Each month, Capturing Creations Photography will be hosting a baby of the month contest! Winners will receive a FREE customized session or Lifestyle photo shoot!!
Each week of the month, submit a picture of your baby on my facebook page that fits the theme for that week! The babies with the most "likes" for the week will advance to a drawing at the end of the month for a free custom session from Capturing Creations Photography! TAG YOURSELF AND YOUR FRIENDS IN YOUR PHOTO TO GET LIKE'S (your friends will have to "Like" the Capturing Creations page in order to vote)!! Winners will be announced on my blog. By sharing pictures, contestants give permission for the picture to be used on the Capturing Creations blog for marketing reasons.
Weeks run from 12AM Sunday morning to 11:59 PM Saturday night. Babies between the ages of 5 to 18 months old are eligible. Contestants should wait for the theme before posting pictures :) Please, NO PROFESSIONAL PICTURES. Participants may "Like" more than one picture. Please be respectful! Negative comments on photos are strictly prohibited and the poster will be immediately disqualified, blocked from the page, and no questions will be asked.
Please share, post on your wall, tweet, and send to your friends to get the word out!!! I am also looking for local Houston area businesses and services, as well as nationwide online creators to partner with for my Splendor, Life, & Love Giveaway (a baby photo contest set to launch this Fall). Please email me for details at jholub@capturingcreations.com or call me at (832)372-6224.
Good luck and have fun! Should you have any questions, please let me know! The THEME for this week, August 28th-September 3rd, will be posted THIS EVENING at midnight!!! YAY!!!
Customized sessions are 30 minutes to 2 hours, and come with a planning session (email me for details). Lifestyle sessions are 1 to 2 hours, capturing the morning in your home. Your family & home will be photojournaled-no props or planning needed :)
Is summer over already? Oh my! I've had THE most amazing summer of my entire life and it has nothing to do with going to a lot of extravagant places or sunning by the pool. This summer marked the first summer of my own life; I am not returning to school as a specialist or teacher this year and I still can't believe it. I have had a job in education since 2002, and have been employed for someone else since I turned 16. As a parent/educator, the beginning of school can be a most stressful time! I'm sure many of you know what I'm talking about. I love teachers-and they have their work cut out for them!
This summer, I got to slow down and take care of myself, my family, and my friends. I gained a spiritual mom and dad and got to know them better. I explored God more. I wrestled with the word and stretched my faith. I picked up my guitar that I never learned how to play and am taking classes, I'm taking a french class, and am spending more time at HOME. It's amazing how much you can clean your home when you're actually there. I used to dread not being able to spend time with my kids during the day and this summer I drank it up. I took naps with them, watched movies with them, and we learned more about each other. I've read more books, read more in the bible, and have done a lot more praying. My husband and I had the whole summer together as well--it was a precious time for our relationship! It's a wonderful feeling-glory to God for blessing me with the opportunity to experience these past couple of months.
Many of my summer sessions were amazingly rewarding. I had some favorite images I'd like to share. If you're on my Facebook page, chances are you've seen these before, but if not, please take a look!
First, my nephew and his wife had a special baby girl. I got a chance to capture her and her sister!
Seniors got their groove on! Here are a few favorites!
Weddings are popping up everwhere it seems! Here are some great images from an awesome rainy day engagement session. I prayed that God grant me some creativity for this one since it was raining, and boy did He deliver!
I wish I could document everything I did, but perhaps I just need to post more often ;)
To close out the recap...I had a funeral for Lathan's hair. Yes, we finally cut it. Short. Short, short, short. I joked on Facebook that this would be the last haircut..of..his..life. Maybe. I love it; he is adorable no matter what! We'll just see what the future holds for this hair saga. Here he is! I took these on the way to see his grandparents--I made my hubby pull over on the side of the road. I couldn't resist this field and it was right at the golden hour, his hair is about to get longer and I hadn't properly documented it yet, and well....the stars aligned. ;)
So what is going on with that precious little girl of mine, Rio? Well, she's been pasted all over my website and business cards! During Spring Break, we went to visit a dogwood tree park (my favorite kind of tree), and got some awesome images! If you haven't been on my website lately, then you'll be glad to see she's certainly taken the cake of my inspiration! Just in case you haven't seen them yet, here she is. She's SO excited to start school again and I tease her that I don't want her to go back. She loves to do chores and we washed dishes together tonight. She still wants to marry her little brother. ;)
Lastly, here are the dates you've all been waiting to hear! FALL MINI-SESSIONS!
Only 2 dates, so please book it fast. Email me or you can text or call me at 832-372-6224. Can't wait for this fall season! No more sweating--yippee!!
$50 for 15-minute family/child session plus free 8x10. Session times are on the hour and half hour!
-Saturday, September 3rd, Spring (Louetta/249 area), 12-6
-Saturday, September 10th, Spring (Louetta/249 area), 12-6
See you there! Stay tuned to the Facebook page to see about winning a free custom session for your baby; I'm doing a model call soon! Thanks for checking in!
