A bridal silhouette

And some more of my little guy.....

Hello, All!

And here he is, the 19 month old in all his silly happiness. He's grown up SO much since his first birthday. He says words like "Baskaball" and "kitty" and "toot"(fruit), "ah-done", and of course, "Mommy" and "Daddy" we hear loud and clear. He still naps ridiculously long in the afternoon, but I think that's because we play a LOT in the morning. I think he's the coolest little guy around, but as you know, I am his mommy!




~Em

Baby photography: Zoe!

Yesterday I met up with Phil and Kim, and their gem of a baby girl, Zoe!
And you know the first thing I noticed about Zoe? Take one guess:


This little girl gives J man a run for his money on the "stunning eyes" award! What a cutie!
Oh, and her parents are pretty cool, too :)



And this shot was one of my faves of the day: can't resist a baby in a tutu!

(and I am a fan of cloth-diaper butt, too :)

Phil asked me to get a special shot, too. You see, Zoe was born REALLY early, and was so small that her daddy's wedding band fit over her fist and onto her wrist. So he asked that I get a picture of his band over her thumb, just to measure the change from her birthday. I'd say that's pretty incredible!



Thanks SO much to Kim, Phil, and Baby Zoe! You've just captured my heart!

Much love,

Em

Jennifer+Paul: Wedding

The background of this couple will come shortly, but really, I am tired. And I feel like watching an episode of the Simpsons. So, here are a few of my faves from the wedding yesterday- yes, an Independence Day Wedding!

The seriously beautiful bride:

yay, Marines!

pocket dresses!!!

The boys- a great-looking group!

a packed church full of wonderfully talented singers- the hymns brought tears to my eyes!

the bridal party and ushers- totally feelin' the love!

one of my faves from the day:

More to come soon!

~Em

At the Shedd aquarium

title, anyone?

18 months

Eh??
What's that?

Em's actually posting something new on her blog?!?!?!

Yes, internet. That is right. I'm back.

And so is this absolutely adorable face:



No, it has not been 18 months since I've posted a personal post, but that IS how old the J man is now. And boy, he is a busy boy!

Here's a rundown of our summer so far:
Warm and sunny, with some really amazing, awe-inspiring thunderstorms. Which makes for lots of weeds growing in my garden. J man is taking swimming lessons again this year. And he totally freaks out. Yeah. Last year he was a dream- kicking his feet and swinging his arms. Now he cries.
A LOT, people.
And crying in a huge swimming pool is not by any means quiet. He did settle down when they brought out the water balls. For, Like, 5 minutes. Anyway, we're going again tonight!
We went to Noah's Ark, too. For $11. Amazing how much money you can save when you go as a church group of around 75 people. It was a TON of fun, and I even got to go down a few slides by myself! Cuz I'm a big girl....

Anywho, the photography thing is just working out beautifully this year. I have a full summer of weddings, quite a few senior portrait sessions, and a number of family photos. Enough to keep me busy, fo'sho'.

J hubby's still working the 3rd shift thing, but hopefully will be finding something new SOON. (pray for that, too, please!) This is just not easy on our marriage, and he is such a different, happy person when he actually is able to sleep. Which isn't during the day. It's at night, when normal people go to bed. But, well, he works hard, and it's helping me to keep doing what I love to do, too. I just want him to find something that he loves!

We also took a trip to TX to visit my sis-in-law and her hubby. What a great time! We went tubing, horsebackriding, saw the Alamo, remembered it, and did all other kinds of tourist-y things. And I got sun. On my skin. I don't think I've ever been this dark in my life. Dark as in, hi, I am not pale anymore, but still am white as white can be. But not pale!

J man is walking, talking (about basketball, mostly) and absolutely adores his daddy. I love the sound of him saying "daaah-deee". He says it SO clearly, and wonderfully, it makes me smile just about every time.
So, with that, I will end this post.


More to come soon, internet, have no fear!

~Em

Ben + Erica: Wedding

I knew both Erica and Ben before they really knew each other. They ran in slightly different circles at the same college I went to. Ben very involved in music and academics and was very soft-spoken, and Erica a free-spirited barefoot-clad, fun-loving girl. Ben was in the college choir with me, and Erica was a suite-mate of mine (we were in separate rooms, but shared the bathroom between the two. Bathroom Buddies, if you will :).

Then, the past couple of years Ben began playing trumpet with us at our Messiah concerts, and eventually, Erica started showing up at the performances. It was a great relationship that was in bloom, centered around constant Bible studies and ultimate hand-holding. Ben asked Erica to marry him this past Christmas season, and over Facebook, Erica was excited to know that I had their wedding date open. And I was so excited, too!!

This past weekend, Erica and Ben gave their vows in front of their family and friends, and their fathers (who are both pastors!), we took a little walk down the main street of the little town, and hung out in a field of wild flowers, where they started their marriage together with a hand-holding Bible study.

There was a little rain, and the field was wet, but Erica was adventurous and felt that the pictures were worth getting the wedding dress a little messy (which doesn't show up on any pictures, by the way!)
I really love that these two found each other, and have an amazing relationship with God. Just inspiring, so thank you, Erica and Ben, for letting me photograph your wedding! You are both just stunning people, inside and out!

They knew it was meant to be.......

....when they found out they both drink Tropicana High Pulp OJ. Of course, that HAD to be included in some way during our session together, so here it is!



Two people could not be more happy at this moment than Andy and Katie. I had the awesome opportunity to do their engagement photos, and look forward to capturing their wedding day in the fall.



Love you guys!!! I truly pray that God continues to bless this awesome relationship- so very, very awesome that you found each other!

