This scene is a common one in our house these days.  Not the  playing on the easel, but one sister doing something and the other sister doing the exact same thing.  They are like one another’s shadows, doing whatever the other does.

Emma & Brooke are 29 months apart.  A good space in my opinion, and it has been recently that they are playtime companions more than competitors. However, as I write this post, they are doing a puzzle together & Emma is teasing Brooke & giggling about it.  And Brooke’s response:  “Emma…I’m big now!  I’m big!”  ….back in a sec…………..okay, argument settled.

I am so thankful that they are usually each others’ friends, and not fighting more than they get along.  Emma teaches Brooke all the things she knows, and Brooke is Emma’s constant encourager & hug giver.  I hope that they can look back on this photo one day and see that sisters can be friends too.

Photos:  Stacy Richardson Photography.  Stacy was my friend & mentor in photography for 2 years.  I had the privilege of assisting her with many weddings in these two years and I learned a lot of what I know about the business of photography from her.  Thanks, Stacy.

I just finished reading It’s Sharing Day to my oldest daughter Emma.  But right before that, I was actually benefiting from what Dora preaches in her book…SHARING!  I just got off the phone with Ryan Swigert from Darkroom Branding.  Wanna know how I found out about Ryan?  Through Twitter!  I used to think Twitter was for techie nerds like my husband, but not so! (or I’ve just become a techie nerd, too)

Anyway, back to the topic of sharing.  Ryan offered, via his “tweets,” a 15-minute consultation for FREE on marketing goals and the business side of photography.  It was totally awesome and I am indebted to him for his knowledge, friendliness, and honesty.  He had me fill out a quick questionnaire and then we set up a 15-minute phone call to talk about his ideas for my business and my personal goals.  Basically he just pointed me in the correct direction.  Thanks Ryan!  I know how to take the photos, but Ryan reminded me that I want my photography to be an experience, not just a service.  He helped me realize that to set myself apart from others, I need to be offering photo sessions where I am real with my clients, where we connect, and where they and I both feel we’ve become friends, rather than just client & photographer.  He’s dead on!  We chatted about a few other things as well, and I will definitely be incorportating them into my business plan.

And lastly, I just had to throw out there a book that he mentioned reading.  I haven’t had the chance to read it yet, seeing as I just got off the phone with him 30 minutes ago, but the book is called Never Eat Alone by Keith Ferrazzi.  From the small amount I’ve read about it, this book is about the importance of networking and connecting with people and it’s vitality to success.  I’ll let you know what I find out when I read it.

So come look me, and Ryan, up on Twitter.  Happy Tweeting!

So when I married my wonderful husband Josh, I had didn’t realize I was marrying into such a creative, talented family.  It’s a lot of competition, I must say!  My husband, Josh, is really skilled at all things Mac, programming, and the techincal side of music.  His dad is a great CPA, and his mom, Bonnie, has been creating and crafting ever since I’ve known her.  Recently, (in the last 7 years) she has made quite a following for herself on eBay selling all kinds of things.  She started painting sweet, shabby chic flowers on vintage and antique items, and has recently moved on to creating Shrink Plastic & resin earrings.  Occasionally, when I have time, she asks me to snap some photos of her stuff.  I usually try to do this during my littlest girl’s nap time because my girls just go “ga-ga” over “Gigi’s” jewelry.  So, in the interest of trying to blog more faithfully, and sharing my life with you all, I had to share with you some super cute stuff that my mother in law is making these days.  Here are some items from her shop, Fun Jewelry: