Merry Christmas 2013

I hope everyone that reads this was able to wake up to a warm, cozy home full of peace, love, and joy this morning. I hope you are surrounded by loved ones and will feel the true love of Christ in your heart and your surroundings today. 

"He came not to a throne, but to a manger.
He lived not as a king, but as a servant.
He chose not an earthly kingdom, but a cross.
He gave not just a little, but everything."

Here's our family Christmas card we mailed out this year. They went out a little late, so this may be a spoiler for some of you who haven't received them yet. Ah well, better late than never!

Merry Christmas, Friends!

From our family to yours: Thank you for the many ways you blessed our family this year. We're looking forward to creating more memories with you in 2014 and we can't see what God has planned for those whose paths we will have the pleasure of crossing!

P.S. Check back next week for the kick-off to our First Annual Best-Of Contest!! 

Launching The Birth Session Website

With the new year around the corner and the holidays in full swing, my mind has been on goal setting, reviewing what did and didn't work in 2013, and brainstorming ways to create a better experience for my clients in 2014. 

One thing that didn't work for me in 2013 was burnout. I pushed my boundaries quite a bit and learned from it. With that in mind, I started brainstorming ways I could find a healthier balance between doing what I love (photographing love) and paying the bills. There's a lot that goes into running a business that isn't always a ton of fun. But, it's necessary in order to maintain a career of doing what I love.

After much thinking and conversing with Tommy, we've decided to dive full force into bringing The Birth Session to life in 2014. I made the big announcement on Facebook this morning, but I wanted to make sure my blog readers didn't miss the news:  

I've launched a new website for the birth side of things,
and a new Facebook page.

Because birth is such a passion of mine, I didn't want my wedding and portrait photography business to become overwhelmed with birth pictures and conversations. While the two types of photography are similar in that they are both photojournalistic and full of emotion, they are also obviously different. So this is a great way to help keep things separate and to respect my brides, grooms, and families who have no interest in birth whatsoever. 

I hope you'll come over and like the new Facebook page. (And share it with your friends if you think they may be interested, too!)

Merry and Bright!

The holiday season is in full swing around here and we are enjoying icy/rainy/somewhat snowy days with hot coffee, episodes of Daniel Tiger, and lots of twinkle lights! I'm also finishing up some final projects and delivering last minute family sessions. The off-season is almost here and you know what that means... lots of blog posts to come! I have a handful of weddings to blog and a ton of portraits from 2013. I am excited to finally share them with you guys! 

In the meantime... I'm working on a little something special for my clients. (The Christmas spirit has bit me.) The week between Christmas and New Years Eve I'll be running a contest (or 2... or 3...) with exciting prizes! I can't wait to launch it. It'll be the first contest like this that I've ever done, so we shall see how it goes!! :)

I have missed you guys! I am almost done with our Christmas gift ordering and shopping, but we're about to start alllll the wrapping. And I have got to finish addressing our cards and get them in the mail. Eeek! (If you want one, shoot me an email to liz@sincerelylizphoto.com with your address and I'll send you one! But you have to promise to send me one, also. :)) We also had a cookie-baking-day with some friends of ours but apparently we scheduled it wayyy too early in the season. Because I've eaten almost all of the cookies myself. Yikes!

What have been your favorite holiday activities this season??

Here's a recent favorite shot from a family session. Many more of this session and others to come in the coming weeks!!