bullet style blog because, yes, THAT many things happened:

thursday--

• almost to lubbock when dane calls to tell me my car is broken. he is now left the ENTIRE weekend without transportation. sorry babe!
• stop on the outskirts of lubbock because, well, i'm pregnant and i HAD to use the restroom. walked out of the store and saw my great friends Jerry and Amy!
• called millions of friends (yes, i have that many friends) and NO ONE answered or called me back (ok, i guess not).
• waited around for several hours and chatted with my friend kelsey for a bit until ginny arrived at the airport.
• headed over to lauren's where we immediately headed out to mcdonald's for a midnight snack.  
• talked and laughed until about 3 in the morning

friday--

• breakfast at sugar brown's with memoree. 
• then two hours later, we had lunch at double dave's. lauren z and brittany were added to the mix and it was awesome. 
• i parted with my friends for the evening and headed to brownfield to watch my little bro at his baseball game.
• stayed the night with dad and austin

saturday--

• slept in late and headed back to lubbock after lunch
• stopped by lauren's to get those photos i posted! she decided to dye her hair for vegas! (oh, and it looked AWESOME, but this was seriously the ONLY time i took photos the entire weekend of just my friends. i know, i'm lame).
• talked about wedding schedule with ginny and then set out to get ready.
• at about 4:00, i started noticing some swelling in my ankles and calves. ginny laughed (as any friend would) and then proceeded to massage them.
• left for wedding at 5:00 and did not return until about 1:00 am.
• soooooo tired. and still very swollen.

sunday--

• up early and said goodbye to my photographer friends and headed over to mindy's to get ready for my baby shower!
• baby shower was a success and i really enjoyed seeing everyone who was able to come. my friends are so creative (oh wait! i have some of those pictures, too...lemme go get them and put them here as well!)
• was getting ready to load up all my presents and start heading back to arlington but i, once again, noticed my feet were pretty swollen.
• i put up my feet for about an hour and it didn't seem to help so i ended up staying one more night in lubbock.

monday--

• arrived home!!!!!!!!!!!!
• i was so excited to see dane and my kitty. 
• decided that was the LAST trip to lubbock by myself for a LONG time!

this little man had me running around ALL over! after the session, my legs and feet were completely swollen and i was exhausted. i definitely underestimated the toll that pregnancy takes on women.

but, i really enjoyed the exercise and the conversation with rohan. he has such a great imagination!

and i got some AMAZING sleep that night!

this is our cat, cleopatra. she hasn't made an appearance yet on this blog.

in the last 5 years or so, she has gone from being an indoor/outdoor pet to just primarily indoor. but, she really enjoys exploring outside (like most pets...and people). this desire has increased tremendously since moving into the trailer. she sits at the door, scratches the screen, and YELLS at us in the evenings to let her out.

so saturday, the sun finally came out and we decided to let her roam around for awhile. i told her she could only go outside if she would pose for me.

i tried to get her to look at me, but she prefers the more natural look. 

most of my baby sessions take place indoors which causes for a little bit different processing (for me anyways) after the session.

so, i am going to do the best i can in explaining my process for these photos.

1. one MAJOR difference between baby shoots and other sessions is that they are shot in RAW. 100%. the reason? i like to make minor changes to exposure, contrast, and saturation in Adobe Camera Raw. since i have made changes to these things in camera when shooting in JPEG, i find they are a little harsh for baby skin. but, it's all in your preference.

2. so, once i upload all of my photos, i take a look at them in Bridge and weed out all of the closed eyes and drooling photos BEFORE i even start editing/proofing. 

3. then i pick my favorites and take a step further than just basic proof editing in ACR and open up in photoshop. (adjust exposure and contrast if needed)

4. then i do this: (but only with the help of the Totally Rad Action sets)

a. run yin/yang (from set #1) and lighten/darken where needed @20%

b. then i use the clone stamp @15% to get rid of any flaky skin or baby blemishes

c.. run boutwell magic glasses (from set #1) @60%

d. run oh snap! (from set #1) @40%

e. save

wow. when i put it in a list like that, it makes it sound like such a short process! haha.

like i said, this is the process for baby photos. i really like for my baby skins to be softer and not as contrasty (is that a word?) as, say, an engagement session with more vibrant colors.

if you have more questions about my post processing, i would LOVE to skype with you in one of my Share Shops where i go into detail EACH step and walk you through how to use photoshop tools. (check out my website and click 'workshops' for more details...or just email me!)

happy weekend everyone!

first of all, THANK YOU all so much for taking the time to come to my blog.

i would love to do more contests for all of my faithful readers! i so appreciate you.

here's what i did: 

1. i went to random.org

2. entered in the numbers 1-17 (that's how many people commented)

3. #1 was assigned to the first commenter (by date) with #17 being the last commenter.

