{there are no words}

this is going to be one of those long-winded posts to get to a very simple point...feel free to "fast forward", but it's my blog and i feel like rambling...

several weeks ago, we made our annual trip to the pumpkin patch. i was excited since it was coleman's first time, etc. i had no idea just how much i'd gain from this little trip (enter dramatic background music). i warned spencer and matt ahead of time that i wanted to have a picture of the four of us taken (because we barely have any). while there, the first thing we did was a hayride. i remember seeing a lady in a cute hat with a big camera (can you say "camera envy"?)and a boy a little bit older than coleman. i guess those three factors combined made her stand out in my mind. later when we were at a spot ideal for photos, i waited for this cute-hat-camera-lady to finish her own set of shots and asked if she'd mind taking a quick photo of the four of us. given her large camera, i figured she could relate :) so, after she does this for us, she hands me a business card telling me that she actually lives in the area and just started a photography business.

now, i don't know why, but without any references or research (beyond a quick glimpse at her website), i knew she was "the one" for our family photo shoot. we exchanged some emails and i was really struggling with where to have them taken. i settled on the greenway, mainly because i like the place -- but not because i felt it was right for our photos. then lindsay (cute-hat-camera-girl) told me that the greenway had started charging a ridiculous fee to shoot there. so, i was stumped (this is less than 24 hours before our appointment now). she says 'here me out' and begins to explain why downtown fort mill might be a good location for us if we want something a bit more unique. after describing a few things, i was sold. not just sold, but pumped!

so, the next day, the four of us head down there. we meet lindsay - still cute, still big camera, but this time without the hat and baby boy :) she is full of energy and has tons of cute props. we bounce from bench to trees to cannons to railroad tracks to old brick walls to refurbished trains (you get the point). an hour and a half later, she has a camera full of photos, we have a tired baby, and three grumblin' tummies...but i have an overwhelming sense of *peace* about the photos.

she told us it'd be 2 weeks before we get the full selection of photos on a cd but that she'd post some "teasers" of her favorites to her blog within a week or so. needless to say, i was super excited to find out today that she already had posted them!

as i open her blog, i started to cry. ok, not crazy hysterical cry...just a few tears of happiness. i have admired amazing photos and awesome editing on other blogs and websites for so long...wishing we could get some like that, too. but i had no idea how to find *that* photographer (and if we could afford him/her without a second mortgage). and here i was, looking at my *those* pictures, that i've wanted for so long (and for the record, no second mortgage required).

i know it's stupid. i know it's cheesy. but for someone that loves and adores photos the way i do, i was truly moved by seeing these. and once you check them out...look at the one of matt by himself. it takes my breath away each and every time i see it (and trust me, i've looked at them a lot today!). there are even a few of myself that i like - and that's saying a lot.

so, lindsay - if you're out there - thanks again for making a dream of mine come true. there truly are no words to express how i feel (but i sure used plenty in this post trying to find them, right???) i hope you never stop this art of yours, as i'll never have to consider what photographer to choose again. and trust me when i say that i'll be referring you to everyone in the area that i know!

i know it kind of ruins the whole photo christmas card thing to publicly show all of our pictures, but i'm too excited not to share. now here is the part people actually care about:

you can see all of the *teaser* photos either on facebook or her blog (there are a couple on FB, that are not on her blog, but not many). i'm not 100% sure but you may be able to view the facebook photos even if you don't have an account. give it a whirl! of course, i will post and share all of them when once i get them.

this is probably obvious at this point, but if you live in the area, you SERIOUSLY need to consider using lindsay - you can find her here:

la photography website AND la photography blog