Eons ago, at the urging of friends, I created a MySpace page. I got it all set up and put up pictures, chose a little song for the player and so on. I tried to love it but I just never did. It seemed empty. All the while other friends of mine were sending me emails about signing up for Facebook. My first thought was, I don't love this whole MySpace thing so why would I love Facebook? I took a chance and went ahead and set up a Facebook page. It was almost love at first click.

So, if you aren't a Facebook lover you might wonder why I love it. In short, Facebook is the reason why I just did a triathlon last weekend.

It all started so innocently...a client and friend introduced me to a personal training facility in West U called West U Fitness. They do amazing personal training there by the way- absolutely the best! They are, of course, also on Facebook. Back to the story though, one night on Facebook I end up chatting with Leslie. At that point though we were just casual acquaintances. I knew her through some other friends but we hadn't really hung out that much. We talk about training at West U and she starts telling me how I should train for a triathlon. Like most people would do, I tell her she's crazy and that I don't swim or bike and that I couldn't do it. I tell her that the bike that I ride has exactly 3 speeds, pinstripes and basket for my dog. There was no way.

Fast forward to last weekend...

I love Facebook because it allows you to connect with people you might otherwise not be able to connect with. Not only does it allow you to simply connect, it allows you to converse and share. I get to share pictures with my BFF who lives in Austria, my brother who lives in Austin and all of my other various friends both near and far. I get to share news about my business, share images with my clients and learn so much about all the people who I get to meet along my way. Sure, along with all the good comes the not so good...the person who you hoped would never find you does. You may also get a million invites to things that you may not care about BUT you also get invites that you do care about and requests from people that you do want to see again. I'll take the not so great because, for me, the good stuff outweighs the bad. I'm grateful to all my Facebook friends. I like seeing their updates and their pictures. I enjoy the funny little updates that remind me that we're in this together. I like that, even though my life is crazy busy, I can take a few minutes and catch up.

So, a big shout out needs to go to my new tri-girl buddy Leslie. Thanks for the push! I'm glad we're friends. I'm looking forward to our next one! I also need to say a HUGE thank you to my trainers, Angie Henderson and Sean Weigner. They completely made it possible for me to do what I did and I appreciate them so much.

And to you my blog friends, if we're not friends on Facebook, I hope you'll send me a friend request! Who knows, maybe I'll get you to do something crazy like a triathlon! :)

Every year I struggle with the holidays. It's a stressful time for me and I wish it didn't have to be. For many portrait photographers the holiday season is a very busy time. For me it means a lot of sessions, a flurry of holiday cards, late nights at the computer, busy Saturdays, lots of juggling and tight deadlines. As much as the workload can easily overwhelm me and it does, I feel extremely grateful that people choose me for such important work.

As I get older too, it seems like the "holiday magic" is more elusive. It feels so commercial (so many ads, a sale here and 50% off there). My family makes gift lists and we all exchange lists. It makes sense on one hand (you want to get something that people actually want) but it does take something away from my gift giving process. I don't know when the shine wore off of the lists but, for me, it definitely has. I used to love them when I was younger and it was all about getting tons of stuff and by making lists I got exactly what I wanted. Now that I'm older my "list" issue has more to do with my giving of gifts to others. The gift buying that requires me to really think about someone is the warm fuzzy part for me. I am thinking of the ones I love, why I love them and what they love. I'm not a religious person so, for me, the thinking about my family part is a huge part of the holiday magic and the list just sucks the joy right out the process.

So to combat my holiday stress and fatigue this year, I decided that I needed to find my holiday spirit in my own new way. Whenever I am feeling stressed out or down, the best redirection is gratitude. With this in mind, I turned my attention to ways that I could truly express gratitude. I am most grateful for two things in my life - my family and my talent. I don't know where or who I would be without my tribe and my camera.

I had been inspired a few months prior by another photographer named Tim Walden. We talked about a charitable project that he does where he gives a family one of his amazing relationship portraits. I knew that I wanted to do something similar but I just couldn't figure out who, how or when. Then I heard about a project / movement called Help Portrait, which was started by a photographer named Jeremy Cowart. It was perfect timing. I now knew exactly what I was going to do.

I have done volunteer work for the Houston Area Women's Center before and feel so strongly about the work that they are doing with families, women and children. HAWC helps women who have been victims of domestic abuse or sexual assault. They shelter women and their children when they flee abusive homes, they counsel rape survivors, they offer legal help, have weekly counseling groups, a food pantry and so much more. They give families a second chance at finding peace, hope and joy.

So, on December 12, 2009 I opened my studio to a small group of HAWC families and took portraits of them completely free of charge. It was amazing. Many of these families have been working with HAWC for a while now. They all had to start fresh with a new vision of what their family was going to look like. Many had to leave everything and start from scratch. I see the power of portraits every day and I knew that it would be the best gift that I could give.

Today we got them all ready and tomorrow we'll be delivering them to HAWC so the families can pick them up. I wish I could be a fly on the wall when they open up these bags. Just the thought of it makes me feel full inside. So, thank you to the families that came and let me take their portrait and thanks to HAWC. You helped me find the magic again.

Here is a little sampling of what I do. Seriously, I think I have one of the world's best jobs. Generally speaking, it's like a love explosion here on most days. Yes, we have grunt work and we get stressed out and it can be hard. If I put that stuff aside though and focus on the end product and the reasons why I do what I do, it's just all amazing, mushy, love-filled awesomeness. For me there is nothing more incredible than the genuine sparkle and spirit of children and families. I hope you see a little bit of that in this video, enjoy! (you may need to give the video a few minutes to load up all the way)