Photo Shoots

I have had several photo shoots this fall. My first of the season was of a friend's boys and AJ for their yearbook pictures. The boys totally hammed it up and gave me some great shots. The next was of a friend's family at her family's farm. This shoot was done while the leaves were colorful and turned out awesome. She ordered a 20x24 canvas and it blew me away to see my work so large and looking so much like art. Another was of our Pastor's family. We also did this one while the leaves were colorful. They were very compliant as I took them from one spot to the next. I had a hard time choosing a favorite from this shoot because they are such a beautiful family so I am posting several. I have already posted some pics from my photo shoot with Steph and Bella. (I know I am biased but I love those the most!) Late November brought on cold weather and I only had one family to brave to cold outdoors for a photo shoot. I laugh when I look at these pics because everyone was freezing to death during this shoot. I'll be lucky if Patrick (the daddy) ever steps in front of my lens again. The other shoots came in December and were taken for Christmas cards. I had fun doing these because these were my first indoor sessions with studio lighting. Here is a sample of each session in order...

Yearbook pics for my friend's boys




My friend's family at her family's farm






Our Pastor's family-thanks for being so patient!



Our friends who braved the freezing temps!



My little man!!



Our friends' girls



Another friend's kids



At my friend's house; her two boys and her niece and nephew


My little man and "the four E's" (All the Steil grandkids)

Thanksgiving with Bella and Stephy

We had A LOT to be thankful for this Thanksgiving! Even though Billy's cancer diagnosis and treatments were scary and challenging, we are thankful for the experience. We have learned so much, our faith has been made stronger, and we have had the honor of being used by God for His purposes. We were faced with a situation that we could not imagine was in any way for our good (Romans 8:28), but then God showed us that it was not about our good this time. This was about Him using our situation for the good of others. I cannot describe how cool this felt! And then we experienced such an outpouring of love and generosity from those we know and those we do not know. I don't think either of us would change the events of this year. (Well, I would not like to see Billy so sick and in pain.) The cancer ended up blessing us more than a multitude of "good blessings" could have. In the end, we gained so much from the whole experience and are better off than if the cancer had never happened.

As far as the actual holiday, it was one of the best Thanksgiving weekends I've had in a while. Stephy and Bella came from Norfolk and stayed until Monday. Having Bella in the house was such a joy. We all went through Bella withdrawals within an hour of their departure! Steph and I had many laughs and got to enjoy a rush-free weekend together. Although, there was one particular moment in which I thought we would both fall to our death trying to bring Christmas bins up from the basement. I learned that you should never laugh hysterically while trying to carry bins stacked three high up a very steep set of basement stairs! Poor Steph, she was on the lower end of those bins and just about had her head knocked off by them. I don't know how we came through that one without any bruises.

We also got to get some photos of Bella. We have tried since that baby girl was born to get some shots of her smiling her sweet smile, but could never capture it. She would end up sucking on her bottom lip (we have affectionately dubbed this her "Bucky Beaver" pose) and playing with her eye lashes (which I find extremely adorable). Since I am still an amateur at my photography passion, I am always looking for subjects on which to practice. Steph has been so very patient with my ideas for pictures. A few of the shots are below!