3900 Saturday Mornings...

Michelle sent me this email this morning. I admit I have a bad tendency to skim over these and dismiss them. This one however caught my eye...especially the part about the dance recital. If you have time, read the whole thing, and I'll add a little at the end.

The older I get, the more I enjoy Saturday mornings. Perhaps it's the quiet solitude that comes with being the first to rise, or maybe it's the unbounded joy of not having to be at work. Either way, the first few hours of a Saturday morning are most enjoyable.

A few weeks ago, I was shuffling toward the garage with a steaming cup of coffee in one hand and the morning paper inthe other. What began as a typical Saturday morning turned into one of those lessons that life seems to hand you from time to time. Let me tell you about it: I turned the dial up into the phone portion of the band on my ham radio in order to listen to a Saturday morning swapnet. Along the way, I came across an older sounding chap, with a tremendous signal and a golden voice. You know thekind; he sounded like he should be in the broadcasting business. He was telling whomever he was talking with something about "a thousand marbles." I was intrigued and stopped to listen to what he had to say"Well, Tom, it sure sounds like you're busy with your job. I'm sure they pay you well but it's a shame you have to be away from home and your family so much. Hard to believe a young fellow should have to work sixty or seventy hours a week to make ends meet. It's too bad you missed your daughter's "dance recital" he continued. "Let me tell you something that has helped me keep my own priorities." And that's when he began to explain his theory of a "thousand marbles." "You see, I sat down one day and did a little arithmetic. The average person lives about seventy-five years. I know, some live more and some live less, but on average, folks live about seventy-five years. "Now then, I multiplied 75 times 52 and I came up with 3900,which is the number of Saturdays that the average person has in their entire lifetime. Now, stick with me, Tom, I'm getting to the important part. It took me until I was fifty-five years old to think about all this in any detail," he went on, "and by that time I had lived through over twenty-eight hundred Saturdays." "I got to thinking that if I lived to be seventy-five, I only had about a thousand of them left to enjoy. So I went to a toy store and bought every single marble they had. I ended uphaving to visit three toy stores to round up 1000 marbles. I took them home and put them inside a large, clear plastic container right here in the shack next to my gear." "Every Saturday since then, I have taken one marble out and thrown it away. I found that by watching the marbles diminish, I focused more on the really important things in life. There is nothing like watching your time here on this earth run out to help get your priorities straight." "Now let me tell you one last thing before I sign-off with you and take my lovely wife out for breakfast. This morning, I took the very last marble out of the container. I figure that if I make it until next Saturday then I have been given a little extra time. And the one thing we can all use is a little more time." "It was nice to meet you Tom, I hope you spend more time with your family, and I hope to meet you again here on the band. You could have heard a pin drop on the band when this fellow signed off. I guess he gave us all a lot to think about. I had planned to work on the antenna that morning, and then I was going to meet up with a few hams to work on the next club newsletter. Instead, I went upstairs and woke my wife up with a kiss. "C'mon honey, I'm taking you and the kids to breakfast." "What brought this on?" she asked with a smile. "Oh, nothing special, it's just been a long time since we spent a Saturday together with the kids. And hey, can we stop at a toy store while we're out? I need to buy some marbles.

It hit me the other day that the Studio B dance recital is usually the weekend before Memorial Day weekend. As I looked at my calendar my worst fear was realized...I had booked a wedding for that date and I was going to miss Sylvie's first dance recital. Well as it turns out, due to a mistake somewhere the recital this year is not going to be that weekend, but rather the weekend before that. I got lucky this time, but it's really making me think about what's really important.

What's important, I mean really important to you?

Ringlets!

Well it's Studio B week which means my studio actually looks clean....kind of. Studio B is our local dance studio owned by Bobbi Dale Rowe. It's a week-long shoot that requires me to bring all of my studio equipment, backgrounds, props, etc. As best as I can remember, this is our 11th year to shoot out there, and we are thankful for the opportunity. We have made a lot of friends over the years. We always have fun, but it can be hectic at times.

