I love birthday parties!  Julianne is about to turn 15 and she is having one of the biggest birthday parties I have ever seen!  I am excited for her.    Happy Birthday sweet girl!

I remember my 15th birthday, not that it was significant, simply that it was awkward.  It was the year that I entered high school, wore big glasses, big hair, and probably had some parachute pants hanging somewhere in my closet, or was that the year of legwarmers, no maybe “roper boots”….hummm…. who knows.  I can’t help but to look back and reminisce of yester-year and giggle.  In fact, now I am in the mood to listen to a little bit o f Whitney Houston’s “How will I know”…. or maybe even “West End Girls” by the Pet Shop Boys.  Geez…and the clock continues to tick….

That word “Mommy” means so much.  Unless you are a mommy you simply don’t quite understand the magnitude of such a little word.

The following was a passage shared with me recently:

The child asked God, “They tell me you are sending me to earth tomorrow, but how am I going to live there being so small and helpless?”

“Your angel will be waiting for you and will take care of you.”

The child further inquired, “But tell me, here in heaven I don’t have to do anything but sing and smile to be happy.”

God said, “Your angel will sing for you and will also smile for you. And you will feel your angel’s love and be very happy.”

Again the child asked, “And how am I going to be able to understand when people talk to me if I don’t know the language?”

God said, “Your angel will tell you the most beautiful and sweet words you will ever hear, and with much patience and care, your angel will teach you how to speak.”

“And what am I going to do when I want to talk to you?”

God said, “Your angel will place your hands together and will teach you how to pray.”

“Who will protect me?”

God said, “Your angel will defend you even if it means risking it’s life.”

“But I will always be sad because I will not see you anymore.”

God said, “Your angel will always talk to you about me and will teach you the way to come back to me, even though I will always be next to you.”

At that moment there was much peace in heaven, but voices from Earth could be heard and the child hurriedly asked, “God, if I am to leave now, please tell me my angel’s name.”

You will simply call her “Mom.”

And… because every post is better with a picture…. here is one of my favorites, beautiful Diana and her girls.

Some of my favorite photoshoots are of Mommy’s-2b  there is just something about their soul that radiates and touches the hearts of everyone around.  These gorgeous photos are of Misty.  I have not told her this, but many times throughout her photoshoot I had tears of joy in my eyes.  Joy for her and the mother she will be.  Being able to witness and document the amount of love she has for this little miracle, whom she calls “Harper” makes my heart warm.  Little Harper was born this past week and I am sure her mommy loves her more than she will ever know.  One thing I do know is that Misty is going to make a fabulous mommy.

Tonight was open house at my daughter’s school and I loved it!  I wanted to open her teacher’s new box of Expo markers and neatly print “Mrs. Christenson” on the board.  You see, I have loved school since … well as long as I can remember and a bachelors degree + a couple of master degrees later… well I obviously still love school.  I received a post on my Facebook / Twitter wall this morning that brought a smile to my face.  One of my favorite students (a real sweet and smart kiddo who is now a beautiful grown-up  and mommy) remembered her awesome insect collection she had created in AP Biology class.  Other students (who are now Facebook Friends) chimed in that years later after medical school, law school, and becoming teachers themselves… they too still have or think about creepy crawlies.  I swear, senior memories and laughter makes me giddy.

I make every attempt to capture as many milestones as possible.  Unfortunately, I know I must miss some because she is getting so big… so fast.  Every minute of the day I long for that sweet smell of lotion, little smiles, and visible twinkles in her eyes.  Time does not stop and that is why I am a photographer… to catch a glimpse of a memory that will last forever.

The SENIOR year of high school is such a fun time.  The pathway of success is leading to so many adventures!   I am excited to help our area high school seniors celebrate this special time in their life by documenting a little bit of who they are at this point in their journey.  I am lucky to have at each of our area high schools, a junior/senior who shares timeless images with friends and in doing so gets some free goodies of their own.  Lately it seems that our reps love to have their own “senior rep cards” and I oblige…. such beautiful kiddos!

If you know of a high school  junior or senior who would like to be our studio representative, please send them over!

It is one of my favorite times of the year, the start of school.  I think I have loved the start of school since I was a 5 year old kindergardener.  There is  just nothing like packing your school box, labeling all the supplies, and unzipping a brand new backpack.   Oh yea, and the shiny first-day-shoes are second to none.  So with school in session, it is time to bring about the 2011-12  High School Senior Photoshoot Campaign!  This is what I give my reps (for FREE of course):

-Fashion photoshoot
-Acordian albums
-Prints
-Cards

With that said, if you or someone you know is a Junior/Senior High School cutie in the San Antonio area (San Antonio, Boerne, Schertz, and New Braunfels)  and loves school, send them my way!  This year, I only need 3 more reps and senior sessions are booking fast!