Ephesians 2:10

"For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."

Tonight I went for a drive. I had a mission, but took more time than usual driving because amid the nasty weather all day, everything was... sparkling.
I love Thanksgiving, but I love the week after Thanksgiving more. Why? Because that's when all the lights make their way on the trees, people decorate their homes in fresh garlands,and gold and silver trimmings. Every front window faintly has twinkle lights adorning their christmas trees through their curtains and you can almost smell the spirit of Christmas. The excitement of this season is exhilirating in itself, but this year it's absolutely impossible to not grin from Lia Sophia adorned ear to ear. :)

Last week was one of the most stressful of my year. But I didn't buckle, I kept on going because 1. I want this so so much. and 2. I was having way more fun than I let on. Last week, in between 10 second moments to breathe before the phone rang again, answering 25 emails a day, the flu, and forgetting to eat until 9:30 at night ( i know.), I realized that I was so happy. I have never never never loved a job. I have never pictured myself doing the same thing for the rest of my life, and not cringing. I have never felt so incredibly fulfilled professionally. And tonight, on this drive while looking at all the lights, I praised God for this.

I pulled into WalMart and was still grinning. I took out my list and shopped for what I needed for home, and when I got all that I got to the bottom of my list and I bubbled with excitement. It read:
Paint for Studio.

I am proud and grateful to announce that jt Photography will be opening a storefront on Jan. 1, 2009 at 137 E. Main Street, Van Wert, Ohio. We are located 2 doors down from Balyeat's, and though it looks like nothing much right now, we will be working hard the entire month of December to be able to open and share our new home with you by Jan. 1st.

Thank you all so much for a wonderful year.

Cindy & Clint... a Love Session QuickTake

Yesterday was insane. It was like I was on a tredmill at full blast trying to keep up! My solace was knowing that I had a session at 4 with Cindy and Clint. There is nothing more blissful than getting away from paperwork and packaging to go let creativity flow! :)

Cindy has followed me (she says stalked, lol!) since my very early beginning. I officially met her when I was part-timing at a local gas station. I was so flattered that someone knew me at that time for my photography. I still get flattered, but at that time, NO ONE knew me, and Cindy really put a bit more sunshine in my day then! She has been a faithful blog reader and facebook friend, and I know that she passes may name along to people, and I am very grateful for my "free advertising"! :) Thank you Cindy and Clint, I know you will love your images.





Happy Thanksgiving!

Please be patient with me..

If i don't answer when you call, it's because I'm probably on the phone taking orders! Please leave a message and I will call you back right away! Thanks alot!
You can also send orders through email: jtphotography@live.com but to be ordered by tomarrow's deadline payment must accompany orders. Thanks so much!

Ugg...

Last night seemed normal. We went and picked up my daughter at my moms house, but we were about a half-hour late because a girl hit a deer in front of us, and so we stayed and waited with her for the sherriff. It was sad, I looked up from our truck and the deer was still alive and then the next minute I look back and it had stopped breathing. It was kinda eerie to know I saw it's final moments :( I'm just glad it wasn't suffering anymore.
So we get to my moms and eat supper, but before we sit down, I got a really bad yucky stomach. Like when your in knots and then your stomach gurgles, it was horrible, but I thought, "I'm just hungry, I haven't ate since lunch.." We ate and had to be back home so I could finish working for the night.
When we got home, I still wasn't feeling well, but I figured it's just stress, and I am tired. I made my last phone call of the evening, and a client (Hi Anne!) came over to finalize her order, I sent my orders fro the night and got Libbie in the bath. Then it hit me like a ton of bricks. I had to throw up, like, NOW.
So people, I have the flu. The flu hits me on the busiest week of my enitire year. Yep, that's awesome.

I will be home all day (Except at 4:00, because I have a session! Hi Cindy!), in my pj's and robe, though, still finalizing orders. TOMARROW is the LAST DAY to have anything by Christmas. Christmas Card orders MUST be in by tomarrow, 5:00 at the latest. Please be observant of the deadline, as no orders will be placed Friday, Saturday or Sunday as we will be celebrating Thanksgiving with our families (Well, Troy will. I might be in the bathroom :/)

GET THOSE ORDERS IN! I'm READY!

