Well, I’m here to check in for a minute and give you an update on things.  As many of you know, my life this past spring was consumed with trying to balance my business, family, and help my Dad start up his new veterinary clinic in Stephenville- Cornerstone Animal Hospital.  Many, many hours have gone into the renovation of the facility and start-up of the new business.  Although the long-term goals and plans have not been met, the clinic is in a great place to provide excellent care for its patients.  God has been good, and he has blessed the clinic with so much business we can hardly keep up.   Thank you friends and family for your support and help through all of this

All along I was fitting in several sessions a week, mostly high school seniors (which I LOVE), ranch calls (which I LOVE even more), and some design work.  There are several sessions this spring I didn’t have time to blog, and may still yet, but here are a few you should really check out:

Seniors: Alyssa, Hailey, Shaelyn

Equine: Dynasty Equine/Fallon Taylor, Wimpys Little Step/Schols

After the open house on June 12th, I finally was able to step out of the clinic scene- kinda.  I am still helping to manage the inventory/ordering, as well as help fill in when needed.  And of course, handling the marketing needs.  That said, I am so excited to say that I have finally been able to get more hours in the saddle!  Oh how I have missed my horses.  So sad that I am surrounded by so many nice horses, and I have not been able to enjoy my first love…. even before my husband, camera, kids, etc   I even splurged last week and treated myself to a new/used saddle.  Instead of a lens, camera body, etc. I went with what was going to make me happy at this time.  Don’t get me wrong, I love my photography & business, I just need some balance in my life.

That balance includes my family.  I have decided to not schedule any more sessions the rest of the summer other than ranch calls/equine sessions.  Those of you who I previously scheduled/consulted with, I will honor those dates, but otherwise we are looking at the middle of September.  This will allow me to start the fall of with a fresh outlook, and loads of creativity   It’s just too hot, and I want to spend time with my kids, and enjoy these precious times while they are young.  My kids have been spending a lot of time riding with me, and we have had soooo much fun.   I am so proud of the progress they have made and confidence gained with regular riding.  They have been practicing for the LJR in different events.  Carson has also just finished up his show season with the heifers. 

That brings up another subject…  our Red Angus cattle program has grown by leaps and bounds.  We are a relatively young breeder by many standards, but Tony has jumped in with so much love and enthusiasm for the breed.  He has been elected to the board of the Texas Red Angus Association, and it looks like we are in it for the long-haul.  The kids have loved going to the shows and it has been a great family endeavor for us (although I might not have agreed a few weeks ago when I was having to help pull a calf).  So it looks like we will be “re-branding” our marketing for our livestock to include both the horse and cattle breeding programs- Cross B Cattle Company.  Last year we were officially at our 10-year milestone as breeders with AQHA.  We are really excited this year about the addition of our new stud Shiner’s babies to the foal crop- there are some really pretty babies with lots of color!  We plan on continuing to raise high quality cow-bred Quarter Horses for the ranching and performance horse industry, as well as grow our registered herd of Red Angus. 

Sorry to be so winded, just wanted to update on things going on around here.  Thanks for understanding, and I look forward to working with you this fall!  Here are some shots from an evening riding at a friend’s arena…..

Well, I have officially earned my first cover with Erath County Living Magazine!!!  I had the pleasure of working with some great people to help get images for their ads in the magazine, as well as submit a few photos for consideration in the magazine.  They chose this pic of Carson and Cookie as well as a few others inside.  It is a great publication- very high quality and has great stories and pics of our Erath County.  Thanks to the editor Treva and the publisher Jay for using my image, for I’m sure there were many other great ones to choose from by other local photographers.  You can pick one up at the Chamber or other local businesses. 

“Are you tired? Worn out? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me- watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace.”
Matthew 11: 28-30

Wow… is all I can say.  I feel like I’m at a Christian youth camp, but for adult photographers. :) Good stuff going on here….  His spirit is alive and well, and touching many of us.  Pray for rest, inspiration and healing for those seeking Him.  If these images speak to you at all, check out the gallery of day one here!

