MINE | NAPLES, FLORIDA CHILDREN'S PHOTOGRAPHER

I got a new light that came in recently and decided I wanted to try it out. It's been sitting in the box for at lease two weeks since its arrival but I've been gone with traveling so much that I haven't had the chance to take it out and put it to good use. So...yesterday I got a few seconds to do just that. I tried bribing my son and eventually MADE him be the model for my initial set up. Of course he fought me on it but in the end I won. I think I threatened no this, no that, etc. until he finally caved. LOL! I'm such a mean mom. There was a day when that kid used to love getting in front of the camera for me. Now...he is just two weeks shy of officially becoming a teenager and can you ever tell it. UGH!

In the end, my oldest only gave me about 5 total minutes of studio time. That included the time it took me to set up my light source and so on. Needless to say, I was very limited. I had to make it happen fast. Because of that, I didn't get the overall solid ring look in his eyes that I was after but I'll just have to use it on a client for a trial run in the near future rather than my son. After five minutes, Brennen looked at me all serious and said, "I'm so over this." The sad thing was...I was suddenly propelled back into my childhood when my own mother used to do the same thing to me with her camera and I'd get so frustrated. So...I released him and made due with what I had.

It's always great fun to get a new toy especially when it relates to photography for me. This light will make a great addition to our arsenal. I'm extremely excited to try it out on my high school kids. I know they'll LOVE it. Until then, thanks for letting me share. I hope all of you have a fabulous weekend. Blessings, Angie

SWEET NEWBORN GOODNESS - NAPLES, FLORIDA NEWBORN PHOTOGRAPHER

I've been away - in Atlanta - for another workshop over the past weekend. I spent Friday thru Sunday, one on one, with Debbie Layden (a newborn and children's photographer there in Atlanta). I had a blast and got to drown myself in newborn photography as well as studio and outdoor lighting. Deb was great to work one on one with as I got to ask all the questions I wanted and didn't feel like a dork asking them. LOL!

As a photographer, I like to consider myself a "life-learner." Meaning, I never want to get to the point in photography or in life period where I think I just "know it all." No one ever knows E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G and therefore, why not make it a priority to keep learning all throughout life (whether it be in your career, your hobby, your passion, etc.)? Because I want to remain a life-learner, I intend to always make it a priority to attend any workshop, conference, class, seminar, etc. that I feel is necessary to my craft. I want my clients to have the best product possible and I can honestly say that with each workshop or conference I've attended, it's only bettered the end result of my art. I once heard a photography mentor of mine say to treat workshops and classes as though they are your college - ongoing college. So I do. I have two other workshops coming up this year (one next month in March and one in September) that I hope will also add to the list of things that have helped me improve my product and further educate my brain in regard to this industry.

Because of the above, I'm so grateful for those who "teach" in this industry. Without them, we'd be a lot further behind in most cases than we currently are. Right? So...thank you to all of you out there who aren't afraid to share your knowledge with other photographers. I am a firm believer that there is enough business out there for everybody. :)

Until the next post, stay up to date on daily happenings, give-a-ways, casting calls, & my most recent images from sessions I've done, etc. which are shared on my facebook fan page. You can find my fan page here: FAN PAGE ON FACEBOOK

Have a fabulous weekend! XOXO, Angie

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY - NAPLES, FLORIDA PHOTOGRAPHER

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!!

The Valentine's in our house were packaged up & sent off to school without a hitch today. As a photographer, I've attached photos with each of my children's Valentine's for their classes - for as long as I can remember. Not only is it a cute look for your kiddo's in an effort to help their Valentine cards stand out but it's also a good advertisement for business. And yes, I do include my website address somewhere on the card in smaller print. In this case, it's on the back side of the design. :) I am "that Mom." LOL! I'm always marketing/networking. Always.

You don't have to be a photographer to do this. If you specialize in another field/career, place that on the back of your kiddo's Valentine's next year. Slip in a website address and market whenever and wherever possible. You never know who's watching or whose hands it might land in. :) In the meantime, I hope your love bug(s) made your Valentine's Day very special. Give those who melt your heart a HUGE hug today and remind them how much they're loved. And to all of you...my clients, my friends, my family, my fans, my stalkers...I sure do love you guys! Thanks for always showering me with so much love and support. It means more to me than you'll ever know.

