Hope for Ava

This little girl's story really hits close to home for me..... please take 5 minutes to read it and if possible participate in Hope for Ava.

Gibson Lee and Lennon Rae | Chickasha, Oklahoma Children Photographer

It's that time of year again - the time of year when we tend to spend to much money....Christmas! ugh... ;) Really though I LOVE Christmas! I was so excited to get to spend some time with my neice and nephew today to photograph their Christmas portraits.

I had plenty of time to edit while I was trying to ignore Oklahoma biting the dust during bedlam.

 :( ....so sad.

They look great in color too I just was feeling a little moody ;).

- Jessica =)

Prepare for a longer than usual post :)

A little background: I met Summer when I started working for Waste Connections and in the year we've known each other I'd call her one of my best friends.

In January (2011) Summer and I began a complete lifestyle change. We decided that neither one of us felt good in our skin and it was about time to do something about it! I started counting calories and eventually seeing a trainer and Summer decided to try Weight Watchers again. Who knew that she would be so dang successful! Since then she's lost 87 lbs and has met her weight loss goal (just in time for her to get engaged! Congrats again!!!). It's seriously insane.... My measly 34 lbs sounds so bad next to her 87 haha!

I really can't tell you how proud I am of her. She built up so much will power in the process. Summer will definitely be my go to girl when I need to lose the baby weight this spring. :)

Since we did Summer's family photos last December and again this November I decided to put together a little before and after. When I was digging through the photos I was so in aw of how much of a difference 87lbs makes!

See for yourself! :)

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

You see it?! Crazy huh?!

And some more from her most recent family session! We had a blast shooting on the river all camo'd out! I really think that Brad Paisley's new song Camoflage should be their theme song, haha.

Shelly and Jimmy | Chickasha, Oklahoma Couple Photographer

I met Shelly about 8 months or so ago after I began my weight loss journey. I was in a rut - lost about 20lbs and needed to take the next step: contacting a personal trainer. After meeting with Shelly for the first time I KNEW she was perfect for me! I lost about another 15lbs training before I was blessed with my pregnancy. Since then I've been too paranoid to do too much so I've put off my training until after my baby girl gets here.

I was SOOO excited when Shelly contacted me to do her and her hubby's anniversary photos. We've been talking about doing it for quite some time but we finally set a date!

Shelly I hope that you know how much you mean to me as my friend and trainer....I can't wait to get back to work again! Please enjoy your sneak peek. :)

If anyone is interested in taking the step towards a healthy and fit lifestyle just let me know and I'll provide you with Shelly's information. She's AMAZING at what she does and will do anything to help you reach your goals!

- Jessica =)



It's a Girl!!!!!

So it looks like my little business blog is slowly turning into a family blog - guess priorities are changing! :)

We had our first ultrasound this last Monday and I have to tell you it made all the morning sickness and pains COMPLETELY worth it. She was an active little peanut - doing little somersaults all over the place (I can probably blame it on the cupcake I hate before hand). They measured all her organs, her spine, etc and everything was up to par. She's a healthy little girl with all her little fingers and toes. I don't know if Dylan and I have ever been this happy in our lives. So much is changing but I'm so glad it is!

I do have to admit that I was so ready to find out if she was a boy or a girl but as soon as I saw her I really didn't care if we'd be able to tell or not. I was kind of taken by surprise when she said it was a girl (I really thought she'd be a boy!) - now we have a whole new set of problems to look forward to....BOYS....ugh.

Meet little "Peanut" - sorry we don't have a name for her yet!

- Jessica =)

Jake | Chickasha, Oklahoma Pet Photographer

So I have not been as slow as some may think. I have several sessions I can't blog here....I do have something in the works but you'll have to be patient! :)

I haven't shared much in a while so while I'm in the blogging mood I figured I'd share some recent photos of our crazy lab Jake. :) He's such a nut!

Couldn't resist! Bless you!

