Randy Paush

I know most of you has seen this, I saw it the day it was actually on Oprah. But I could not stop thinking about this guy. In case some of you have never seen it, its so worth watching! I love him because he is an optimist. The world needs more people like that. To see the good, the positive and to make the best of things.

Holland Turns 11 months old

During Hollands photo session, her mom was changing her clothes and she got loose and took off on the staircase in our studio and she had never done that before and her mom was freaking out and so I thought it was appropriate to add it to the slideshow! I love you little Holland, you always brighten my day when you come each month! Be sure and click on the HQ button for HIGH QUALITY.

One Big Happy Family

Thank you Richardson Family, it was a lot of fun!

Thank you to my Girls.

Just wanted to send out a BIG THANK YOU to my Home girls B.S. and L.M.!
You girls are my right and left hands! I appreciate you guys more than you know! Id be lost without you, Thanks for all you do! (We need a Spa Day soon!) You guys did a GREAT JOB this week!

You're the wind beneath my wings! Heres a pat on the Back! ATTA GIRLS!

Kailiess

the Jay Man

Do you belive in Miracles?

This young Korean girl named Heeah (He-A) was born with only 2 fingers per hand, but that did not stop her from learning to play the piano and plays it beautifully. Please watch the whole video it only take a couple of minutes! Gosh I love things like this. So inspiring!

One of my favs!

"My mama always said, Life is like a box of chocolates, You Never Know what youre gonna get." -Forrest Gump

Beach Portrait Sessions

It's the time of year to start thinking about portrait sessions you'll be wanting this Summer. We will be down in Padre Island in mid June of this year! This is a great time to get a beautiful sunrise or sunset beach portrait in the dunes. Also, our Fall schedule will soon be filling with weddings so be sure to email the studio now to get any portrait sessions booked.
Portrait appointments are available on weekdays only.
We will be in the Corpus Christie Port Aransa Padre Island in the middle of June and will be available for Beach Family Portrait sessions so don't wait... go ahead and get on our books. We are excited to work with you! Call the studio at 940-761-5111 for pricing information or to book your session!

Were back at it!

Well its Tuesday and we hope you all had a great Memorial Weekend! I wanted to just let you guys know whose orders are due in this week, as you may know, we got behind so busy this year and then the lab was running behind too. These are the orders that will be in today and this week!Beach, S.Leon, A.Adams, P.Tolliver, D.Hein,K.Phillips, V.Brumley, M. missingElkins, B. Re-orderSchenk, missingHohfeld, MissingKemp, L.This is what the lab is saying will be shipped this week, with Beach arriving today (FINALLY!)Thanks guys for your patience. We so appreciate you!

Happy Memorial Day

Hope youre all having a wonderful memorial day! We took the boat out to the Lake Saturday and had a great time, but it rained on us at the end of the day so we can home. Sunday we planted about a bizillion flowers and built on cedar planks onto our deck and I stained the new part and wrapped rope around the poles. My body hurts all over today!Remember those who gave the ultimate sacrfice so that we could be free in these United States. Now were cooking baby back ribs and homemade ice cream!My dad was on the front lines in the Korean war for many months in the freezing cold. Thank you Daddy. (and thanks to my hubby, hes in his 24th year with the US Air Force. Thanks to all who have served and are currently serving. We owe you so much.

I love this video by Goldfrapp

This is how I love to feel. Breezy, happy and carefree. Reminds me a lot of my childhood, until I broke my foot one day on my skateboard. And I loved my Transistor radio too! Like this girl has. Just a girl, her skateboard, her transistor radio and the beautiful California weather. Awww to be young again!

It cost you nothing to dream...

I love this painting by Rodney White. I saw it this weekend in Austin at World market and I ordered it. I'm adding lots of yellows and greens to our home this year.