XOXO, Angie

PUPPY LOVE - NAPLES, FLORIDA NEWBORN PHOTOGRAPHER

In honor of Valentine's Day tomorrow, I thought I'd share this little cutie in one of my puppy love hats (above). This sweet little guy was such a trooper and did so well for his shoot. I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know him and his Mommy.

Aside from the puppy love hat, we also sported him in some traditional stuff too.

As you can see, he was just as snug as a little bug in a rug. Too cute!

How bout' them lips? Love!

Thank you sweet boy for making my job so easy that morning. You were such a joy to work with and your Mommy was the sweetest Mommy ever. Loved you both! :) XOXO, Angie

SYNC SENIOR & YOUTH PHOTOGRAPHY CONFERENCE 2012

Hi friends. I just wanted to pop in and let each of you know that I'm currently away in St. Pete Beach, Florida for the annual SYNC Senior & Youth Photography conference. SYNC is a four day photography workshop with a line up of very talented photographers, speakers, graphic artists, etc. I'm here to spend some time honing in on my craft and to learn new things based on the genres of area I specialize in (high school seniors, babies, and families). I've had a phenomenal week thus far meeting some of my photography mentors in person as well as seeing old photography friends that you only see during these yearly conferences. I've also had a blast shopping for new gear, props, supplies, equipment and so on within the trade show that is located here on the grounds of the hotel for the time that we're here. In a nutshell...I'm in photography heaven. :) I cannot wait to get back to Naples and begin implementing all of the new things I've learned here. I'm amongst some of the most talented and most successful photographers in the industry. To say that I'm humbled is an understatement. I'm proud to be sharing a room with such amazing artists in my field.

For those of you whom have emailed me, please hang tight. I'll be back in the office on Tuesday and will be returning calls and emails at that time. I greatly appreciate your patience while I'm away. Until then, my bed calls. I've spent the last 10 hours in photography classes today and my brain is fried. Literally. Time to hit the sack and do it all over again tomorrow. :) Blessings, Angie

THE CIRCLE OF LIFE - NAPLES, FLORIDA PHOTOGRAPHER

Even when you know it's coming, death is never easy. Especially when the one who passes happens to be your loved one.

I apologize for my absence over the past week. My Grandmother, my Dads Mother, passed away last weekend. Myself and my two sons hopped a plane back to Indianapolis late Tuesday night. Kenidi stayed behind here in Florida with my husband. The boys and I touched down into frigid and cold Indiana shortly after midnight on Wednesday morning. My father and my step-mom picked us up at the curb and although our reason for coming home was a sad one, it sure felt good to give my Dad a hug and see his smile.

The image above is of my grandmother with my daughter Kenidi just a few short months ago. When this photo was taken, the doctors had already given my grandmother 6 months to live. During our last visit to Indy back in August of last year, we visited Grandma on several occasions. Kenidi was leaning in to give her great-grandma a kiss here and I managed to snap the shot just in time. I remember almost deleting this image from my camera because the lighting was horrible & because of the lack of light...the image was noisy (grainy) and lacked luster in my opinion. As a photographer, it's an image you would normally knit-pick apart in high critique fashion. I held back on deleting it all those months ago though and I'm so thankful that I listened to my heart instead of my photography driven eye back then. I sent this to my Dad via email before my arrival back in Indy and just said..."The power of a camera..." This image is now priceless to me. Priceless. I'll treasure it forever.

We are back in Naples now. Back to the reality of burying my grandmother, saying goodbye to my Dad yet again, and just coping with the chapters of life that we'd much rather skip. The toughest part to my week is watching my father hurt. Watching him in pain over the loss of his Mother. As an only child and a serious Daddy's girl, you just wish you could take away all of his sadness but unfortunately I can't. With all that said though, I'm proud of my Dads strength but also thankful for his sentimental openness and his raw emotion that he shows in times such as this. As a daughter, it's great to see a big, strong, tough Dad by your side but it's even better to see your Father stand before you and not be afraid to share his tears, be open with his feelings, & transparent with his heart. As a daughter, this is so very important! I'm a lucky girl.

