Fa La La.....

I LOVE the Christmas season!!!!  So what is it that I love about it:
1.  Christ our Savior was born
2.  Love the giving spirit everyone has
3.  Love the family time and making traditions together
4. LOVE LOVE LOVE the Christmas music
5. LOVE LOVE LOVE decorating my home
6. Love everything the season is about

One thing that I find as I get older is that each year I decide to cut down on my decorating.  I think I will always do a tree and fireplace mantle(as long as I have a fireplace) but the banister is something I can see me not doing as I get older (many more years to come of course)!

My tradition is to alway decorate the weekend of Thanksgiving.  We get all the kids together and go as a family to cut down a real tree and I love it!!!  What is your tradition for Christmas?

Blessed Little One

I have been such a slacker, really over a month since I posted to my blog!  So much has been going on, if you are a frequent visitor to my blog I apologize.  I do keep up my facebook photography page daily so you'd think I would have a problem with my blog. 

Anyways, my third and youngest grandson, Bryson, was baptized!  I still can't believe I have three grandchildren and as I sat and took it all in I couldn't help but remember my son, Jeremy when he was that little.  Life truly does come full circle and enjoy everyday that you can before it passes you by.

My son has come such a long way on his journey and I am so very proud of him, he is a great father and I know that God has some great plans for him.



The Thompson Clan from left: Harold & Pat (Jeremy's grandparents) Tiffany, Jeremy & Bryson, Jill & Tony (Jeremy's dad) and of course Aidan, big brother to Bryson!




The Gronley Clan
From left: Margo(Jeremy's grandma, my mommy) Me, Tiffany, Bryson, Jeremy and Melanie and Megan (Jeremy's step-sisters) Missing from photo: my wonderful husband Mike, he had to work :(



Jeremy & Tiffany, proud parents!

A Reflection of Achievement

Don't you just love when you capture that moment in a photo session when you say "stunning"!  Well, I did just that when I was photographing Jake, a senior from Armada.  I had the pleasure of using their property in Armada consisting of beautiful trees in full color, old wagon wheels, burning bushes and a coblestone bridge with water and all!  I couldn't have hand selected a better background for this session.

This is my absolute favorite!

Senior Session in Armada

I love doing senior sessions with all the upcoming graduates!  This week I have two senior sessions and one wedding.  Armada is one of those towns that has the amazing large colorful trees in the Fall.  Cody's jacket with the orange coloring for Armada just went so well with the leaves.  This is one of my fav's from my session.

Sweet little ones

Ever since this whole Pinterest thing I've been wanting to create this photo with a baby.  Well, I am the proud grandmother of three little boys now.  So when Bryson arrived I knew this was one photo I was going to capture.  Unfortunately, he was not to cooperative so it's not exactly the look I was going for, but it works.

1 Samual 1:27

Girl's Weekend

Well, it's been a few weeks since I've posted, but I'm getting back in the game peeps.  I just returned from a wonderful girls weekend with my mom and Aunt.  Now when I say my Aunt, she is actually three years younger than me and we are more like sisters, she is my mom's baby sister.  How cool is that?  Anyways, my Aunt lives in Virginia and since we don't get to see each other ofter we wanted to start an annual girls weekend so this year was our first year.  So the three of us decided to take a long weekend to Gatlinburg, TN.  Now, my aunt also has a love for photography so we decided to make it a little photo trip as well so you know what that meant.  Smokey Mountains and Cades Cove here we come!!!

We had soooooo much fun and laughed so hard, it was a great family bonding weekend for us girls.  I can't wait for next year's getaway, possibly a trip to Virginia.

Here are a few pics of the mountains, our one and only bear we got to see (which was unusual for me) and the three of us.  Great times!!

Out with the old; in with the new

Well, it is official, our company has been sold :(  I have worked for DuPont for 22yrs; plus three years as a contractor with them and have been very blessed to have an outstanding career as a DuPont employee.  I remember starting there as a clerk typing shipping papers.  I had the desire, motivation and goals to aspire to something more; and boy did I!  Here is a highlight of my career accomplishments:

• Inventory Control Clerk
• Customer Service Representative
• QA Supervisor
• Customer Service Manager
• Warehouse Manager/Group Leader
• DPS Expert/Lead
• Lean Six Sigma Black Belt
• Learning & Development Consultant

During these 22yrs I was also blessed to work for a company that paid 100% of my college degree.  It is with that opportunity that I was able to attain my Bachelor Degree in Human Resource Management.  I've been fortunate to develop many skills focusing on Supply Chain, Lean Six Sigma, etc.  So this is a situation that I'm not sure how to feel.  I don't have hard feelings, the bottom line is it's all about making money.  I'm glad to be able to have DuPont on my resume and I will continue to support them and recommend them to others.  I have always been a very optimistic person, truly believing that when one door closes another one opens.  Change is necessary to grow.  I think it is the unknowns on my retirement plans where I'm uneasy.  Like, will I have full medical when I retire?  Will the new company still participate in 401K? Will they match and how much?  I look forward to working with the new company, learning more about them and developing more relationships.  Bottom line, I still want to contribute, grow, learn and be a Leader no matter what I do.

My husband and I both work for the same company so we are blessed to have a dual income, but at the same time it is very unsettling not knowing what the future holds at this time.  So I guess we will have to wait and see, pray, and continue to have faith that all things will work out.  It is at times like these that I refer back to my favorite scripture verse to help see me through:

Prov 3:5-6 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and in all they ways acknowledge Him and He will direct they paths."  I truly do believe that!!


Thank you DuPont for a great career!  Thank you to all my fellow employees for your ongoing support, the relationships I've built over the years and for being such a great network of friends!

More to come.....

So, how is your attitude?

I love reading self-help and inspirational books, I'm not much of a fiction kind of girl.  I'm always looking for ways to invest in myself and hopefully continue to improve as a mom, wife, leader, photographer, friend and so on.  My absolute favorite author is John C. Maxwell, guaranteed everytime I pick up one of his books I am never disappointed.  He is a Christian and a great teacher on Leadership.  Recently I stumbled upon his blog www.johnmaxwellonleadership.com and am again intrigued by his wisdom.

One of my favorite quotes from him is, "People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care."  Attitude is so important in our personal lives and professional lives and it can either make or break us, I truly do believe that.  We can only change ourselves and we wake up every morning and it is our choice to choose our attitude.  So, what is your attitude today?

Take a minute and visit John Maxwell's blog or even better pick up one of his books and start getting inspired!

Wedding Bliss

Yesterday I had the wonderful opportunity to capture the love story of Dawn and Lee.  They couldn't have picked a better location than Belle Maer Marina and the bride couldn't be more beautiful!  There are just so many great photos, but I must say this is my favorite fun shot of the day!

God is Good!

An update on my grandbaby, Bryson.  The doctors were able to take out the ventilator and so far Bryson is breathing good.  He is still on oxygen and a feeding tube, but progressing well for a premie.  Yesterday when I visited my little guy I noticed that some of the swelling has also come down.  God is continuing to watch over His little one and I am so thankful for that.

Mommy and Daddy are doing good.  Mommy has a six week recovery ahead of her with no driving and lifting more than the baby weighs so that's going to be a little tough, but they will be fine.  That is what family is all about, supporting each other.  I am so proud of my son and the man he has become over this last year.  He has really been a good dad, can you tell by his beaming smile with Bryson!