4. and then hit 'generate'

this is what it gave me!

so, congratulations crystal! email me: info@sharihensonphoto.com with your address and i will send you your gift card! 

thanks again everyone for playing!

i cannot even describe how much i enjoyed this session.

haden, just like at his newborn session, was the perfect model. everywhere i propped him, layed him, set him, was OK by him. he is not quite 3 months old and i was surprised to see how strong he was! 

also, he talked to me quite a bit and i caught some of his expressions that are some of my most favorite images to date! what a cutie!

(read previous post for blog contest details. win $50!!!)

how about $50?!

i thought about picking a store like target, anthropologie, or urban outfitters (which are all MY favorite stores) but then i realized some of you may not be close to any of those places.

so, i have decided to just go with a $50 Visa Card which you can spend ANYWHERE! need groceries? a new pair of shoes? splurge on dinner? then ENTER to win!

here's how:

1. 'follow' my blog. you can either add me to your google reader account (my favorite!) or click on the orange icon to the right of the blog (rss feed logo).

2. once you do that, LEAVE a comment (on this post) saying that you did. i will not count anything through facebook or twitter. it has to be on this post!

3. if you already follow me, thanks! all you have to do is leave a comment and you are entered to win!

since moving from lubbock to ft worth, i have been working hard to build a new client base. i am so thankful for all of my followers! 

i totally stole this idea from this girl whom i follow because she is awesome!

(contest will end sunday, february 21st)

no, really. i thought the world was ending.

(editor's note: this is extremely long and is more of a personal journal for me to look back and remember this story...and hopefully laugh)

on thursday, february 11th, the skies brought down over 9 inches of snow. it literally snowed ALL day. i think the weatherman said it snowed for 18 hours straight. 

this is probably what caused the transformer to blow in our trailer park. our electricity went out while dane and i were eating dinner and watching the new Office episode. dane was running a fever and had a cold, but went out to see what happened and although our electricity came back on immediately, he informed me later that half of the rv park had none.

i, being the dedicated housewife i am, slept in suuuuper late that morning. so, i stayed up late that evening watching tv and reading. our cable went out at 9:30 and i thought, "great, this is going to be a long night." i prayed over our electricity since we only use space heaters to heat us during the night.

i crawled into bed around midnight and fell asleep. at 2am, i woke in a groggy state and thought i saw sparks coming from the space heater on my nightstand. i knew something wasn't right because the odor emitting from the machine was making me sick. after unplugging our only heater for the night (remember, it snowed and was freezing that night), i sighed and thought, "i knew this would be a long night". 

i could not seem to fall back asleep again so i read for awhile and probably dozed off about an hour later around 3.

it happened at 4 am. to conserve heat, we close the little door to our bedroom (with just a crack for cleo to come in a bother us) at night. so i could not see anything when i awoke from the piercing noise coming from the living area. i shook dane awake and he immediately jumped out of bed once the noise registered as an emergency. 

as the buzzing increased in volume, all i could think of was that a flying object was headed straight for our trailer and would crash into us at any moment. (i know, ridiculous, but it was 4 in the morning and i was going on about 2 hours of sleep).

but when dane opened the door smoke immediately filled our bedroom and i knew our living room was on fire. i turned around quickly to grab my phone as i thought we would be calling 911 in the next few minutes. when i turned back around to head towards the door, dane had disappeared. all i could see of him was his socks. my eyes grew wide in fear and i reminded myself NOT to breathe in smoke. but, in the panicked state i was in, i did. 