We took off out of Indiana Saturday night. There were ugly gray skies and snow on the ground as you can see from the image above. However, seconds after take off, the pilot climbed up and above the clouds. Literally a minute into the flight we went from the sights you see in the above photo to this...

I was in shock. How does the gray cloud cover in the sky look like THAT above the clouds? I immediately thought of my Grandma again and smiled. I knew she was living in that paradise now. In those colors. In that beauty. God is certainly a talented artist and he was no doubt showing off up there. I felt so blessed to witness such perfection for the duration of that sunset and felt such peace to think about how my grandmother was enjoying all of that now full time. She left a dull and gray life. She left a dreary stack of chapters in her earthly book for all new stories that will be written for her in heaven. In seconds her life went from cold and depressing, lifeless and lack-luster, to potent, powerful, beautiful, and full of color. I can hear her laugh in my head as I type. God is great and I know she is in good hands.

In him, Angie

BABY CUTENESS OVERLOAD - NAPLES, FLORIDA NEWBORN, BABY & CHILDREN'S PHOTOGRAPHER

What a doll baby this one was. She was a few weeks older than a newborn technically is but boy did she pack a punch in the cuteness department.

Need I say anymore?

The yellow blanket in the top image was something her Mama brought with her. It was a family heirloom that even her Mommy was photographed with as a baby. The patterned pink quilt in the image above is a 1920's vintage quilt that I found at an antique store. I had been dying to use it in a newborn shoot. I paired it with my ruffly prop hat and her ruffly tutu that her Mom came with and it all went together just perfectly. I love the punches of color. So adorable!

The sweater she was wearing here was a family heirloom as well...

She really ROCKED the cuteness scale. Beautiful would be an understatement. Being a newborn, baby, & children's photographer has its perks. Meeting this little girl and her Mama were one of them. :)

Much love, Angie

BEACH BABY - NAPLES, FLORIDA NEWBORN PHOTOGRAPHER

Oh WOW! Being a newborn and children's photographer sure has it's perks. I recently had this little princess in front of my camera. She was such a pro. She slept the entire time and barely woke here or there when we'd transition her from pose to pose. When she did wake at one point, I managed to capture those beautiful newborn eyes of hers as she took everything in...

Mom had mentioned that her home was done in beach decor and that she'd really like something to match the environment for her walls. I chose to go with the aqua wrap and some pearls because they screamed "beach" to me. She wore it perfectly well. We then switched it up and did some shots with a few people tones. Gorgeous again. She never even made a peep...

For a final look, we went with my favorite color combo ever...turquoise and red. Can anyone say "BEAUTIMOUS?"

As you can see, I couldn't have asked for a more perfect little client. Congrats to her Mommy and Daddy - she is their first. Mommy was beaming during our session. I loved watching their interaction together. Amazing stuff! A big thanks to this gorgeous baby girl for doing such a fabulous job during our time together and an even bigger thanks to her Mommy for coming to me and allowing me to capture these early day moments.

...Angie

THE "G" FAMILY - NAPLES, FLORIDA FAMILY PHOTOGRAPHER

I admire Moms of large families. Having three children of my own, I think that a mom of five with yet another on the way should be a Saint. This Mom has a gorgeous family & five children that were the most well behaved & polite kids that I'd ever seen. Mom and Dad are definitely doing something right when it comes to raising these five gorgeous kiddo's.

We had a gorgeous sunset on this particular evening that made for a gorgeous skyline.

This goes without saying...their kids are beautiful!!!

Look at these eyes...

I love the fact that they all looked like something straight out of a GAP ad. They seriously could have all been models for that store. No joke!

When I tell you that I could have photographed these kids all night long, I seriously mean that I could have photographed them all night long. Each and every one of them had their own personality, their own look, and their own sense of style. I loved each one - from the youngest to the oldest - and back.

A huge thank you to the "G" family for hiring me to shoot their holiday family photos this year. I was thrilled and honored all at the same time. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all of you. And good luck with that new baby due to make it's arrival in a couple more weeks. :)

XOXO, Angie

THE "K" FAMILY - NAPLES, FLORIDA FAMILY PHOTOGRAPHER

This family was such a blast. I met them at their home and we did their shoot in their backyard and inside their development where they reside. It was a gorgeous evening for it with just enough diffused light to make the session perfect.

