Happy Holidays!
I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season!
From my family to yours!
Our Holiday Greeting

Click Here To View Greeting
*in order of how they are standing
Jayla 9
Kade 3
Josh 15 (16 Jan. 3rd)
Jayce 7

This made them laugh, I hope you enjoy it!
Melanie

It's been rainy lately, but I still managed to capture an image of the cutest thing under an umbrella! If you're renting a tux to be in a wedding, you might as well get everything you can get out of it! This is just two of a series of images with this little guy. Another series of images was taken the next day after the skies cleared up and he was in a dancing mood! Can you say "I'm 3 going on 30"? Those of you with 3 year olds will know EXACTLY what I'm talking about. This is Kade, the youngest of our 7 children. I'll post more from this series later. I hope you enjoy this one for now.
-Melanie

Fort Wayne Civic Theater

If you haven't gone to the Fort Wayne Civic Theater I encourage you to go! I went to the Fort Wayne Civic Theater for the final show of "Little Shop Of Horrors" last night. This is the second show that I've seen there and I see an addiction coming. The next show will be "Once Upon A Mattress", with the following dates: January 18 thru February 3, 2008. Check their website for upcoming shows. You won't be disappointed. *Side note: I did notice a lot of people during intermission leaving as they thought the show was over, keep that in mind when you go.

I Hope Everyone Had A Happy Halloween!
We had a terrific night last night with the kids! I hope everyone had a happy and safe Halloween. Make sure you check your children's candy, I've seen 1 reported incident of metal in candy that happened in Warsaw.

A Pumpkin Recipe:
Stew In A Pumpkin Shell
1 large pumpkin
Melted butter
Sugar
2 large onions, chopped
4 large garlic cloves, chopped
Olive oil
3 pounds chuck steak, cubed
1 pound tomatoes, peeled and chopped
1 tablespoon tomato paste
3 1/2 pints beef stock
2 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 pounds white potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 pounds raw pumpkin, cut in chunks
2 cans sweet corn
12 canned yellow peach halves, sliced
Syrup from canned peaches
Bouquet garni
1 heaping teaspoon dried oregano
Salt and pepper

To prepare the pumpkin, cut the top to form a lid, angle cutting so the lid will sit on and not fall in. Leave the stem for a handle. Remove the the "guts", the fibers and seeds and discard. Scoop away most of the solid flesh, leaving a sturdy wall of pumpkin, being careful not to cut through it. Measure out 2 pounds of the pumpkin flesh for the stew.

Brush the inside of the cleaned pumpkin with melted butter and sprinkle lightly with sugar. Replace the lid and set the pumpkin aside on a baking sheet.

Cook the onion and garlic in a little oil until soft but not browned. Transfer to a large saucepan. Brown the beef in the oil and add it to the onion mixture in the saucepan. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, half the stock, the bouquet garni, a little salt and plenty of pepper to the meat and onions. Cover and simmer until the meat is almost cooked. This should take about 1 hour.

At this time, put the pumpkin shell in the oven at 375 degrees. Leave it for 30 minutes, or longer if the walls are thick. But be careful not to collapse the walls. You can use a large casserole as a support for the walls.

Add the sweet potato, potato and pumpkin to the saucepan and cover with more stock. Return to a boil and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes, or until the meat is tender, the potatoes are cooked, and the liquid is thickened with the dissolved pumpkin.

Stir in the sweet corn and peaches and simmer for another 15 minutes. Taste, correcting the seasoning and adding a little of the peach syrup. Remove the bouquet garni and discard. Ladle the stew into the pumpkin and put back into the oven for 10 to 15 minutes and serve. Makes 6 to 8 servings.
Find more pumpkin recipes at:
http://www.pumpkin-patch.com/recipes_main.html

New HTML Site
There's a new HTML site, I'm still updating this but I think it's much better. I have added PDF files for both Portrait Collections and Wedding Collections and will be adding a PDF file for Senior Collections within the next day or two. You can find the PDF files listed under "Information".

Indiana Sky
While I was cooking my dinner on Tuesday night, a red hue was pouring in our sliding glass doors. I turned my head and was totally "BLOWN AWAY" at what I saw. In the 10 years I've been here I don't think I've ever seen the sky so beautiful. Of course this was 6 pm. I was home alone with 3 of my boys and had dinner on the stove, otherwise I probably would have been jumping in my vehicle and driving for a better photo opportunity. I screamed for the boys "come on" we have to get a picture of this. I grabbed my camera and we ran out the door. They were less than cooperative (they were hungry, it was chilly, and frankly.. I think they get sick of my camera) As soon as I stepped out for just a brief second I thought maybe we were having a tornado, it was so unnatural and surreal. I grabbed a few snapshots of the sky and some with the boys in the field before heading back in the door to my pork chops that if left alone one more second, would have been pizza ordered in for dinner.

