you to celebrate in your hearts with us, as we begin a new chapter of our lives.
Thank you for reading about our journey. And, if you haven’t, please consider fostering or adoption.
(The two photos above were taken of our family last fall by our own Megan Rogers!)
This week marks a very special week for the Long clan, as we are officially growing two-fold this Friday, our Adoption Day! [It's been a long time coming!]
Let me tell you part of our story.
This is Miss K. (for privacy purposes) In her 15 years, she has seen some very dark places. Her mother passed away of Cancer when she was only nine years old, and through this time she has seen several foster homes. K is our first foster child. She is completely Deaf. Our primary mode of communication is American Sign Language. (Besides photographer, one of my other ‘labels’ is sign language interpreter, so this works. Ü) She is such an amazing young lady. She is vivacious, kind, gentle, and has such an amazing gift with animals and young children. We took her in only "for the summer," while her placement agency would look for more permanent placement. It didn't take long though, to realize, that she wasn't going anywhere. We all soon realized that God had put us together, to stay together.
Many people asked me why I would take on such a thing–being that I already work two jobs (owning two successful photography businesses, then a part time “day job”), and having two wonderful buggars of my own already to focus on. To tell the truth, my two little ones were a large portion of why my husband and I decided to go for it.
We felt that while it is good to talk to our children about kindness and helping others, it is even better for them to see us do it. Live it. Live deeply and purposefully. So, when this opportunity arose, we felt called and blessed to share the love that we have found, with someone less fortunate. This experience has made us reach deeply inward, and give parts of ourselves away, that truthfully we didn’t even know were there. Even my children have had to share more of their parents, and learn a new language.
Through the natural progression of things, it was not long before her younger sister, (Miss W) joined our family. She is the quiet, introverted, artistic polar opposite of her sister, and she brings much joy and laughter into our home. Miss W. is hearing.
Then, there was, and is, the business of mending. Hearts that have seen so much darkness have some barriers to break through, before letting love again. I know this well. In my life, there has also been darkness. I know what it is like to be a frightened child that carries around a lot of hurt. But, the blessings that I now behold each day upon waking, sometimes literally take my breath away. I will hold their sweet hands, and show them that the world is not all darkness. We can find the light together.
So this Friday, I ask for all of you to celebrate in your hearts with us, as we begin a new chapter of our lives.
Thank you for reading about our journey. And, if you haven’t, please consider fostering or adoption.
(The two photos above were taken of our family last fall by our own Megan Rogers!)
8.12.2011
A New Senior Portraits Forum + Giveaway
We have some exciting news for all those senior photographers out there!
The brand new Senior Portraits Forum for senior photographers was launched a little bit over a week ago! If you are looking for a great learning forum that you can ask all your questions, get answers, help others, get freebies, discounts and more, then head on over and sign up! For a limited time, the Senior Portraits Forum is offering free memberships to those who join.
This new forum is not just for new photographers. When others ask questions, you find answers that you may not have thought of. Ideas and topics in the senior industry are changing all the time. Never rule anything out in your education and learning. You may hear of an alternative way of marketing or offering something, or different inspiration ideas than you have used before. Sometimes its not the answers, but the questions that give us inspiration and help spark ideas and thoughts.
We wanted to create a place that allows us to communicate in an organized fashion. You can search for topics, key words etc and not have to worry about missing any information. You can subscribe to specific topics that you want to follow if you want to stay updated.
There are many categories such as marketing, business, editing, technical, lighting and more. Within each category are topics and most importantly, the potential to grow a TON more topics with questions and ideas.
So head on over and sign up!
To make it a little more exciting, the Senior Portraits Forum is going to be giving away one Senior Portraits 101 Guide.
To enter:
1) Sign up for the forum.
2) Post questions in 3 different categories, or add 3 new topics of interest/questions.
A random member of the forum will be chosen as the winner. They will be chosen by going to to a random category and topic. The more you post, the better chance you will have of winning!
The winner will be announced on August 18th!
Have a great weekend! <3
8.11.2011
[BEHIND the SCENES]
Just a few more fun looks at what goes on behind the scenes....we love to see how you work!
from Cayce Lee Photography
from Cayce Lee Photography