One more.....

.....from inside the barn. :)

Barn

A perfect place to play...and take photos!

My folks just purchased some additional land adjacent to theirs, and it included a barn. A beautifully dilapidated barn. Awesome, from a photographers point of view. To a kid? A whole new world of spectacular fun.

Photo Challenge

"thrift"




pics from my phone (yes, I sometimes take pictures on my phone. no, I do not carry my good camera everywhere I go. :)

J man enjoying the ride with me!

J walking, baby video

This video is actually from a few weeks ago, when he just decided that he wants to walk. Yes, he is 15 months old, and yes, he has been crawling for a really, really long time (his worn-out jeans prove it!)

The day had been warm, but when we were out on our walk, the weather turned cold, fortunately we had our jackets with us, just in case! The day after this video was taken, we had more snow on the ground. Hopefully that's the last of it for a while.

Anyway, back to the video. The little guy is scared of cracks, even if the level of the cement doesn't change- he sees the crack, and doesn't want to walk over it. It's kinda funny!
Enjoy~

Em

Another warm one!

So what did we northerners do???


we donned our sunscreen....


climbed some stairs....

and we went outside!

and of course, we hit up the swings....

Do you think we had any fun?
Oh yes, we did!!! Went over to NPH for story hour, where we met up with Ruthie and Katie, and then headed over to a nearby park where we hung out with ducks (yes, we had ducks sitting with us), went on the swings, went down the slides, and played with the balls we brought along. A great time was had by all!!

~Em

Guess what we did today?

We went OUTSIDE!!!!

Can you tell I'm excited about the warmer weather? no?
Well, I am SUPER excited about it. Really. I cannot wait for buds to explode on the trees, and flowers to bloom. It will be beautiful soon!

Can I hear a cheer? hip-Hip- hooray ;)

High school senior portraits now booking!

This is an ad I have in a flier being printed by Wisconsin Lutheran High School in Milwaukee. Pretty spiffy, huh!




Here's the basic gist of the whole thing:

$175 for a one-hour on-location portrait session. On-location means I'll meet you wherever you want your pictures taken at. Usually (and preferably) outside :)
This session includes: up to 2 outfit changes, 1 8x12 canvas print, 6 months of password protected online hosting. Any additional hour is $120 per hour.

What's online hosting??
So glad you asked! Basically, I upload your photos to a private album online, and email you the link and password to get to them. You can pass the information along (forward the email) to basically anyone who has the internet and you would like to have access to your photos. Prints, photobooks, and other products can be purchased right from that site! Super dee duper easy! And, as a really cool bonus, after you buy $150 worth of stuff, you get a CD of the fully edited images, and the rights to those photos so you can then print anything extra wherever you want to, saving you lots of money :) That's always a really good thing, right?!?

I am booking now for this spring, summer, and fall.
email me ar (underscore) teest (at) yahoo (dot)com.
or you can contact me through my website, www.ebelingartstudio.com

Giddyup!!

Good Reading

WOW.

I have been out of the loop.
For a long time.
I mean, for a REALLY long time.

My last post was about my cousin, Dustin, who died quite suddenly when a car hit him after his vehicle slid into a ditch. It was, and actually still is, quite surreal. He is (was) the kind of guy I would love for Josiah to grow up to be like. Totally smart, into music, playing different instruments, singer, really good at sports. And, over all of that, a young Christian man with a loving heart. He is truly missed by every one that knew him.

Anyway, I just wanted to let you all know that I have a couple of things in Jonah's EB auction- they are taking bids for a couple more days, so you need to hurry and check out all the amazing gift cards, services, and items that you can bid on!

The two things I have up for auction are:

1-hour family photo session
Stained glass butterfly window panel


So remember, Hurry, and maybe you'll be fortunate to get one of these amazing things from me...er, from Ebeling Art Studio. Done by me. But I think you got that...

Dustin

Last night I received a call at church that my cousin, Dustin, was severely injured in an accident. He and a couple of friends were on their way back to school in Fargo when their car slid into a ditch. They were outside the vehicle, trying to dig it out, when another car slid into them. All of them were injured, but Dustin took the brunt of it. His brain was injured, and there were issues with his kidneys. The Lord in His great wisdom took Dustin home to heaven this morning at 3:15am.
I cannot imagine what a blow this is to my aunt and uncle,who are my Godparents, and his younger sister, who is just in high school. They, and we, are a very close-knit family. However, "I know that my Redeemer liveth"- I know he is in heaven, and that assurance moves me through the grief and heartache that I am really feeling right now. I thank God for that faith that I know he had. He was in a praise band singing praises here on earth, and now he is in the ultimate praise band.
Lord, thank you for the love You have for us down below- and grant us understanding of these especially difficult things that have occurred. In Your Holy Name we praise you, along with the angels-
Amen.

Dave and Jami get MARRIED!!!

It was a cold and blustery day.
Perfect for a wedding~
Although February weddings in the Midwest are somewhat uncommon, they are quite magical! Especially if you mix in international guests and some good ol' German traditions. Jamie and Dave met while over in Germany, quite the work of God, for sure- Dave was stationed over there for what was supposed to be only a couple of years, but turns out he stayed for 9 years. Good thing, since he met Jami toward the end of those years. Both are extremely fervent Christian people, and SO warm-hearted, that even I stayed toasty all day! They were definitely adventurous, wanting to take pictures outside. I am glad we did, but I know that even the 10-15 minutes we were down by the Art Museum, they were both QUITE chilled. But boy, did those turn out GREAT!
The day, in a nutshell: