Happy Birthday Grandma!

My Grandma Susie just turned 70! She looks amazing! She's currently undergoing chemo and looks completely unaffected by it. I am amazed at how wonderfully she has handled this entire liver transplant process. I am so happy that she has received this blessed gift. Grandma has a heart for giving. She is one of the most generous people that I have ever met. My entire life, she has made me feel special and loved. I hope that she knows how much I appreciate her! Today, Grandma said it best herself, "you are as old as you feel".


New Baby -Born Tuesday

The Backyard at Wilson Ranch

My Morning Song

One of my favorite lines from the praise and worship song Your Beloved is this...
Lord, it was Your voice that commands the morning

Inside, I groan when my alarm clock goes off each morning, but secretly I am thrilled to be up before the sun rises. I love that I get to enjoy a cup of coffee with hazelnut creamer as the dew rises and the colors of the morning sun appear in my rear view mirror. Most of all, I love that I drive through the country side and see life springing up on a daily basis. The grass is green in the pastures. Blue Bonnets, Indian Paintbrushes and other wildflowers crowd the grasses that grow along the highway. New baby calves appear and others grow brave enough to venture to the fence to graze. Every single day, I watch my amazing God COMMAND the morning. I watch as He speaks things into place. What a blessing it is to witness His work. I pray that I remain grateful for this and that I always notice such beauty in obscure places.

I've only moved 12 miles North. However, our surroundings are so very different from the apartment. I feel a little like "town has gone to country". I'm from the country, so I actually really appreciate this. The first morning I awoke in our new house, I heard a beautiful song. I glanced out my bedroom window, hoping for an opportunity to see whose voice this was. A beautiful yellow breasted bird sat on my fence, singing a flute like song. He keeps coming back which excites me so much. I've been trying to take his picture for a week and finally did so today. I googled "yellow breasted birds" and thought he may be a Chat. After asking my Dad, who has an insane amount of knowledge on the species of all sorts of critters, I've learned that he is a Meadowlark (Eastern?). Perfect for his name! Listen to his song!

Meet the Voice of the Morning-

click on the image to enlarge!

We've Moved!

We now live in this BEAUTIFUL house! Daniel and I spent the weekend packing, loading, moving, unpacking, organizing...we both worked our booty off. A BIG thanks to Roger and Barbara for all of their help! We're so excited to be here and can't wait for you to visit us in our pretty home.

We are soooo blessed!

One Act Play

My sister Bekah has always been an actress. Monday, I watched her perform on stage as Frankie Voice of the Prairie and was almost brought to tears by how FANTASTIC she really is. Bek plays a blind girl with such accuracy. I was blown away. We're encouraging her major/minor in theatre.

The Cast - Bek is the girl trying not to get struck by her Pa.


Support Crew-

...TAGGED!

10 years ago: I was 15 and a sophomore in high school. [Funny thing is that I'm right back where I started...10th grade - except that I'm the teacher this time.] It's hard to remember this time in much detail. I was in drill team and was dating a guy that is still one of my best friends. I was going to church, hanging out with friends...I thought life was sooooo tough. Ha! Another thing is that I probably felt a lot of anger and resentment towards my parents, particularly my Mom. Now, my parents are my PEOPLE! They are great and I can go to them and talk with them about ANYTHING. AND....I work with my Mom, teaching next door to her. Every part of me loves, respects and appreciates her.
Things on my to-do list today:
1. Laundry - we're moving tomorrow
2. Pay Bills - before they get lost in the move!
3. Catch up on Emails and Blogging
4. Start Organizing and Packing up the Apartment
What would I do if I suddenly became a billionaire:
GIVE! Especially to those that have always been so generous to me. Pay off student loans. Pay off mortgage. Buy tons of camera gear. Travel all over working with my favorite photographers. Go back to work at SeaWorld every now and then [seriously, the BEST time of my life]. Get a personal trainer. And many more...
3 of my bad habits:
1. Being unorganized.
2. Not listening to Daniel when he's talking to me and I'm on the computer. [uh-oh]
3. Letting things pile up on ALL flat surfaces...I have a serious problem collecting paper.
5 Jobs I have had:
1. Schulte Homes - copy girl. yuck.
2. TAMU - I can't even explain what I did. It consisted of touching EVERY SINGLE invoice for every $$$$$$ that the university spent. Ridiculous.
3. Watson Orthodontics - Assistant. Lab Tech. Receptionist. I loved the job and hated the way I was treated.
4. SeaWorld, Orlando - the best job I'll ever have. I know it! I taught summer camp in the park, and took children to all the behind-the-scenes and shows. It was AMAZING!
5. TS - I worked for a millionaire. Talk about woah. Imagine Devil Wears Prada x's a million. Really. It was wild and crazy.
5 Things you don't know about me:
1. I majored in Animal Science [and I teach English].
2. I love love love love love TEETH [if they're good teeth]. I'll do anything to protect mine. I used to want to be an orthodontist.
3. I LOVE to read! I could read all day.
4. I teach 10th grade English in my old high school, with my Mom as my mentor. Mom teaches next door. I am a 4th generation teacher.
5. I used to despise "little" dogs. Then Honey entered my life and stole my heart. I think I would throw myself in front of a car for her.
I'm tagging - Merideth, The Rubies, Jae

