There really are no words to explain the love I have for these babies, well and the parents too!  Tara and I have been best friends since the beginning of time aka Kindergarten. Back in the days of wearing Rainbow Bright and sporting spandex pants….wait those are called leggings now.

These two are monoamniotic twins (meaning IDENTICAL in EVERY way!) so right from the start they have been pretty darn special. We had to mark diapers so that we didn’t mix them up and although I thought I would have a hard time remembering which twin was which, surprisingly I didn’t.

I’m so proud of Tara and Rob for doing a phenomenal job through out the crazy pregnancy! You did such a wonderful job bringing these two peanuts into the world at such an early time (32 weeks). I’m so proud of you and I can’t wait to watch these two grow into crazy toddlers, sassy teens, and beautiful confident women. They are so lucky to have parents like you!

Love you all and hope you enjoy you sneak peek!

xoxo Melinda Ann

Was the subject line an eye catcher??!?!
This giveaway is not coming from me but my uber talented sister Jenni of TinkerDot Designs

Good thing she is my sister or else what I’m about to do would be super illegal… here is what she is giving away….

An 11×14 “Mothers & Daughters” canvas!!!!

Isn’t it seriously adorable?  If it were up to me, I would own EVERY ONE of her canvases! She is so talented it is amazing!  She will call me at a random moment and just spit out these beautiful sayings and talk about what she pictures with the saying….it’s amazing and awe-inspiring!

I don’t really have a favorite because I truly do love them all, but one that hit home for our family this year was “LOVE OF A CHILD” I remember the day she called and told me about this original piece. I was trying my best to climb out of my car at 7 months pregnant and I started to cry. It’s so beautiful and I was so happy to be blessed enough to understand such a beautiful saying….

‘It’s hard to explain. this love for a child.
It’s like if I stare too long my heart might just burst.
I can’t believe you are part of me. This tiny miracle.
I want to show you the world, but I’m scared.
I want you to do it all, feel it all, love it all.
I want to keep you in a bubble.
Your tiny little feet, your angel eyes, your innocence.
I can’t wait to watch you grow.
No. No. I want to hold you like this forever.
Butterly kisses and bear hugs.
I love you too much.
It’s hard to explain. this love for a child.’

~J. Beamer

Now wipe away those tears and head on over to Tinkerdot designs and post your comment to win an amazing piece of art! : GOOD LUCK!

xoxo Melinda Ann

OHHHHHHHHH I LOVE receiving mail!!! Who doesn’t though, right?

I have been checking my Etsy account for days just waiting for the status of this order to say “SHIPPED”. I finally stopped checking because I started to believe the saying “patience pays off”! Well I’m living proof that IT DOES!!! Because I seriously stopped checking just 3 days ago and BAM!!!
“YOU’VE GOT MAIL!!”

OH LA LA HUH? ;-D

I purchased myself a little Christmas Present. I’ve had this store on my Etsy favorites for a long time but I have been a bit busy with Leighton then photography that I never just stopped to order anything. Story of a mom’s life huh? We’re always last on our list…. *sigh*

The store name is ADORABLE - her sons names are Tucker and Cooper
The jewelry is AMAZING - all items are handmade! which makes your item even more unique!

The copper cuff that i purchased was actually featured in US Weekly Magazine. Pretty awesome huh?

Well enough talking from me…. check out her store yourself sTuck in the Coop . She has SO many items and I’m purchasing a “shabby Chic Necklace” next!

Hope you enjoy!

xoxo Melinda ann

2009 was a GREAT year for for me! I am SO thankful for everything that i have! Health, love, family, and a home!  But 2010 has me making resolutions, which I don’t normally do.  but I was recently on a photog friends blog and she had a post about how she really doesn’t blog about her personal life much and when she does post they are usually pretty simple, mainly because she doesn’t think she has anything exciting to write about. I was shaking my head in agreement as i read every word. I rarely write about….well… me & my life. So one of my new year resolutions is to blog more…from my heart.

I wasn’t really sure where to start with this, so I went with a “10 things you may not know about me” theme. I feel as though some family and friends are going to end up commenting about some of these and my only comment back is…..keep it clean and keep it classy! haha

So here it goes….