Everything about this family is gorgeous. They are all just beautiful. The kiddo's were excellent and showed such patience with me which is not always possible with kids their age. I loved them!

They had me laughing the whole time. Such fun!

The Christmas holiday season has been such a busy one for me but I love every minute of being able to work with families like this. They make my job so fun and full of smiles.

Thank you so much to the "K" family for making this shoot such a great one for me. I'm honored to have been able to take your family portraits for you this year. It means more to me than you know.

Much love, Angie

PRETTY LITTLE NEWBORN - NAPLES FLORIDA NEWBORN PHOTOGRAPHER, NAPLES FLORIDA CHILDREN'S PHOTOGRAPHER

Thank you all for your patience as I am home and helping my hubby get strong and back on his feet again following his spinal cord surgery. Each day is a new day and we're still praying him through it all. To say it's been rough on him is an understatement. Thankfully he is young and he is strong. Those two combinations help work in his favor during a recovery like this.

With that said, let's forget about how back-logged I am in posting new sessions here on the blog. Let's ignore the fact that I've been slacking and am so behind now that it's ridiculous. However, in the end, priority calls and my family always comes first.

I do want to get back on track ASAP though and therefore I thought I'd start with this little beauty today. I got the opportunity to photograph her a few weeks back and I couldn't be more in love with her sweet little images.

This baby girl was a perfect angel throughout her whole shoot. She rarely made a peep and she stayed asleep throughout each transition as I moved her from set to set or into another position.

Her Mom was wonderful and the two of them together made for an extremely easy newborn shoot.

If you're currently pregnant and interested in a maternity or newborn shoot, please contact me to set up a shoot as early as possible. It's always best to get on my book as soon as you can due to limited availability. I'd be honored to document your little ones first few days of life. How can you not just love images like this???

Oh happy, happy day. I love being a newborn photographer!!!

Have a great weekend, Angie

GUESS WHO'S HOME???

He's home. Your prayers worked. He's still very nauseated, not himself, and moving very slow. However, he's here - in his own bed again. It's been a long week. Our family is exhausted. In the end though, we are full. Your prayers and constant positive thoughts are seriously what carried us through this worrisome journey. We're glad Brent's surgery is over with but now the eight week recovery begins. Therefore, keep those prayers coming. The doctors have warned him that it's going to be a tough eight weeks. It's already proving to be helldacious. I'm proud of him though and am amazed at his ability to press on and recover in the way that he has thus far. He's determined.

In the meantime, I'm back to work. Booking sessions, shooting like mad, and editing my brains out. It feels good to be back to the grind - back to real life - but it's also a struggle to focus and re-group. It's disheartening to see your husband so sick and in such pain. I just wish I could take it all away for him. :(

Thank you again to all of you who prayed, called, texted, emailed, sent flowers to the hospital, facebooked, and so on. You'll never know how much your love and support means to us. Here's to the next 56 days and the insane amount of strength we'll be mustering to get thru it. Thank goodness for friends like you. We're so grateful for all of you.

Blessings, Angie

THANK YOU GOD FOR THE STRENGTH TO HANDLE THE CRAZY

As I sit here in this dark and lonely hotel room in Gainesville on this Thanksgiving Eve, I'm grateful that I'm snuggled between two of my youngest littles and have my oldest "little" in the bed beside us. As I reflect on the fact that Thanksgiving is tomorrow and the stress placed on our lives since my husbands surgery took place yesterday morning, I'm reaching, digging, and fighting like mad to remember the many things that we have to be grateful for this year. As I remember those things, my heart wants to inevitably question God and cry at his feet asking..."How much more will you continue to lay on us in this lifetime?" But then...I'm propelled to our beautiful home back in Naples where this new sign (2 weeks new) hangs on our great room wall. It reads..."Thank you God for the strength to handle the crazy." If that isn't ever so poignant right now, I don't know what is. Ironically, the other sign that sits closely next to this new sign is the black one that you see on top of our hutch there. It reads P-R-A-Y. Four small letters that spell out such a powerful instruction. Pray. Just pray! That I am.

