A Birthday Message to Annie & Kate

Wow … twelve years old!! It’s my beautiful baby girls’ birthday today! How are we celebrating it?  Lunch with the family - including relatives in from out of town - and a little live music later tonight with their band Speed Limit 180 at a gig tonight.  Should be a fun day!

Since my ‘arteest’ mind works in pictures, today I’m reminded of a few photos from the past that show how much my girls have grown and changed.  Actually, there are several photos that come to mind, but here are some of my favorites. :)

Annie & Kate -- Happy Birthday, my sweeties!  I hope you have an incredible day, filled with all those things you love … family, text messages from your friends, a great lunch at your fave restaurant, chocolate, and lots of fun and great live music with SL180!  You are such wonderful girls!  I love you with all my heart!  Love, Mom

All That Remains

May 20, 1998.  That was the due date of our first baby.  My family and many of my friends know that Jon and I lost our first child, and that this is not something I talk about very often. But today, it’s weighing heavily on my mind.   Sometimes when I blog, it’s almost therapeutic for me to get it all out there, so I thought this might help today.

In January that year, at five months pregnant, we found out that our baby had died in utero due to a genetic disorder called cystic hygroma.  We do not know whether it was a boy or girl (we were actually supposed to find out the day we received this news), but had the baby lived, s/he would have had many medical complications and would not have been expected to live long.  It was devasting to us then, and it’s something I’ll never completely get over.  I often wonder if the baby was a boy or girl (in my heart, I felt it was a boy), and what kind of person s/he would be.  I feel as if there’s a part of my soul that will always be missing.  While we never met him/her, we decided to name the baby Christian.  When I became pregnant with twins soon thereafter, and the girls’ birthday being almost exactly a year to the day of Christian’s due date, I feel that God looked upon us and said “I’m so sorry. Here’s an extra one.”  

For reasons I won’t get into here (maybe in another blog post sometime later), for me, butterflies have come to represent Christian’s memory.  I don’t have many things by which to remember him/her, but there are two things that I have that bring me comfort when I look at them.  One is the butterfly ankle bracelet that I NEVER take off.  And the other is this:

This memento holds a special place in our home along with a wall of family photos.  Our pictures may change over the years as we update them, but this butterfly will also be there. While we don’t have much by which to remember Christian, it is this … and our memories … that will always remain.  

"A butterfly lights beside us, like a sunbeam ... and for a brief moment its glory and beauty belong to our world, but then it flies on again, and although we wish it could have stayed, we are so thankful to have seen it at all." -- unknown

Ashton-Jade | Senior Sneak Peek

She’s a busy girl.  Ashton-Jade trains horses and does barrel racing, teaches horseback riding lessons, AND is a recent graduate.  I had the privilege of photographing this young lady in downtown Georgetown about a week ago.  Here’s a sneak peek of some of her photos, and the graduation announcement I designed for her.

Congrats Ashton-Jade! And thank you so much for the opportunity to photograph this special time for you!  

All the best! -- S

Brogdon Braggin' Rights

I know ... I do this often.  You'll probably say, 'there she goes, bragging on those kids again.' But it's my blog post, and I'll brag if I want to!  And this is something of which to be proud.  Today, my daughter Annie received an Outstanding Math Student award on her sixth grade team (which is a third of the entire sixth grade at her school, and the largest sixth grade team).  She was in an accelerated math program this year, and has been diligent in maintaining her A average.  I was thrilled when I received her text at lunch time today when she told me the news!!

So, cut a proud mom some slack, and check out my girl's award!  We'll be celebrating it (and her/Kate's birthday) this weekend!  

To my Annie B. --  words cannot describe how incredibly proud I am of you today, and everyday.  I mean, seriously, when you text me the news, I wanted to get up and dance a little happy dance for you.  Oh, and post it on Facebook, like immediately!  But I waited for you to tell your dad yourself, and to take a few pics of you with your award so that everyone else could see how awesome you are!  Love you to pieces, sweetheart! -- Mom

A Peaceful Easy Feeling

Last week was super busy.  This week?  Not looking like it’s going to be much different.  Winding down school for the kids, winding down baseball for Topher (that’s ChrisTOPHER’s baseball name), band performances, my girls' birthday, and finishing up several photo projects all promise to keep me hopping this week.  It was a late night for me last evening, trying to plan my schedule and all the stuff I gotta do.  And an early morning today, getting the kids off to school.  But as I was having a second cup of coffee to get me going (I hardly ever do that, but today, I need jet fuel!), I looked over and saw her -- Sasha, just kicking back and enjoying the peace and quiet in the house.  

Yeah, I know what you’re thinking.  Normally, I write about her feistiness and attitude, but today, I thought I’d show you a side of her that you don’t normally get to see … one with a peaceful, easy feeling.  And it reminded me that despite how busy the week may get, keeping everything in perspective is the key.  

That’s my story for the week, and I’m sticking to it.  :)

Have a great week, and a great Monday! -- S


"cause I got a peaceful easy feeling, and I know you won't let me down,  'cause I'm already standing on the ground." -- lyrics from Peaceful Easy Feeling by The Eagles

Tony | Senior Pics

He just looks so cool! Last weekend, I had the opportunity to photograph another senior, Tony. As the son of a dear friend of mine, you may have seen him and his family here or on my website before. Seriously, I don’t think this guy can take a bad picture AT ALL. I took several many shots of him in various parts of Houston, and … oh my gosh … it’s been so hard to narrow these down.


Here’s a sneak peek of Tony’s photos. Have a wonderful weekend! -- S

Love these two shots in black and white.  

Tony plays water polo.  His high school team won state championship this year!  To get this shot, I had to lie down sideways at the end of the pool and have him swim towards me.  Love the intensity in this pic!