In the summer, i love to make Lemonade from scratch. Nothing tastes better than REAL LEMONADE. Our backyard is almost finished. The flowers are almost all in, the decks are stained. We trimmed the Crepe Myrtles and the boxwoods. Power washed the satillio tile. I'm working on a Mosaic on our bar and I just need to buy one more umbrella. We practically LIVE OUTDOORS in the summer. So I might hang this painting out on our patio. I already bought a Yellow Big Market Umbrella and some lime green pillows. That's my color scheme for this year. I change it every year. We plan on having lots of pool parties. The first one is an end of school party for our son and all his football buddies and friends. Then were having another one with my family. We used to always have one for my photographer friends in the guild every memorial weekend, but we have missed out on that the past few years. Got to start that tradition back up again! And I like to have "half a day Fridays" where my employees and I have training in the morning on Fridays, and we watch educational videos that I buy, where we can learn to do our jobs better, and then at 1:00 we close the studio and go in our backyard and relax and just have fun together as a group. I started this back in 2001 and we tried to do it at least twice in the summer, or more. I play Jimmy Buffett music and serve Lemonade and my husband makes his fajitas and baby back ribs. (Better than Chilis! I tell you that!)



Well, back to packing the boat for our trip to go to the lake. With the yard looking this pretty, id almost rather stay home this Memorial Weekend! Have a good one y'all!http://www.worldmarket.com/lev/4/productId/7200/mybuyscid/4440904878/index.pro

BTW, I love this one too. With my husband being a FLYBOY, and my love of art, and all things vintage, I need this one too! By Mr. White.

I just love art. And the message is awesome too!

Holland is Almost One now!

Today I got to take Hollands 11 month old portraits! I cant believe she is almost one year old now! This precious baby has come in every month for portraits and Ive gotten to watch her grow up. Its been so much fun, and shes really a fun baby! She amazed us all by taking off and crawling up the stairs in our studio! She had never done that before her mom said! I got a couple of snap shots of it!
Shes got a really cute little personality but you can tell shes her own person. I just think shes adorable. Heres a few of the shots we got, isnt she a booger?!

April Showers bring May Flowers.

What could be more perfect place for a family portrait, than in the Wildflowers? I had a great time with Belinda and Dustin! Thanks guys! Belinda is one of our employees and is one of the sweet voices you hear when you call our studio. Shes also one of our talented graphic artists too. Tell her hello next time you call!

Memorial Weekend

Just wanted to tell you all to have a safe Memorial day weekend. If you re traveling or if you are going to be out on the lake! Please be careful! We are looking forward to a weekend Camping out at Possum Kingdom lake! Were taking the boat out there and pitching our tent. The weather has been so beautiful! Taking the kids and looking forward to it.

My friends tease me because I"ACTUALLY LIKE" to camp! My dad taught me the thrill of camping. We would really rough it and so to me camping now, doesn't feel like roughing it. We have a nice big tent and air mattresses. My dad would take us camping with no tent, and the only luxury we had was a Coleman stove.

We gathered our own firewood and many times we saw or killed rattlesnakes near our camp. Also there were NO TREES where we would go.We'd sleep under the stars or in the car. (Try sleeping in the trunk of your car with a bad sunburn! AUGH!

We'd go deep into the mountains on some land a friend of his owned. Then in the afternoon, we'd drive to Balmorhea and swim in the Gi-normous swimming pool(I think its the largest in the WORLD! SPRING FED THAT IS.)

http://www.desertusa.com/mag05/sep/dive.html
So have a great weekend everyone!

Quote O' the Day.

"Hard work spotlights the character of people: some turn up their sleeves, some turn up their noses, and some don't turn up at all." -David EdmonsonSO TRUE!

Tommy Boy

Today I got the chance to finally photograph Tommy. We've had to move his appointment many times this year due to conflicts and things arising. But he was really patient about it and never got annoyed about it.

He's a great kid. He reminds me a lot of my son, and they are friends. He's the type of young man that is always happy and upbeat. He enjoys playing football, powerlifting and golfing. Whats really great is that he loves the Lord so much too. He plans to attend college in Oklahoma this fall. Thanks Tommy for a great day. It was so much fun!





"

Thank you Austin!

