Foundation Workshop - I have so much to share about this experience, but for now, here are some of the images I shot during the 4 day workshop. My assignment was, as I am sure you can tell, a tattoo shop.

Sarah made me a believer. This lovely girl requested that we take photos at all of the "cliche" areas in Waco. I of course obliged, with the stated condition that after we did all that we'd go to some hole or dumpster or something and create awesome in a new place. Fortunately, nothing so artistically extreme was necessary thanks to Sarah's willingness to trust me at all the stops along the way. Magic happened and I am now a firm believer that with fresh eyes any familiar place can be new if you push, wait, try, and trust the gut instinct that says, "this spot right here can be awesome." Thank you Sarah for giving me the opportunity to see with new eyes and helping me create some favorite images. You are truly fabulous.

My sincerest congratulations to Rosie and Matthias on their engagement. I love people who are children at heart; all together our crew essentially just laughed for two hours. We ran in the street and laid on the ground and yelled outloud all over Waco with hardly a care in our hearts. It was such great fun spending Sunday evening with these two - you both love so well.

I love this image not because it is the most miraculous of things, but because literally ten minutes before we shot this the entire sky was grey with clouds. While driving I said a simple prayer of, "Lord, won't you give us great light?". And lo, ten minutes later - glory. Ask and you shall receive indeed. :)

All-University Sing is a time honored tradition at Baylor University that is both highly competitive and entertaining. Costumes, backdrops, live music, and choreographed routines all are a part of the performances included in Sing. To find out more you can check out their webpage here.

This year, the uber fabulous photobooth was set up outside Roxy Grove and available for students to hop in and show off their costumes. It was beyond hilarious and indeed a test of spontaneous creativity. Many congratulations to KOT - the winners of Sing!

WARNING: Stage makeup ahead.

Meet Amanda. Amanda is my little sister. She is beautiful and I love her. Life is bizarre in that we spent years together and could barely be in the same room without violent clashes. Once we began living thousands of miles apart, friendship finally happened upon us. She is kind to me when I do not deserve it and patient with me in a way that is required of few others. I do not normally write so much in my posts, but since this is my sister, I felt I should rise to the occasion and give you a little more insight into her and myself.

One of my favorite memories from the past few years includes the time I was home for Christmas and my hamster died (yes, I had a hamster - briefly - in college, get over it). Cause of death - shock from the exorbitant decibel level of the sanders as new floors were being installed. My room was upstairs and hers was in the basement - separation out of habit from our childhood I suppose. Upon my heartbroken discovery I trekked down the long spiral of stairs with the news of my loss. Falling to the floor in sadness at her feet I tried to calm myself as she assured me it would be ok and then disappeared. Twenty minutes later I went looking for Amanda only to catch a glimpse of her through the dining room window in the front courtyard. Opening the front door, I looked out and she stood there with a runny nose and rosy cheeks next to the tiny grave she had managed to carve out of the frozen earth. She smiled at me as a tear trickled down her cheek. We were the only attendees at that funeral, standing quietly in the falling snow as she and I said good-bye to my little pet. I think that was one of the first times I realized how wonderful sisters are.

My other favorite memory of late comes from Amanda's most recent visit to Texas. Months prior, I had found out that Celine Dion was going to be performing in Dallas while she was in town. In an effort to prove that fun things do happen for those who live in Waco, my friends and I gathered up a group of tickets so we had something "exciting" to do / impress Amanda. Well let me just say that Amanda was deeply unimpressed. "I don't even know any of her songs, Kathryn. Uuugh. I am staying home with Punkin (the dog)." Hmmm, my plan seemed to be failing miserably. Thankfully, I have great faith that anything can be what you make of it, and I somehow got the girl into the car and off we went to Dallas.

Sure enough, we had the WORST seats in the entire American Airlines center. Our backs were literally against the back wall. It is white and has holes in it. Also it is devastatingly hot in the upper realms of that arena. At this point I was hovering around the "I hate you for this and am never coming to visit again" range with Amanda. But as fate would have it, I happen to have some of the most hysterical, persuasive, lovely friends in the world. One in particular, the fabulous Jill Mashburn, had snuck down to the private box section of the AA center for some margaritas. Being a savvy and observant business woman, she noticed a very empty Ford Motors box. Where all the husbands that had gotten in trouble with their wives and now had to make up for it were, I can not tell you. For the two couples that were in attendence, a sincere plea from our die-hard Celine Dion friend convinced them to welcome our entire motley crew into their box. We experienced Celine the way she is meant to be - at a safe distance and with enough room to dramatically accompany her every song. Because you see, that is the glory of Celine Dion, you do not have to listen to her music to know her songs. You just know them. Thank you 1990s / Titanic. I turned to Amanda during the third song to find that she was in unbelief at just how magical it was that even she knew every lyric. We laughed, we laughed some more, and I think Amanda may even come back to visit this year. :)

Amanda lives in the Champaign-Urbana, IL area and cornfields really do make up most to all of the landscape.

She also owns a moped and I giggle just a little every time I think of her scooting around town on that whimsical bike. Love you sisah!

Can you even believe it?! Yes indeed, it snowed in Waco today. I called in the troops to capture the magic of the uncommon event. Of course dusk turned to evening quickly, so I only got a few really snowy shots, but here in Waco, I will take what I can get. Happy snow day!

Jim and Amanda were married in Dallas on a perfect bright and sunny day. One of my favorite things about this wedding was the relationship between the bride and her dad. You could see on her father's face all day that Amanda is the apple of his eye. It was so sweet to observe him just soaking in both the joy and bittersweet task of giving his daughter away.