I'll start with the good news first. Brent's surgery went better than expected. The surgeon called from the O.R. with great news yesterday. He had been able to reach the tumor, get it all, and confirmed his initial thoughts that it indeed was benign. Praise God - hallelujah! He said that the team was sewing Brent up but that they were able to get all of the tumor without damaging or having to clip any of his nerves. Thus meaning that there was no paralysis, no motor damage, and no sensory damage. Another praise God - hallelujah! Brent was in recovery for about 3.5 hours following the surgery before we were able to see him. When I did see him for the first time, he looked and sounded great. He was pretty alert when he was awake and was making sense with his words. I was on cloud nine feeling like the worst part was over and that he had conquered it all like a champ. Our elation quickly turned to panic through the night last night though as Brent became violently ill due to the anesthesia, the additional medicines he was taking and the fact that he hadn't had any food since 24 hours earlier. There was also question of whether he could turn to his side or not. The doc had told him that he had to lay flat on his back following the surgery due to the fact that they had penetrated his spinal cord, removed fluid, added fluid back, patched the entry area, etc. They explained it like patching a hole in a tire. If you sit up or lift your head following the patching of a spinal cord area, gravity can rush from your brain down to that patch area in his back and burst the corrections they had just made. In turn, he'd have spinal fluid leaking into his body which would not leave him with a fun outcome. We were told he couldn't lift his head for 24 hours at first. As of today, he was since told that he couldn't lift his head or get out of that bed until Friday afternoon. Four full days of bed rest = pure torture for anyone let alone someone like him who is tough to keep down. Brent had violent vomiting throughout the night last night and into this morning. On top of that, he had the night nurse from hell who basically left him to fend for himself while puking his guts up. You see...when you can't lift your head, you have to vomit out the side of your mouth by simply turning your head and then letting it run down your face, neck, into your sheets, and ultimately under your back. Without help...one can feel like their drowning in their own vomit because of the choking from not being able to lift their head. As you can imagine, this created panic attack like symptoms for Brent as he had to endure this all night long and into this morning. By sunrise, his Mom was in the hallway in tears to the point where an unfamiliar nurse saw what was going on and pulled her aside. Debbie filled her in on the nights events and how it seemed as though Brent had been left to fend for himself since the surgery due to his night nurse and her lack of help or compassion. Within an hour, Brent had a new nurse, a nurse manager, and a handful of additional staff that were there in the blink of an eye to help him. They assured him things would be different from that point on and they have been. The nurses since then have been incredibly nice and for the most part very attentive.

The problem is...Brent is still very weak. He's not himself. He's in lots of pain. He's exhausted from no sleep. He's hungry, cranky, and very uncomfortable (as you can imagine). It's extremely tough, as his wife, to see your big, strong, tough husband lying there in pain and helpless. You want to take it all away for them but there is just nothing you can do. You're relying on the nurses, doctors, and the great creator - God - most of all - to pull him through this. Brent has now spiked a light fever and there is worry of pneumonia due to the laying he has to do, the vomiting of fluids, and the low grade temp. Good things can take a negative turn quickly in life, can't they? We were originally thinking Brent would get to come home on Sunday of this week but the doc is now saying it will most likely be on Monday.

To top the story off even more, the tumor apparently threw the doctors a curve ball. The surgeon once again confirmed today that pathology team determined it was for sure benign. However, they revealed that the tumor isn't the type tumor they initially thought it was. It's supposedly a very rare tumor that the surgeon has only seen 4 or 5 times in his entire career. It is also unfortunately a tumor that can mean a rare illness for the carrier. We won't know for sure until sometime after Monday but they are testing the tumor to find out if it is definitely from this line of illness or not. If so, the only thing I know at this point is that Brent will need to undergo consistent MRI's for the rest of his life because these type of tumors can pop up in your lungs, brain, kidneys, etc. at any given moment. WOW! Not something we were expecting or wanting to hear at this point. I can't even remember the name of this rare illness at this moment because my brain is mush. Again, I'm hoping we learn more early this week. My prayer is that it isn't what they are suggesting it is. My prayer is that they are wrong. Pray. Like the sign says...just P-R-A-Y.

