Everywhere I go and everyone I meet, is always commenting on my big “blueberry” eyes. I hear my mother always politely saying “thank you” and looking at me with a huge warm smile. If I could say “thank you” to any one person, it would be my late Great Grandma Bonnie. My mother always says she was a warm spirited, loving, and kind person. Great-Grandma Bonnie, was always known for her “blueberry” eyes and always received comments from everyone she met. Sadly, she lossed her battle with Lung Cancer, and I never had the chance to look into those loving “blueberry” eyes, that everyone commented on. As my mother lays me down to sleep at night, she always wispers in my ear, that Great Grandma Bonnie, is looking down from heaven, with a big smile on her face. I know Great Grandma Bonnie is smiling down, because she passed her “blueberry” eyes to me. I know she is proud of me, for being apart of a charity that can help those who are suffering from Cancer and maybe give them one extra day on earth with the people they love the most.”

Thank you,
Bella

Thank YOU Bella & Emily

And here is beautiful little Bella, with her amazing blueberry eyes:

Thanks again to all the parents who brought their little ones out for their portraits to benefit the American Cancer Society & don’t forget to purchase your calendar now!

I’ve volunteered with the American Cancer Society in the past, and it was a cause that I identified with, and I knew many many other people in our community did as well. Little did I know that this would turn out so wonderful, so chaotic, and so fulfilling… all at the same time!

Anyways, standing in the kitchen one night, brainstorming with my husband… we settled on the name “Small Miracles” for the calendar. Quite quickly “Small Miracles Make a Big Difference” was the natural “slogan”. Again, little did I know just how true that would prove to be.

Here I sit at nearly 2 a.m., less than 2 months from the time I first approached the American Cancer Society about my hair-brained ideas (I tend to have a lot of them!), looking in amazement at the number of votes that came pouring in, and equally amazed that I survived it all! LOL

After 2 wonderful weeks of voting, I sit here, looking at the 13 images that made it into the calendar. So happy that I didn’t have to choose them myself because there was no way I could choose just 13, ecstatic at the number of votes that flooded in, and thankful for ever single person that participated. And so… that moment that everyone has been waiting for… I proudly announce the 13 images that will be featured in the 2010 Small Miracles Calendar to benefit the American Cancer Society… proving that Small Miracles DO make aHUGE difference!

(Gosh, even *I* have butterflies TYPING this!)  (Names will be added with permission from their parents)

Miracle #9:

Miracle #8:

Miracle #42

Miracle #7:

Miracle #11:

Miracle #1:

Miracle # 31:

Miracle # 19:

Miracle # 12:

Miracle # 38:

Miracle # 6:

Miracle # 41:

Miracle #15:

And there you have it, folks… the 13 amazing Small Miracles!

In all, we received over 5,500 votes… an amazing accomplishment, especially considering this is our VERY first calendar.  Rest assured, this is absolutely something we will do each year (though we will start much earlier in the year next year lol… no more shooting, editing, and voting marathons for me!).

And don’t forget, calendars are still for sale – we will be opening the gallery back up with the option to vote removed, just so you can see the cuties & purchase calendars at the pre-sale price of $10.  Expect it to open sometime later in the day!!!

Thanks again for all your help, and to all the photographers & businesses who have helped make this possible!  Stay tuned as we share with you the inspirational stories that were shared with me through out this journey!

Which reminds me, now is as good of a time as ever to mention my Grow With Me packages – catch them now while they’re at a good price.  With new changes in November & December, I can bet the packages will increase in price!  So book now & get it at the deal it is now!  And of course, stay tuned for Lisa’s little arrival!  I hope to see her back out at the studio for her newborn session soon!

Well, it’s nothing new, but I did want to blog about this wonderful organization called Celebrating Adoption.  Recently, I’ve been able to do quite a few childrens portrait sessions for Celebrating Adoption as an active member/photographer.  I have to say, I have absolutely loved doing every single session.  I love children and I hope to one day adopt (just gotta work on the whole Dave Ramsey plan & convincing my husband!), so it’s easy, but in addition, it’s not every day you get to witness such giving, caring, and loving.  Its truly a love that extends beyond all boundaries.  I absolutely love listening to their stories of their adoptions, and it is really really a blessing to be able to meet people with such huge hearts, and witness first hand them truly changing another persons life.  I am humbled more and more with every session I do… so much that it nearly brings me to tears.  Every story is so different, so intriguing, and I thank God every day that there are families who have so much love to give to these children who so desperately need it.  I can only hope that more people consider adoption to give a child a home and more importantly – a family.

Please pass the word along to anyone you know who might be interested – there are plenty of children in our area being adopted every day and a family portrait session, or a session of just the child, is an excellent way to celebrate the adoption & welcome them to the family!

As a cloth diaper junkie, this really screamed my name! I remember the day when I gawked at the thought of cloth diapers – after all cloth diapers sent visions of being slave to the washing machine (which is FAR too domesticated for me), or visions of my grandma, not my idea of hip stylish new age artsy mom (that I try so hard to be lol). BUT, as it turns out, cloth diapers really are the new posh stylish “thing to do”. I mean, who can resist matching diapers to your baby’s clothes in cool hip patterns & colors? When I stumbled upon cloth diapers I was really surprised to find out the things come in fabrics like Plush, Minky, microfiber, fleece, etc. And in totally cool designs. So… between that and my obsession with numbers (and hence, budgeting), Cloth Diapering is like an addiction!

And – so here it is – a chance to win FREE cloth diapers. Now I was hesitant to post this – because if I introduce you to the world of cloth diapers & you enter, then it lessens my chance? Ah, but no – I get an extra entry for posting it here lol. So – I’ll take my chances and let my secret out – we’re cloth diaper junkies & I make it my mission to convert!

