Chief Master Sergeant

Chief Ingram, my adorable father, said his final goodbyes to the 910th Maintenance Group at the Youngstown Air Reserve Station in Vienna, Ohio on Friday, September 19th.

A month prior, Scott and I joined him at the tail end of a golf outing honoring my father and 3 other men. His formal ceremony, held on August 2nd at the Air Force base, left me in tears almost the entire time.

As my father's total military career spanned almost 31 years, and culminated in a private ceremony honoring him as chief, I could not have been more proud of my father's accomplishment. The ceremony was very formal, complete with flag presentations, speeches, and award presentations to both my father and mother. Chief Ingram gave his own speech; eloquent, recounting memories, blending a bit of humor and emotion.

I am so thrilled for my father. I thank God that He has seen him through his career, and is now blessing him with time for whatever his heart desires. For now, it is time spent with my mother, his best friend Joe, golf, house renovations, and much more. I look forward to seeing my father in Columbiana for a lunch date now and then too.

Happy Retirement Chief!

Bridget & Ron

One of my favorite girlfriends, Bridget, is now Mrs. Bridget Harker as of June 14th, 2008. I had the pleasure, on my twins birthday no less, to celebrate with my dear friend as she married a man that she is head over heels in love with.

Her lovely ceremony and reception were held at Mastropietro Winery in Berlin Center, Ohio. It was a beautiful setting for their simple but tasteful wedding.

Bridget and I met at Renees French Bakery in Canfield. She was the head pastry chef at that time, and I learned quite a bit about baking, cooking, and life through her. It was no surprise, then, that she dazzled her friends and family with her culinary skills at her own wedding.

Cheers to the new Mrs. Harker!

Abandoned Spaces & Seniors

Senior portraits have become my recent speciality; comes with the territory of teaching high school aged students. I know this is not a niche for every teacher, but I LOVE high school. Just so glad I'm not actually one of the students this time around.

Wrapping up some shoots for a few young ladies...Chelsea, Meaghan & Arielle. Just gorgeous! Loving the abandoned drive in theater outside of Columbiana as one of our locations.

Sensational Seniors

I'm throwing this out there as a teaser for a special young lady....Erin Stewart. I know I'm chronologically breaking my posts, of which I am behind anyway. Erin is a SWEETHEART and I cannot wait to have her for two classes this year, photo and interactive media. We are going to have a blast!

Thank you for the opportunity to hang out with you and shoot some fabulous images.

Celebrating 9 Years

Annie officially turned nine on June 4th...very quietly. Earlier that day, I left work early to pick Grant up at the fairgrounds. Buses pulled in with loads of 5th graders who had left for Camp Fitch just a couple of days earlier.

In the midst of tryouts for travel soccer, Annie also had a full day. We managed a recipe from our Sweet Serendipity cookbook; pink ice. What a great way to unwind from a busy day.

Later in the month, Annie celebrated with a Hawaiian themed birthday party. We had a full house of girls; a nice mix of long time friends, baseball buddies and classmates from school. Even though Annie has a bit of sass, she was grateful that mom gave her a special evening with friends.