Another QuickTake session, Chase, Alex and Bailey

This past Sunday I took a QuickTake session of my best friend, and cousin, Elisha and her boyfriend, Josh and the kids, Chase, Alex and Bailey. Such cutie pies! We had a few tears, but we worked through them and got some smiles out of lil Miss Bailey.



Cutie-patooties...


And of course these two sexy beasts...


When Elisha and I are around each other, we tend to forget we are adults and we often are loud and obnoxious together and can become thouroughly annoying. This is why my husband has learned to just stay away... far far away... when Elisha and I are around each other :)
I asked them to give me a soap opera face. This is what I got:


I'm pretty sure that this one should be the 40x40 gallery wrap you are shooting for in the living room.
:) Love you <3

Some of Liberty's quirks...

Today as I was thinking of what to blog about, while putting laundry in, Liberty and I were having a "sort-of conversation". What's a "sort-of conversation"? It's having a converstaion with Liberty, a 3 year old, who jumps from conversation to conversation, and by the end of it, she says, "Do you understand?" and I say "Sort-Of..."
She was telling me about her dream she had ("Mom, last night a monkey put straw in my hair. Then he took off the dogs face, but he didn't take off the girls face. And I said, "I don't want that on." And he said in a mean tone "YOU BETTER PUT IT ON!"), we talked about ice cream, ("But, I want an ice cream cone for breakfast!!!") we talked about cleaning ("I want to wash my room, but I don't want to pick up my things on the floor, I will wash around them. I am leaving the fingernails on the floor for the bad guys on Home Alone. They will step on them and yell, AHHH! That would be really funny.") Side note: someone got her fake press on fingernails. I believe these persons names are COURTNEY AND AARON TEMPLE, and I'm sure it was a payback for, well any present loud or sticky or messy that I ever got the girls.By the end of it, I knew I put laundry in and put detergent in, and shut the washer and turned it on. But at the end of the conversation, I went, "Huh?!"

I give MAJAH kudos to her, as she has been a real trooper these past 2 weeks and hopefully for the insane weeks to come. It has been a circus around here that's for sure,and I haven't been a particularly nice person at home latley. She has been able to entertain herself for hours on end with puzzles, movies, babies, litebrite, and yelling unintelligently at her Little People, even using phrases only I would say, such as "...make your head spin!", "NEVER AGAIN!", "Oh crap." and even the particular gem of sighing extra hard and extra long.
I have a feeling that I'm creating a monster... :)

I have been giving into her addictions too, which is so BAD, and hopefully Christmas presents will cure this, or we will have to get her in a 12-step program. Some of her addictions are:
Spiderman 3 (No lie, she watches this 3 times in a row EVERYDAY.)
Smarties
Suckers ("With the gum or the brown stuff in them")
Home Alone 1&2
Max and Ruby DVD
Rhyming, but every rhyme ends with the word Poop, and a loud giggle.
You-Tube video "3 Funniest laughing Babies", watch it, you will laugh too.
Make up (This is also a Courtney and Aaron temple present.)

She is watching Max & Ruby right now, and she just ran up to me and said "Mom, I forgot to tell you, When the Monkey was in our house, Lenny* said to him, "If your a monkey, Monkeys don't live in houses." and then he broke his teeth. And Lenny said bad things to him, and then he went away to his own house. The monkey did."
Huh?
*: Lenny is the imaginary brother that Liberty has. He lives at his Grandma Morton's house and goes to school at Central Insurance. I have no idea who Grandma Morton is.

Say WHAT?!?!?!?!?!?!!!!!

I am an avid blog-stalker, I will admit it whole-heartedly. When I awake in the middle of the night< i'm usually either stalking blogs, or perezhilton.com. And yes, I awke in the middle of the night often.

:/

So I guess I wanted to post 2 things in this weak attempt at writing a blog without pictures...

Numero uno: I love blogs. I love THESE blogs with the force of a trillion suns though:
Jasmine Star
Dooce
Brandy J
Leigha
Tracy
PostSecret
So how was your day?
and of course, Vickie...

