Madi came home from school one day last fall talking about a new girl in choir. She said she was so nice and funny and beautiful and…Norwegian! Henriette has been here in town this year as an exchange student from Norway. I happen to be a little partial to exchange students. When my Mom was in high school her family had a student from Japan come live with them for a year. She really became a part of the family and when I had the opportunity to take Japanese class in middle school I did and then I even had the chance to go to Japan and meet my “Aunt Yuko”. I called her the day my Mom passed away. She sent me my first strand of pearls for my wedding. Sweet Aunt Yuko!

So anywho.

When Madi told me about Henriette I told her to extend the offer for senior pictures. I mean, I took a gamble and guessed that they don’t do the whole senior session thing in Norway and figured she probably needed the whole experience. Right? Right! Actually, I WAS right! I asked her during our session and she said that they don’t do senior sessions in Norway. Hmmmm, maybe I should move my business there!

So here she is. Sweet Henriette as an Oklahoman for the year. She wanted her session to reflect what Oklahoma was like. So we stood in waving wheat, climbed hay bales and incorporated both the Oklahoma and American flags. In short, we had a ton of fun!

Um, did I mention that she is absolutely gorgeous? No? Well, she IS!

I had double help at this session with Madi and her friend Taylor who are both in chorale with Henriette. They even made the cut for Henriette’s fusion video. Check it out!

Also, I should mention that you don’t need to adjust your monitors. Jenny’s dress is pink. She was just amazing in her gorgeous Vera Wang gown!

This sweet little peach was all dolled up to be the flower girl in her Aunt’s wedding!

Congratulations to your sweet little family Jenny and Cody!

Huge thanks to Madi and her Mom Amy for choosing me for her senior session. We had such a good time together and my little assistant Sadie hasn’t stopped talking about Madi since we were together. Thanks guys!

This is Madi’s Grandfather’s Harley. She used to ride bikes with him a lot when she was little so it was something very special that she wanted to incorporate into her session. She took care of every detail…including having someone dig up the leather jacket he wore when he was her age!

Just one of the reasons Sadie had such a blast at this session. Madi has the BEST shoe collection!

The day after our session was Madi’s 18th birthday. So fun to incorporate this fact into her senior session!

Gah Madi. Why you gots to be such a beauty?!

Seriously stylish. I LOVED this hat!

Oh hey, remember all those shoes I mentioned?

Sadie loved talking “make-up” with Madi through out the whole shoot. When we arrived at our last location and Madi asked Sadie if she wanted some pink eye-liner she turned to me and said, “Can I mom?!”

We finished off our time together with a special quilt made for Madi by a friend, some of her favorite books and her sweet little puppy that has obviously been by her side for quite a while.

So a little while ago (like, several years) one of my bff’s got engaged. And then she had an engagement party. And a wedding shower. And a super fabulous terrific wedding in Napa Valley. I took pictures at every event. You wouldn’t know it though because I am just NOW editing them. Ugh.

So for this weeks 10 on Tuesday I bring you…the top 10 fun things from Sue Ann’s wedding shower. Which was in, um, April…of 2010.

1. Denise brought her baby Patrick! This is the first time that we met this little guy and he is a DOLL! Teagan especially loved him. She has a thing for small children. And animals.

2. Sue Ann. Also known as “Swanne”. That’s what happens if you say it super fast. This is the girl we all gathered around for to say “Woohoo! You’re getting married!”

3. This was a little something I made for Sue Ann. Her wedding colors were green and purple (which I love by the way!) and her new last name will start with a B. So I got all these fun little knobs and made this bouquet for her. It was super heavy but super cute. So there you have it.

4. Shannon and I had a lot of fun putting the shower together. As you can see, our spread all fit the wedding color theme. And I got a little crazy creative and made tiny little candied apples with purple sugar. Yum!

5. Who doesn’t love super bling! Yes, it’s plastic. But it’s still super bling!

6. What’s better than meeting baby Patrick and attending Sue Ann’s shower? Duh…that would be Sue Ann lovin’ on baby Patrick!

7. I may have said super bling earlier but this right here is the REAL super bling!

8. I’m sure I’m a little bit biased but I sort of think that seeing a bff from high school with a child of my own is one of the coolest things EVER!

9. Moms. Ahhhhh…how we love them! This is Candy and Wendy, two mom’s I grew up visiting and completely love. With my own mom not around anymore I love that I still have these ladies around to share my future with.

10. Finally we have sweet Chloe Boomer Sooner Booker. Sweetest pup around. Sweet Chloe has gone to doggy heaven and I know she’s dearly missed. But she had an amazing little family and visitors that, as you can clearly see, loved her to pieces!

By the way, I’m slowly working my way through my personal pictures. Weekends and late nights are my time so that’s when I’ve been trying to chisel through everything and get them done. Finally!

