I love this family!

Chunk-A-Monka!

Yesterday little Jacey came to visit me! She cooed, grinned, giggled and charmed her way into my heart! She was so much fun! We got lots of great portraits of her! Here are just a few, its a busy Friday! I so enjopyed holding her and playing with her! Thanks guys for bringing her in, shes beautiful!!

Our Family Fall Special!

Its not too late to get in for our families in the fall leaves special! Last year we filled up, but this year we still have 4 openings! Give us a call or better yet email us! pdixie@sw.rr.com

Ramblings from a southern girl....

Hello everyone! Sorry I haven't blogged in a few days. Its been almost 4 years since I started this blog and its a lot of work keeping it up.
My family comes first sometimes (well most times) and our son has been playing lots of football games (they are doing great this year, its his Junior year and on Varsity)and things going on with my 2 little grandsons!

Ill blog the shoots from this week soon, so stay tuned. I wanted to remind you guys to please stay safe on Halloween! Look out for cars, take flashlights and be safe. Even better, if your church is putting on an event, go to that! Those can be so much fun. I remember bobbing for apples and Halloween parties at our church when I was growing up!
First Baptist Church is having a Fall Festival Saturday, They are safer and can be a lot more fun! I just wanted to touch base with you guys, we appreciate and love you all and sorry we've been a bit absent here lately!
HUGS!
Dixie and the gang! OH PS I took the Halloween video of my son and I down, he was a bit embarrassed by it. so I honored my son and took it down. :-) So Im going to go brew some Hot Apple Cider and snuggle by the fire with the dog, lol, or my husband, Bruce, whomever will snuggle with me this evening. lol. Goodnight!!!

Our Annual Gift Certicate Special!

These days everyone is trying to figure out ways to stretch their dollars. Especially their Christmas gift dollars.
We have a solution for you to stretch your dollar 100%!

This is our 14Th year to offer this special! Its our Christmas and Holiday Gift Certificate special!

What we do is, we offer our Photography by Dixie Gift Cards for a future portrait session of any kind.
You can buy the Gift Cards and get Double the Dollar amount.
This means if you buy one for $25.00 you actually get a $50.00 Card! If you spend $50.00 Then you'll get $100.00 Card!
Etc. The cut off amount is $200.00. and get a $400.00 Certificate.

These make great Stocking stuffers or gifts for people. It is not good for photo sessions that have already been taken. Only on future photo sessions.
This special cannot be used in conjunction with any other specials.
Send an email or give us a call if you would like one of our Gift Cards! Pdixie@sw.rr.com
or (940) 761-5111.

Halloween Party at Lucy Park!

Thanks to all you moms and dads who let me take your childs pictures! If you don't see them here on the blog, then just email me and Ill send it to you and post it here as well. It was a lot of fun! Oh and the precious little Dorothy below, is a little girl Ive been photographing since she was an infant. Isn't she beautiful? Thanks everyone!

Its Time for a Family Portrait!

How long has it been since you had a family portrait made? I ask people this a lot.
They often seem taken aback and tell me, "Its been a while." When I ask them why, they often say "Im waiting till I lose weight." or "I hate having my picture made." or "Its hard to get the whole family together." or, "I just have meant to, but just keep putting it off."
Why don't you make this the year that you take the time for a family portrait?
Experts say that children who grow up in homes that have family portraits feel more secure, they feel a stronger sense of "belonging".

I can honestly say that my family, my parents NEVER had a professional family portrait taken. They had snapshots, but never had a professional portrait. I think that's really sad. (AND IM SURE MY DAD HAD SOMETHING TO DO WITH THAT.lol ) Unfortunately Dads often dread it and dont see the point.SO often its the moms idea.

What I would give to have one of all us when we were younger. And taken by someone who knew what they were doing!
And someone who would of had a "clothing consultation" with us, the way I do with my clients.
Something that would of stood the test of time, that was made with quality materials.
That wouldn't fade. That was framed in a nice frame. That captured us as we were, when we were all together. Something I could pass on to my children's children.

Maybe even one that had our family dog in it too, that I still miss.
Perhaps taken in a special place. Like our back yard. Or in a place that meant something to us.
Something larger than a postage stamp that I could hang on the wall and admire for many years. Something that my siblings and I would of fought over who got to keep as the years went by!
I will take your portrait at your home, Or in my studio. Ill take it on your land, or at your parents place.

