Germany...here we come!!!

Well, Jeremy and I are leaving for Germany tomorrow and I am not sure that reality has hit for either of us. We have always wanted to go to Europe, but thought it would be a vacation we ventured out on after the kids were out of the house...meaning a long time from now. :) However, my cousin, Ryndee, her husband and kids are stationed in Germany. Her husband is a pilot in the Air Force. They have been there for the past couple of years and their leave will be up soon. They have encouraged us to come out there from day one and life kept getting in the way. Well, last summer Jeremy and I started talking a bit more seriously about going out there. We would have a place to stay and our own family would be the ones giving the tour. Talk about saving a ton of money...and getting the chance to visit with family...we couldn't have asked for a better situation. Well...last November Ryndee sent me a family picture of them from Germany. Needless to say, we decided to go for it. I am so excited (and will be even more excited once we have landed in Germany:) and can't wait to see Ryndee and her family. Ryndee has been the sister I never had. We practically grew up together, shared many life stories, and have many more to come. We are so thankful to have this opportunity. Stay tuned for some amazing pictures. I will try and post a couple while we are there.

All of this leads me to the next thing...since we will be out of the country we will not be able to be in contact with anyone. I will be able to check email, but may not be able to respond right away. We appreciate your patience and will be available the week of April 9th...I promise to catch up. :) Thank you for understanding. Ok...I obviously need to go to bed--have a blessed week! Melody

Matthew & Kristen

First of all, I apologize for posting so many pictures this time. Jeremy and I are Germany bound (as of tomorrow) and I'm trying to get a handful of pictures posted for Matt and Kristen to choose from (they are getting married soon!!:). Second of all, we bought some new equipment at WPPI...which we are so excited about!! Yeah!!! My friend, Shelly, and I decided to try some of it out at Matt and Kristen's session so I posted more to give you an idea. Be watching for some awesome pictures! We can't wait!!

On to Matt and Kristen...they are the sweetest couple ever! We met Matt several years back at church and have truly enjoyed getting to know him over the years. He was actually one of Jeremy's top visitors several years back when he had surgery. I'll never forget when Matt went and got window reflectors to help prevent some of the glaring sun from coming into Jeremy's (already hot) room. It doesn't seem like much now, but during that time, it meant the world. He has been a true blessing to us and we are so excited that God brought Kristen into his life. They are the cutest couple and so in love. We look forward to capturing their special day and watching their love grow in the years to come. Matt and Kristen...thank you for choosing us as your photographers...it's going to be an awesome day!

WPPI 2007: Part II

WPPI was amazing! There were 8,000+ photographers there from all around the world. It is the largest conference for wedding and portrait photographers. Talk about good information...that headache came and went the entire time I was there. :) The good thing is that we have some exciting ideas, plans, all of the above... that we will be implementing in the near future. I can't wait to share!! I must say that I only took a handful of pictures and thought I would share some of them with you. I guess you could say that this photography event was not exactly one where a lot of actual photographing was taking place. :) Have a good night!

WPPI 2007

I am getting so excited for WPPI's photography convention and trade show. It is going to be an amazing experience, with amazing information, amazing weather and amazing people. Need I say more? It is going to take place in Las Vegas and we will be heading out on Sunday. I'm sure that I will come back with a wonderful headache that will challenge us to do bigger and better things at CPD! I can't wait! You may wonder why I am putting this on our blog...I just wanted to let you know that we may be MIA until mid-next week. If you try to contact us, I promise to get back in touch with you as soon as possible. Thanks for your patience! I can't wait to share some of the new and exciting info. that I learned. Enjoy your weekend and hopefully the sun will come out soon! Blessings...Mel

Brent & Lesleigh

What can I say? I love the Moore Family. Jeremy and I have been the closest of friends with Brent and Lesleigh forever. All I can say is that it started when Jeremy and Brent were roommates in college. The rest is history...:) We can be kids one minute and turn around and have the deepest conversation the next. It has been a true blessing to have them in our lives and I love the fact that we have been able to document the special moments in their lives. They are now preparing for baby #3 and still going. Lesleigh has always wanted 6 kids and she will soon be half way there. I love it! She is so much more of a woman than I am...2 is good for me (and no I am not pregnant:)...I will just keep taking pictures of her offspring. Little Jackson will be coming into the world soon and we are all anxious for his arrival. It is evident that the family is excited. One of the things I loved about their pictures is that their focus is 100% family. You can see that their children are as much a part of their lives as they are to each other. Isn't this what family is all about...keeping the marriage bond strong while developing the strength of family? Thank you Brent and Lesleigh for your friendship and the example you set for all of us. We love you guys and hope you enjoy the pictures! ~Mel

