I am so happy to kick 2008 out the door and move on to a new year! I am most excited for next week as we will be closing on our first house! 2008 was a rough year for me personally but I was so blessed to work with some truly awesome people and so thankful to have the surgery that made me able to live (and actually enjoy) my life again! I’m so excited for what the new year will bring… a new house… a new city… a new state… and a new neice or nephew! =)

Here’s to a very happy and healthy new year!

Our offer was accepted early October but we’ve been waiting all this time to close on our first house. It’s been quite a nightmare but I am so happy to say that it’s almost over! We FINALLY got a closing date - January 5th! Obviously I’m going to be a little busy packing, moving and unpacking the next 2-3 weeks but it’ll be SO worth it!

Last weekend I had the pleasure of shooting with fellow photographer and all around awesome chick, Val McCormick at a Quinceanera… my very first Quinceanera (Sweet 15)! Thank goodness that this was Val’s gig and she speaks Spanish because I was a bit lost! I love experiencing new things and learning about other cultures so it was a lot of fun but I really wish that I could understand Spanish better so I could get a better grasp of what was going on before it happened. Val was so awesome explaining things to me and translating… of course it was quite entertaining when she would translate English just because she was getting used to translating the Spanish! =) I had so much fun and the family was so warm, welcoming and friendly! The Birthday Girl, Ashley, is amazingly gorgeous and she certainly knows how to work the camera! She was so brave and willing to do anything for “the shot”! We were outside of the church, so cold that our fingers went numb… it was windy and about 19 degrees with some flurries and Ashley sucked it up and ran outside for some photos with a strapless dress and no coat on! Of course, we weren’t totally cruel… we did send her back inside several times to warm up but she just kept coming back for more! She definitely has what it takes to be a model!

Getting ready candid with a little vintage look and some Autumn Textures love!

I love these two shots with Ashley’s Puerto Rico flag in the background and the delicious window light!

This little girl bawled her eyes out the whole way down the aisle…

Below is my favorite from the day! I started out taking this with natural light and it didn’t live up to the potential I saw in it… so I tried a little bounced on camera flash… nah…. we sent Ashley back inside to warm up while Val and I got set up to rock the one light! I am SO glad that we took the time to set this up because it is worlds better than my original shots in the same spot and it truly captured what I saw in my mind!

Look at that snow! Brrrrrrr…

At the altar with a little Autumn Textures lovin’!

Loving the Converse! Ashley was all about making sure we had like a thousand pictures of her shoes! =)

The Fabulous Val:

All images captured by Autumn for Val McCormick Photography

Happy Birthday Ashley and thanks again to Val!

After a couple of days of searching while Jaedyn got more and more impatient (who could blame her?!), we finally found her Christmas ornaments! She came home from school today and started in with her usual routine and then suddenly remembered that she could put her ornaments on the Christmas Tree! She was so excited to adorn the tree with her special ornaments so of course I had to document it!

Putting the ornaments on the tree (gave the first two some Autumn Textures love!)

Loving the singing Hannah Montana ornament

Thank you all so much for the thoughts, prayers and good wishes - Jaedyn is finally feeling much better after coming down with pneumonia over the weekend!

Still searching for a great last minute holiday gift? There is still time to order a gift certificate for that special loved one! Gift certificates can be used toward a photo session, wedding, prints or products and come in any amount you wish to give! Gift certificates for family sessions are always a huge hit, especially around the holidays when extended families are together! To order a gift certificate just click this link, enter the amount you wish to give and add a note to say who it’s for and any custom text you wish to add to the certificate!

Happy Holidays!