Maybe with your horses. Or your pond. Ill take it with all your grandchildren by your side in your own backyard. Then I will "retouch" the portrait gently taking away small things that you dont care for.
Dont make excuses. Most of us will never lose those stubborn 10 lbs. Love yourself the way you are. Most of us make excuses until someone we loves has left this earth.
Pick up the phone and call us and lets get it on the calendar.
Ive been creating breathtaking beautiful Wall portraits for Families for 18 years.

All of our portraits do come with a lifetime guarantee and we promise you will treasure your wall portraits for many many years.

Yes, it takes longer for our portraits to come in. But we guarantee them 100%. Ill even recommend the best place for you to hang them in your home if you want me to.
Ive had families purchase several portraits to hang in different areas of their homes.
Our family portraits are beautiful, tasteful additions to your home and your furniture, that capture you and who you are.

I look forward to meeting you and creating an Heirloom for your family. Something that your family will fight over in the years to come.
(940) 761-5111. I'm available for travel, and have gone as far as Arizona and Florida. Dont put it off, like my family did and regret it. I promise you, that you will not regret it
BECAUSE THE HARDEST THING TO GET BACK, IS YESTERDAY.

Precious Family

The Hilbert's took the time to have a family portrait made. With their beautiful daughter home from Vanderbilt University, they got together and we made some beautiful memorable portraits. Smart Mom! Thanks for calling me, and letting me be the one who captured this heirloom portrait for you guys. It was my pleasure!

How to Leave us a Comment!

Hope you are enjoying this fabulous weather! If you ever want to leave a comment on this blog, you have to double click on the TITLE of the Post. Then it will open up a new window and you can leave your comment there. Sorry, my blog designer is trying to work this kink out!Have a Great weekend!

Brooke being Brooke!

I forgot to post this one the other day of Brooke!

Taylor

As I said earlier this week, I've been so behind on blogging. about 3 weeks worth! I apologize! Here's Taylor, hes a high school Senior. Let me tell you about Taylor. He is the nicest and funniest young man! He just had me rolling laughing. My cheeks hurt after his photo shoot, and the other day when he came in with his mom and friend, again, he had me laughing. Taylor is a good kid, and he loves Golf, As you can see, he has worn a hole in his golf glove! I think this image really captures him.Although his smile is very contagious! I enjoyed my time with him and his mom.Thanks Taylor, keep on being you, your a good egg!

FLIPPING OUT!

Have you guys seen the show Flipping Out? Its my Favorite show. I don't usually like Reality Shows, so much drama but this show is awesome. Ive been watching it for about a year.
What caught my eye was that the Star Jeff Lewis is such a perfectionist! A lot like I am with my photography. But hes so smooth about and almost OCD. But its because he has high standards and no one seems to understand that! His house keeper Zoilla is hilarious! Reminds me of my own Felicia! In fact, I have my Felicia watch the show or clips on Facebook of her! My favorite scenes was when he made one of his employees go pick Avocados off his neighbors tree as punishment!!!! PRICELESS!

The whole cast is awesome including JENNI. I wish I had a JENNI. My studio could really use someone as dedicated and loyal and hardworking as she is. And shes really funny too! Can you tell Im really into this show?? Because they are real people. And Jeffs ideas and homes are TO DIE FOR! Hes a perfectionist and I love his minimal style. What I would give to get to photograph them someday! The only thing is that I wonder if Jeffs Lips are real. They are so fleshy, I suspect they are surgically enhanced.??? Everyone on the show is funny and cool. I love it! I hope you'll watch! HEres the official website.
I promise you'll love it. Its on Bravo http://www.bravotv.com/flipping-out
ENJOY!!!Jeff lewis Designs http://www.jefflewisdesign.com/p_services.html

It was a special weekend!

I got to see my grandsons this weekend! We had a great time! The older grandsons birthday is the day after mine. He is so smart and fun to be with. He is just a wonderful boy. Always has made good grades and is loving and sweet. He has this bashful look sometimes, that is so endearing.I bought T some winter clothes and we went out and took some pictures! My daughter and I also had a great visit! They are living in Justin now and so its so close to the metroplex so we got to go down town and went and had lunch after church with the whole gang, grandparents and long lost special friends.This is one of my fav shots of T for the day!I even got to see my sister too! What a great time we had!

