Memorial Day

To all of you who serve, have served, or plan to serve, thank you. This Memorial Day is very important to me as Stoney and I prepare for his deployment to Afghanistan in the coming days. Please pray for us, Stoney's safety, and the safety of all of those who are fighting for us and our country.

Also, our good friend James O'Brien posted a blog about Memorial Day and talked a little bit about Stoney and me. Please check out James' blog: http://www.spiritualhorseman.com/2009/05/truth/. He has a true gift when it comes to words and identifying those small details that highlight the greatness of our Lord. Additionally, it seems that Tonni has an equally passionate gift for sharing the Truth. Her blog is located at http://real-life-with-multiple-sclerosis.blogspot.com/. James and Tonni remind Stoney and me of St. Francis of Assisi when he said, "Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary use words.” These are two special people that don't have to say a thing and you know they are living out God's gospel. Thank you James and Tonni.



Thank you Stoney for everything you do. I love you.

Under the weather

So, most of this week I've spent in bed sleeping. I never imagined I could sleep so much and eat so little. On Monday morning we decided to go to an urgent care facility because not only was my stomach doing flips, but I also was running a temp. I absolutely hate being sick! The doctor there was great. He hooked me up with a shot for nausea (a shot that hurt more than any shot I've ever gotten) that, I think, at first caused more nausea than I had to start with, as well as an antibiotic. He said he wasn't sure if it was a viral or bacterial problem so he treated me as well as he could for both. My appetite is (somewhat) back...but I still feel week from those few days I spent in bed with a fever. Yuck...I'm just ready to have my own kitchen to cook in so I know where the food is coming from and how it's cooked.
On the bright side, the bed here at the La Quinta is SO comfortable.
AND,
We signed on a house! Yay! I will post some pics soon. It's in a great Colorado Springs neighborhood and our back yard backs up right into Bear Creek Park. We are very excited and anxious to move in...the movers will be delivering our household goods on wednesday. Stoney and I are so thankful that everything has fallen into place as it has. What a blessing.

To Texas and Beyond...

So we have finally made it to our new home in Colorado. Well, almost.
We have made it to Colorado Springs, but our current "home" is at the La Quinta Inn. We have spent the past few days getting a feel for the area, seeing different neighborhoods, and looking for houses. We have seen a ton, liked a few, and really liked a couple. We will be looking more tomorrow and will hopefully have found a house and signed a contract by the middle of the week. We're ready to have a home again, but I'm not complaining. It's great having a nice place to stay (Daisy included) with fresh, clean towels when we need them AND a continental breakfast. So far we LOVE Colorado and we are very excited to be here. Stoney and I feel like we're still on vacation. It is just so beautiful... I'm really looking forward to re-establishing Alison Portis Photography here ASAP. There are tons of great photo locations! My mind is filling up with some exciting new ideas!

Here are some pictures of our trip to Texas and some while at home. I have SO many posts to catch up on, so stay tuned!


These pics...Daisy sleeping in the car, the St. Louis Gateway Arch, Stoney and I in Boody (hah!...we thought it was funny), and my great friends Kate, Karissa, and (the cutest of all of us) Caitlyn.


We stopped at the Oklahoma City National Memorial and it just so happened to be the anniversary of the bombings. I have always wanted to see the Survivor Tree...The memorial was breathtaking and the tree was more beautiful than I could have imagined.


These are our nieces, Emory, Trinity, and Micah. I'm pretty sure we've got the cutest nieces in the world...if only I had a picture of Selah, the montage would be complete.

What's going on...

So, this week Stoney graduated from the Captain's Career Course at Fort Knox, Kentucky. CONGRATULATIONS BABE!!!
I would have a picture of graduation to post, BUT...I forgot my camera. My friend Amanda took quite a few pictures, so I'll try to get some from her to post in the near future.
We are beginning to wrap everything up here and are preparing for our move to Colorado Springs. Next week begins our "re-organization week." It's a pretty big deal. Most of you who know both Stoney and I, know that we aren't always the most organized people. Well, that's all changing! We have already started planning like crazy both in our personal life and with Alison Portis Photography. I am excited about what this move will mean to my business. The opportunities are endless! I've been brainstorming and have come up with some exciting new ideas...I'll keep you posted.