Jerrica and Ben, thank you for allowing me to capture you newlyweds while you were home. I had a blast with you both! May you have many many wonderful years of marriage!

I remember years ago when I got married the shoes that I wore on my wedding day. They were plain and simple and matched my dress. My bridesmaids wore satin pumps, dyed to match their dresses. Classy, right? I don’t know about that but it was the trend back in the day. I’m loving the current trends in wedding shoe attire. Bridesmaids are wearing a mix and match of shoes in the same color which is so much nicer than the old school dyed to match jobs! Even better, brides are wearing shoes in array of colors and styles. I started noticing this years ago when brides were wearing blue shoes as their “something blue”. I think it sort of evolved from there because now brides are choosing shoes in colors to match their wedding theme or just colors that they simply love.

Today I’m sharing 10 of my past brides and friends shoe choices that I just love. Enjoy!

1. Sara wore a pair of sweet simple flats under her wedding dress while her bridesmaids all chose different styles in the same color. I love the ones with the ruffles on the top of the foot!

2. This is an old favorite from the very first wedding I shot. Leah wore these beautiful strappy heels with “I Do” on the soles.

3. My super short Sooner sister married a super tall Cowboy and sported the proper orange attire. She’s a smart Sooner!

4. Erin wore these sweet sandal-y shoes and then changed into her awesome cowboy boots for the reception so she could get her boot scootin’ boogie on.

5. Kayla wore these fun Steve Madden shoes for her super wet and rainy (but beautiful!) July wedding.

6. Check out these awesome silver strappy shoes that Tiffany wore for her nuptials. I love the bright pink peep toes that she chose for her bridesmaids too!

7. I loved Ashley’s sparkly flats. Gorgeous!

8. Even the groom got in on the action here. A pair of boots for a wonderful country couple.

9. I haven’t even done a sneak peek of this wedding yet because it JUST happened. But there’s no way I could leave Jenny’s amazing Vera Wang’s out of this lineup! (No, the color isn’t off in this image. That IS an amazing PINK wedding dress!)

10. These may be my favorite. No way I’d EVER be able to wear these but one of my bff’s Sue Ann wore these for her absolutely stunning wedding in June of 2010. If you haven’t seen that red sole before then you may not know that these are Christian Louboutin’s. If you don’t know what that means then let me tell you…super duper fancy schmancy.

I’m a sucker for sweet little baby feet!

Hudson was born right around Easter and his Mom brought all these goodies for his session. So. Fun.

I bought these sweet little tie props awhile back and had totally forgotten about them! Loved getting to finally use them!

Tonight I will be attending the 3rd annual Spring Fling at my church. Spring Fling is an annual event for Stillwater area girls in 6th – 12th grades and their moms/youth sponsors. The evening includes yummy treats, fun door prizes, and fantastic speakers to help these girls become the Godly women they were designed to be. Self-respect, modesty, purity, and discernment are some of the important topics that will be discussed. I was lucky enough to be asked to help with the program it’s first year and have been involved each year since. This year’s event includes a brief fashion show and I will be providing some fun commentary along with my co-host Seana. And while we are enjoying things at church, the boys will be hanging out across town at The Journey.

I’m so incredibly thankful for this ministry and what it teaches the young people in our lives. I’ve been talking with some friends lately about some kinda heavy stuff. You know how you sometimes hear about things and think that doesn’t really happen? Well, it does. Kids give into peer pressure. Young women are willing to freely give their bodies to boyfriends in search of acceptance. Young men are faced with purity issues just by looking at girls in the hallway who don’t realize how revealing their outfits are and how it affects their male counterparts. As a kid or young adult you may not realize how these actions can affect you as an adult.

But they can.

And they will.

Believe me. I know adults are still dealing with these actions and poor choices today. The sad thing is that many of them just didn’t have someone in their life, or a community of believers, to lead them in the right direction. I’m praying for our young men and women today. That their hearts will be open to the messages that they will hear tonight. That they will remain pure and enjoy their youth without muddling it up with what will become something in the future that they will constantly battle.

A friend recently shared the following links on Facebook and I thought they were awesome reminders to link to for my 10 on Tuesday. Plus, there is one for girls AND for boys. That’s like 20 on Tuesday! Bonus! Read them, share them…enjoy!

Ten Things I Want To Tell Teenage Girls

Ten Things I Want To Tell Teenage Boys

Everyone who knows me knows that I am pretty sentimental. Songs, words, phrases…they all have meaning to me when paired with certain people. Elizabeth is the same way. She had this sign made as a way to remember her Grandmother. As her time was drawing near, her husband of 63 years leaned down and whispered to her, “Do you know how much I love you? Do you love me?” She hadn’t spoken for days but she responded to that question with, “You betcha.” They were her last words. That’s the kind of marriage I’m wishing for you Elizabeth!

I can’t wait to capture your wedding in August!