And numero dos: Everytime I see something I love, I comment on it. I open my big mouth (I know it's so hard to believe that its EVER SHUT!) and I smother some love all over the comment box.
I keep hearing of all these people who have seen my blog, "I read your blog the other day...", "HEY, I saw your blog!", "I cannot believe you have that stupid collage of yourself up on your blog." - ok, the last one may be from Troy. I love it when you guys tell me you read my blog when I see you and when I talk to you all on the phone, and I ABSOLOVE that you guys are talking about it!! YOU GUYS ARE ROCKING MY WORLD! :)
So get comment crazy! Go back to old posts and comment what you love! But I think that I am gonig to just put random questions up here and ask that you comment your answers to them! :) SO SO FUN! Lets get started:

Close your eyes and count to 3. OPEN THEM! Whats the first thing you see in front of you?

Here we go kiddos! Comment away!

5x7 wide format folded card

This card is a card I designed for the Myers'. Their kids Hudson & Harper were featured in a blog I posted a couple of days ago. Their pictures made the card I have been wanteing tomake for a while now! :) I love their little curiious smiles, and their warm faces behind the fogged cold glass...



This is the inside spread:


This is the back of the card...


This card is wonderful to display lots of images and also is classy in that it is a wide format and is bigger than the traditional card.

Thank you Hudson & Harper, your images are so beautiful!! :)

A little of This, A little of That...

SO I have so much I want to tell you, but some of it I can't tell because IT'S A SURPRISE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So i will tell you what I can, and on DECEMBER 1ST, you will know the surprise,okay?!

First things first, I just want to remind you all that the Deadline for all Christmas Card orders is NOVEMBER 27TH. I will be taking portraits up until that day. All orders that want to be back before CHRISTMAS (Such as Seniors, Family, Children, Baby, etc...) MUST BE ORDERED NO LATER THAN THIS DATE in order to guarantee the prints back by Christmas. Gallery Wraps that are ordered need to be in by NOVEMBER 27th as well.

So with all that out of the way, I wanted to tell you that I still have some spots available for QuickTakes, as well as full sessions for next week. This is going to be the last week that QuickTakes until Easter, so get your session scheduled as soon as possible so you can take advantage of the value! Here are some dates and times that are available:

Thursday, November 20th
1:00
2:00
3:00

Friday, November 21
10 am - 5:00 pm

Sunday, November 23
3:00 pm
4:00 pm

Monday, November 24th
10 am - 5:00 pm

Tuesday, November 25th
1:00
2:00
3:00

Wednesday, November 26th
10 am- 5:00 pm

Thursday, November 27th (LAST DAY)
1:00
2:00
3:00

If you want to double up on QuickTakes, you can do so, and I can also travel your home if it is easier for your Family, Children or Babies.
Please keep the deadline in mind, as NOTHING taken after November 27th will be guaranteed by Christmas.

All my customers and Friends have made this year an amazing first year. I give the utmost glory to God, as without Him noon of his would be possible. He has blessed me more richly than I could ever possibly imagined, and I am a humble servant to Him and his plan for me. God Bless your holidays and be safe! :) love you all :)

Hudson & Harper... a Christmas QuickTake

I know I know, I haven't posted in like 4 days... cut me some slack, I am so BUSY! AND I LOVE IT!

This last Saturday, I had a QuickTake session with Mr. Hudson & Miss Harper. How adorable are these kids?! We had some tears, but we quickly soothed them with cookies and suckers, and we got some great images.

Hudson is a really great big brother, he helped his sister with some pictures, and even offered me some advice, saying "That's enough pictures. I'm done for now." :)



Miss Harper is so adorable. I think she wanted some mommy time while we were shooting, so we accomodated for that and still got some spectacular shots. This one is my absolute favorite! I didn't even realize I had captured this until I was uploading them on to my computer! She could talk her dad into a pony with that face! :)



Thank you Hudson & Harper! You guys were so great!

You know those days where you work and work...

