Josh & Christy Engaged

Josh & Chrisy are so fun... I had such a good time chatting and getting to know them better. And we both have something BIG and IMPORTANT in common seeing how we both will/have gotten married over Thanksgiving weekend. What a great time to get married and it will be a fun wedding for both Todd and I to remember our special day a couple years ago. Congrads to you two... we are so excited for the big day!

P.S. We got a call yesterday and Maddox is doing good! There is a good chance he will be back here in a week or so... fingers crossed!

Enjoy the slideshow!

Scott & Tami Engaged

I was so glad the weather was much better this time around, as our session was cancelled last weekend due to the monsoon we were having. But I was even more excited to meet Scott and Tami, they are the sweetest couple! I had such a fun time getting to know them better, joking, and laughing. They have such a good interaction with each other that it's hard not to "OOooo" and "Awww" behind the camera.

Thank you guys for the wonderful time... I had such a great time and I wish you the best in the rest of planning! I can't wait for your wedding next year!

Enjoy the slideshow!

Just NOT meant to be...

I think there is a curse on me... not that I believe in that stuff or anything, but I'm not sure we are suppose to have a puppy or dog.

Our little guy got sick and had to go back to the rescue group for treatment. I got a call yesterday from the lady in charge and she asked how Maddox was doing, I didn't notice anything strange or odd about his behavior, she mentioned some of the other pups she had were really sick. He was pretty good... eating.. playing.. biting... ha! Well... later in the day he started to act a bit funny. He had to use the bathroom a lot and it was pretty gross, I also noticed he was drooling a lot out of his poor little mouth. I called Todd all upset because our poor guy was in some pain. He was moaning and uncomfortable. I called the lady in charge again, and told her I thought he had the sickness the other pups had. We rushed him back to her house so he could get treated for Parvo, which if you're not familiar with it... is pretty deadly in puppies. I was so sad! I liked him a lot... and he was so cute. Hopefully he gets treated and gets better! I'm not sure we'll get another dog... but we'll see. This is the third time... sad days in my office without him, can't you tell...

LOTS Coming this Week...

I have lots I'm working on... and I'm so excited to show it with my new slideshow program. Here's a preview of all the shoots this past weekend...

Mr. & Mrs. Rotberg



Scott & Tami: Engaged



And Josh & Christy: Engaged

"Baby"?

NO... It will be awhile before the whole "baby" word comes out of my mouth (besides for baby pictures..hehe!) but for now "puppy" will come out of it in our home.

Yes... we now have a puppy! Yeah... we are so excited! After our beloved Rosco, we weren't sure when we would ever get another one. But this time we wanted to make sure we did things right and get one from a rescue because we know how much those dogs need homes. We went out to an adopt-a-pet event not too long ago and fell in love with one in particular, but the day he was suppose to visit... he came down with Parvo. Pooooor Guy! We're not sure if he made it, and we were so heartbroken. But we kept looking, thinking that it was just not the right one for us and time. We talked to another rescue group and filled out an application for a lab mix pup, and sure enough it was the perfect time, although it was a different dog then what we originally went for. I was more fond of a different one in the same litter. One that was more calm! Ha!

The rescue lady called him Mr. Fiesty... but he definitely is not fiesty, so we're going to call him Maddox.



He's the cutest little thing. He loves to just be right next to you. He loves to sleep in your arms, although I don't think that will be too long considering he will be much bigger for that in a couple months. But he's awesome... so far! I think we'll be much happier this time around.



I have so much to blog this week as I just had a wedding Saturday, and TWO engagement sessions today... and they all were so great! I love all the couples... so cool!

Under the Weather & FREE Kids...

Soooo sorry I haven't posted anything this past week. I'm such a slacker right now. I've been feeling a bit under the weather this week, I blame it on the rain last weekend. Saturday/Sunday was such a blue day... then Monday I woke up and my body was feeling like it got hit by a bus. It's Friday and still I have no energy but don't know what to take... I'm not much of a medicine girl. I just wait it out... until it's done... if it ever gets that way. Ha!

I promise I will have so much to post next week with an amazing wedding tomorrow and two engagements on Sunday!

