Christine Guest Photography

ARRGH...Happy Valentine's Day!!

Happy Valentine's Day Mates!

Super Bowl XLV - Here we go STEELERS Here we go!!

Bags are packed and just getting ready to catch a flight to the Super Bowl baby!!  

Excited is a total understatement.  Making a dream come true for my husband is beyond cool!

I became a Steelers fan by marriage.  I promised to love, cherish, go to Yankee Stadium before they tore it down and go to a Steelers Super Bowl.

Terrible towels are ready to wave.... 

Here we go Steelers, here we go!  Here we go Steelers, here we go!

I will proudly be wearing my Jack Lambert jersey.  So sophisticated.  ;)  

Hey baby...whatever it takes.  LET'S GO STEELERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  

FIRETRUCK!

Just a quick sneak peak from a recent family session at a FIREHOUSE!!

HONK!  HONK!

Totally cool it was.

But the best part was that I knew "Firefighter Joe" way back when he wanted to grow up and be a firefighter.  "Grow Up" as in let's-stop-hanging-out-at-the-bars-and-flinging-drinks-I-should-probably-get-a-real-job-growing-up.  :)  I watched his worry and hope in some crazy lottery system, the agony of almost missing the birth of his daughter while in the academy, missing my wedding because he was low man on the totem pole ladder to finally...seeing him through the eyes of his children...

As a real.  live.  fireman.  

ok.ok. I know that fireFIGHTER is politically correct but fireman just sounded better.  Bear with me. 

With enough rank that we could just get the ole' firetruck out and let his kids relish in the fact that their dad has just about the coolest job EVER!

Although I must admit I kinda miss him slingin drinks at cool places.  :)

Love this next one.  Little Miss is sweet as can be lovin her brother and little bro is trying to squeeze the beejeezus out of his big sister.

I like to think that I am hilarious.  Truth be told...Little Miss is an aspiring actress.  ;)

 

So while the session was more for the kids...

For me...it was more about this:

Fireman.  Paramedic.  Proud Papa.  Coffee Connoisseur.  

My friend Joe.

I've loved watching you grow up.  You've done it so well.  

In Memory of LDW 10.20.09

I usually don't write too much personal stuff.  Sometimes I would love to.  I think that I'd be pretty good at it.  But I find that my time is too precious lately and I make a conscious choice to BE in the moment.

To hug little bodies.  To feel the way the wet grass feels beneath my cheek as I tickle tackle my kids outside.  To kiss away tears.  I mean REALLY kiss them away.  Taste the salt.  And the snot.  :)  And know that through it all...my kids are going to know that I love them.  REALLY love them.  

That I put the work away.  That I don't twitter because as cool as I might think I am or as important as what I had for breakfast just might be...it's just NOT.

MY KIDS ARE MORE.  

That facebook to me is a way to find out how my old friends are doing and who died.  But if you have my phone number, use it.  Because I want to hear your voice the old fashioned way.  I want to hear you and just know that something is wrong...not broadcasted out to 437 so called friends who we both know wouldn't hold your hair when you were throwing up.  Wouldn't watch your 3 snot nosed brats kids while your mom is in the hospital.  Wouldn't help you move in St. Louis in the middle of July.

Because real friends are hard to come by.  And real friends take the time to listen. And hold you. And laugh with you.  And laugh at you, because c'mon...ya gotta give them some fun!  And pray for you.  And would walk a country mile to hold your hand just because you were sad.

1 year ago I was in Mexico celebrating my 5 year wedding anniversary to my ridiculously awesome groom.  We had only been there for 1 day.  And for anyone with two small kiddos...perhaps your day 1 of vacation is something like this:  

Did I leave out short sleeved and short pajamas AND long sleeved and pant pajamas (because October in St. Louis could be 100 degrees or could be 30 degrees...perhaps even in the same day)?  Did I email Aunt Cindy the itinerary so she can go and rescue Grandma at such-and-such time?  Can Grandpa hook the car seats in properly or is he just going to let them stand on the front seat like he used to let me do?  Perhaps I should have left the date and time for the Children's Hospital Car Seat Safety Check to make sure.  Did I write down that Tristan will freak if she happens to cut his waffle in half?  He wants to eat it like a big boy!  the list goes on...  

yeah.  That's me relaxing on day 1.  But day 2...whoa baby!

So on day two of my vacation...10.20.09...I was sitting at breakfast.  On the beach.  Drinking a mimosa.  The questions and concerns of leaving my children were going out with the tide.  ahhhh.

Just then my phone rang.  And as anyone who has two small kids at home...you answer it.  No matter what.

And then I heard it.  

I heard it in her breath.  

I heard it in the pause.  

I heard it on a cell phone with thousands of miles separating us, in a different country, with the ocean crashing in the background.

I heard my sister breathe...and I knew something was wrong.

