Here is the latest little one at four weeks old.  Her dreamy angel face makes you think she slept the whole time!  It turned out we got great mommy and baby shots with all the extra cuddling time.   I really just fell in love with newborn photography all over again.

Mother is so sweet and beautiful!  She made it awfully hard to choose the best photos.  She came with no intention of being photographed and even said to try and crop her out and look at these precious shots of her.  A natural beauty….mom and baby!

Happy Mother’s Day!  I was looking for a photograph of me with my children and could not find any recent pictures.  Yikes!  So, this week make sure you get a photo with your little ones.

“All that I am or ever hope to be, I owe to my angel Mother.”

-Abraham Lincoln

What a beautiful sight this time of year in the Arizona desert, a time of color and beauty to soak in before the heat destroys my yearly attempt to have a flower garden in the desert.

The prickly pear cactus showing off it’s delicate flower.  I love the contrast of a beautiful flower on a rough and prickly plant.

I just could not choose between the color and the black and white. Hmmm. Color is a rarity in the desert, but on the other hand black and white always attracts me especially to demonstrate the desert landscape.  What do you think?

Ocotillo

The majestic saguaro stands alone and is completely amazing to me and I have lived among them my whole life!  The Cactus Hotel, a children’s book, is a must read for all children!

“Every great dream begins with a dreamer.

Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience,

and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.”

Harriet Tubman

“To myself I am only a child playing on the beach,

while vast oceans of truth lie undiscovered before me.”

Isaac Newton

Today is a smooth white seashell,

hold it close and listen to the beauty of the hours.”

Anon

My dear friends wanted to capture the beauty of our surroundings in the desert with the sweetness of their special family bond.

Always enjoy my time outside with friends and a camera.

Walking off into the sunset!

Save money, have fun and capture those precious moments of your child’s life.

Hosting a playgroup portrait party is easy and fun. It is a great way to capture children at play, relaxed and happy.

Here are a few captured moments in between play time with the “sweetpeas.”

Host a Playgroup Party:

Arrange time and place with me.

Invite and remind participants of event

Bring snacks/drinks and wipes

Collect cost from participants before event.

*The cost is ten dollars per mom(up to three kiddos) to reserve time/the host does not pay.

For more information please contact me,

photosbycaroline@cox.net or 480.236.1597.

Usually we answer with our highlights or NOTHING.  Recently, I have crossed into another whole dimension of mommyhood that I think is here way too soon.  I have now seen the dreaded eye rolls and  the complete thought out answer of “nothing” when asked what did you do in school today?  Yes, I know all about specific questioning like what was your favorite thing today etc.  But, as I said this is a whole new attitude in my little life!  So, as I am evaluating myself and how I need to restructure our home, schedule and even my attitude, I found that I answered a friend with “nothing” to what we did this weekend. Oops! I am one important role model for my little treasures and sometimes it is easy to forget.

So, what did we do today?  I will skip the endless supply of laundry, never-ending dish pile and changing of the light bulbs.

First:

Major excavation in backyard looking for worms. Outcome, beautiful home with flower beds made in jar,

but no worm friends to be found.

Next:

Boogie boarding in the desert.  After riding bikes and scooters come the more creative activities

like pulling a boogie board on the skate board. Whee!

Then, a little hunting for mesquite pods to make “bean soup” which is the equivalent of mudpie when I grew up.  Lauren is hard for me to get on camera because she just likes to do the opposite

of what I want!  So, here she is having a great day making soup.

Last, we go inside to make sure our new Christmas present, “Rainbow the Fish,” is well and not noticed by Oscar the Cat.  A little play time with Oscar and then on to the normal house

stuff like getting clean ond off to make dinner.  So, THAT IS WHAT WE DID TODAY.  Hope your day was filled with wonder and joy!

My father gave me the greatest gift anyone could give another person, he believed in me.

Jim Valvano