Common Grounds had an incredible show this week! Both JBM and Sondre Lerche performed Monday night on the stage here in Waco. The night was chilly and perfect for a warm drink, friends, and good music. JBM is the musician in the image above and below. His performace was beautiful with lyrics and melodies that make you float into old memories and swim around until suddenly you find yourself back in the present.

Sondre Lerche has a number of great albums and EPs as well as wrote the music for the film Dan in Real Life. He hails from New York and it was incredible to see him live. We laughed, we sang, and a few of us got to meet both Sondre and JBM post-show. Thank you Common Grounds for inviting these guys to town!

Many congratulations to Jeremy and Ali! Not only are they engaged, but they also survived a brutally cold session. These two have such a great sense of humor and the joy they have in one another is spread all around to those that are with them. We hit the Baylor campus to capture those good old "college" memories. Then we frolicked in downtown while trying to keep warm.

Jump

The golden hour really is magical.

Ben and Michelle came to my studio but a few short months before their wedding date. When I inquired about the quick planning, they explained that they were both coaches and the wedding had to happen before basketball season or after. Of course, once you've found your match - why wait? I have so enjoyed getting to know both Ben and Michelle over the past six months. Both possess such a value for family and they were so kind as to welcome me into theirs. The morning of the wedding all of the bridesmaids, house party, family, and kiddos spent the morning at Michelle's (and soon to be Ben's) incredible lake house. Laughter, whispers, cheers, and reminiscing were everywhere that morning and it just felt like the way things should be in the hours before you get married.

All the little ones after bagels and fingernail polish

Hello mirror!

I love how Michelle is looking at Ben here

Bride and groom with the bride's parents

Bling!

Below are some organizations that are making it easy to contribute towards relief efforts. Each one is an integrous and verified charity that currently has aide groups in action in Haiti. Thanks to everyone out there in the internet / twitter world that has been sharing these links.

Red Cross International Response Fund | Assistance provided by the American Red Cross may include sending relief supplies, mobilizing relief workers and providing financial resources and recovery | Text "HAITI" to 90999 to give $10 or donate online here

World Vision | Gifts will help World Vision staff members rush supplies like food, clean water, blankets, tents, and more to those in greatest need | donate here

Hope for Haiti | provides immediate, direct assistance to families | donate here

If each of us cuts some lattes, Chic-Fil-A, a bottle of wine or anything else you can think of for the next two weeks - we can all be a part of the relief.

I gave to the Red Cross and World Vision. To view images of Haiti 48 hours after the earthquake you can go here.

Some of you may have noticed a chill in the air these past few weeks. *Sarcasm* Even with the deep freeze all over the country, engagements continue in full swing. Matt and Leigh Anne and I made our way about town in jackets, mittens, scarves, and the like only to strip before each loction. The goal of course being to get as many shots as possible in record time. Thankfully, Matt and Leigh Anne are very much in love and had no problem snuggling to keep warm. As you can see, Matt is fantastically tall and Leigh Anne is just the most petite of all things. I love the drama in the height difference and how from afar, Matt just envelopes Leigh Anne as he takes her in his arms. Many congratulations to you both!

Excali-bacon

Bacon-stash

Gus

I am not very good at "fun faces". Really my only other face besides smiling is "open mouth". Paired with a high-five, this may be my best "candid" image.

I asked Ray to top Meredith with the dog. Thus, I give you:

Heather and Reid are intelletuals. They looked up "bacon" in the dictionary and underlined it with a piece of bacon. Very creative.

Reid and his infamous "coat drop". Ali-oop.

This is TJ. He is the local Jon Hamm.

Bacon launch.

Cheers!

Happy New Year!

Married on a lovely winter's day here in Texas, Zach and Callie had a perfect Christmas wedding. Callie is the eldest daughter of four girls in her family, so this was a big day for her dad.

Both the bouquet and the garter toss at this wedding were two of the more dramatic I have yet witnessed. A guest wrestled a bridesmaid for the bouquet, and a groomsman literally flew past me in pursuit of the garter. Personally, I do not believe that either hold any intrinsic power that will lead to marriage, but I certainly do believe in drama. To these fine people, my glass is raised.

Eek! Festive.

Congratuations Zach and Callie!

Sweet, pure, and uncomplicatedly beautiful are all words that come to mind when I think of Callie. She is the kind of woman who placed her focus not on the wedding, but more directly upon her marriage. As such, she brought to each of our sessions a light-heartedness that contantly refreshed me. It was a joy to be with her on her wedding day. These are a few favorites from her bridal session earlier this fall.

They met. They dated. They fell in love. Seven years later, they married. Now, prepare yourself, because here comes the crazy. Brian, Liz, and I all went to high school together. Yes, high school. It should be noted that there are few things Brian takes very seriously, so you can imagine my anticipation at the event of his wedding.

The couple was married at the church we all grew up in (for me, the second half of growing up as we all know my early childhood was spent in the Catholic Church). It was delightful to be in such a familiar place with so many of my favorite people all gathered for Brian and Liz. What I love about Brian and Liz is that they are individually two of the most sincere people I know. They are honest, observant, and at most times divinely in tune with the hilarious ironies of life. I felt supremely priveledged to have the trust of my friends to be the professional asked to capture this long-awaited day. I love getting to share this major event in their lives here as well as a few of the threads of my own life's design.

The pre-wedding high-five. Do not get married without one.

A hug from dad.

The groomsmen can't help you now.

To who or what Brian was shouting out during the sacred candle lighting, no one knows, but you can bet it was important.

Here are Brian and Liz in front of their new home. Ha! Be serious. Actually, this is our high school. Thank you Lake Forest for having so many mansions the only thing left to do with this one was install lockers and make it a school.

I love clients that can enjoy the little things like being silly on such formal items as place cards.

The toasts were phenomenally hilarious due to Liz's sisters and their antics growing up.

The pre-dance power stance.