HAPPY NATIONAL CHOCOLATE CUPCAKE DAY!

http://cupcakesforlife.org My fav place to get Cupcakes! http://www.sprinkles.com

Brooke

I am so behind on blogging and I apologize. As Ive said before I don't post every shoot, unless I'm asked. Recently I got to spend a few hours with a sweetheart, BROOKE! Brooke drove over 100 miles for her Senior Portraits! Her mom was so nice and helpful too during the shoot assisting me with equipment! It was a beautiful day and we had fun! Brooke plays softball and is a sweet fun girl! Thanks guys!

T.G.I.F.!

Thank Goodness Its Friday! Hope you guys have a great weekend!

Going Cupcake Crazy!

I had some time last night so I whipped up a batch of cupcakes! I'm going to visit my grandsons this weekend and so I have to bring them some "Lovin' from the Oven" from Grammie! I wanted to make some Halloween ones, but I decided to wait to do those next weekend. These are just "funfetti" cupcakes, with the cake mix having rainbows of edible confetti inside.!I admit, I had to sample a couple this morning with my morning coffee and they were delish!I'm going to take some out to the football game dinner tonight too! Isn't it odd how the simplest things make us the happiest?If you're feeling blue, whip up some cupcakes and decorate them with someone you love, or by yourself, you're guaranteed to be smiling in less than 30 minutes!

The Sun came out!

This afternoon when the sun finally came out after 10 straight days of cloudy weather and rain, I had to run outside and let it shine on me. (I needed my Vitamin D!) One of my appointments had to reschedule due to illness so I sat out back for a bit soaking up the warm rays.

Ive been packing for my trip to visit my grandsons this weekend and saw these two cute stuffed animals I got for them. I thought Id take a shot of them sitting in the sun too. Can you tell I'm giddy to go see them! I'm sad they moved from Wichita Falls, but they are between Decatur and Denton now, so its not that far!

Arnt these guys cute? I love sock monkeys, but Ive never seen one this colorful before. If you want to know where I got them shoot us an Email and Ill tell you! Email at the top of this page.
I got my grandson Aaron a monkey before he was born (hes 29 months old now) and he loved it, and he has monkeys on some of his bedroom items, and so I know he'll love this one too.

Kelsey!

Foggy weather

When I was in college I shot a lot of moody black and white still life images. It was fun to print these type of prints in the darkroom, working for hours to get the perfect contrast. I can still smell the chemicals of the Dektol and working under the glow of the red darkroom light.

Tonight I was inspired and went out and shot some images in the Fog. Once I came up on a stop sign suddenly, jammed on my brakes and my brakes locked up and I slid right through the intersection and into a ditch. Fortunately I came to a stop before i hit the berm in front of me.I was definitely alert after that. I shot this image on a lonely country road, out in the middle of no where. Its near my home, but in the country.

This is so true!

This comedian is so true! Listen to it to the end, he is so right! This is the way I think too! Especially when I fly! I don't take technology for granted. We live in an amazing world and time!http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UN0MpBQG3-E

In our front yard

Who's that boy?

I actually have 4 storage buildings full of photographs, negatives, and studio props and furniture. That's why I was so excited when I came across this particular portrait.
Can you guess who it is? No fair for our families to guess! Okay Ill tell you, its our son!
This was taken almost 11 years ago when he was only 6 years old.
I shot it for a competition in 1997 and it was titled "Bottle Boy". Just thought Id share it with you.
It sure reminds me that time does fly by, so take lots of pictures of your children while they are little!
Hes almost 17, and I still take lots of photos and I take him to other studios as well. It was shot with a medium format camera on 120 film and printed in a darkroom by hand, by our good friend John Murray of Euless Texas. It was very tedious and time consuming back in those days. But Ill always treasure this. Another portrait of him titled "First Love" actually won multiple awards that year and was published in a book and the portrait went into the traveling loan collection and toured around for a year around the world! I'll dig it up and show it to you soon!