Here I am with just a few of the many members of the Austin Professional Photographers Guild. They are so much fun and made me laugh so much my Abs are sore today!!! Thats me in the middle back row. The amazing Kaela Domenico took this shot, as she was showing us how to Pose a family grouping. Her program was really good.

What a great trip it was.
I have never worked harder this Spring and missed a trip to Florida, Missed a trip to visit my best friends baby shower for her grandson, and haven't seen my folks since October of last year.



It was the first time I was out of town since January. It was a great trip, although I got caught in a terrible traffic jam in Dallas for 2 hours. Most of the time we were only going 5 miles an hour, or totally stopped on I-35. I'm so glad I had filled up with gas in Waco, or else I would of ran out of gas!

They have some very talented photographers in that area and everyone was so friendly and warm towards me and the other judges. It was great to see one of my mentors Jim Binegar from San Antonio! He gave me my first blue ribbon back 14 years ago! We had a great time. I love my photographer friends, they always are so kind and I love chatting with them. Thanks Austin for having me! It was memorable and fun! The photo below is me with the other esteemed Judges, Master PhotographerJim Binegar of San Antonio, myself and Ross Benton.

I FELT LIKE PAULA ABDUL sitting there with Simon and Randy! LOL! And Ross was definetly SIMON!)

The quality of photography was very very good. I was so honored to give my Judges choice ribbon to Carrell Grigsby for her image of several dolphins swimming in the Carribean! http://www.carrellgrigsby.com/

Also we judges choose a newcomer, for our Best of Show trophy. I'll post her image and blog more about her soon! And thanks to Puryear Photography for hosting the event at thier lovely home studio. It was the most peaceful and lovely studio Ive seen in a long time. What a treat for them to get to live and work in such a beautiful location! http://www.jackpuryear.com/homepage/directions.html

Down on our friends Farm with the Squadron!

On our way to Austin, this morning, we went to my husbands annual work Mandatory Saturday picnic. This is where a lot of the squadron guys and gals get together at one of the guys Ranch out near Bowie for a Pig Roast! (and to give out Medals and Awards too.) It was a great time to see everyone with their children and the wives and husbands.

Bruce has been flying with these guys for 14 years and its so nice to see them. Being a military wife is a great thing. We understand each other. We have lived all over the world and we know what having to be strong is. We know that friends are precious jewels and we rely on each other for support. We would never hurt each other. We value each others friendship like sisters.



What a fun time. Some rain sprinkles didn't spoil our fun! Isnt this little girl precious! I lvoe her galoshes!




POGO STICKS AND PUPPY DOGS! I asked her how old she is now. She showed me with her fingers. Her mom was a well known news anchor woman here a few years ago and now is devoted to her beautiful family.





Yes that is a real baby goat the little girl is holding and Yes that is a Real pig below!

We first met this couple almost 18 years ago while living in Japan. We had lots of fun times together! Its so great that he is at Sheppard AFB now! Its a small world! Ellie and I have been through a lot together! Kids, baby showers. shopping in Japan, burying our friends husbands(SADLY ) wives coffees, traveling, picnics, parties, Christmases, Summer Vacations, Bingo parties, Bunco parties, etc.etc, etc. GOOD TIMES!Now its off to Austin Texas where Im judging a Annual Print Competition. I hear there are two more judges and Im so honored to be chosen amongst them to give out the awards and trophies this year!

AUSTIN Texas Bound!

Just wanted to say that Im really honored and excited to be presiding as a Judge at the Austin Photographers Guild this weekend. My bags are packed and the Hotel is reserved and were ready to hit the road.

Ive been glued to work since early March and finally able to take a road trip. If you need anything just call and leave a voice mail or you can always email me at PDixie@sw.rr.com

Our staff of Sonja, Belinda and Lauren are here to help you! Senior pics are still arriving daily, many have been Federal Expressed straight to your homes, If you have any concerns or questions email will be the best way this weekend to get me! Im taking my Brand New Lap top and will check my mail periodically. (Still havent gotten that iPhone I asked for for my birthday this past March) so I have to use my husbands Instinct or the lap top.

