In the blink of an eye....

5 years.  When you are little, 5 years seems like, literally, forever. The time from when I was 11 until I turned 16 seemed like an eternity...but as I got older, time seemed to go by just a little faster each year.  Just like that I was out of high school, and college went by even faster, and now it's been 5 years since we had our first precious, tiny little daughter, Eden Nevaeh, and I honestly don't know where any of that time went...but pass by it did...like a whirlwind, in the blink of an eye.  Now I am a mommy to a creative, imaginative, smart, compassionate, and beautiful  5 year old who every single day makes me more and more proud to call her my daughter.  As fun as it is to see her grow up, I do daily wish that somedays she could just stay this way forever...so innocent and carefree...where her biggest decision to make is what toy to play with next, and her hardest problem to solve is to find a pair of matching shoes.   But alas, I know this is impossible.  So I will embrace the next 5 years to come, and pray that I can remember and savor each and every one of those memories, as I have for the past 5 years.  It is so cliche', but so true, cherish each and every moment with your little ones, embrace even the days when everything seems to be going wrong. Savor each milestone and each stage...they go by entirely too quickly.  Love your kiddos, pray for them, spend time with them, and encourage them.  We may not be able to keep them from growing up, but we can certainly make the most of the time we are given with them. 

Here is my all grown up (yet still tiny) Eden Nevaeh =)

In Other News....

Hey! Just wanted to again say THANK YOU to everyone who participated in the fundraiser/contest to raise money for my BFF and her hubbies next adoption! Together we raised just over $2100...I couldn't be more pleased with the way it all worked out!  So Thanks again, it wouldn't have been possible without you! You can check out the winners and more information HERE on Lauren's adoption blog!

You can also view ALL of the contest photos on my shutterfly site...which is HERE .


As for my OTHER NEWS -  I am giving myself a vacation.  After almost 2 years of shooting at least one shoot a month, to now more like 1 or 2 a week, I am taking some time off =)  I want to fully enjoy the holidays with my family and just relax on cold, snowy January days!  So, my "official" vacation will be from Monday DECEMBER 20th through Monday JANUARY 31st...so, you can spread the word if you would like to others that I will be off and not taking any photo shoot requests during that time...UNLESS it is a newborn that comes  and needs done ....that would be the ONLY exception =)

Thanks so much for understanding and for everyone who has allowed me to photograph their amazing families, kiddos, events, etc...

Much love,

Holly

FACEBOOK ALBUM QUICK LINK!!

CLICK HERE FOR THE FACEBOOK ALBUM TO SHARE!!!

It's Contest Time!!! See official rules below =)

After going through over 1300 images from the fundraiser shoots this past weekend, I have been able to narrow it down (with a bit of difficulty) to a "few" of my favorites!!  Here are the official contest rules...if you want to know WHY I am holding this contest, please see THIS POST to get an explanation behind the contest.  You can also always head over to the Uhrich's blog, KNOWING NORRAH and click on the LU ADOPTS button to read more about their adoption process!!!


RULES

1.  Anyone and Everyone is encouraged to vote!  So spread the word!!  VOTING is from today (11/1) thru Friday (11/5) at midnight.  Plenty of time to spread the word to everyone you know!

2.  You may vote as many times as you would like for as many different pictures/persons as you would like...each vote costs just $1.00.  Let me explain this a bit.  Let's say you have 2 grandchildren and would like to place 10 votes to each of them.  You would donate $20 and then specify that you would like 10 votes to go to grandchild A and 10 to go to grandchild b.  I hope that makes a little bit more sense!

3.  Here is how to actually "cast your vote"...

I am going to be posting a PUBLIC facebook album...under each photograph there will be a "picture title" as well as a link that will take you directly to Lauren and Ken's adoption paypal account ****YOU DO NOT NEED A PAYPAL ACCOUNT TO DONATE...A CREDIT CARD IS FINE!***

*******IMPORTANT - before completing the transaction be sure to write your vote in the "special instructions to the seller." The "special instructions to the seller" will appear in your donation review page as a blue hyperlink on the lefthand side. Simply click and type us your votes in the space provided. We will not know who you voted for unless you write a message in the "instructions to seller" area. And be sure to use the EXACT photo name as referenced under the photograph from the facebook album. Again, you are welcome to vote for more than one photo so if you give 10 dollars and want to split your 10 votes between two cute costumed kiddos that is PERFECTLY FINE. Just specify your votes in the "instructions to seller" of the paypal transaction so that we can keep accurate voting records. 




As for voting, you simply vote for whoever, or whichever picture you like the most!!! There is absolutly NO criteria for determining what to vote for!!  Tell your cousins, aunts, grandparents, and co-workers to vote for your adorable little ones!!  In other words....SPREAD THE WORD FOLKS!!!  All you will have to do it post/share the facebook album link to your facebook, or to your blog, or email out it to others!!  Pretty simple way to get the word out!!!




Also important to keep in mind is that for every dollar you donate, you will be entered that amount of times into the contest to win some pretty cool prizes.  So what I am saying is that if you are really amazing and donate $55 towards a specific photograph/child...then you have been entered 55 times into the contest to win a prize!!!  Of course, we are happy with $1.00 donation amounts as well, but if you want to up your chances, then up your donation =)


Even though this is really all about donating to the Uhrich's...there are some additional incentives for anyone who votes!! See the prize section below!


PRIZES


We will be handing out several prizes at the end of the contest voting period.  The first prize will go to the child/family who received the MOST votes based on their photo.  This prize will be a gift certificate to a super awesome store and some goodies for the child/children pictured in the photograph.


Additionally there will also be TWO votes chosen at random to also receive a gift card to a really awesome store...which is just great considering the holidays are right around the corner!!!




Really...everyone wins in my opinion!




THANKS!!!


I would just like to say a huge thank you to everyone who brought out their adorable little kiddos over the weekend and allowed me the privilege of photographing them for this special fundraiser!  You all were so generous and I was so blessed by what each of you did for Ken & Lauren!!  I am hoping to have ALL of the edited pictures up on my shutterfly site by the weekend....these are NOT the only pictures you will be receiving...please keep that in mind!!! Thanks again!