Wow, what a great way to start the year. This was my first wedding of the year and had a blast! The wedding was held in Nevada, Missouri in a beautiful Catholic church downtown. Lee, the groom, made me feel right at home as we took a few fun pics of the guys while I waited for the bride to call for me. Once the bride, Amanda was ready, I came in and got to see the chaos first hand. Really, for a bride and four bridesmaids, I thought they had everything under control. But, as with every wedding, there was a slight setback, they were short one bouquet. After a few phone calls by a calm bride and encouragement from a helpful mother, everyone was ready with flowers in hand. It was a beautiful ceremony and the family worked really well with me as we did the posed pictures. Once everyone got to the reception, you could see a sigh of relief in both the bride and groom's eyes as they ate and danced with their family and friends to celebrate this wonderful union. Congratulations, Lee and Amanda and thank you both for making my job so easy!

Last year I drove all over to capture photos from the ice storm. This year, I am stuck in my house because the driveway is so steep, if I were to back down out of it, I would not be able to stop. This year, I decided to stay within waking distance, which for me on a cold day is not very far. These are images I quickly shot from my front and back porch.

My daughter Maya and I went to the father-daughter dance at the Nixa Community Center. We had an amazing time! When I am shooting a wedding and I am at a reception watching the father-daughter dance, I always tear up while shooting thinking about the day I get to do that with my daughter. I am not ready to let her go and tonight was a true testament of that. I don't think she knows, but as we slow danced with each other, I cried inside thinking of the day my daughter will rely on the support of a man other than me. She is a wonderful girl, unique and interesting with no worry about how others see her. When I watch "Father of the Bride" I see us. She is daddy's little girl and I wouldn't want it any other way. Daughters are a father's legacy because a daughter looks to their dad to see what a man can offer them, and I want to work every day to show her what a REAL man is....kind....caring....loving....thoughtful.

Well, it looks like we are now doing Pet Portraits! Sarah has talked me into another dog, and of course I fell in love within minutes. She's a very good dog and just loves to sleep. She is a true lap dog.

I have waited all winter for a snowfall that would allow for good photos, and it finally came yesterday. I didn't stay out too long but Sarah and I drove all over Ozark and Nixa back roads to find a few nice images. I decided to present them all in black and white for the contrast. Tell me what you think, good or bad. We had fun driving around and hope you enjoy these photos!