Hannah's Bachelorette Party

Last weekend, a lot of Hannah's friends and family road tripped to San Antonio to celebrate the end of Hannah's days as a bachelorette. Mom, Tracy, Jodi , Alli and I had a great ride there. We caught up on the details of several years of everyone's life. Once in SA, we walked through the Alamo and hit up the Riverwalk for some Mexican food and drinks. After lunch it was time for penis shaped cookies and "Pin The Macho On The Man" before we spent SIX, long, FUN hours at Howl At The Moon. I had my doubts about the piano bar (since I don't really like music all that much), but we had an AWESOME time! The musicians were so good that we felt like we'd been in concert all night. Happy Bachelorette Days, Hannah! I'm so glad that I was able to celebrate with you. Love you lots!
ps - If you have pics from the weekend, please email them! Jo- will you send me the one of me and Mom?



17 Person Party-



Jo, Mom, Ali, T and Me-

Cassi & Alli's FIRST visit to the Alamo-

Penis Cookies that were YUMMY-

Rendition of Lovin' Feelin'

from Casey -The Bachelor-

Mother's Day Sessions

Hey, Moms! Has it been awhile since your family or your kiddos have had pictures taken? Maybe it's that you can't get ALL of your children together at the same time, sitting in the same photo. Slow down and do something for YOURSELF. Ask for a Mother's Day Session with me and you'll have something that you'll be able to treasure for a lifetime.

Book a session before March 31st and you'll receive $25 towards a print order! Either leave a comment here or email me at sarahshalley@gmail.com. I can't wait to make a date with you!

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Love, Sarah and Daniel

Ashley Musgrove

I've had my eye on Ashley for a while now. She's an office aid and often knocks on my door to deliver notes to my class. No matter what she's wearing at school, I always notice her curly hair, the full face of freckles and her adorable smile. I saw so much in her and was hoping she'd soon be my model. We met up during spring break in downtown Bryan, a place I've been dying to shoot for soooo long. I had FUN the entire two hours we were together and I'm very proud and pleased of how her images turned out. It was hard to narrow my favorites down to just a few...I hope that you really like these Ashley!
View all images or place an order at this site: http://www.shutterfly.com/pro/SarahShalley/AshleyMusgrove . Click on the images to view them larger.

Right now, I'm in love with reflections!

Check out the freckles that I love.

My absolute FAVORITE from the day - I want you to order this for your graduation invites!
Ashley is adventurous...she climed into this building's window.

Girlfriends

I can't believe I forgot to blog this! At Matt Robinson's 30th surprise bday party we girls realized that ALL six of us were together for the first time in years. Of course, this meant a photo op! Some of my wildest rides have been with Jodi, Alli, Hannah, Shelb and Cassi. I LOVE these girls dearly and don't see them nearly enough! It was so great to stand around talking all night. We need to make a date - just us - sometime soon.

ps - Happy Birthday to Matt.

Baby Cooper

Little Coop has been through a lot in his short life. He was born prematurely and has endured three surgeries. Poor baby still has a hernia, but he's hanging tough! Cooper's Daddy is in the Air Force and is currently deployed. Cooper and his family live in California, but while Daddy is working, he and his Mommy came home to Texas for a few months. Since I'm on spring break...I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to make a date with Coop and Jen and take some pictures. Ihad fun today. Thanks for being a sweet boy! Since Jen has already called asking for these, I thought that I would tease her with just a few of my favorites from today. Hopefully, I will have the rest ready by early next week. Love you! To view/order images of Cooper, visit this site: Cooper's Pics!





Thisis a 5x7 card -

The Woods

Pigs are flying! Howard Wood is married! Let me say it again... Howard Wood is MARRIED. Woah! I can say that I've seen it with my own eyes. Howard is in love. He's married such a sweet girl that seems perfectly right for him. I am so excited and happy for you, Howard and Vanette. It was an honor to celebrate with you in San Antonio. Thanks too for letting me photograph for the night. I had a great time. I can't wait to take pictures of that sweet baby (girl?) when it is here. Enjoy! Love you lots.


Yes, the groom's cake was a replica of the Dixie Chicken!



Just a few of Howard's buddies.

The Lovely Mr. and Mrs!

San Antonio, Texas

Jonathan, Daniel and I are in San Antonio to celebrate Howard and Vanette's marriage! Before the reception tonight, Daniel and I hit the town. You can't go to San Antonio and not stop by The Alamo or go down on the Riverwalk! In celebration of the Independence of Texas, there was actually a reenactment taking place at The Alamo so a lot of people were dressed up in really elaborate clothing. I loved walking around taking pictures. We also found a shopping center and walked around exploring the stores. It was a BEAUTIFUL DAY so we craved being outside in the sunshine and found that it was fantastic.

Getaway

Daniel and I are spending the weekend in San Antonio! Yay!
Stay tuned for photos of our fun trip.