"Dawn died"

period.

My brow furrows.  My chin quivers.  My throat gets a lump the size of Montana. Tears form somewhere in between.  

What?!

She cries.  I cry.  Our dear friend is gone and there is no explanation that can ever fill the unending question of why.

Dawn Walters.  So many things to so many people.  

I've known Dawn my whole life.  Literally.  She got a speeding ticket in my mom's car when I was like 4.  She caught the bouquet at my sister's wedding in 1980.  She was first a family friend, then a college soccer coach, then a mom to my niece's friend and lastly a friend to me.  How can one little woman have fulfilled so many roles?

Dawn was a friend.  Dawn was a mom.  A mom who laid in the grass with her kids.  A mom who kissed away tears and had FUN with her her kids.  A woman who fell head over heels for a guy and never looked back.  She was a giddy school girl in love with her hubby until the day that she died.  Dawn was a grump until she had her morning coffee but pure sunshine thereafter.  

And Dawn could get people to do things.  She just could.  She got me to manage Men's and Women's College Soccer teams.  She got me to take Stats.  She got me to buy Quark Express (I'm dating myself aren't I) to DESIGN an entire Media Guide, sell ads, and print a College Game Day Book.  I designed that bad boy in Quark!  With no experience?!  I might as well have designed a space station.  She got me to gallop across a college soccer game in a Zebra costume.

Oh wait.  Maybe I did that on my own...

She got her kids to give her backrubs all the freakin time?!  I think she paid them....but notheless.  Her kids gave her backrubs ALL THE TIME.  Hell, I think I even gave her one.  She could just get people to do things.

She got perfectly rebel-rousing-catholics and anything-but-Baps to GO to Mo Bap.

You know who you are.

Point taken.

She was amazing in every way I could list.  

But the things that stand out most to me are these:

She was an amazing friend.

Nothing was more important to her than her kids.  She continued to grow and flourish and take time for herself (luxurious backrubs HA!) but devoted and invested her time in her kids.  They were the reason she lived.  They were the reason she felt alive.  

And she was an amazing wife.  I hope that 20 years from now I look at my husband with the same sparkle she did when her husband would kick the ball around with the college kids and show 'em how it's done.  She was smitten with him.  Hands down, lay me down, succumb to the love cuz-it-ain't-a-leavin kind of love.  The kind of love that makes you hurt way down deep it's THAT good. 

So one year ago today I hung up the phone and I buried my head in my husband.  And I cried a big-fat-ugly-cry.  The kind of cry that made me embarrassed to stay at my fancy-schmancy table so I walked off and started running.  Running with tears and a big ole lump in my throat.

And for those of you that know me...I don't run.  

Well maybe from the car in a rain storm but that's the only good reason I can think of.

I ran the beach.  I ran and I cried and I ran and I cried and I ran.

And about 1/8 of a mile in I had to stop to rest.  

So I sat and cried some more.

Because that's what people did when they found out Dawn died.  That's what you do when a friend like that dies.  We cry.  People stand in a line hours long to pay their respects.  High School kids put up styrofoam cups in fences at Lafayette to remember her.

But then I wiped away my tears and got up.  Brushed the sand off and got my wits about me.  The sun was still rising and it reminded me that it was dawn.  The dawn of a day.  The dawn was breaking...but life still goes on.  It's a new day.

So I grabbed a stick and I wrote.  

iwroteandiwroteandiwrote.  Do you have any idea how hard it is to write something pretty long in the sand and get the water coming up to it without going over it and washing it away?!

Good lord.  My ass was in more pictures...and NOT in a very flattering way.  My rock star husband stood on that beach while I crazily wrote in the sand and tried to take these pictures when the light was *just so*.  Because I wanted to remember that day.  The day that Dawn died.  Not for me, but for the mom, husband and 4 freakin awesome kiddos that she left behind.  Because they were what was important to her.  And that's why they are important to me and the hundreds of other people that have continued to love this family and want to scoop them up and hug em and love em and tell em that Dawn is remembered.  Because she is...by so many.

Her faith.  Her friendship.  Her love lives on.  She is walking with angels.  Walking with the big guy upstairs.

Dawn was ready to go to heaven.  The rest of us still have some work to do.  ;) 

Rest in peace Dawn Walters.  My love and heart goes out to her family.  T, T, C, N & Z.  We love you guys.  

And we miss her too.

salute to the best....

I wanted to take a minute to tip my hat.

Express my heart.

Tell these women that they are the best teachers ever.

Ever!

We love Kirkwood Children's House.

It's a small private Montessori school in Kirkwood.  And these teachers want our children to grow up to be the best little people they can be.  They want them to be kind.  Respectful.  Independent.  Have a thirst for knowledge and the tools necessary to problem solve themselves.

These women are a blessing to my children's lives.  They touch lives in immeasurable ways and I just wanted to say thank you.  

