Y’all. They do not get any cuter than this.
Zayden and his mommy came in to have ‘Mommy and Me’ Portraits made (which I applaud her for because so many mama’s put this off and they always end up regretting it!). He smiled at me the entire time! He never would let me hold him, but he would run to me and get within 6 inches, stop, show the biggest 4-toothed smile he could, then run back to his mama. This is what a happy baby and a good nap beforehand looks like:
Y’all, this gorgeous girl got married this past Saturday!!
What a beautiful morning we had on the day of Paige’s bridal session. We started early to beat the heat, and it worked out perfectly because by the time we finished it started to get, in true Arkansas fashion, a little steamy outside. Paige came to the studio accompanied by her sister in law and her precious mama. Within the first 10 minutes of being there I could tell that Paige and her mama had a special bond. Yes, mothers and daughters tend to turn into friends as time goes on, but these two just had something about them that was extraordinary and very evident. After talking with them awhile, Paige shared with me that her mom was truly her best friend. THAT was the ‘next level’ that I could feel. You could see it in their eyes, you could watch it as they laughed together. I was thrilled when Paige told me that even though her mama was a little reluctant, she would be taking some portraits with her that morning. Talk about special! We laughed and had a wonderful time, and together we came out with stunning images of Paige to display at her wedding and to forever have in her home.
Paige and I sort of ‘clicked’ when we met. I felt like we could talk forever. I knew that we sort of shared a special ‘bond’ in that I, too, had a Christmas wedding. I never imagined that we would also share such a tragic moment in our lives; the loss of our mothers.
Peggy, Paige’s mama, passed away roughly a month ago. There is absolutely no way to explain the feeling of losing your mama. We can never know what the future holds for us our our loved ones, but God does, and nothing catches Him off guard. He knows our hurt and how deep that pain runs in our veins (and boy does it run deep). I’m so thankful that we can place our faith and hope in Him, and know that we get to see our mamas one day again. Please join me in praying for this sweet girl and her family in the days to come.
I’m so thankful her mama joined us that day. What sweet memories Paige will have every time she looks at her bridal portraits.
Now, I present to you the stunning Mrs. Paige Johnson-Blevins:
This is so unreal to me. My nephew, Tanner, is supposed to still be the little boy running around barefooted, covered head to toe in mud, making every move that his daddy made. He isn’t supposed to be old enough graduate high school yet!
Tanner has always been a quiet boy. He loves all things outdoors. In the springtime when the skipjack are running at the Pendleton Dam, you will see him standing on the rocks, catching all he can to save for catfishing. When they’re not running, you will see him with his river pole snagging alongside his dad. Dove season comes, and Tanner always makes sure our family has a place to go on our yearly opening day hunt. When deer/duck/turkey season rolls in, his guns are cleaned and his clothes layed out, ready to head to the woods. I can’t leave out his love for trapping that his daddy and papaw instilled in him. That’s a dying art and it makes me proud to see Tanner carrying on the tradition.
Tanner is very good at many things, and I can’t forget to add his love of basketball and baseball to the list. He’s played both at Cornerstone Christian Academy during the entire time he attended.
He is a gentle giant whom my boys both love, but I can’t leave out the most important piece of who Tanner is. Tanner, above all, is a Christian. Between his parents, our church (Victory Baptist) and his school (Cornerstone Christian Academy), Tanner has built a strong foundation with the Lord as his cornerstone. Our entire family is so very thankful for that, because above all, his place in eternity is what matters the most.
Tanner Kole Wilson, words can’t express how proud we are of you. We will be there tonight taking 10,000 pictures and clapping the loudest in the stands as you receive your diploma. We are excited to see what you do with your future.
P.S. Mamaw Donnie would be so incredibly proud of you
This past weekend we celebrated my nephew’s 9th birthday. His birthday is meaningful to our family, because he was born the year we lost mama. God always knows what we need, even before we need it, so two weeks after mama passed, my sister found out she was expecting. He was definitely a little ray of sunshine during a dark year.
This year Ryder had a ‘Spooktacular 9th Birthday’ party. I can totally identify with this type of party since my birthday is October 18th. Mama, every year, would throw me a halloween birthday party, and everyone always loved it. We always had a haunted hayride (my most memorable is when Mr. Mark McElroy hid at an old abandoned house with a jason mask on and a chainsaw and scared the mess out of us…we were probably around 10 lol!) and some years she did a spook house in my dads old shed. One year she also had a shoe box that we stuck our hand in and touched eyeballs, brains, and guts (oh the things you can come up with when it involves food lol). Needless to say, she went above and beyond for my parties and it wasn’t until I was grown that I really realized all the time/effort/money she put into these and really, truly appreciated my birthday parties.
This year, my sister Robin decided to do this same thing for Ryders birthday.
We had mummies, bloody witches fingers, green brains, bloody pb&j’s, witches brooms, and bug juice.
A few of the kids dressed up. Of course there was one little kitty cat that was the cutest around.
Cash is still in his superhero stage, so this was my spider man and ‘mr. bones’. I think Cash still has his costume on he loves it so much lol.
Of course, we had to finish the evening off with a haunted hay ride, just to keep tradition. Erin is a die hard ‘The Walking Dead’ fan, so you can guess which one she is in this picture. She made some pretty good flesh with oatmeal, gelatin, and tissue paper. Who knew?!
What matters the most is that Ryder had a great party with tons of his little friends there. Our family, chaotic as we may be, survived another family gathering without a blow-up (we were on our best behavior since people were present) LOL.
I’m totally kidding….well sort of.