Anyway I hope you have a good weekend everyone, and I hope its filled with lots of sunshine and beautiful weather! See ya Monday!

Wow, What a day!

Yea! Im so happy for my best Friend Francie. Her son and daughter in law gave her her first grandbaby today! And on the SAME DAY AS MY GRANDSONS BIRTHDAY!Its truly a special special time! Congrats Francie, Tom, Tucker and Nealey! I cant wait to see pictures! I know that Francie is on cloud nine right now. Im so happy for all of you!Happy Birthday to my precious grandson Aaron too, Ill be seeing you soon!

Before I was a mom

So many of my friends now are becoming GRANDMAS for the first time, Me, Ive been one for 10 years! But I think its so great. My best friends sons wife is in labor with their first child tonight. I have another friend who they just had a baby. I have a cousin, who just had her first Grandbaby. In this scary time in our nation with war and the economy, its great to see that people are going ahead with their plans and having a family regardless.
I think that's great! I have heard in Germany so few people are having children because they are fearful about the future that their government is actually paying people to have children!

I wake up each morning and drag out of bed and wake our son up. His dad travels a lot so its me and him a lot of the time, and I love waking him up in the morning.
Even though he is 16 and his feet hang off the bed hes so tall, when hes sleeping, hes just my baby.
I love that my voice and face are the first things he sees in the morning as I gently wake him.

I didn't blog about anything about Mothers Day. Because I was too busy ENJOYING MOTHERS DAY. but I wanted to blog this now. I got it from my a friend a few years ago, and misplaced it. But I found it today!

I wanted to share it with you all. I just thank God that he blessed me with two wonderful children, a daughter and a son, and 2 grandbabies. Tristan is 10 and Aaron will be 2 tomorrow! I cant beleive its been 2 years since he was born. I was there and he came by C-section. He was 9 lbs. 3 ozs and I loved him instantly!!!

They call me "Grammy" and its so great being a Grandma. (Or Glam-ma as I call it!)

Ive got gifts for Aarons birthday and he looks so much like my son. Tristan is an angel too. So smart and thoughtful and his eyes just dance when he smiles at me.
Even my mother says they are both the "sweetest boys."

So when I read this, I can also add the word "GRANDMA" to it. For my "mom" friends out there, you have no idea what real love is till you have a "Grand Child." if Id known they were this great, I would of had them first!



Before I was a Mom I never tripped over toys or forgot words to a lullaby. I didn't worry whether or not my plants were poisonous. I never thought about immunizations.

Before I was a Mom - I had never been puked on. Pooped on. Chewed on. Peed on. I had complete control of my mind and my thoughts. I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom I never held down a screaming child so doctors could do tests. Or give shots. I never looked into teary eyes and cried. I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin. I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep.


Before I was a Mom I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't want to put them down. I never felt my heart break into a million pieces when I couldn't stop the hurt. I never knew that something so small could affect my life so much. I never knew that I could love someone so much. I never knew I would love being a Mom.

Before I was a Mom - I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside my body. I didn't know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby. I didn't know that bond between a mother and her child. I didn't know that something so small could make me feel so important and happy.

Before I was a Mom - I had never gotten up in the middle of the night every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay. I had never known the warmth, the joy, the love, the heartache, the wonderment or the satisfaction of being a Mom. I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much, before I was a Mom.

Its Crazy Busy here!

Whats going on here. Wow, things are really still hopping here, I hope this is the last week that things are so busy with Seniors. We've almost gotten all the orders to everyone.
Here is a list of the ones we are still waiting to ship from the lab.

Tolliver
Schenk
Krebs
Adams
Brumley
Dalke
Beach twins
Hohfeld
Elkins
Anderson
Shipman
and Hirschi

One of my Quotes.

"There are no shortcuts. To try and take a short cut is to SHORT CHANGE yourself. " -Dixie Dobbins

Mitchell

"Doing whats right isnt the problem, the problem is KNOWING what is Right."

