A Christmas Mess Can Still Be The Best

On the Eve of Christmas we wanted to post some images that would be sure to make you smile. Our children are a constant source of amusement . . . among other things. As our loyal blog readers know, our children have a knack for getting into things. Proof of that can be seen here. Lydia is constantly exploring and you have to keep a close eye on her. Well, the other day, just before bedtime, she found the Vaseline. Lydia took gobs of it and smeared it all over herself, her hair, and our bathroom floor. It took 15 washes over the course of four days for her hair to stop looking greasy. I'm sure some of our Christmas day will be spent cleaning up messes. But, we realize that before long they will be all grown up. So, we are going to soak it all in . . . even though sometimes it is a little messy. We hope you will make the most of your Christmas messes. So, from our family to yours, have a Merry Christmas and enjoy your Christmas Eve!

Get first dibs . . . join the e-mail "list".

Now you can join our E-mail list. Just click the 'Links" button above and then click on "Join our E-mail List". Type your e-mail in the box that pops up and we will add you to our list. We will not sell or distribute this list. It is just for us.

Why be on "the list" you may ask? So, I did some thinking and I came up with a few reasons why YOU should join "the list".

1. Our "list" will receive advance notice (prior to posting on the Blog) of any offers or specials we run . . . so you get first dibs.
2. We will let you know in advance of any unique sessions we are doing like the Holiday Sessions. . . . so you get first dibs.
3. Because we might do something crazy like offer a free session to the first person who responds to our e-mail letter . . . so you get first dibs.
4. As new and bigger things happen here, you are the first to know . . . so you get first dibs.
5. Because we are just so darn interesting.

Haniotes Family

Sherry, Kim's sister, called and asked for some quick photos of her children in order to give her hubby a gift for the office. Our children LOVE it when their cousins come to town, so after some quick photos it was play until you drop. The weather was so warm we had to break out the popsicles to cool down the kiddos. We took some of these shots with our new camera, the Canon 5D Mark II. We are still getting used to it, but so far it is pretty rock'n.

Katelyn and Katherine

Christopher and Christian

I know . . . "adorable" doesn't seem to do this justice.

Popsicles in December. Gotta love it.

Birthday Sale

We are certain that you are frantically shopping for that perfect Christmas gift. So, we wanted to let you know that we have TWO amazing SALES starting NOW until Midnight December 15th for you to consider. Craig's birthday is December 15th and he always feels sorry for December birthdays because, often, they get the shaft. The phrase commonly heard is: "Here is your Birthday gift . . . AND . . . Christmas gift."

{Many of you are thinking at this very moment how strange it is to have a "Birthday" Sale during Christmas time with all the "Normal" Sales taking place. This is precisely my point. It's difficult to break through the Christmas noise to celebrate a Birthday . . . this is where you take pitty on me and leave a nice comment on the blog.}

Well, to celebrate Craig's Birthday {It is weird referring to yourself in the third person} we decided to do a BIRTHDAY SALE where YOU get the gifts. Maybe you wanted that one big image to go over the fireplace, but the wallet screamed for you to stop short. Or maybe you have been wanting a custom photo session with us but have been waiting for the opportune time. So, to celebrate a Birthday we thought we would give all of our amazing clients from '08 the chance to clean up on print orders for family and friends from YOUR photo sessions or stock up on print credit for future sessions. So, from NOW until Midnight December 15th you can buy a discounted session or print credit.

So, What are the SALES you ask?
1. The "BIRTHDAY CAKE SPECIAL" (up to 50% more free).
2. The "CAN I COME TO YOUR PARTY SPECIAL"(get 15% off gift cards).

THE DETAILS

For the "BIRTHDAY CAKE SPECIAL" Buy Print Credit NOW to use on PAST or FUTURE orders with CSM Photography and we'll give you 50% more print credit Free. Buy $200 and get $300, buy $500 and get $750, buy $1,000 and get $1,500. Buy any amount you want. The minimum is $200 and no maximum. Print credit is like pre-ordering prints. Use anytime in 2009. Buy it NOW, use it LATER, save BIG. Taxes and shipping costs still apply. This offer is only available to clients from 2008. The print credit can only be used for either sessions {family, children, maternity, newborn, senior} or prints up to 16x20. Excludes Weddings and Bridal Sessions.