With that said, I must take the time to thank all of you who have texted, emailed, called, facebooked and so on with words of support, encouragement and prayer since all of this began yesterday. If you follow me on facebook, you've probably been getting the play by play on all of this as I post on my wall. I've read every single message, every single post, text and email that you guys have sent. I'm grateful for my high school girlfriends whom have stayed by my side and been just a phone call away when I needed them during this. I'm grateful for my friends from high school whom I haven't seen in years yet they have all sent heartwarming messages and prayed for Brent. I'm grateful for my Naples peeps who I've only come to know in the past 2 years since moving there from Indiana. Your friendships and your prayers during all of this are priceless. Seriously! I'm grateful for our neighbors who called all the way from Naples late tonight, leaving me messages offering to go so far as to drive up here to Gainesville and take care of our kids for us as this all plays out. I'm grateful for my photography friends, my photography vendors, people on facebook who don't even know me personally, and my ever faithful blog readers whom have also reached out and added to the power of prayer. I'm grateful for those of you who sent me emails or copies of things I had written to you or told you in your own times of trials or needs in the past. It's extremely powerful, incredibly moving, and yet oh so humbling to read words you've written to someone else during their struggles and now you can put them to good use in your own life. Several of you sent me old cards or letters I had written to you and my heart is full knowing that they left enough of an impact on you all those years ago to keep them and still have them during this trying moment now in my own life. I'm grateful for the prayer chains going around for Brent that were created by people - some of which I don't even know - yet they heard about our story from a friend of a friend and felt compelled to pray for Brent. I'm grateful for all of your churches out there who have him on their prayer lists right now. I'm grateful for all of my photography clients whom have contacted me just to say their thinking of us or to ask if we need anything at all. I'm grateful for my mother in law who stays at Brent's bedside when I have to run back and nurse my son or tend to my special needs daughter and 12 year old son. She has stayed with him through the night when I can't. I'm beyond grateful for my parents whom have been here as best they could from afar and called me or texted every two minutes to make sure I'm OK, that the kids are doing OK, to make sure that Brent is recovering as he should, or just to remind me that that they can hop a plane and come now if I need them to. And just so I don't spare anyone and in an effort to keep this post real and raw which is how I prefer life, I'm also grateful for the couple of people that Satan would prefer be my enemies whom were lead to contact me via email with their own set of prayers for Brent when they learned of the news. The enemy never succeeds in a place where God leads and by golly...God is piloting this seat. Am I scared? Heck yeah. Am I stressed? You better believe it. Am I worrying? Like a freak I am. However, with the help of all your prayers for peace and calm, I'm still continuing to put one foot in front of the other and press on for Brent. In the moments where I feel weak and want to physically crumble, I have all of you pushing me - praying for us - and lifting us up in spirit as we tackle this most recent journey.

Thank you God for the strength to handle the crazy. In times when I want to question the Lord on why...I'm remembering to instead just stop and thank him for the continued strength to handle all of this crazy. So...here I sit...praying Brent is resting back at the hospital and able to have a better night. Here I sit, watching the chests of my littles move up and down as they sleep in these hotel beds far, far, away from our home, far from our normal. Here I sit , realizing just how much I really have to be grateful for this Thanksgiving. We have a new baby this year - a son who is getting ready to turn one. I have a husband who was placed in the hands of great doctors who ultimately found a tumor before it grew to create neurological issues for him. We have a surgeon who is so talented and had such skilled hands that he was able to remove that tumor on my husbands spinal cord without causing him any paralysis. I have a husband who could have been told grave news about this tumor but instead we were told it was benign and not cancerous. We have a slue of friends, family, acquaintances, business colleagues, etc. who are stomping down heavens gate with prayers of a speedy and complication free recovery as I type. Oh yes...the Thanksgiving of twenty-eleven. What a Thanksgiving it will be - even if we're in a hospital room - having to celebrate over jello and broth because of Brent's liquid diet. We really have a ton to be thankful for and I'm just incredibly grateful to have you guys as our cheering section during it all.

Thank you for being here. I wouldn't still be standing if it weren't for all of you and our BIG, HUGE, POWERFUL, GOD above. Thank you Jesus for the strength to handle the crazy.