... and never get anything done? That feels like this week. :( I have gotten alot done, but I'm still so backed up! So if you are waiting on me for something, please have some patience with me as I am trying to keep my head afloat! :)
I appreciate all your business right now, and I love you all! Thanks :)

Hali, Senior 2009

When Hali told me she was bringing her red prom dress, I was so HAPPY! It's absolutely gorgeous!






Hali & I get along so well, we often lose track of time,and her 1st shoot lasted 5 hours, this one was only one hour less :) She has so many ideas that compliment mine, and she's a free thinker just as I am. We get along pretty great.



It was so windy that day that I thought poor Hali would be blown away :) but the wind helped to make some beautiful portraits.



So here you are Hali... FINALLY... lol :) I hope you love this batch as much as I do! Thank you for being my Senior Rep for Van Wert High School :)

Something I wish for regularly to happen to my husband... a lil funny for hump day...

"Dear God"
A man was sick and tired of going to work every day while his wife stayed home.
He wanted her to see what he went through so he prayed: 'Dear Lord: I go to work every day and put in 8 hours while my wife merely stays at home. I want her to know what I go through.So, please allow her body to switch with mine for a day Amen!'
God, in his infinite wisdom, granted the man's wish. The next morning, sure enough, the man awoke as a woman.He arose, cooked breakfast for his mate, Awakened the kids, Set out their school clothes, Fed them breakfast, Packed their lunches, Drove them to school, Came home and picked up the dry cleaning, took it to the cleaners Stopped at the bank to make a deposit, Went grocery shopping, then drove home to put away the groceries, Paid the bills and balanced the check book. He cleaned the cat's litter box and bathed the dog.
Then, it was already 1P.M.
He hurried to make the beds, do the laundry, vacuum, dust, sweep and mop the kitchen floor. He ran to the school to pick up the kids and got into an argument with them on the way home. Set out milk and cookies and got the kids organized to do homework. He then set up the ironing board and watched TV while he did the ironing.
At 4:30 He began peeling potatoes and washing vegetables for salad, breaded the pork chops and snapped fresh beans for supper. After supper, he cleaned the kitchen, ran the dishwasher, folded laundry, bathed the kids, and put them to bed.
At 9 P.M .
He was exhausted and, though his daily chores weren't finished, he went to bed where he was expected to make love, which he managed to get through without complaint.
The next morning, he awoke and immediately knelt by the bed and said: 'Lord, I don't know what I was thinking. I was so wrong to envy my wife's being able to stay home all day. Please, oh! Oh! Please, let us trade back. Amen!'
The Lord, in his infinite wisdom, replied: 'My son, I feel you have learned your lesson and I will be happy to change things back to the way they were. You'll just have to wait nine months, though; you got pregnant last night.'

Chucks rock.

Looking for a Christmas present that has a personal touch, and a pair of awesome shoes?! Look no further! Check these out:






My mom painted these up for my daughter since she loves 2 things with a passion, Spiderman/girl and Ohio State Buckeyes...





She did a couple other pair for my nephews as well, and she is taking orders! Call her at 419.495.2102 to order a pair for your kids, or even for yourself! $20/per pair, you send in the shoes!


Give her a call today!

Gayla and Boose, true love for 35 years... :)

35 years ago on this date my mom and dad got married. It's hard to find people who have been married for 35 years. But it has never been a doubt in my mind that they will be together for the rest of their lives. They are still completely head over heels for each other.



We went to Disney when I was 4 I think, I don't really remember much, except the tea cups and Alice in Wonderland kissing my cheek, but I do remember one thing very clearly. We drove down to Orlando because my mom is afraid of heights (no airplanes), so we were in the backseat of the car and mom wanted to stop for the night, and dad said we were going to go a bit farther (typical 'I can't give up that easy' attitude), voices weren't raised but they argued for a bit and Jade said "Are you guys going to get a divorce?" I think the car came to a screeching halt. We pulled in the next hotel, and dad sat all three of us on the trunk of the Pontiac Presienne and they explained thoroughly that they would NEVER get a divorce. That they loved each other so much, and just because they may have little arguments doesn't mean they can't work through them. This is the only part of the trip down that I remember clearly, I think my little brain said "register this, it's important"! :)