For the "CAN I COME TO YOUR PARTY SPECIAL". When you buy a gift card ($25) I'll give you 15% off. For example, get $200 in gift cards for a full session for ONLY $170, or give a $200 session and $100 (total $300) in print credit for $255. Use anytime in 2009. Buy it NOW, use it LATER, save BIG. Gift cards can be used to purchase sessions {family, children, maternity, newborn, senior, engagement or bridals}, prints, canvases, and any products. Excludes Wedding coverage. Taxes and shipping costs still apply. This offer is available to anyone.

TO BUY

To take advantage of the "BIRTHDAY CAKE SPECIAL" offer simply click HERE and 'make a payment'. Type "BIRTHDAY CAKE SPECIAL" in the memo box and follow the instructions. I'll send you an e-mail with your code within a few days with 50% more cash for you to use anytime you want either now (I'll re-post the images from your session for you to select the ones you want) or for a new session in 2009. Buy it NOW, use it LATER, save BIG.

To take advantage of the "CAN I COME TO YOUR PARTY SPECIAL" simply click HERE and buy up all the gift cards you want (the more you buy, the bigger the discount). I'll send your Gift Card(s) in the mail with the total or in different increments and we might even gift wrap it. Buy it NOW, use it LATER, save BIG.

Products

We just wanted to show you some of the products we have been working on for our clients. We thought you might like to see what some clients are getting for Christmas . . . shhhh, don't tell.

(I'm just kidding. I would never ruin a surprise like that.)

Ok, this picture below is of our Wedding Albums. Of course you can customize it in many different ways, but this is what one client selected. I'm pretty sure this is NOT your TYPICAL wedding album. We like that. We like photography that isn't 'typical', so, it only makes sense that we would give our clients options for albums that are as "Unique, Colorful, and Captured" as the images.

Below is a very simple way to get several images from your session or wedding in a photo book.

A lot of our wedding clients have chosen a coffee table book instead of an Album to house their favorite images from their special day. This product comes with a dust jacket and a hard case to protect the book.

MANY of our clients have asked us what it would cost to get all of their session images on a CD with printing rights. You asked, so we have come up with a price. This product is now available for most sessions.

Thanksgiving

For Thanksgiving we spent the day with Craig's family which entailed a two hour car ride. The trip up was wonderful . . . we listened to Christmas music, the kids were "content", Caleb even fell asleep and Craig and I were able to have more conversation in two hours than we typically have in two days. It was beautiful out, the sun was shining and there was not much traffic on the road. Ahhh. What a nice break. Once we were at his aunt's house I helped in the kitchen and Craig and the kids played outside with Gramps. I decided to take a break and get out the camera to capture some of the moments. After playing outside, we all stuffed our stomachs and it was time to "rest". For the kids, that meant more playing. Lydia really enjoyed playing with Craig's Nannie, which was so sweet to watch. Needless to say, Lydia did not get a nap while at his aunt's house which meant . . . a LONG car ride home. It was completely opposite from the ride up - and it felt two times longer. Lydia cried the whole time which meant I crawled into the backseat with her to calm her down. You guess it: it didn't help. Once we got home the kids both went straight to bed. It's always nice to see family but it's always at a price and at the parents' expense. I guess our parents did the same thing when we were younger - thanks mom and dad! I really did always enjoy playing with Papa and being spoiled. I hope Caleb and Lydia remember these sweet times when they get older.

Lydia is a daddy's girl and he can make her laugh like no other. She gives him lots of hugs and kisses everyday. It's precious and melts his heart. You may not believe me but the color in these outside images is all natural. The camera we use LOVES color and it shows most every time!

Nannie LOVES her great grandchildren as much as she loves her grandchildren. Lydia and Nannie had a wonderful time playing together in the sunroom as everyone relaxed.

It's a tradition for us to decorate for Christmas the weekend after Thanksgiving. Caleb helped Daddy with the lights and both the kids decorated the tree with ornaments. Lydia actually broke this beautiful ornament just a few minutes after I took this picture . . . sorry Abby, you made that for us last year. It was one of my favorites.

I love how you can see the details in the ornaments even though the only light source is the lights on the tree.

I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Thanks for looking at ours!

Tenth Avenue North . . . again.