1) I am OBSESSED with fabric!!! I have stayed away from Jo’Ann’s and all of the online fabric stores I used to frequent because as you can see from these pictures….I need to use some of my fabric before i spend one more dime on more. This basket (which I might add is a sweet find at a local antique shop & I spray painted it white!) holds only half of my fabric and there is A LOT in here.

2) But the good news is that I DO know how to sew! I’m not as good as my mom but another New Year Resolution is to SEW MORE now that I have a baby to sew for! Whoa…nice rhyme.

3) My husband and I have been married for 4 1/2 years, together for 10 (this January) and we were for sure the couple that no one thought would stay together…..polar opposites.

4) We have a daughter…. Leighton Elyce Smith, she will be 8 months old on the 27th. We’re bananas for her!
Just plugging the hat - Nuxie Made - she is PHENOMENAL! I have used her hats for 4 years now and they still look amazing!

5) We have two labradors! One yellow (ace bodacious  - Boadie for short) and one black (Boone Cobber  - Cobber) although they are normally called by their “short” names we also refer to them as:
Boadie - Bubba, Buster Brown, lil boy (please say in a high pitched voice), and white lightening!!!
Cobber - Cob, sweet boy (please also say in high pitched voice) and black thunda!!!
At 6 months old, we sent Boadie to Daren at Far Point Retrievers for field training for 6 weeks. The highlight of his day is when you get a bumper out.  Cobber on the other hand, was your typical “we aren’t ready for kids yet but boadie needs a pal” dog. he is a lover, snuggler, and GREAT guard dog.

6)  I have a “picture wall” that has been finished for weeks now, with no pictures. empty picture frames are a common thing in my house…. odd i know.

7) I’m married to a man that i don’t see from September till December.

I LOVE soap! LOVE LOVE LOVE soap! I tend to buy soap that is a bit expensive, however I do let people use them. I like to share my soap!

9) I’m OBSESSED with movies! love them! I wouldn’t survive without netflix. Okay I would survive but let me be dramatic about this to get my point across. thank you

10) I have a slight organization problem. I’m way better about it now though, after finding out we were expecting I made myself realize it was okay to not be organized and clean all the time. On that note….  my cupboards are always organized and so is my fridge …if something is out of place I just move it back. I had to do a full picture of our snack shelf because this is the fullest it has ever been! My babysitter/neighbor erin is probably shaking her head yes right now. if we want snacks we make them… let me rephrase that….my husband makes them. haha cookies, pies, etc etc

Well there were ten things, but I thought I would throw some love to my wonderful iphone and macbook….. oh and mt. dew too.

I hope this was enjoyable for everyone, and by everyone, I mean the people that read my posts but never comment…..hmm…. delurkers! I missed delurker day but here is the stamp for fun…

ENJOY!!!
xoxo Melinda Ann

then you probably haven’t been able to see these sweet photos.

Just thought I would share!

xoxo Melinda Ann

The future Mr and Mrs Knoodle are going to last through anything since they lasted through this shoot. haha It was as cold as ice and our hands turned to claws in less than 15 minutes. BRRRRRR!!!! Even though the weather turned their ears and noses red, it actually helped me during this e-shoot…. they were so cold that they didn’t want to do anything besides hold each other close and that is exactly what couples should be doing!

We had a great time with you Jessica and Jared! Don and I had a lot of fun kicking your butt’s in Wii MarioKart (yeah right haha)

We wish you two all the best in the world and if you took anything away from us as a married couple of 4 1/2 years, I hope it is that the husband should bake yummy things for his wife. CHEERS!

xoxo Melinda Ann

A beautiful, healthy, and happy baby is the best christmas present ever!

His daddy hasn’t gotten to meet him yet because he is serving our country overseas. So we made sure to take a photo or two to honor his Marine father who is beyond excited to meet little Ashton in a few months.

I hope you enjoy your sneak peek!!

xoxo Melinda

The 2nd photo, in the blanket, was an in between shot but look how happy he is to be wrapped in that snuggly soft blankie.