Ahhh, Senior year! Oh, to be young again! Here is some information on the Senior mini-sessions I'm doing for those seniors that would like pictures, but don't want to do a full photo shoot. Please text or call me to indicate a time and I will invoice you through Paypal! Call me for some help with clothing and props. Everybody wins! Yes!
My love for life started with you. My love for photography started with you. My love for Jesus is influenced by you. You are a treasure from heaven! You love your little brother no matter what he does to you. You still want to marry him.. You are so sweet and I love your smile. You are an inspiration to many beyond what you or I know. I look forward to your future, but really also miss your past. You make me a better person-I am inspired by your utter joy. I love you always, my dear, dear, Rio!!
I had a dream during a very interesting time this past year. Most would call this time a "time of trouble". First, it would be nice to have some mood music...
So if you're playing that and reading this, then perhaps you'll get a glimpse into this wonderful dream..
It was one of those dreams that takes all night. It was about various different things, but the part I remember the most was when I was walking (or riding in a car) down the street. The street was lined with houses and trees on both sides. As I floated down, I heard singing. I thought it could be some of the people that were in the houses. I looked into each of them and for some reason, the women I was asking could hear me from their second story windows. As I passed each house, I would ask them, "Are you the one singing?" Each of them would say "No, I'm not. That's not me," and smile kindly. Soon, I realized the left side of the street had changed. It was no longer houses and trees but a long beach. I wondered briefly where the trees went.
I waded out into the water and found so much joy in it. I began to kick it, play with it; it was more refreshing than water ever seemed. I soon found a jar come my way; it seemed to appear out of nowhere as I played. It was a purple jar and it seemed to be hard plastic (you never can tell in dreams for sure). It was round, empty, and could float on the water. I picked it up and began to enjoy filling it up with the water, then pouring it out. I was actually enjoying playing with this jar-much like a child. Somehow, I didn't feel foolish-I felt happy. It didn't take long, but once I realized how happy this jar made me, I began to covet the jar. The thought entered my mind, "I better hang on to this jar, I hope I don't lose it." I looked around to see if there was any kind of danger...any kind of threat to my jar. As I looked around, I saw another jar exactly like it floating nearby. Now I had two. This made me very happy. While I got used to the fact that I now had two jars, I thought, "Well, now I can let the first jar go and I can still have this other jar." When I let go of the first jar to play with the second, the feeling was profoundly liberating. It made me happy to know I didn't have to hang on. All the while, this song, "He is Lord", was being sung in the background. I never found out who was singing it. It must have been angels. The entire dream was filled with music about God.
Directly after having my liberating feeling, I looked up across the water toward the horizon. The music and singing continued. I saw an amazing sight! There were purple jars floating in the water-with beautiful symmetry and perfection. Floating straight up, in rows, perfectly placed in a line, and the waves were all parallel with the horizon. Each wave came with the same speed, each was perfectly spaced. The jars never moved from their line, they were placed with perfection on each third wave. They came empty, and I could let go of any which one. I never had to hang on to any one of the jars. The line of jars didn't have an end, and as my eyes stretched to see the last ones, my eye found the vast horizon. Immediately the thought entered my mind, "These are coming from God...and they will just keep coming." What an amazing realization! What an incredible feeling! The angels were singing "Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord!"
You see, in my time of trouble, my position as a curriculum coach at my school district had not been renewed. I had faith that God would take care of our every need and that everything would be fine. Many would look at my situation and feel sorry for me in some way or the unknown would make them feel uncomfortable. What I have found through my faith is that God truly will take care of me...and I don't need to know what His plan is all the time. I didn't want to waste time worrying, and I didn't. I was praying that He would use me however He wanted to in this next phase of life. I became excited that His plan was working-I knew it was His since I never even had a choice! I knew photography had been pulling me and many had suggested it to be my next full-time job. I erroneously believed that there was a right and wrong road--either teach or do photography--one was right and the other was wrong (error!). With this dream, God was saying, "You don't need to worry if the blessings will come...they will always come." I felt so much faith! I found that they were purple because they were regal...from the King Himself. I even realized that the jars were empty...the water was what I was filling them up with...but the water could represent anything that makes me happy-good finances, good health, good relationships, good opportunity to work for Jesus. I was excited. A dream like this cannot be made my man--its perfection, imagery, lessons, and sincerity is only a testament to infinite wisdom (Amen!).
That same day, I had turned down a job offer to teach once again full-time. Through a friend, and in another whisper, God released me from the burden of "right" and "wrong" and told me that I was free to make a choice that would make me most happy. We both know that whichever way I go, He would be glorified. So then, my decision was blessed! I would be a full-time photographer as long as I want to be! Purple jars will keep coming my way! I've adopted each blessing with a new terminology, "a purple jar".
Thanks for sticking with me this far--you are a blessing to me. I hope that what I do and write will inspire you to find your faith and see His beauty through all things and in all things. My pictures are just images of his creations--He has created a real being. Although my task to show His glory is utterly impossible, I still want to try. If you're wondering why I don't have a picture of a purple jar, it's because I don't want to ruin the perfection He showed to me in my dream...my jar will not have a splendor like His.
P.S. I listen to Hillsong A LOT. I highly recommend buying everything they have... ;)
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