Back in October I invited some friends of mine to play a conference I was helping to plan. Their band is called Tenth Avenue North. I met Tenth Avenue North three years ago when they agreed to play our conference then (you can view images from one of those conferences HERE). Since that time they have played the conference for us every year since . . . mainly because they are simply nice guys who are willing to help (they deserved a lot more than we could pay them and they still did it . . . again). I took some pictures of Mike, the lead singer, as he led our conference in worship. I posted some for you to enjoy below. I think their sound is unique, but if I had to pin them down to a style it would be similar to Chris Tomlin. If you like him, then you'll love this.

A lot of times I can't help but wonder if some Christian bands are really "Christian" in their devotion to the Lord or just to the music industry. I can personally attest to these guys and their genuine love for the Lord. They have a unique ability to communicate their passion for the Glory of God. If you want to hear their hearts about this click here. I feel like I have this strange gift of being able to pick out music that is going to top the charts. Their single "Love is Here" is going to be big, as well as "Hold My Heart". You can check their website out here. You can listen to their music on itunes here. So, I'm a big fan and wanted to share them with you. Enjoy.

Ava Turns Three

While Craig was out of town we had a birthday party celebration at our house. One of Caleb and Lydia's friends, Ava was turning 3 and all of her friends live here in Greenville. Ava's mom, Aimee, did a great job decorating and having all the "little details" covered. She had all the things Ava would love - balloons, party hats, cupcakes, pizza, candy, noise makers and trains. You know, most every child has one thing they fixate on. For Caleb, it's drums. For Lydia, it's Little Rabbit Foo Foo. For Ava, it's trains. I took a few shots at the party and wanted to share them with you.

I'm not real sure how Lydia ended up with the RED cupcake - but she did. We laughed because she looked like Betty Boop with big red lips. I wish I had gotten a straight on shot but oh well. . .

Ava took a break to play with the party favor trains. It looks like she's in her own little world. Choo-choo.

Getting a group shot of kids age 3 and under is hard - someone is always moving. However, I like how the movement shows Ava's excitement. She's as sweet in person as she looks on camera. And yes, that is Lydia on the end on the left - we had to disrobe her due to the cupcake mess.

Aimee: great party! Ava will be talking about it for months I'm sure. I'm so glad yall came to spend the weekend - it was wonderful having some face time together.

Browning Family

Mary-Courtney called us a few weeks ago to book a session for her family. She loved our style and couldn't wait to get her family together in front of our lenses. So, we met at a park to capture some of the beautiful fall colors and then we headed out for a more urban style setting. The shoot involved Mary-Courtney and her husband Jason, her brother John and his fiancee' Laura, her sister Elizabeth and their mom, Barden. This family is close-knit, full of laughter and we could tell that they really enjoy being together. They were creative and brought blankets, coffee mugs, and a thermos to show that it was cold outside . . . and it actually was. Too bad there was no real hot cocoa inside because we all could have used some. Despite the cold weather, we had fun and I think they did too.

Here is mom with her kids. I love how they are all laughing.

John and Laura are engaged to be married in August. I'm sure their wedding will be gorgeous as it is planned to be held overlooking the NC mountains.

We found this awesome purple door and just had to get it in a few shots.

Mary-Courtney and Jason are also ECU Alumni and big Pirate fans!

I love this image.

Thanks to all six of you for being troopers and galavanting around town to get these shots. Thanks for being willing to try something new and different.

Warren Family

The Warren Family came to us a year ago to photograph their daughter, Aubrey. We had so much fun that they came back again for us to capture their newest addition, Luke. As I have said many times before, repeat clients are always the highest compliment. As you can see below, they wanted the focus of the shoot to be on the children. What beautiful blonde hair and blue eyes these two have! Aubrey, age five, was as full of life as she was a year ago and she absolutely adores her little brother. There were many hugs and kisses exchanged. Luke was a very happy baby and if I recall correctly, there were no tears shed during this shoot. For a six month old, that is very rare. We did capture a few of Lee and Stephanie with their children because as parents, we know how much those images mean to us as we look back over the past few years.

This is a classic childhood memory, swinging on a beautiful sunny day with no worries.

Aubrey is full of love for her family. The hugs just kept on coming. I hope it's always this way.

These expressions say it all. Aubrey is one fun little girl!

I love the lighting in the photo on the left. The colors burst forth as the rest of the family peeks thru in the back. The one of Luke on the right is rockin'.

I'm diggin' these.

Lee and Stephanie: thank you for choosing us once again to capture the smiles of you and your family. I had a blast and I hope these images will take you back to this point in time as you look at them in the future.