Senior 2009 Slideshow

Heres our new Slideshow, there is an annoying yellow bar of text across the bottom which wont be there as of Monday May 11th. Hope you enjoy watching it! Be sure and click on the little button that says HQ that stands for HIGH QUALITY. The show will look better if you do that first. ENJOY!

Senior Pics

WE LOVE SENIORS HERE!

A very kind letter!

Dixie
thank you for the pictures you took of our daughter Amanda for her senior year. Amanda had asked around at Rider and looked at many different photographers before she picked you to take hers. She wanted to make sure she got something different and unique and she definetly got that with you. You made our little girl happy and she has already passed out most of her billfolds at school. I need to order more for her invitations, can i get 75 more of the pose of her with her dog in the Tulips? about how long will that take to get them? Thanks again Dixie and Breanna for your gracious service!!! We had a good time with the refreshments and pictures, just sorry we took so much of your time up that night. We will definetly be back with her brother Huck this summer.
Thanks again,
Amanda, Barbara and John W.

Beautiful Brittany!

I was so excited to hear Brittany got a basketball scholarship to Cameron! Way to go girl! I am so proud of you!

Mothers Day!

What cha gonna get your mom for Moms Day this year? How about the Gift of a Portrait?

Ask anyone who has lost their home to a Tornado, or a FLOOD, or a HURRICANE and ask them what they miss most from their home? What possession? And they will tell you "THEIR PICTURES!"

We often forget how important pictures are to us until we loose them.

That's why it makes a great gift to get your Mom a Gift Certificate from Photography by Dixie. Then she can take her time, set up an appointment and get a family portrait, or just a portrait of her kiddos. Or anything she likes! Also, we offer DOUBLE THE MONEY on our G.C.s

So If you buy her a $25.00 one, you actually get a $50.00 one! Spend $50. and you'll get a $100.00 G.C.!

So what cha waiting for! Pick up the phone, give us a call and get your MOMMIE DEAREST a Gift Certificate so she can get more pictures. Just what every mama wants!

Quote on Cruelty

In order to get power, and then retain it, it is necessary for evil to LOVE POWER. But the love of power is Never connected with GOODNESS, but instead with qualities such as Pride, Cunning and CRUELTY."
- Leo Nikolaevich Tolstoy

Another one bites the dust!

Well I did it. I KILLED ANOTHER MONITOR. Dead. Gone. KA-PUT! I just seem to WEAR those SUCKERS OUT! I cant tell you how many have bitten the dust since we opened our studio 14 years ago. I work them to death. They die a slow painful death with me....

So I went out today and got a new 24 inch Widescreeen LCD monitor.

I love doing Lightroom and Photoshop on this big sucker! Its amazingly clear, its got 1920 x 1200 rez! Its beautiful! This just might make me a better photographer!

"Anyone who has never made a mistake, has never tried anything new."
-Albert Einstein

We can almost see the light at the end of the Tunnell

WOW, Im just loving this nice cloudy weather. Its a nice break from the Hot summer we are going to have soon!
I just wanted you guys to know we are working hard here at the studio for you!
I was going to take a Trip To Atlanta this weekend with my husband but with the studio hopping the way it is right now, Were staying home and going to be doing Saturday deliveries and working Monday too!

Thanks for giving us a banner 2nd Quarter of the year! We appreciate all of you!

(Its amazing, when I have a good STAFF, things go along so smoothly and we stay busy. and vice versa)

We know what its like when your Babies graduate high school and go on, because we've been there ourselves. Thanks gang, and if you cant get through on the phone feel free to send us an email! PDixie@sw.rr.com I couldn't ask for a better staff and they are all putting in the extra hours to make sure everyone is taken care of!
Have a good week!
Dixie and Company!

This is us Right now!

Its Crunch Time here!

Every year at this time it is very very busy. Its right before graduation and people are wanting to get all their photos for their high school seniors.
Ive had to turn away several photo shoots because my cut off date was the end of April, but then I went ahead and extended it to the first week of May.

I have a LOT OF ORDERS at still the lab right now.
I mean a lot!
and we are waiting for them to arrive.
I am receiving over 20-25 emails a day of people inquiring about their photos!
Please guys, as soon as they arrive you will be the first to be called!