So – enter to win HERE and you could win a Bum Genius 3.0 Starter Kit from Nature’s Child – Wholesome Goods for Mothers and Babies.

I’ll be running plenty of specials to get the most use out of this thing, thats for sure – so keep one eye on me!  We’ll mainly be doing our Maternity, Newborn & Children’s photography here, accepting clients from all over the panhandle including Destin, Crestview, Niceville & Fort Walton Beach.

Angela

It was a LOT of bellies (and a few babies) to edit, but they’re all done.  Good thing I like big baby bellies because there sure were a lot of them!

Happy Browsing!  In the meanwhile, contact us if you’re looking for some really amazing Maternity, Newborn, or Children’s Portraits!  We almost always have some awesome specials!

Just last night we attended the World’s Greatest Baby Shower on Okaloosa Island & what a BLAST we had! Bad, Bad Photographer, I didn’t get ANY pictures of our booth or of all the hard work we put into it, but that’s ok because we were absolutely slammed most of the night taking belly pics of moms! Luckily, I love pregnant bellies, cause I sure got to see a whole lot of them last night! Big, small, you name it. One really really freaky thing though – I bet 90% of them were having boys! I bet for an hour STRAIGHT we didn’t put away the “Baby Boy” ribbon! But, we also got some babies through there too & got to take some really cute pictures of them too! We had a great time, got to see a lot of other folks like the nurses from Dr. Hennessy’s office, Dr. Stoneking, Dr. Sarah Leatherman, and of course all the great folks from Healthy Start who put on the great show.
BY THE WAY – GREAT improvement from last year! The layout was so much easier for mom’s to navigate through. And I definitely think that the whole “photo booth” concept is here to stay for the World’s Greatest Baby Shower. Its a great fun thing for the moms, and I don’t have to stand around all night chit chatting, I get to move around & do what I love to do – TAKE PICTURES!

Speaking of pictures – the shots will be up soon – VERY SOON! So any ladies that are looking for their pictures, hopefully they’ll be up by Sunday evening. Keep an eye out & post a shout out here if you’d like!

I’m sending out a newsletter, but this is just to let everyone ELSE in the world know!

I’ve decided to take on a limited number of portrait sessions to submit in the 2008 Miller’s Baby & Child Portrait contest. The rules are pretty simple & the prizes are pretty sweet! So all of you that have spawned some cute little kids, nows the time to get the portraits you’ve all been putting off! Those little cuties could be worth up to $5,000! (I’ve been telling mine for some time now they need to get a job! I guess this is it!).

Only one picture from each session can be included (those aren’t MY rules, that’s THEIRS!), so if you want more than one submitted, then go ahead and book more than one! But just keep in mind, I am limiting my sessions pretty strictly because of the submission deadlines!

So – you want more details? The down & dirty is this: there are 4 categories: Color, Black & White/Sepia, Special Needs, and Humorous. There are two submission deadlines left: May 21 and June 21. So that means my last session I take will probably be June 15. Currently I’m only booking evenings & weekends, but don’t worry – I am taking them in my house, or at yours with my portable studio set up, and also on location (you pick the place!). We’re fortunate enough to live in one of the most beautiful places on the Earth, so I say we take advantage of that for this!

And finally, I’m offering special sessions for $75 (usually $100). In addition you get 10% off your prints (online ordering & viewing of course available), and a free storyboard/collage design using the photos from our session! Things are booking up quick, though, and I am ONLY going to allow a set number of sessions! I cannot stress this enough! So let’s get this thing rolling, shall we?!  Book your child’s portrait session now, they can be done on location in Okaloosa, Walton or Santa Rosa County:  in Crestview, Fort Walton Beach, Destin, Rosemary Beach, Grayton Beach, Seaside, Niceville, anywhere along the Emerald Coast!

(and for the official low down, visit Miller’s.)

Of course, we will offer the usual – bridal, engagement & wedding packages: photography packages can be tailored to include hair & makeup for the bride or the whole bridal party.  Get deluxe salon service in their spa or on location for your wedding!  Either way, Bella Vita Photography (yes, MOI!) will be along to document it every step of the way!

But, aside from those obvious wedding & bridal packages, we’ve got some other really cool stuff we’ll be doing.  Marty from Bella Day Spa & his awesome staff were able to help come up with some awesome ideas.

First and foremost: Maternity & “New Mom” packages.  At the end of a long (and usually HOT) pregnancy, come and indulge in a much deserved full day or half day spa treatment, the perfect way to pamper before in-studio Maternity 0r New Mom & Baby portraits!  I’m really excited – I know I spent many a countless hours getting pedicures & only WISH I’d have thought to splurge on a pampering spa package to prepare for my maternity pictures. Everyone talks about that “pregnancy glow” but this would put some REAL glow on any pregnant mamma & have her looking & feeling her best for once in a lifetime pictures.  These are some of my FAVORITE to do aside from newborn shots, so these are what I’m MOST excited about!

So – if you know a mom who is about to have a baby or just had a baby – I can guarantee you she deserves a day of pampering & its just a perfect perfect way to combine a relaxing day with some great pictures.  And because Bella Day Spa is letting me set up shop right there it doesn’t get any more convenient.  Of course, both locations are on or near the water, so were just two steps away from sunset beach pictures overlooking the water!

Finally, we’ll also be offering similar all-inclusive packages for prom, senior portraits, and even some sexy “Support The Troops” packages.  And of course, those super special holidays like Mothers Day we’ll offer some packages that are really awesome.  Some folks were comparing them to glamour shots, but these blow glamour shots out of the water!

So – thats my most recent big news!  I’m pretty excited & hopefully we’ll have the word really spreading around soon!