I can't say thank you enough to both my mom and dad. My mom is my best friend. I can talk to her about anything and she gives me a no-b.s. answer and is frank and honest. Even though sometimes I don't want to hear what she has to say (because I am like my father in the way of stubborness)I always take it into consideration, and after doing it my way doesn't work (ha ha) I usually find the answer in what she had to say. My mom is a wonderful person, a beautiful & strong woman, a terrific Grandmother, and she has always taught me to stand up and take responsibility. I love you, Mom.
My dad is the best dad in the ENTIRE WORLD. In many ways our personalities are similar. He's my go-to guy when we can't figure something out on our own, he's always there. He's the one who has always stood up for me when I needed him to, and I have actually been hated for the relationship I have with my dad which kinda makes me chuckle. :) I love you dad, I can't wait to learn so much more from you as I get older and I hope that Liberty comes to realize what a precious relationship she has with you.

Cheers to Boose and Gayla! We love you!

5x7 Folded

Here is #2 of today's cards.. Mr. Wyatt is our subject this time :)

A 5x7 folded card is the most common card used for Christmas today. This is pretty much a standard size card. There are 4 areas for design and lots of room for portraits to fit. I chose a simpler approcah to the front of the card, not only because simple is chic, but I have a pounding headache right now, and this seemed like the least time consuming since I plan on taking a nap with Libs after I post this blog. :(
And I really didn't have to put much more on this card seeing as Wyatt is the best thing about this one :)


As always, envelopes are included in every card order, and if you schedule a QuickTake from now (11-6-08) till the 27th (our cut-off date for Christmas) I am going to design a card featuring your session and put it on your proof dvd. I am getting such a response from these cards, so I figured I'm more than likely going to be designing one for every QuickTakes customer anyway! Why not add more of an incentive! :) Get your QuickTake booked now, I have some openings this Saturday if you would like to round up your crew for some portrait therapy :)

ALSO! These designs can be made into a photo collage to be put on a gallery wrap! You can hang these beautiful gallery wraps in your home or give them as gifts to your friends and family! What a spectacular gift idea!

If you would like to book, please call me at 419.203.0889!

5x5 folded card

Here is an original design on a 5x5 folded card. This card is a square which makes it very unique from other cards, and adds a touch of class in my opinion. These cards give tons of room to design, which also leaves major room for lots of portraits to be added. So if you want the maximum capacity, this is the card for you! :) Here is one I designed this morning for the Bearman family...



I love the geometrics of it, it's like orderly chaos :) Which is my life in a nutshell <3...

I hope to get another card up here today, as I want to start getting you all geared up for the holiday season by featuring 2 new designs a day. I know I will regret saying that on here if I only get one out a day, but hey at least I tried. And trying is half the battle.. GI JOE! (I know, it's knowing... I just like saying it ha ha!)

Wanted to let you guys in on some cool albums I'm listening to as well.. they probably aren't new, but Katy Perry's new album is pretty awesome, and I love to listen to it while I am designing. It gives me adreneline! Especially Hot N Cold... I abso-love that song :)
The other isn't new, I know, but it's so awesome anyway, Robert Plant & Allison Krauss's "Raising Sand". It's like the perfect blend of rock and soft, their voices are like sweet and sour together. So yummy!

Oh what a night!

Last night was history in the making. I'm very happy to have been part of that, but I am so proud of one of my seniors, Miss Katie Smelser, who was in Grant Park in Chicago last night for the amazing speech that was given by President Obama. She text me last night and said that she had so many pictures to show me, and that she had never seen so many people cry all at once! :) I'm honored that one of my Seniors was there for history in the making. It's great that people like Katie, and at her age, care about the future of our country so passionatley! Plus, I am flattered that she thought of me to text! :)



OK, so I told Tracy that I would have a greeting card for her on the blog today... Here you go Tracy.