- Jessica =)

Guess What?!

I'M PREGNANT! :)

I'm so excited to finally start a family with the most amazing man.

I'll get better at updating my blog someday ;) .....

- Jessica =D

Please Keep our Community in Your Prayers | Tornadoes in Chickasha, OK

Tornadoes swept through Central Oklahoma yesterday evening. Unfortunately 5 people were killed and a toddler in Piedmont was swept away and is still missing.

After watching the tornado rip through Chickasha on our front porch (yes I know "you may be a redneck when...") we decided to take a drive through town.... I can't describe the feelings I felt when seeing the destruction in our small town. I just couldn't stop praying for the families who have lost their homes and businesses.

Fortunately our home was far enough away that we were not affected; but we can't say the same for others.

Please keep the people Central Oklahoma prayers......pray that the toddler is returned home safely.
http://www.news9.com/story/14708332/tornadoes-touch-down


(These photos were NOT taken by me but by family of friends)

Taken by a friends mom sitting at Best Western in Chickasha.

Taken by a friend from her front yard.

- Jessica

Happy Anniversary | 5 Years

Saturday my friend, Amanda (of Crosslight Photography), came over to photograph Dylan and I for our 5 year anniversary. We have NEVER had our photos done professionally. Well we tried at one point but the photographer was a no show and wouldn't answer our phone calls lol! We had so much fun shooting! Dylan was his happiest when it was over...typical man ;).

These pictures really meant a lot to me and Amanda did such an amazing job photographing who we really are!

Let me give you a little back story:

Nearly 10 years ago my oldest brother decided that paintballing might be a sport that he'd be interested in, regardless of the obvious fact that a little hard ball of paint traveling at approximately 300 FPS (Feet Per Second) is probably going to hurt like the dickens, he did it anyway. Boy am I glad he decided to be a little idiotic because that's where he met my future husband! Cory (my brother) started paintballing with Dylan (my hubby) regularly for a few years. I had known Dylan for quite sometime but after all he was my brothers best friend so he was off limits right? ;) I can remember when I first met Dylan's mother (long before Dylan and I ever thought about dating) and she would tell me that I needed to date her son! That we would just be PERFECT for each other....At the time I had a boyfriend so of course I was like NO WAY! haha.

My junior year of highschool came and I was really having a rough patch in my life. Home, boyfriend, friends...you name it. Everything just seemed to be going south for me. I started to notice Dylan a little bit more (I imagine he was noticing me too! hehe).....I don't know how or when it started but I think we were chatting online (do people still do this?) and he was going to my brother's college apartment to watch a movie and he invited me along. I decided to go with him and after that we were really inseperable. I found that Dylan was there more for me through everything than anyone else ever had. He understood what I was going through..... It was a really nice feeling. No one had ever treated me the way he did.


February 18th, 2005 we made it official. We were together - as boyfriend and girlfriend. We made it even more permanent by getting engaged February 18th of 2006 and getting married on May 18th 2006 (the day before my high school graduation). We didn't have a huge wedding or even a wedding at all. We decided in the situation that we and our families were in that it would just be best to go to the courthouse.


Yes we have had our ups and downs and loop-de-loops like all couples do but we made it through stronger than ever. I really don't know what I would do without my country boy. He's everything to me.... I know it's corny but it is what it is. He's my husband and my best friend. From the get go he put up with my mood swings and my inability to make decisions ;). He's done everything in his power to make sure we live a good life. We always said we'd wait 5 years after we got married to start a family.....maybe it's time to jump on the baby band wagon!


(All photos were taken by Amanda of Crosslight Photography and edited by me :) )

Amanda I can't thank you enough for these beautiful photos! They mean so much to me!

- Jessica =D



New Year | New Me (Updated)

Well it has been a while since I posted a blog about life; so I thought I would bore all of you with one today! :)

Back in January I created a post call New Year | New Me.....In this post I explained my struggle with my weight. My New Years resolution has been to lost at least 40lbs and I am happy to announce that I'm over half way to my goal. I've lost 22.2 lbs so far! Although I did stop using sparkpeople.com because I realized that actually tracking my food the old fashion way by writing it down made me more aware of what I was putting into my body than letting the computer do it for me.

I've had so much encouragement from friends and family it's unreal!
My husband, Dylan, has been so understanding from the start. He helps and encourages me any way he can.
I'm not doing this alone - Summer, a friend and co-worker, is doing Weight Watchers so I'm happy that I don't have the temptations at work that I would normally have. Scottie, a friend of mine, is a personal trainer out of Lawton and is FULL of so much awesome information. She's been there since day 1 and always answers any questions I may have - you can view her blog here (I really wished that I could have trained with her but it's an hour drive :( ).

I was stuck for about 3 weeks with a weight gain of 2-3lbs and I decided I needed a personal trainer to kick me in the butt and get me back on track. I started seeing Shelly Barrington here in Chickasha.....She works out of Electric Beach and she rocks! It's always been hard for me to find a fitness trainer that I can really mesh with. I can relate to her on a lot of levels and she just really pushes me. My amazing sister-in-law, Tabitha, goes with me twice a week (I NEED her there with me haha). It's really a lot of fun but I feel like falling over at the end of each session. Shelly has encouraged us to do at least 30 minutes of cardio on the days we don't train but still take 2 days off a week. I worked out 8 times in 6 days last week! I felt so good by the end of the week except for the soreness of course haha. I lost 3.2 lbs last week and am hopefully going strong this week.

I don't look at any of this as a diet, in fact if you look up "diet" in Websters dictionary the definition is "food and drink regularly provided or consumed" (thank you Shelly for this info), if you look at it this way everyone is on a diet! You can't do these "fad" diets they have for a couple months, lose some weight then go back to the way you use to eat and keep it off. Are you going to cut out carbs for the rest of your life? If your like me the answer is HECK NO! So I still have my carbs, but in moderation. You will never succeed if you don't change your lifestyle. I am finally coming to realize that thanks to Scottie and Shelly. :)

If you made it this far I am really surprised! Thanks for reading!

- Jessica =)

New Hair!

So I'm really excited about my new hair, I just had to share it with my blogger friends! :)

Photo taken by friend and fellow photographer Jessica Gehringer

So what do you think?

- Jessica =)

If Heaven Wasn't So Far Away? | Kaylee Dawn Moon

There's a beautiful song by country artist Justin Moore that just came out recentley called If Heaven Wasn't So Far Away. As I drove to work this morning this song came on the radio and I really took the time to listen to every word....It brought tears to my eyes as I remembered each and every person I have lost in my life over the years that I would give anything to see just one more time. I thought about my grandmother, my uncle, 2 aunts and of course my baby sister.

Kaylee Dawn Moon was born on April 18, 1998 with what is called Partial Trisomy 13 (you can read more about it here). This syndrome only occurs in about 1 out of 10,000 newborns; so why her?! That is the question I asked God so many times after she was finally diagnosed, but now I understand that God blessed us for 3 wonderful years with the best child I have and will ever know. She had severe acid reflux and was in constant pain but for most of her life but she hardly ever showed it. Some of her symptoms included: sleep apnea, very slow development, seizures, feeding problems, breathing difficulty and much much more. She blew the doctors away with the things that she could do that of course they said she would never..... She could crawl (her little bear crawl but it got her from point a to b!), she could talk a little bit (she called me Eica), for the most part should could let us know what she wanted one way or another..... She unlocked the hearts to so many people around us and left a life-long impression. I honestly believed she would out live us all!

As her health started to deteriorate, I just couldn't make myself believe that one day I would live without my baby sister, after all I was going to be the one to take her shopping at the mall when she got older and be the typical big sister. As my brother and I packed for Falls Creek in June of 2001 I gave her a kiss goodbye and we got on the bus.....just a couple days later our youth minister let us know she was in the hospital in "critical condition".....I just thought to myself "she's always in the hospital, she'll be okay". My brother and I got into the car and headed home....as soon as we got home my parents were gone which was to be expected but my grandmother was waiting at the door....we asked how Kaylee was doing and she broke down and told us that she had passed away the night before....I didn't know what to do or say and just broke down...I cursed God that he would do this to our family; take away a sister and daughter, how could he do this to us? Haven't we already been through enough? I just couldn't fathom the thought of not having her around anymore. I believe I blocked most of that day and the funeral out as well. I really can't remember much about the next few days and haven't since about a week after it happened. But what I do know if God didn't do it to be cruel....he did it because she was suffering and that's where she needed to be. I am so happy that our family was chosen to care for Kaylee during her very short life, I feel blessed to ever have known her.

Kaylee would be 13 this year....it's crazy to think that she's been gone almost 10 years; that she would be a teenager this year! I can remember her beautiful strawberry blonde, curly hair. And her excitement when I would put her in the empty washer (don't worry I never turned it on hehe!), and how she loved to "honk" my brothers nose. She had a BEAUTIFUL smile that could warm even the coldest heart. I will never forget this child....she may be gone but her memories will never leave me.

I always wish that my husband could have met her..... He would have loved everything about her. It would be amazing if we could just pack up and go on a trip to heaven so he could meet her. I know it's impossible, but I know she's looking down on us and I hope she's proud of who her big sister has become.



Kaylee Dawn Moon
April 18, 1998 - June 27, 2001



Justin Moore – If Heaven Wasn’t So Far Away Lyrics

Every day I drive to work across Flint River bridge

A hundred yards from the spot where me and grandpa fished

There’s a piece of his old fruit stand on the side of Sawmill Road

He’d be there peelin’ peaches if it was twenty years ago

And what I wouldn’t give

To ride around in that old truck with him

If heaven wasn’t so far away

I’d pack up the kids and go for the day

Introduce them to their grandpa

Watch ‘em laugh at the way he talks

I’d find my long lost cousin John

The one we left back in Vietnam

Show him a picture of his daughter now

She’s a doctor and he’d be proud

Then tell him we’d be back in a couple of days

In the rear view mirror we’d all watch ‘em wave

Yeah, and losing them wouldn’t be so hard to take

If heaven wasn’t so far away

I’d hug all three of those girls we lost from the class of ’99

And I’d find my bird dog Bo and take him huntin’ one more time

I’d ask Hank why he took those pills back in ’53

And Janis to sing the second verse of “Me and Bobby McGee”

Sit on a cloud and visit for a while

It’d do me good just to see them smile

If heaven wasn’t so far away

I’d pack up the kids and go for the day

Introduce them to their grandpa

Watch ‘em laugh at the way he talks

I’d find my long lost cousin John

The one we left back in Vietnam

Show him a picture of his daughter now

She’s a doctor and he’d be proud

Then tell him we’d be back in a couple of days

In the rear view mirror we’d all watch ‘em wave

Yeah, and losing them wouldn’t be so hard to take

If heaven wasn’t so far

If heaven wasn’t so far

If heaven wasn’t so far away

So far away

So far away

-Jessica

Baby Lennon's First Photoshoot | Chickasha, Oklahoma Newborn Photographer

So if you keep up with my blog at all you know that I have a BEAUTIFUL new neice.

We finally had the opportunity to have her first photoshoot and I gotta say that she likes the camera A LOT more than my nephew EVER has!

She's such a beautiful baby!

You can't help but fall in love with her, she's a great baby!

We tried hanging the pod but she was just way too little! It swallowed her whole! ;)

Big brother and baby sister.... he loves her so much but HATES being in front of the camera!

Sleeping beauty....



Definitely one of my favorites! :)



-Jessica =D