St. Francis County Fair

Tomorrow starts fair week here in Forrest City. It is a small fair, but we go every year to take a stroll on the mid-way. I love the way the fair smells--corn dogs and funnel cake mixed in with cooler temps and the freshly mowed field and the farm animals from the exhibits! Our fair is like any other small town fair. We have pageants and exhibition hall where people can enter farm animals, handmade items (blankets, dresses, dolls, etc), canning goods, art and photography. This will be the first year that I will be submitting anything. I am sure I will not place, but I thought it would be fun to do! Here is a picture of what I am entering.

Alan is taking them out to the fairgrounds for me tomorrow. Judging will happen on Tuesday. Alan has to cover one of the pageants on Wednesday so I will find out how I did then! Wish me luck!

Shutterbug Photography

I love to take pictures. I have since I was a little girl. If someone would have told me that I could have majored in Photography, then I would have done it in a heartbeat. I was recently asked me what I liked about photography. I could not give them just one reason. I love to capture the moment--the emotion, the occasion. I love snapping and not really knowing what you are going to what you got till you develop the pictures (pictures look totally different on paper, then they do the computer!). I love planning the poses, adjusting for shadows and lines. I love being creative! I love the editing--trying to make that picture perfect, seeing if it looks better in color or black and white. I love watching someone look through their pictures for the first time and hearing the excitement in their voices--"Oh my gosh!! There are so good!".

Last fall I was asked by a coworker to take pictures of her and her husband. Another coworker heard us talking and she asked me to take pictures of her family! I went from never taking any one's pictures to having two shoots in one weekend! I was so nervous, but as soon as I had my camera in my hands it all fell into place. After editing over 500 pictures, I had my discs ready to go. I was anxious to see if my pictures would live up to their expectations. The first picture rolled across the screen...Monique's face lit up and I knew that she loved them!

Because of that weekend, I have decided to start Shutterbug Photography. I need a professional grade camera, but till we can afford one Alan is going to let me borrow his work camera for my shoots.

In October i have three shoots already on the book. The first is for my bestie Dana and her family. It will be in a park in Jacksonville (AR). I look forward to seeing what kind of poses I can do there! I also look forward to seeing my "nephew" T.J. The second shoot is for my coworker Monique. Last fall, I shot her, her hubby and their son Jay. This time I will be a family shoot--her mom, dad, sister and her family, and her brother and his wife. This will be the first time I have done one this size, I am nervous but excited!! I also have a date to shoot my cousin Merribrooke--she is a pretty girl so I hope to get some great shots of her and am able to capture her personality!

I plan on getting a Shutterbug blog up and running soon! Till then you can check the pics out on my Facebook!

Wrapped in Her Love

My Grandma loved to sew. When I was a kid, most of my clothes were made by her! She loved all kinds of sewing, but I think she loved to crochet most of all. She was so talented. She would enter her afghans in the county fair and not only would win First Place, but also Best in Show! For my Sweet 16, she crocheted me a hunter green afghan. I loved to wrap up in it on a cold winter day. It followed me to my days at WBC--everyone knew to be careful with it! On cold days, rotten days and homesick days--I would wrap up and feel safe, comforted, loved and warm. Just like I felt when I was with my Grandma.

A few weeks after my Grandma passed, my family and I gathered on a rainy Saturday to through her things that had been in storage. My Aunt Janie suggested that we start with the dresser and go from there. She pulled open the first drawer and stopped. She looked at me and said, "Mother told me to make sure you got this for when you had your baby." She pulled out a pink baby afghan. Tears welled in my eyes. All I could do was place it is a plastic sack to protect it from the rain. That is where it sat till today. I want to share what it looks like with you.

The picture doesn't do it justice.

What no one else knew (other than my Mom and Alan) is that Grandma had already given Mom two afghans to keep for me and my Brother. I remember her telling us that she was giving them to us now just in case she was not here when our babies came. I do not know if she forgot or she had the same feeling that I do. For the last year, I have felt that Alan and I are going to be blessed with twins. Call it wishful thinking. Call it dreaming. Call it whatever.

Regardless of what we are blessed with, I love knowing that my baby(ies) is going to know the love of their Great-Grandma and what it feels like to be wrapped in her love.