My boys


The Skyline


The Different Hues

Recent Wedding
The venue was in Michigan in a quaint church, and the reception was held on a beautiful golf course. This portrait was actually taken at the hair salon, in front of a round window that was there. When you see the light, it's just there. She's stunningly beautiful.

Experiencing Technical Difficulties
*update the flash site is back up and running!
I am experiencing technical difficulties on my flash website, I hate to admit it... but yes, I too am human! I was deleting some old files off my server and preoccupied at the same time with my 2 year old (clearly distracted) and apparently deleted something vital! I'm working hard to correct the problem. Sit back, relax ... have a cup of coffee and browse the html site. Thanks!
-Melanie

I've Been Tagged! by:Hillis Photography
When I was first notified of being tagged, I thought ok.... so what's that mean? I have an internet virus? Is my computer going to spontaneously combust? I did something you don't like? What.. JUST TELL ME WHAT IT IS! Well, I was relieved to hear that I just have to tell 8 things about myself that most people who don't know me wouldn't know. I also must tag 8 other photographers. I'll post links to that later. (if I can come up with that many!)
1.) I once jumped out of an airplane ... we were 10,000 feet in the air (I have it on video tape to the tune "Free Falling")
2.) My favorite meal is Hot Italian Sausage with green peppers & onions smothered in ketchup with a side of carnival fries soaked in vinegar & ketchup (*important: the fries must be shaken in a thick brown paper brown bag with a lot of salt- i love you for that mom)
3.) I am scared to death of Pennsylvania wasps (you could seriously saddle them up and ride them!) *the wasps in Indiana are puny
4.) I graduated from nursing school in 1996
5.) My kids ages range from 2 years old to 20 years old
6.) I have 3 dogs- 2 Jack Russel Terrier's & a Rotweiler
7.) My favorite type of movie is horror
8.) My favorite channel on tv is Court TV

So, there you have it! Some not so interesting facts that you may not have known. Off to find 8 photographers to tag! Will post links later.

-Melanie

Alpaca Day!
I'd never heard of Alpaca Day, in fact... honestly, I didn't even know what an Alpaca was!
The Alpaca is related to the Llama, it looks like a long haired, shaggy Llama with thick, soft wool that covers it's eyes. Alpacas are gentle and hearty to raise, also a great investment for American farmers. On a personal note, I found them to be adorable, agreeable, and they make the cutest baby noises.
The fleece from the Alpaca is similar to wool or mohair, but it's softer and silkier and takes much longer to grow making it very expensive and in high demand. The fleece is available in 20 different colors, it's softer than cashmere and lighter, stronger, and warmer than wool producing warm clothing and beautiful accessories.

One cute Alpaca

















Spinning the wool

What's New This Week
Now's the time to start thinking about making all those wedding plans for 2008! I've just finished my new wedding collections and added a few new collections that I think you'll love! I've added the "Romance Session" This is a contemporary version of the Bridal Session including the bride and groom. This allows time for us to go to a few locations of your choice and take beautiful, no stress, photographs of the two of you together and individually.
"The Engagement Session" This session allows us to become more comfortable working with each other, you also get a feel for what it's like to be in front of the camera.
"And finally, last...but certainly not least is the "Trash The Dress Session" That's right!! TRASH THE DRESS!!! It's the latest fashion rage with brides who want to do something totally different and outside the box. I'm really excited about this session.
Contact me via email to receive a wedding packet!
-Melanie

Where Oh Where Should I Start?
I'm back to bloggin' and I need something WOW to put out there. I think I'm going to go with some from a recent wedding! The venue was gorgeous and the couple, well... what can I say AWESOME!
After the wedding and the reception, we were invited with the wedding party to attend a Tigers/Bears game. Baseball! I hope I got those names right (my son isn't here to ask) I literally had to ask the mother and father of the bride which team we were rooting for. I didn't feel to bad when the mother of the bride said "the ones in blue, right honey"?

Been A Long Time, Been A Long Lonely Time
Ok, so I know this is totally way over due. But *short pause* have I mentioned lately that I have 7 kids? Now, I realize that 3 of those kids are grown and out of the house... but seriously, the 2 year old is like having 4 kids all at the same time! Now, you add that to the other 3 in the house and well... there you go, we're back up to 7 and I didn't even include my husband in the count, which technically... I think I could get away with! Yeah Yeah.... and I also forgot my password and how to access my blogspot account blah.. blah.. blah.., but doesn't it sound so much better to blame it on all the kids?! Go ahead, I give you permission... blame it all on your kids- trust me, it feels sooooo good!