Hanna!

Thanks to my friend Jodie for telling me about this location. I really perfer to use my studio (its warm and safe and dry) but sometimes I like to go explore and find new places. My friend Jodie of Digi Kidz Photography told me about this spot and it was fun!

Halloween Fun!

Heres a really cute website in which you can carve a pumpkin and avoid the sticky mess! I first posted this 3 years ago when i first started my blog!
And you can do it over and over and over again.
Check out the site below and carve one of your own!
Heres one I made here.

No sticky seeds or newspapers of that gooey stringy stuff on the inside of a real one.
So have fun and you wont even have to roll up your sleeves.
http://www.cubpack81.com/images/carve_pumpkin.swf

Tailgating Party!

Friday before the game, our friends Deb and Tim Cornelius hosted a tailgating party! It was so great to see everyone and enjoy some Brats and ribs and goodies! Here's a few images, more to come soon.

Baby Brody!

I just have one Question. Why do baby BOYS always get the good eyelashes???

How to Leave Comments.

How to Leave me Comments. You have to click on any of my post headings. Then it will bring up a new window and there you can leave a comment. Or feel free to just email us at PDixie@sw.rr.com Have a great week gang!

Busy as a bee!

Theres a lot going on around here, sorry we havent blogged much lately! We've done some fun shoots lately! Well get them up soon! Hope you are all enjoying the cooler weather and remember we are taking appointments for our Family Portraits in the Fall Foliage!

I love Retro Cameras!

I have quite a collection of vintage, antique and retro cameras. My favorites are the ones from the 50s, 60s and 70s. Darn you Ebay! Ive been collecting for about 22 years. I used to go to lots of yard Sales in Lubbock, Tx and thats where I got a lot of them. Arnt these cute? (And I get them really cheap, because people dont use film much anymore.) But I do use my HOLGA and its a blast! Its just that you have to do some modifications to it to shoot. Including taping it and some other things, but so worth while. It satisfieds both the artist in me and the child. Heres a site to see what Im talking about. http://microsites.lomography.com/holga/

Does he look sick to you?

Does this 16 year old boy look sick to you? Our son has been having fever and sore throat for almost 3 weeks. He doesn't know how to slow down though. He told me he was okay and that he didnt want to let anyone down. Not his coaches, not his teachers, not his youth pastor. Certainly not his girlfriend. Football practice and games, Advanced Placement classes, Straight As, Working, Church, chores, washing his car, more football practice, and a girlfriend that likes to spend a lot of time with him.
So when he completely lost his voice after fighting this for 3 weeks we took him to the Dr.
Guess what? STREP THROAT AND MONO!
From all the moms Ive talked to, Mono wipes you out! They say that their kids were in bed for 6-8 weeks! They said they were listless and lethargic and miserable. (Mono- also known as Epstein Barr is a serious disease! ) Not this kid. He is amazing. We don't know where his strength comes from. But to have both Strep and Mono at the same time is a lot. He dropped 21 lbs in 2 weeks! O course he cant go to school, his spleen swelled and he woke up over and over all night. He laid quietly in his room at night miserble but wouldnt wake us and tell us.
He shivered with the chills, but wouldnt tell us. He would get up and go to school and try to do his best. He even worked out a couple fo times while he had fever! (I was upset, he could spread it around!)

So finally he is out of school all week, once we got the diaginosis, we put him to bed. Hes been watching all the Lord of the Rings Movies (Wow what amazing photography in these movies!) and the Alien series and Indiana Jones series.
He is doing his homework and not getting behind. He can barely talk now. His throat was so swollen up that it looked like he had giant red golf balls in his mouth. I made him blue jello and they turned into giant red and blue golf balls in his mouth. He never slows down.
Hes like the energizer bunnies. But to see the thermometer read 101.6 and to see the sweat on his forehead at dinner every night I dont know how he did it. I would be in bed for sure.
Hes the toughest kid I know. I shot this yesterday while he watched tv.
I can tell hes lost muscle and weight. He still isn't eating much. But last night he asked me to make him grilled cheese sandwiches and is drinking water like its going out of style.
Gosh I love that boy. :-) Hes definitely not a whiner and the toughest boy I know. Hurry and get well Scott, we love you.