Also we had a problem! A lot of orders that were to be "DROP SHIPPED" to our clients were not shipped due to a Credit Card expiration issue at the lab!
These orders are now going to be shipped to me and I will have to have you pick them up at the studio. Sorry for the confusion on that, it surprised me as well!

Please please bare with us. Our staff of two is doing all they can to handle the phones and make certain everyone is taken care of. I'm hoping by Friday or Tuesday at the latest everyone will be taken care of!
Thanks again for your patience guys! Feel free to email me at PDixie@sw.rr.com if you cant get through on the phone lines! (940)761-5111
For the class of 2010, I hope more people will be photographed during the summer months so this wont happen. I may have to change the cut off dates to the end of February in order to gurantee delivery by April! (orders usually do take 4-6 weeks!) Its listed on all our pricing information.

The Disease is Spreading.

Guys, have you noticed what is happening lately? You go to the grocery store and tempers are short. People are on edge.
You drive down the highway and people are cutting people off and giving the finger when you don't hit the gas the second the light turns green!
I hear mothers talking harshly to their kids at the elementary school.
Couples are bickering at the movie theatre behind you the entrie movie long! Dont dare "shush" them or God knows what they will do. Everywhere people are on edge.
Businesses that Ive done business with for years, the Dog Groomers, my nail tech, etc are all sort of "SHORT" and edgy.
Its in the air guys. . The economy is starting to affect us. Its permeating our little towns and stores.
Its in our homes now, Its in our schools. Guys, if anything, we need to band together. We need to remember that times like this is when we show the people we care about that we do in fact Care about them. We NEED EACH OTHER.

Yes we have a war that is still going on, Our military is suffering from Post Traumatic Syndrome. Were fearful of the flu thats on the news 24/7. Were stressed. Were overtaxed. Were worried!

Ive always been proud to live in the South because we are kind and friendly to each other. Whats happening guys? Dont let this disease get a hold of you.
This disease is spreading faster than Swine Flu. The Disease of Harshness. The Disease of Anger. The Disease of Impatience.

Guys making someones day is so easy. Pay for that person behind you at Starbucks Latte.
Let someone pull out of a parking lot into traffic in front of you. Nod and Smile when you see someone on the street. Offer to open a door for someone. This is what this world, country, town needs. Lets choose to make someones day, instead of pushing someone over the edge.
"Be kinder than necessary, because everyone is fighting some sort of battle." Maybe someone will do that for you on a day when you need it the most! :-)

Century 21 Realtors

Im late blogging this, so I thought Id get it up tonight!

I really enjoy photographing professionals. I think it is so important to have a good Head shot for your business cards, newspaper publications and billboards. My friend Katie from Century 21 called us recently to set up several of the Realtors sessions there. They are all personable friendly and so much fun to photograph. I have to admit that I just love Mrs. Phillips. She is quite a character. She exudes charm and personality and she has the sweetest smile and giggle. And when she told me her age I did not believe her, she seems way younger than what she told me. She worked for WFHS for many years! She has a billboard on hwy 287 and I-44 that I created a few years ago.

Thank you guys for entrusting me to your oh so important new Business portraits! We offer a special price for business portraits if you bring at least 5 people at the same time. It is over 50% off for a group rate! Give us a call for more info. 761-5111.

If you are looking for a Realtor, Give them a call at 940-696-5561 or go to their site at

http://www.goldcoat.org/ouragents.html

Quote O' the day!

"Today was good. Today was fun. Tomorrow is another one." -Dr. Seuss

Baby Hollands Easter Portraits

I just cant believe how fast baby Holland is growing! Shes crawling and getting more and more social and laughed and gigled so much! Shes just a little doll baby! Just look at that face!

Amber Waves of Grain

Ive always loved a beautiful wheat field. Maybe growing up in Plainview Texas, where lots of crops are grown. Just had to snap this. It took my breath away as the breeze blew it around. I always notice the simple things that others dont notice. (or find boring.) Beauty is all around us!

Adorable Ashley