I have also had some nice down time this past week, SO, I have been channeling my inner William Wegman. Here are a couple fun pictures of Daisy. I'm not going to say who dressed her up, but it wasn't me. And, last time I checked, Daisy didn't have opposable thumbs. ;)

Alison Portis Photography featured on Collages.net!!!

So I'm going to brag a little...This week my work is being featured on Collages.net Website of the Week! http://www.collages.net/site/Community/WebsiteoftheWeek/tabid/69/Default.aspx
Just a couple posts down I mentioned that this would be coming up. I am very excited that the great people at Collages enjoyed my work so much that they are featuring it!

In a few weeks we will be moving from Fort Knox, KY. We have loved living here (even if it was only for seven months); it has been a great break. I am however very excited to re-establish my business in our soon-to-be new home of Colorado Springs, Colorado. Being able to have more than seven months to set up my business will be very nice. We will be moving in mid April and from here we will be going up to Illinois for Casey and Rebakah's wedding (they are the couple who's session Collages.net featured), and then down to Texas to visit with friends and family for a couple of weeks. After that, we're headed up to Colorado Springs, CO to find a house and unpack (one of my least favorite things to do). Stoney and I love the mountains, Colorado, and being outside. We are so excited about this move!

I hope all of you get a chance to check out the link above.
Have a happy Monday!

The Lake

A couple days ago Stoney, Daisy and I went to the lake for a date (and to scout out some new places for a couples photo session I did yesterday). We always love going to the lake here at Fort Knox. I guess not many people know about it because we rarely see anyone. It's always nice to go out there and just get away from it all. Here are a few quick shots of Daisy and Stoney. Daisy loves to play with her bird retrieving dummy.
I will be posting the session I did yesterday at the lake very soon.

Rebekah and Casey

Several weekends ago I took our dear friends Casey and Rebekah's engagement photos. They are getting married mid-April in Indiana. I did this session in a great new location we recently found on base here at Fort Knox, KY. It turns out that the weather here is very similar to Texas weather in that it's always going from one extreme to another. The day we did the session the weather was gorgeous; however, just a week before there was a terrible ice storm (see pictures below). The day was perfect, my couple was perfect, and I think the photos turned out pretty great too!

Oh, and by the way, Collages.net will be featuring my photos of Casey and Rebekah's engagement session on the week of March 30th as their portrait site of the week! I'm super excited and I will be sure to post a link when it's up!

Happy Valentine's Day!

So, I truly believe that Valentine's Day is a conspiracy; a way for the restaurant and retail world to make money. However, I really like it. It's always fun to put on your fancy clothes (and by "fancy" I mean not jeans and a t-shirt :) and go out for a nice meal with your sweetheart. This evening Stoney and I went to a great restaurant in Louisville called L and N Wine Bar and Bistro. It had a great French Bistro atmosphere and we had an amazing four course meal paired with a great bottle of wine.

We have recently discovered a whole new side to Louisville...the local side. Since we are here for only another month or two before we move to Fort Carson, Colorado, we are trying to go to as many "unique to Louisville" places as possible. Last weekend we went out with some friends, Amanda and Joe, and Karissa and John to another "unique to Louisville" restaurant called Mojito Tapas. It was fabulous! AND, Karissa just happened to go into labor the next day and baby Caitlin was born the following day! Was it the tapas? We will never know!

I hope that all of you go explore and support your local restaurants, businesses, and neighborhoods. I believe that every city/suburb/podunk town has it's special places...you just have to open your eyes.

If you are from the Louisville area or plan to visit, check out this website. It has a great list of Louisville local restaurants.

Happy day!

Karissa's countdown

Here are just a couple pics I took a while back of my good friend Karissa. Her due date is today; however, baby Caitlin isn't here yet! Karissa is always beautiful and her baby bump makes her especially radiant. Stay tuned...maybe I'll be able to post some baby pictures of Caitlin soon. :)

and the answer is...

The snow and ice are melting now, but we hear that there's another storm coming in tonight. It shouldn't be bad though; just a dusting.
The tracks that I asked about below are squirrel tracks. Hah...you all were way off. It was a hard one though, I'll give you that. Thank you all for participating...I guess no one is getting a really big hug from me. :)