His Heart

“How far away is my heart, Mommy?” Nicholas asks me.

“Your heart is inside your body, baby. It isn’t far.”

“Yes, it is far. It’s very very far away. That’s why Heller is far away.”

“Heller is far away, to you, because you can’t see him. You can’t see him because he is in Heaven. But, he is also in your heart because you love him. We say, ‘he is in our hearts’ because our hearts feel our love, and we love him forever.”

Nicholas is insistent. “My heart is far far away. Very far. Further than the farthest far.”

I try again.

“When we love somebody, or something, we say that it is in our heart. It means, our heart holds a part of that thing forever and ever. You are in my heart, Jenny is in my heart, Daddy is in my heart. It means we love someone.”

Nicholas gets the final words. “Well, I love my stuffed animals, but they are not in my heart. They are at home, on my bed.”

I’ll try again tomorrow.

Baby Girl "J" is Number Four!

Of course, we are convinced that she will have fewer legs and less fur than her "siblings," Dory, Nemo, and Squirt. At first glance, you would think they stole the entire show, but when you take another look at this beautiful mommy and darling dad, you will see that this shoot did not go to the dogs.

Thank you both for allowing me to capture such a wonderful time in your lives, and for enduring the heat. I cannot wait to meet Baby "J" when she arrives!

I Heart Faces - Red

Take your heart health into your own hands! Remember, your heart doesn't just belong to you.

Cardiovascular disease claimed the lives of nearly 500,000 American women each year, yet women were not paying attention. In fact, many even dismissed it as an “older man’s disease.” To dispel the myths and raise awareness of heart disease as the number one killer of women, the American Heart Association created Go Red For Women – a passionate, emotional, social initiative designed to empower women to take charge of their heart health.

To find out more about Go Red for Women, click here.

I Heart Faces celebrates Valentines Week by spreading the word about an inportant cause--Go Red for Women. See how others spread the word here.

I Heart Faces - Hearts

I Heart Faces is getting into the spirit of Valentine's Day a little early this week with their challenge topic--Hearts! Check out what others are doing with their hearts here.

Wishful Wednesday

My next wish is one for you, my friend. You are here, so I already have everything I need.
What if every wish we made (on pennies, on candles, on stars) had to be for someone else? It would be such a comfort knowing that while we were wishing for others, someone, somewhere was wishing for us.

A Secret About the Light Inside

You aren’t fooling anybody, Mr. Happy Pumpkin.
Especially me.

I saw what they did to you.
I helped in fact.

Your insides were full of seeds and string.
But, we scooped it out—my mommy, my sister, and me.

And now, here you sit,
with a happy smile and a wink.

Mommy says, “It’s possible to show the world you are happy,
even if your insides are scooped.”

She knows the secret. Something about a light inside.

She says it is hard sometimes, but if we show our light,
and make others happy,
we can be happy too.

So, you aren’t fooling anybody, Mr. Happy Pumpkin.
I see your light!

And hey! It makes me happy!

Yana and Pete - A Sneak Peek

Yana and Pete didn't just "melt" in eachother's arms, they SIZZLED--and, not just because the temperature was 95 degrees. This shoot has been a long time coming, so we finally just picked a date and decided to stick with it. Florida has hit its rainy season, so we knew that the sky might open up on our shoot, but we didn't really consider the HEAT...oh the HEAT.

Stating the obvious quote of the day--"I'm really hot." Yes, Pete, I know. Now, stand over here and try to look cool.

I really love these two.

Recent technical difficulties (ie: cup of coffee meets laptop keyboard) makes post-processing a little frustrating lately, so be sure to check back later for more "heat" from Yana and Pete.