A visit from Ohio

As most of you know, I'm from the hills of southern Ohio. It is absolutely beautiful, especially during the fall. I love going back to visit family and friends and to be reminded that flat land isn't everywhere! :) Anyway...:)...I had some of my closest friends from back home come to visit us this weekend. We had a wonderful time catching up with life and reminiscing on our past memories. As you will see below...we had the kids there. Crazy, you think? At times...yes...but overall they were true champs. We took a trip to the Children's Museum on Saturday and saw the "Doodlebops" at the Murat Theatre on Sunday. Of course, we had to take a quick trip to Target...and I mean quick...we packed the kids in the car at 9pm to get some quick shopping in before they closed at 10pm. How about that for determination? :) I hated to see the weekend end, but all good things must come to that. We are already in the planning stages for our next weekend get-together...possibly without the kids. :) Jen, Tara, Michelle and the girls...we had an absolute ball with all of you here. Come back and visit us soon. We love you guys!!! (*In case you were wondering why some of the pics are missing our CPD border...the ones without it were with my point-n-shoot...great for documentation, but not for quality--so, don't judge our work by them:)












Who doesn't love water??



Mommy & Gabe dancing in front of the video camera at the Children's Museum...it's in the fish aquarium area where it looks like you are dancing/swimming in the water.



And of course...the "Doodlebops." (I got a good laugh at the lady at the bottom of this pic. She must have thought I was taking a picture of her--oops:)

Conrad Family

After being on a 3 year waiting list for an international adoption, Chris and Mary now have 2 beautiful little girls from the Ukraine. Their story is absolutely amazing. I felt like a 3 year old asking question after question wanting to know and understand the process. Here is a brief synopsis: They left for the Ukraine in November and had no idea who they may be bringing back with them. Once they got there all they had to choose from were teeny-tiny pictures. When they came across the pictures of two little sisters they knew these were the ones. They had to stay in the Ukraine for 6 weeks before they were able to bring the girls home to the states. God has truly blessed them with 2 precious little girls. They are full of energy and 110% loved. It is amazing to think that just a couple of months ago these little girls were in an orphanage not knowing if or when they may be given a home. It is amazing how time can change things...truly amazing. God is good and I know he will continue to bless them as they raise these precious little girls.

Chris and Mary...thank you so much for sharing your story and allowing me to take pictures of your beautiful family. I am honored and look forward to the developing friendship. I hope you enjoy the pictures and I will have the rest of them ready for you to see soon. Blessings to you...Mel


Nataliya and Juliya


The Conrad Family (Kaysha has been their daughter-on-loan for many years. She is a student at the Univ. of Nebraska and was on spring break. She came to meet her new little sisters:)


I love this picture! It says it all to me... (*The weather was nice enough that I couldn't help but snap some pictures of the girls and Mary playing in the yard as they were leaving. Please disregard the fact that there are houses in the background:)

Katey & Josh

Katey and Josh are getting married in May and they are absolutely adorable. They were all about having fun and their pictures are evidence of this. I loved Katey's shoes in the first set of pictures. She was telling me how she loves to buy these crazy shoes for fun. What girl doesn't love shoes? Anyway, we look forward to capturing their special day...it will be here before we know it. Katey and Josh...it was so good to see you--I look forward to sharing the rest of the pictures with you. Take care!!

Natalie & Aaron

On Saturday I had the opportunity to shoot 2 engagement sessions. Natalie and Aaron will be getting married in October and I know it will be a beautiful day...just look at them :). They are the sweetest couple and I must say that Aaron is a bit ornery. I love it! He would dish it out and I would give it right back to him. We are going to have a blast shooting their wedding and I know they are going to have so much fun. Natalie and Aaron...it was so nice to "officially" meet you both. We look forward to capturing your special day! Blessings!

OSP Indy

I apologize for all of the posts today. I just finished up at OSP Indy and am trying to catch up. :) I had the opportunity to meet some wonderful local photographers (and others outside of our area:) at OSP this week. It was an absolute blast!! I love networking and challenging our minds to become better photographers for our clients. This business is about relationships...with other photographers and, of course, our clients. I love it! Blessings to you all and I look forward to connecting with you soon! Below are some pics from OSP...



Amanda Reynolds, Shelly Valentine, and myself


Natural light session...


We needed some models...as you can tell from the following pictures. They had a hard time knowing where to look...cameras were coming from every direction!! :)