Until the next update, just keep praying. In him, Angie

PS...Another thing I'm grateful for is the fact that Cracker Barrel is in our hotel parking lot. Even though Brent isn't able to eat, I've been able to stress eat enough for the both of us. Chicken and dumplings (being a vegetarian I just eat the dumplings), mashed potatoes, peanut butter fudge, coca-cola cake, etc. Yeap, thank you Jesus for Cracker Barrel too. :)

DANGLING (PHOTOGRAPHY, PERSONAL)

Sometimes life leaves you feeling like your dangling in mid-air. Feet like hang-gliders unable to ever touch down. It's at times like those when you have emotions that leave you powerless and feeling helpless. Emotions such as these are tough for someone like myself who tends to find solace when "in control." These past few weeks have been a "stresser" on our family. For those of you aren't already aware, we learned a couple of months back that my husband has a tumor growing on his spinal cord. The tumor is not only on his spinal cord but it's wrapped up and in his nerve cavity. I mentioned this on facebook once when we were finally told that the doctors believe the tumor isn't cancerous. Well...they've given us a 99.9% chance that it isn't cancerous and by golly we are banking on that number. Other than that one mention of it, we've pretty much kept it to ourselves. It has taken us more weeks than we care to count to find a doctor reputable enough to take on the task of this surgery for Brent. The tumor is in such a rare location that these surgeries aren't done very often. Therefore, it was tough to settle on a doctor that we felt was reliable and whom had done enough of them to pull Brent through it all without issue. In the beginning, the doctors scared us to death when they warned us that paralysis was a possibility. We have since been told that Brent might have some loss of motor ability in a foot or leg or maybe loss of sensation to a certain extent in those areas but that with rehab, he should come out OK.

As you can imagine, this ordeal has thrown Brent and our family for an absolute whirl wind. My closest friends and family members knew about it but I haven't discussed much other than with them and my one mention on facebook. I don't like to admit to Brent that I'm scared for him but the truth is...I am. I know he is nervous and full of anxiety over the surgery as are myself and those close to us. I took the image of our son, Kross, dangling from the swings the other day and when I processed them...the first thing that came to mind was how much that image was a true depiction of life for me. It is a great word picture so to speak. It's in moments like these when I crumble to my knees and do the only thing I know how to do. Pray! Even though my legs still feel as though they are dangling in mid-air and are a reminder that I'm no longer in control, I have confidence that God is my swing - our swing - holding us afloat during this time. I love me some God and I know without a shadow of a doubt that he is in complete control. I hear him calming me. Allowing me to pull it together, stay strong, and remain peaceful during the ride...

Thank you to all of our dear friends and those family members whom have called and cared enough to send their prayers and well wishes for Brent. There are no words to express how much we appreciate your support and encouragement during such a scary time. We realize the surgery is risky but we also know you guys are there to lift him up in prayer as well as the surgeons who will be working on him. Thank you for that. Really.

I'll be finishing some shoots for clients over the weekend and then we'll be heading to Gainesville, Florida this next week. Brent's surgery will take place on Tuesday (we're unsure of the exact time as of yet). For those of you who pray, can I ask you to keep him on your prayer lists and in your thoughts that day? For those of you who don't, any positive vibes would be greatly appreciated.

Brent will spend at least a week in the hospital before being allowed to return home. The recovery will be brutal for him as well as the rest of our family. The doctors have told him to expect a 6-8 week recovery time with lots of rehab. As his wife, I'm prepared to do whatever we must to pull him thru this and get him back to new. I'll try to update here on the blog sometime next week after the surgery has taken place. They told us that the first 48 hours after the surgery are crucial. We're praying those will go smoothly and that no paralysis or long-term sensory or motor issues will occur. In the end, like with any other trial or deep trench we must crawl through here on earth, we're confident that God will leave us all thankful and blessed to be able to come out smiling that it's over. I'm faithful that the stress from the ordeal will retreat and the smiles will return. Christmas is coming as well as our third child's 1st birthday. Therefore, we've got some celebrating to do. :) We'll celebrate the birth of Christ, the birth of our son Kross, as well as Gods promises as he pushes us along on this swing called "life."

Thank you in advance for all of your prayers and positive vibes. You'll never know how much they mean to us.

In his grip, Angie

PS...I will continue to work thru this process. I'm taking next week off but will return in full force after that. This is my busiest season of the year and I'm grateful for those clients that already fill my calendar. It's your sessions that allow me to use my camera as therapy during this stressful time. :) Photography is like a band-aid in life for me. I'm blessed.