:) have a wonderful day! :D

4.5x5 Accordian fold cards

Another great and stylish card is the Accordian fold. It does just as it says and has 4 panels that fold accordian style. These cards add drama to your card, and also add a touch of elegence and style. A favorite of mine, not only because of the style of the card, but designing these are so much fun. It's like getting to design 8 cards at once! :) Throw on a pearl finish and really make your card deliver (no pun intended.. ha ha)
Here's a sample
Front of accordian card:


Back of accordian card:


And of course, the adorable Eli as our subject! :) Who knew accordian cards would come this cute?!
Schedule a session today or use images from an older session to make your Christmas/New Years cards!

Not too late!

It's not too late for portraits for Christmas/Cards, etc! Our deadline is fast approaching, though so please get it scheduled asap! Our actual deadline is Nov. 27th and I WILL be taking sessions THAT DAY, if you are a procrastinator :) Hey, procrastinators need love, too! :)

Just wanted to show you all some "Samples" of christmas cards. I inserted images of Adam & Libbie in them just so you can see what they will look like. They are so beautiful and truly a great idea for Christmas/New Year cards. Each is unique to jt Photography, as they are my own designs. More are being made daily, so please get in and get a session, or order cards from a previous session!

My Libbie doll...


Adam...


These are 2 examples of 4.5x5 flat cards. Flat means there is no fold, like a postcard. These will have designs on both sides, you can get these in an envelope, or I can leave a space on one side for address area and postage. And by the way, envelopes are included with your order.

There are many different folds,sizes, finishes. Don't let this deter you, though, because I have samples of all of these and we can break it all down by SHOWING you, and you will be able to choose. I don't care if it takes an hour or 15 minutes to pick, just get here and pick! :) You will not be disappointed,and you will get compliments into the new year!

Vote!

Rock your right, and vote.

What a busy weekend!

Wow, I feel like the world just stopped spinning in hyper mode today! But I have so much to do, because this weekend I had so many sessions! I am going to blog them all together, because I have to really get down to it today. So here goes!

My first session of the weekend was a QuickTake of little Aleyah. This lil girl has such a presence, and is so so cute! She wasn't real sure about being on the ground in the leaves, but eventually she started playing. I just love this one...


Next was Saturday morning. I met Alex and her fiance' Eric downtown in Van Wert. They were dressed to the nines and so ready to get a beautiful portrait. It's not hard to do with a couple as good looking as these guys...


The next 3 sessions are friends of our family. I was so excited that they decided to get some family portraits done. The men in these families are brothers, if you can't tell :)
Jeremy, Jessica, Halie, Shalyn, and Apollo


Jarrod & Amy...


...and their kids, Jaden & Kaid


Josh, Sara & Addisyn


and Miss Addi, by herself :)


The next session is the one I promised of Adam. We had so much fun shooting on Sunday evening. He was wide awake, and only peeped a couple of times, but a gentle touch quieted him down. He is such a sweetheart, and definitely has eyes for mommy...


Piggies...


I was told they had a sleepless night last night, so I am wishing for a wide awake day from Mr. Adam today, so Mommy and Daddy can get some sleep!

Little Adam :)

Here are the pictures I promised, I am also shooting actual portraits today and will post them too, but here is your first preview of our visit to Adam at the Hospital.

Sweet baby


Libs and I sugaring him up, thank you troy for the picture and for getting my good quarter of my face :)


Kayla and her new little brother...

Every year since I was 4, I think, my mom has had our family get Fall Portraits taken. We never went anywhere professionally, but my mom had a beautiful manual Nikon that she would use to get a great shot. This tradition has lived on in our family, and at 26, I am now the family Photographer. :)
Mom would have a frame with a fall picture in it on the table beside her chair, and she would never take out the year before, she left them all in there so when you pulled the little 4x6 frame apart, you could slowly see us grow and change. It was almost as though our childhood exsisted in that little 4x6 frame on my moms sidetable. I want to keep this tradition alive, no matter how much the men in our family groan when it comes time, they will come to appreciate getting to see their family grow year by year.

The three musketeers, Jacob (10), Griffin (8), and Liberty (3)...

I can't believe how much they have all grown :( I wanted them all to stay babies forever...