I do have to announce that starting October 13th I will be taking FREE baby/children photos until the end of the year... yes three WHOLE months of FREE sessions. What in the world are you thinking, you might ask... well here's the details:

The sessions are for children, babies, and newbies until December 31st. (Excluding a selection of dates and times due to my unavailability)

Sessions are fun and relaxed, capturing your child's personality and character.

Sessions will be Monday-Thursday only and you need to schedule with at least a week notice, who knows how many sessions I'll have by giving them away for FREE!

This will be an 30-45 min session, you never know with kids... also if there is more than two children please have a second parent or helper along. Thanks in advance!

You will be able to view and purchase prints separately (15-30 final images)... especially since the holidays are coming up and you might want to stick a photo in your cards you mail out. Nice idea, huh?!

I will be doing the sessions within a 30 mile radius from Clawson, MI. I will be doing them in home or outdoors.

Any questions let me know... go ahead and tell your family, friends, colleagues... whoever and shoot me an email to schedule now. I have a calendar all planned out so let me know what days/times are good for you and if it works with both our schedules we'll put on the calendar and go for it.

Looking forward to this... as it is the giving season is coming up!

In honor of the whole babies/kids sessions here are a few of my FAVS this past year.

An EXCELLENT Opportunity

You want to make us REALLLLLY happy?

We are now on The Best Guide for Channel 4. Click here to view and if you would like to make us REALLY happy you can write a review us. (Hopefully all positive!) We would appreciate the feedback from brides, grooms, family, and friends that we have worked with before. I know that this is a great opportunity to refer us to more people who are interested in our photography. A big huge thank you in advance!

Don't let me have time off or I go CRAZY!

I'm destroying our house as we speak, and I'm the biggest neat freak ever! It actually hurts me to put this photo up and it's a censored photo of the mess I'm making. This is what happens when I have two weeks off.



Since we moved in last May, I have wanted to update ALL of our rooms. We moved in with every wall, ceiling, and piece of trim being a creamy yellow color. It was alright at first but starts to really burn your eyes. It's not a good shade of yellow. Being we just did our office, I needed more projects and now that I have a couple weeks off until our next wedding, I have gotten myself into a HUGE mess. I have ripped out the trim in our upstairs hallway and one of our guest bedrooms. I pretty much took every paint color sample imaginable in Home Depot and have them all taped up on the walls figuring out which one I liked best. So let's just say I have painted ceilings now (yeah), BUT no trim, painters paper everywhere, paint cans, paint brushed, paint trays, a hammer, screwdriver, crow bar, nails, putty, sanding paper, paper towels, and a sore neck from looking up (hence the painted ceilings). I am determined to get both done before my wedding next week and let's hope I make it.

So if you don't hear from me for another couple days it probably means I've passed out from the paint fumes I will be absorbing with all the painting of walls and trim.

Happy Wednesday!

My Dearest Ab

You can just call me "Spontaneous" because yet again I decide last minute to do things...

I have to say that the last couple years have been really hard to keep in touch with people. I somewhat feel old friendships slip away each year, and I am trying to not let that happen. Especially now that I am a bit less busy, and am now flexible with my schedule to go visit and spend time with friends dear to my heart.

I decided last minute to go visit one of my dearest and BEST friends in Ohio. Abbey has been one of those friends who has touched my life in a way that only few people can. She and I met my junior year/her sophomore year in college. We both played soccer, as she just decided to that year, and I'm so thankful that she did. It wasn't until one of our van rides that we talked and talked and talked more... until we were back at school. God had put us in each others lives for a great purpose and to grow and learn from each other. I have learned more from Ab than probably any other person, and we both were new in our faith. We were able to talk about anything and laugh about anything and just hang out and be REAL! She is one friend that I will NEVER forget and never have to because I know she's going to do well with herself. We will be friends to the end... and more.

Ab has decided to leave this country in just TWO weeks and head off to Seoul, South Korea for an amazing journey. She will be impacting the lives of many young children and teaching them English. I am so proud of her decision and I KNOW she's going to be an amazing teacher.