This is Sylvie's first year to take dance. She is taking beginning clogging with Ms. Jerika. She absolutely loves it and loves her teacher too. She impresses us every week with her new "moves."

I had the privilege last night of taking my own daughter's first dance portraits. Our friend April did her hair, and of course Daddy thought she looked quite stunning.

Smile!

Here's just a little something that makes me smile...

Time's running out!

If you want to go to the beach with us for beach portraits (and you know you do) then you want to book soon. We are staying for two weeks, July 2-14 and appointment times are running out. We can only take one session per day and once all of our times are booked, we can't take any more. Also, there are a couple more days left on our beach portrait special which you can find by clicking here. You will definitely want to take advantage of this!

Gracyn!

OK I'm not sure what the deal is but the kids that I've photographed lately all seem to have the most beautiful eyes. Just look at how blue they are! This is Gracyn's 9 month portrait, and I think she gets more beautiful every time I see her. A future heartbreaker for sure...that is only if Daddy allows any boys to be hanging around. I doubt it...but if they do they better mind their manners. I think he broke my hand when he shook it. It hurt for days.

Jake!

This is my new friend Jake. Isn't he a cutie? I don't think he ever stopped smiling. Like I've said before, sometimes my job is just too easy.

Kristin and Chance

Last week I had the opportunity to shoot engagement portraits for Kristin and Chance. I've known Kristin for a while since I shot her seniors when she was in high school. They are a really fun couple and as you can see, quite photogenic. I know this wedding is going to be a blast. Congratulations guys, and thanks for letting us share in this special time.

Go BOAZ!

Congratulations to the Boaz varsity competition cheerleaders! They placed 9th out of about 60 squads this weekend at the national competition in Orlando Florida. Mrs. Rhoden and Mrs. Ballentine and everyone who has helped out should be commended on an outstanding job. It's always funny because when I take pictures of the routine, I don't actually get to watch the routine so after it's over I always turn to the person beside me and ask "how did they do?" Anyway I had a great time and a big thanks to the cheerleaders for letting us tag along. Thankfully I didn't get arrested for using my "telescopic" lens. Too funny.

Disney World!

Well if you're wondering why I haven't updated the blog lately it's because the family and I took a little trip down to Disney World. Somehow I managed to stay far away from all computers. We had a great time and probably could've stayed a few more days, but it's always good to come home. Last year when we went Michelle and I talked about how we would never bring a stroller baby down to Disney but guess what...we lied! We took Payne, and yes, the stroller went with us. It really wasn't that much trouble and he seemed to be having a good time. He even thought Mickey's nose would be a nice snack. Sylvie got to meet the princesses but ever since the "Snow White Incident" last year, Jackson didn't want any of them getting too close to him. I think the two biggest kids, Michelle and I, had the most fun. On the surface it seems like a place just for kids, but it's just as much fun for adults...must be the magic.

Now it's back to the real world...

Rafe!

This is Rafe...I LOVE that name! He's such a cutie. I shot his mom and dad's wedding a few years ago and it's always a special treat when wedding clients bring their little ones in to see me. I think his dad just might be the fastest daddy diaper changer in the world. I'm not sure if there's any kind of award for that, but there should be.

A fun weekend

Michelle's cousin Tonya and her three children, George, Ben, and Emma spent the weekend with us and we had such a great time. These are the funniest kids in the world. Ben and Emma are twins, and Ben was convinced that my kids were my siblings, and Michelle was our mother. He came in our room Sunday morning and said "Bentley, your mom is downstairs cooking breakfast." Don't you know I loved that!

Isn't she beautiful?

This is Sage. Isn't she a doll? I had so much fun during her session but I had a hard time convincing her that she is in fact a rotten tomato. Anyway we got plenty of great fun shots but this one for some reason stood out. Maybe it's the eyes...

John Keith and a new sister!

I first photographed John Keith when he was about five or six months old. Now he's 6 years old with a new baby sister! Funny how time flies. Next time I turn around, she'll be 6 years old too. Anyway, she's in good hands with such an excellent big brother.