THANK YOU KCH TEACHERS!  You rock.  Seriously.

SUMMERTIME-SUMMERTIME-SUM-SUM-SUMMERTIME

Are ya hot?

Me too.  

Yesterday the heat index in St. Louis hit 110 degrees.

So in the spirit of summertime and wishing that I could feel inspired by all this heat...

Close your eyes and picture yourself in Zihuatanejo, Mexico.  

110 degrees never felt so good...

 

 

 

 Now THAT'S an infinity pool...

Even my morning cup of tea was pretty!

This was our secluded little table for dinner each night.  Compliments of Pablo, our favorite bartender!

This sweet guy strolled the beach every night and serenaded us with "Besame Mucho".  Such a sweet guy. 

PABLO!  The best bartender ever.  He works at The Tides in Zihuatanejo.  Pay him a visit if you are ever there.  He's worked there forever.

 

"I got my toes in the water, feet in the sand.  Not a worry in the world, a cold beer in my hand.

Life is good today.  Life is good today."  

HAVE A *super* VALENTINE'S DAY!

 

   

HAPPY HOLIDAYS, MERRY CHRISTMAS AND ALL THAT JAZZ!

Happy Holidays!  

Wishing each of you a joyful and memorable holiday with your loved ones.  

 

 

See ya in 2010!

 
 
 

M.I.A

All right.  All right.  I'm BACK!  :)

I've been MIA.  Can't say that I'm that surprised.  What I am surprised about is that I have people calling me & emailing me asking me to blog!  And others giving me trouble for NOT updating.  

I had no idea that I had people who cared!

It's quite touching.

But SUCH pressure.

Here's an update:

I'VE BEEN BUSY!  :)  HA!

As some of you may or may not know, photography is not my livelihood, just my love.  My husband and I own and operate a corporation in the steel rule die industry.  That's my full time "real" job.  Along with having 2 small kiddos.  And then photography.  Which is why I am selective about my clients and only book a certain number of weddings and sessions.

Blogging happens when I have time.  I figure my clients would rather have their images when promised rather than having me blah-blah-blogging about them.  So I've saved the blah's and put the blog on the backburner for a while.  So sorry if you've missed me!

So I will blog when I have time...

Thanks for the love!    

SEASIDE

Have you ever heard of Watercolor, Florida?!  Or Seaside, Florida?  OMG.  They are AH-MAZING.  They are right next to each other...almost one in the same, just outside Destin.  They are the epitome of perfect little seaside towns.  Quaint.  Pleasant.  And just about the best family vacation spot ever.  

  

Beautiful beach houses painted in perfect shades of pastel water colors.  

Everyone rides the old fashioned bikes with the big fun basket on the front.  Entire families bike to the pool, bike to the beach, bike to the ice cream shack.  Everyone is smiling and waving and saying hello as they bike by.    

The local Repertory Theatre has story telling every day at 4 pm in the town square.  They do a weekly play in a outdoor amphitheater.  All free of charge.

Grab your flashlights and go "crabbing" on the beach at night.

Watercolor has 4 pools within their community.  Kayaking, canoeing, fishing, beach, pools, biking, shopping and the most beautiful beach with the softest sand.  Gosh.  I was amazed that I had never heard of this place before.  But I can tell you right now that we are already planning our new "annual" beach trip back.  And I am so NOT one to get in a comfort zone and keep going to the same ole' place.  I think that's BORING.  So I must say that I am making a very big EXCEPTION and cannot wait to go back.

I must admit that having a 3 year old and 1 year old

at the beach

with my expensive cameras

and sand

and saltwater

was NOT a good idea.

Trying to be the mom, get my kids to smile, make sure they didn't get washed away by the ocean, make sure they didn't eat the sand, trying to get the right lighting, adjusting my settings and then EVERY time we put my 1 year old down she screamed BLOODY murder...just didn't work.

So my pics are what they are.  Sandy, salty and chock full of love.  

Little Miss' first glance of the ocean.

So EXCITING!!

 

Wait for me!

I love that you can see the dirt underneath my son's fingernails.  

So boy.  So him.

Grandma and Grandpa came with us too.  This is Grandma and Grandpa taking my 2 kids on a walk.

3 generations of beach hats.  That we REALLY wore.  

I love shadow and silhouette pics.  Probably because they tell the story without being right in your face.  I love pictures that seem more like a thoughtful memory than an actual moment.  We don't actually see ourselves playing or walking on the beach.  But we all see our shadows.  Shadows truly tell the story as it was.  Through the eyes of the beholder...

 

This is my son and me.  I was careful to only get the left side of my body because my right side shadow was all lumpy from the diaper bag and camera bag over my shoulder.

This was my last few moments at the beach.  As I saw it.  My two awesome guys and a beautiful beach.

Doesn't get much better than that...