wow....

uh yeah.... not much else to say. :)

-Michelle

weekend in Cologne...

We had such an amazing time in Cologne this weekend. I didn't take as many pictures as I planned, but here are a few of the Cathedral. Maci asked Nathan, 'Is this God's castle?' Too cute!
You wouldn't believe the gorgeous light pouring in the windows... I mean, it truly takes your breath away! My photos do this place no justice. It was AMAZING!
-Michelle

perhaps I spoke too soon....

Ok, this is my new favorite from this session. Check her out.... you go girl! Go on with your bad self!! :)

-Michelle

**Thanks again to 'ground*floor' for the amazing (and totally FREE) textures!!!

my favorite...

I love this shot so much... it's probably my favorite of 2008 so far. :)))

-Michelle

so schön...

I had so much fun with my good friend's daughter, Ann-Sophie. Isn't she gorgeous?!

-Michelle

(vielen dank, ann-so!)

the wait is finally over!!!

The mail gods heard me.... finally! :))) I'm so happy to get back in the swing of things! YAY!

-Michelle

she gets it from her mama! :))

Maci really surprised me with an awesome piece of work today. She sure has come a long way recently. Her kindergarten teacher told me she's speaking Deutsch full time now and is getting along better with all the kids as a result. I'm thrilled!!! I can finally walk out of kindergarten with a smile on my face and with peace in my heart. -feels great!- So here she is working hard on this magnificent work of art! enjoy!!

-Michelle

from left to right: pa-pa (i had NOTHING to do with the belly... promise!), mommy (high up, wearing a fabulous little black dress:) ), a snail, a roller coaster, jasmine (our dog), kira, grandma dee, daddy, cousin riley, maci, and nana. Too awesome!! Isn't she something?!

another fantastic johnson video....

This is an every day occurrence in our house and we love it!!! Forget about watching dancing with the stars without a kira & maci dance-off..... it just won't happen! :))) enjoy!!!!

-Michelle

(please excuse our dance floor... aka my office!)

whew, that feels better....

Oh my gosh, I almost lost it this morning. I was seriously having photography withdrawals. I'm so sick of this cruddy weather keeping me from shooting. On top of that, I have no editing software... since I 'upgraded' to mac, I had to upgrade my photoshop too. (CS3 baby! I'm so excited!!) So after my daily blog reading, I finally said, THAT'S IT!!! I packed up my gear, threw on my hat & jacket, grabbed a cup of coffee and some crackers and took off out the door. It was FREEZING but I managed to get a few pics to add to my 'Germany through my lens' folder. FUN!! Here are a few. WHEW!!!

-Michelle

**I must say... iphoto did a pretty good job of editing them! not bad.

the winner is....

Tara Tropea!!!!

I really wanted this session to go to a well deserving person... and she totally is! I'm shocked and amazed at everything she has been through. Saying things have been tough would be a huge understatement. To see her, you would never know the pain and struggle she has experienced.

A little over two years ago Tara was nearing the end of her somewhat complicated pregnancy. After determining the baby was mature enough, labor was induced. Twelve hours later, no dilation... so the decision was made to take the next step. Unfortunately Tara experienced major complications during the cesarean section which resulted in general anesthesia, blood transfusions,  and sadly a hysterectomy.  Meanwhile her husband nervously awaited for hours with their newborn daughter without word on Tara's status. Thankfully, Tara eventually recovered. 

Two years later, Tara and husband are wanting very badly to have another child. Surrogacy would be their ideal choice, but there is very little support out here. I hope to raise awareness and bring reality to this subject. This happens more than we know and isn't spoken about enough. Please email me if you have any information for this family.  

Tara, you are a wonderful woman and mother. I can't wait to have a fun photo session with you. You're so deserving of it!

-Michelle

feeling snappy...

When I first became serious about photography, I completely stopped taking every day snapshots of my family. I guess I thought the image had to be perfect, or it wasn't worth taking. Boy was I wrong! Sadly I missed about a year's worth of snapshots of my girls. I regret that so much! So take as many pictures as you can... bad lighting, crazy hair, boogie nose, yucky clothes... WHO CARES!?!?! Anyhow, here are some fun (unedited) snaps of my girls... enjoy!

-Michelle

*Give me one more day to announce the contest winner. SORRY!!! :(