I had the best time hanging out Ab, and I know there will be many more times once you come back... IF you come back! Ha! Thank you for your friendship and the life you live that is so inspiring! I know that God will bless you so much for doing what he asks of you. You have changed my heart forever. I love you and will miss you so much!

P.S. You should learn how to say Chachi in Korean... That'd be so cool! ;)

Happiness in Life

I have to admit that I am probably addicted to a couple things in life, my number one, which is my bad addiction, GUM. I can't go a day without it, let alone an hour without it. I get all jittery like someone who smokes and hasn't had nicotine in a couple hours. We even joke about how gum is my cigarettes and I go through at least a half pack a day. Seriously... I'm a nut! I just can't chew it without flavor and most gums don't keep much flavor too long.

But my number two would be a tie between ice cream and peanut butter. I love ice cream with sprinkles, which most people know that one, but I also love and crave the O-SO-CREAMY taste of peanut butter. I am so thankful that someone invented this treat as it has made me so happy in this life. I love the texture and how smooth it is when it goes into your mouth, and how you can drink it with a nice glass of milk and it just hits the SPOT. Note: I don't even need it served on anything... I can just use a spoon. Ha! I guess it is a good thing that I am also addicted to working out. Who would've thought... maybe if I ate better I would start to look better.... haha! One day I'll figure it out!

Enjoy the rest of the week, I will have a special post on Friday!

Email/Website Issues...

Just to let you know that our email/website is down, and are host is trying to get them fixed. I'll keep you informed, but if you need immediate response please email at our alternate email veldmanphoto@gmail.com

Thanks and we apologize for the inconvenience!

***UPDATE: We are back up now, so if you emailed me at our regular email address you will have to resend it because I probably didn't get it. Sorry! Thanks!

Happy Labor Day!

Happy Labor Day to everyone!

As silly as this sounds, I'm not exactly sure what "Labor Day" really is. I asked Todd this morning and he said it was an environment day, but I'm not sure if he was telling the truth or not. I tend to ask a lot of questions and he knows this, so most of the time he gives me an answer that is not really the right one just for fun or to keep me from asking more. Ha! Oh well! I'll bought it. Although he told me what it REALLY meant later and it's not an environment day!

This whole weekend has been great! We've been spending a lot of time outside, considering it's been gorgeous! We went out and bought tennis rackets because we found out that the park about 2 blocks from us has courts. I feel like Maria Sharapova on the court gracefully volleying the ball back and forth and almost always being in bounds. Ok, not really! I'm working on it, and now that I have a racket we can go play more. We also went out to the lake on Sunday, and it was awesome. Not a cloud in the sky. I made it my goal to lay out in the sun as long as possible, since I haven't had time this summer... I should've put at least some sunscreen on though... a little sore, but I'm brown today!

Today we got up and went over to Port Huron to see a couple more lighthouses. Being both Todd and I's first trip there, it was pretty nice. We went to the first lightship, note I wrote "ship" there, which was really cool. I can't remember the story on it, but it was pretty interesting.





The second one we went to was the Fort Gratiot Lighthouse, which is the head of St. Claire River. Something I noticed that I really don't understand, and this could just be me, but why in the world would you put a bright orange fence around a beautiful lighthouse. I mean I understand that the authorities or whoever want others to stay out and they want to keep it nice, but the whole "bright orange" I'm really clueless on. This is the second one I have photographed that has had that orange fence, and it does not add greatness to photos. But oh well... some people just don't think like I do I guess. Ha! We couldn't get too close to it, but we were able to see through the barbwire fence they also had up to get a good shot of it. This one was probably my least favorite so far because of its surroundings. Lots of industrial plants and smoke all around it, not very pleasant. But I love the texture it has. Pretty cool and the weather was nice, so that made it worth the trip.



Love the fence?? Yuk!!



But it's coming to the end of a great weekend! I hope everyone else had a wonderful time with friends and family or getting projects done, which I know we've done quite a lot this weekend as far as those. Have a great rest of the week! Mwaaa...


P.S. Thank you to my loving husband for thinking of me this weekend, and for doing things that you might not be thrilled with but know I enjoy, like the lighthouse trip... love you!!!