'if you believe in magic come along with me we'll dance until morning, just you and me'...

Do you all have special Christmas traditions in your family?  We are slowly building ours as our family has grown through the years.  We only just started doing anything related to Santa after Ava was born!  This is our first year doing "Elf on the Shelf".  I am a very imaginative person and like the "idea" of magic and the unknown.  Isaac and I both grew up not doing any sort of secular holiday traditions which was fine but now we are sort of living out our childhoods through our own children and having lots of fun with it!  Ethan is still skeptical about whether he believes in magic - he always questions me in whispers,  "Was it really you mom?"   When it all boils down to it, we tell our kids that Santa, and elves and Christmas magic are all only real "in our imaginations" and that it's okay to use our imaginations and play pretend.  We are very big in teaching our children the true Christmas story and about giving and thinking of others, not only during the holiday season but all throughout the year! They also know that it's not necessarily a big fat man, dresssed in red breaking into our home who brings them their presents - it's their parents and family who invest a lot of thought and love into the gifts they give. In the meantime, I truly enjoy "believing" in Christmas magic and reliving my childhood through the sparkle in my children's eyes!

You can follow along with our Elf's adventures, whom my children named Dash (even though I really thought he looked more like a "Fred"); I'll be doing weekly photo updates of his midnight adventures!

This is how Dash arrived at our house:

When I tried adjusting the basket for optimum photographing, Dash fell out and as Lulu picked him up, we all simultaneously shouted out because, you know, if you touch the elf, he might lose his magic!!  Thankfully, Lydia is so cute, I think Santa will forgive her of her innocent mistake.... He might not be so lenient for Ava though who was found coloring on the walls....AND the TV...AND the TV stand and remote control and floors...

Welcome to our home, Dash!  Hope you enjoy your stay...

'my sun is art, as art as me' ..... fort walton beach photography

My sun is round and high.

It dwells on me,

encircles my head and my heart.

My sun is art,

as art as me. - Deidre Price

I went on a nature walk yesterday - in my yard - while babies slept peacefully inside.  It was too pretty of a day to stay indoors.  Autumn is so inspiring to me - I don't typically walk around taking photos of flowers and leaves - it's really not all that much my style.  But I was hopelessly compelled - drawn as it was to do that very thing - those tumbling leaves uttering their last whispers to me - calling me like a siren's song.  I'm not that wordy - anymore, that is - so I'll let the photos speak for themselves. (taken around dusk with minimal editing - mostly subtle texture overlays).

'Back to the gypsy that I was...' Fort Walton Beach photography

So I'm back, to the velvet underground
Back to the floor, that I love
To a room with some lace and paper flowers
 Back to the gypsy that I was To the gypsy... that I was

Sometimes a girl just needs to feel pretty.  Sometimes a girl just needs to be valued.  Sometimes a girl just needs a boost of confidence and a spark of imagination.  Sometimes we need each other....

Ain't no mountain high enough....Fort Walton Beach family photography

I so incredibly admire this strong woman.  The love between her and her three girls is just so powerful and I am honored that they call me year after year to capture it! Hope you enjoy these sneaks from their latest session...

the boys are back in town, the boys are back in town...fort walton beach family photography

Happy Birthday Wayne!  It was so awesome taking photos of these three generations of surfer boys!  And this was on the morning that a supposed "hurricane" was headed to our beaches - it was BEAUTIFUL!  Hope you enjoy the sneak peeks!

'hold me down, sweet and low, and i will carry you home'... fort walton beach maternity photography

Get ready world, Stella Mae is gon' be coming into this world soon!  I had so much fun with this maternity shoot mostly because I feed off of creativity and this mama is definitely a creative person - that kind that makes my spirit hum and soar! I loved working with her on poses and ideas.  Congratulations to this sweet family on the soon-to-be arrival of their next baby girl!

{sunsets and sleeping babies} i-Friday roundup

A quick, caption-less i-Friday (or rather, i-Sunday) roundup. Photos are very indicative of our daily life. Ava's loving preschool, Lydia is still being precious and a handful, I'm still spot mopping my floors with my toes and the sun is still painting our beaches beautiful. Hope you all have a most loverly Labor Day weekend! Xoxo