May I Have Your Attention Please!!

First and foremost I want to thank each and every one of you who has so kindly donated to the TS Alliance on behalf of sweet Avery. I am quite certain that none of you know Little Miss Avery and the sincere kindness you have shown is simply beyond words to me. I popped over to the walk-a-thon page last night and was brought to tears. I just sat at the computer for a moment and cried. Cried at the complete and overwhelming generosity of those of you who took a moment to think of sweet Avery and donate to a cause that means more to her family than you can even begin to fathom. And I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that many more of you have taken the time to say a prayer for her family or kept them in your thoughts throughout the day. For that, I thank you. 

You all know by now that Lisa is far more to me than "just a friend." She is family in every sense of the word. I have laughed with her, cried with her, sat with her and talked with her for hours. And although our get-togethers are far less frequent than they once were, the place this family holds in my heart is just as strong as ever. Hopefully once the walk is over she'll have time to get back to her blog and you can follow along with her cute little family as well!!

So...are you ready for another HUGE batch of pics?! The lighting last night was A*M*A*Z*I*N*G! Late in the afternoon dark clouds moved in from the west and as the skies turned cloudy this beautiful light formed. And since the sun was not beating down on us, I got the kids dressed (they get dressed and undressed numerous times a day!!) and we headed out...camera in tow! It was one of the best times we have had in a long time! Happy, giggling kids, clouds, a nice breeze, thunder rolling in the distance...total ME weather!! (If you don't know...I LOVE * LOVE * LOVE cloudy, cool days! I am so productive on dreary days!!)

And before I go any further...I want to take note that these are ALL of Gentry. No, she is not my favorite child...I don't have a favorite child, but she is just so easy to take pictures of these days! She is still "genuine" for the most part...while Huntler gives me fake smiles and stares up at the sky with squinted eyes!! I did take some of him as well, but he was zooming around on his bike and they were NOT good. So, I had a mini photo shoot with him this afternoon and if I have anything good out of those, I'll share tomorrow! Just wanted to clear that up in case anyone out there has the wrong idea!!

Now, on to the pictures! I just adore them! I had to do VERY little post processing and am just so happy with what I got!! (And all in manual mode, thank you very much!!)

WEEE!!! Here she comes with all her spunk!! Cute dress, hunh?! That is her "Little Shopping Girl" pillowcase dress! Grandma got it for her for Christmas and it is VERY cute!!

Ummm...we seem to have a mushroom problem these days! They are popping up all over our front yard!! The kids are fascinated if you can't tell...

Uh-oh...does this shot remind you of anyone? As the storm started moving in, the thunder was beginning to roll! I was in heaven. Gentry was scared. Our big storm from a couple of weeks ago seems to have traumatized the poor child!!

Now for my favorite three!!

Beautiful blue eyed girl!

She is every bit ornery as she is cute! Don't let her fool you for one second!!

So, now for a little more photography chat! Sorry if you are sick of it, but that is what is going on in my world these days and since this is my blog, well, you have to read about it over and over again!!

And since it is my blog, I am going to brag on myself for just a moment if you don't mind! I was feeling a little bummed yesterday with the photos I put up. I mentioned that I also put those same images in my forum for constructive criticism. Can I just tell you that everyone LOVES that first shot of Gentry from yesterday?!! It was my favorite because of the idea behind it, but I was picking it apart. It was so fun to read all my comments here and in the forum on it! TOTALLY made my night! It is coming together for me and I LOVE that! 

That being said, my incredibly sweet  husband seems to think that my pictures are just dandy and I don't need that fancy new camera I am lusting over! So honey, if you are reading this, I DO need that new camera. Just imagine what I could capture with bigger and better sensors, less noise and faster focus!! WOW! (And for those of you picking yourself up off the ground after seeing the price of that baby, well, I am right there with ya!! However, as I pursue this and take the business route {on a small scale}, I will hopefully make some of my money back!!)

And now I need some help from all of you lovely readers!! This is going to be fun!! Let's just say that I was given a gift card to Baby Gap for Gentry (which I was) and I am not wanting to exceed the amount by much. I have narrowed my wants down to two fabulous items...but WHICH one do I pick?!!

The oh-so trendy polka dot shirt?!

Or the super fun and sassy tennies?!

I am leaning one way (which I am not going to tell you just yet!!), but I want to know what all you fabulous readers think?!!

And on that note, I should get going! Hope everyone is having a great day!! Don't forget to tell me your vote!!