I’m headed out tomorrow to the smokey mountains of Tennessee!  I’m so excited to get to go to another wonderful workshop called For The Love.  It will be a great combination of spiritual retreat and learning… perfecting my skills for you all!  

The view from our porch this morning…..

 Off to another cold weekend at the stock show!  Good luck to Carson and Number One at the Red Angus Show!  Updates coming soon:)

Meet Emily…..  isn’t she beautiful?  She’s a senior at Stephenville High School.  She is in front of my camera for the second time….

I actually took Emily’s senior portraits and a few of the family one afternoon about 4 weeks before this.  After Thanksgiving I went to process/edit the shoot, and couldn’t find the files ANYWHERE.  I frantically looked on all my hard drives & storage and couldn’t believe what was happening.  My heart just sunk in sadness.  In my six years of shooting digital, I have never had this happen. 

But it did- and I can’t exactly pinpoint when or how, all I know is that during all the madness and rush of last minute holiday sessions, the files must have been erased or overwritten.  And since I didn’t go to edit them until a few weeks after the shoot, I just don’t know when or how.   So, I contacted Becky, Emily’s mom, and explained to her what had happened.  And apologized through the nose over and over.  The one thing I didn’t do was lie- I told her the truth as soon as I figured out that I didn’t have them.  I figured honesty was the only thing I had left to give her.  I have actually known Becky for a while now through a good client of mine, but this was the first time to actually do work for her personally.  I was prepared for an upset, disgusted response and potential client loss.  Which I totally understand. 

But instead this is what I got…..  “Allison, I can’t imagine what you are going through!  We are available…..  Just don’t worry and we will see you tomorrow.”  Really?  Is she really this forgiving?  Now, I know she and Emily were upset/mad, they had to be.  But instead of putting more guilt on me, she went out of her way to try to make ME feel better.  Me, the one who messed up.  The one who lost files of some really cool senior session shots that Emily ROCKED.  Amazing. 

So, we grabbed a couple family pics and a few of Emily to get what they needed for Christmas…

Now, as if her kindness wasn’t enough for this thoroughly embarrassed “photographer” you will never believe what happened next.  I went by the office where she works for her sister-in-law to drop off a cd a few weeks later.  Becky hands me this really cool little wooden box, all the time smiling.  I looked at her puzzled, and she said it was for me.  I opened it up to find this…

Becky made this beautiful pen.  She made it out of wood she found, and created this keepsake that will forever mean much more to me than she will ever know.

The more I thought about it, I just couldn’t help but see the love of Christ.  Now, I don’t know Becky well enough to speak of her faith, but she has always been a kind, wonderful person to work with, and I was so excited to actually work with her personally.  All I can say is that during a time of year when the Spirit is so alive and we are celebrating our Savior’s birth,  it was very timely to be forgiven in such a way.  To be reminded that Christ was born, and died for us so that we could be forgiven of our sins.  All we have to do is ask…  ask for forgiveness and for Christ to be your personal Savior. 

And at the end of the day, that is all that matters.  All the “material things” that we think are necessary to survive here on Earth are worthless in our home in Heaven.  I am only human and we all make mistakes, and that is why I am not ashamed to share this story with you.  More importantly, I wanted to share how someone so graciously handled the situation with kindness.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m not making light of this mistake, because I pray that it never happens again. 

I don’t have a huge list of New Year’s resolutions- mainly because I am not going to set myself up for failure with unrealistic goals.  But one thing we are going to do is continue to lead our children and teach them by running a Christ-like household and businesses that will hopefully teach them right from wrong.  And I’ll probably look into a better back-up system for file storage!

It is amazing to me to still see the kindnes in people when we are living in a world of such sadness, hatred, and selfishness.  Thank you Becky & Emily for renewing hope that we as individuals can make a difference in the daily lives of others.  I can’t wait to show you the images we will create for Emily in her SECOND Senior Session!   Stay tuned!