Leah's Children:)

These are Leah's children...I love a good challenge and they certainly put me to the test! At first, I didn't think I would get a smile out of any of them, but it really didn't take long for them to loosen up a bit, and once they started kidding around with each other and their Mom (who stood behind me and did everything except for stand on her head to get them to crack a smile), I got some really great photos;)

Her oldest - Elise...who lives in Texas!

Next is Jared...a wrestler and senior in high school.

I posted 2 photos, because he was the hardest one to get to smile, but I caught him when he wasn't looking;)

Then, there's Meghan - also in high school.

And her youngest, Sam - an 8th grader.

After taking a few of all of them at the fence, I happened to turn and see the sisters like this. It truly warmed my heart, because you can tell they are not only sisters, but they are friends. It reminded me of my sisters who are my best friends:)

I had such a good time getting to know her family!

~Akia's Family~

Referrals are so much fun:) I met Akia and her family through Renae (her son was the adorable one a few posts ago). Not only do you get a discount for referrals, but I get the benefit of meeting someone new - someone that I probably never would have met otherwise.

This is Akia's family. Her brother on the left, her son in the middle, and her daughter on the right. They are all so sweet and patient! It was freezing cold out there, but this park by their house in Zebulon was great!

Her son - the one loving all of the attention here - has such a big personality;p He was so much fun!

~ Brother & Sister ~

~ Mom & Daughter ~

~ Dad & Son ~

Not long after we left the park, it started to snow and ice...perfect timing!

Little Luke:)

This child has absolutely stolen my heart:) Not only is he beautiful, he's so sweet and makes being a parent look fun! Don't worry there are plenty of other children in the world to counteract that notion for me ;p

Pondering something intense...

Footsies!

These were crocheted especially for Luke by the ladies at his mommy's home church in Indiana, and that's his mommy's cradle. Love the special touches!

Yes, yes I know it's not Christmas anymore, but I couldn't resist the cuteness:)

So sweet and beautiful...

Sydney and Her Mommy:)

~ Sydney and Jennifer keeping each other warm ~

I love taking Sydney and her mom's photos, because it's just so darn easy to get a great photo! They are both so beautiful!

One word: Gorgeous!

This door reminds me of the Secret Garden:)

Our Christmas...

An overly honest moment:

I can't believe how much preparation went into this Christmas! I was really hoping to make it a unique Christmas (for me) in that it was solely about the birth of our Savior - Jesus Christ. I think it was in November that I went to a workshop specifically for that purpose. Billy and I were all set to make it about Jesus. Then, the Christmas wish lists came out - including mine:( (I'm not proud to say that I'm saving up to buy a new Mac desktop to help with editing my photos, and I loved raking in the gift cards). I couldn't resist the chaotic abyss that was my life in the two weeks before Christmas.

Long story short: Next year, I plan to eliminate the hectic, stressful mess and go right for keeping my focus on our Lord and the miracle that is His son, Jesus:)

That said, we did benefit from Christmas, as always, through wonderful time spent with family:)

Unfortunately, I didn't bring my camera for the Ketron portion of the day, but I couldn't resist taking pictures of the pups and their Christmas that evening!

Top to bottom: Max (Billy's dog that lives with his parents), Niki (Billy's parents' dog), and our baby, G...and Billy helping them open their gifts!

Watching his every move - oh so intently;)

Each pup got their turn at the real bone...

...until there was a pretty nasty fight, and then they could watch it while it froze on the back porch:(

Billy's birthday is January 4th, so his Mom got really creative with the wrapping paper on this present - 1/2 for Christmas and 1/2 for his b-day! His Dad claimed that she ran out of paper, but we all know that she's just super talented!

Max was pooped!

But Niki was still playful!

and adorable:)

By the end of the night, it was a lot to ask them to move much less, lift their heads;)

Jacob's Christmas :)

Ok, so right before Christmas, my life got hectic - I hope I was the only one, but I have a bad feeling that ya'll know what I'm talking about! I didn't have a chance to post this before Christmas, but now I'm snowed in and wanted to show ya'll this handsome fella!

Seriously, one of the happiest I've worked with - he didn't stop smiling:)

He loves his tractor! It was his Dad's when he was young! He got so distracted with the tractor, that his parents had to move it out of sight so he'd concentrate on the camera, but he didn't stop smiling when they took it away!!!

Such a sweety!

I hope he had a great first Christmas!!!

~ Annabelle ~

This is Annabelle ~ isn't she adorable??

Annabelle and her Daddy ~ so sweet!

This will be her first Christmas:) I think she already likes everything about it! The lights on the tree, of course, and then there was the ribbon...

I've noticed that the camera is slightly unnerving to children and I think this was the case with Annabelle. The ribbon helped a whole lot, so we didn't dare remove it from her hands once she had a hold of it!