in the four steps it takes to get from our bed to the door, my lungs had completely filled with smoke. dane was encouraging me to get out immediately, but when we opened the door, we were quickly reminded of the 9 inches of snow that lay undisturbed on the ground. without shoes nearby, we knew we were stuck in the trailer.

as we gasped for air, i turned to inspect the trailer. there was no fire, just smoke. dane was inspecting the microwave where the vents were still spewing smoke. i could barely make out cleo quietly sitting on the couch as if to say, 'what have you humans done now?'. i called for her to come to the door to breathe in new air. she, of course, came at her own pace and when she felt like she was ready. 

sometime in those 2-3 minutes of confusion, the microwave died and the noise subsided. my eyes were burning as i watched dane's expression go from confusion to understanding to anger.

somehow during the power outage mess in the night, there was too much current flowing to the transformer in our microwave (which doesn't even heat anything up, by the way. and has, on occasion, turned on by itself) which was causing so much smoke. that's the short version. dane can definitely tell you the long/real version.

for the next hour, we sat wrapped in blankets on the floor in the way of our front door as we tried to clear the smoke out of the trailer. i was feeling fatigued as the adrenaline wore off. i glanced over at my husband who held our stubborn cat and felt apologetic as i knew he was still sick. i knew then i would do whatever i could to convince him to stay home that day.

we called our friends, chris and vivian, who opened up their door, shower, couch, washer/dryer, and fridge to us. that day, we let our camper air out the nauseating burned plastic smell (nothing had made me that sick since eating during morning sickness).

looking back, the story is not really that traumatic. i realize now there was no fire, the world was not ending, and we are fine. but, to us, it was the scariest thing we had been through together. and i am so glad that we all came out of this experience safe and without a scratch.

i wish i had photos. but, again, it was early in the morning and i surprised myself when i remembered to brush my hair and teeth before we left. so, i am posting a photo of dane and me from valentine's day last year. it is one of my favorites because i just remember the great day we had. and i wished this year's valentine's day was just as great. but no matter what kind of day we are having, i am so thankful that he chooses to share it with me.

last saturday i attended a friend's baby shower. she is due just one day after me, but i have a feeling that baby remi will be here before caleb!

anyway, my very talented sister was one of the hostesses and i LOVED all the decor! especially the cake. i don't know the vendor in Eastland, TX, but they did a great job and it was fabulous!

lydia already has a little boy who is 3 (and she has already given me all of his old clothes!) so she was really excited to see all the pink when she opened her gifts. 

"you gonna take my pitcher?"

she gave me 10 minutes. max. 

but during those 10 minutes she aged in front of my eyes (and camera).

no running. no crying. no hiding her face. no whining about the swing. or the cold.

we laughed. we smiled. we talked.

and before i even had time to think of how much i am going to miss my niece as a baby, she darted off and said, "c'mon sharwee, let's go swing!"

and off she went.

but not before i was able to capture some BEAUTIFUL expressions. these are by far my most favorite portraits of her. can't wait to get into a house so i can get some prints!

thought i would try out this new topic for the blog...

things i have been obsessed with this past month.

1. the kindle for iPhone app - i tried Stanza for awhile, but I love the kindle app because it is linked with your amazon profile so you can just order books from your phone (making it the same as the kindle). as much as i LOVE the feeling of holding, smelling, and reading a great book, i also really enjoy ALWAYS having a great read wherever i go. waiting time? fuhget about it! 

2. bedhead superstar shampoo/conditioner - as most of you know, i am now in my third trimester of pregnancy. which is also notorious for being the time you 'lose your hair'. in most cases, it just thins out until after the baby. so, i have been experimenting with different treatments and i just really like this combination. it's supposed to add volume...and it smells really great!

3. coca cola zero - yes, it has caffeine! it also has aspertame which i am super scared of (did you know it was denied by the FDA 31 times before it was approved?). but, i only drink it in moderation. i know people have their own drink of choice...dr pepper, coke, diet coke...and this one is mine! dane even loves it!

4. cityview church in fort worth - our new church home! we have been spending extra time outside of services hanging out with people and attending classes to learn more about the church. we are so happy we found a new church in just a month! it is part of the Acts 29 network (which is connected to our old church, Redeemer, in Lubbock). go here if you wanna check it out for yourself.

5. LOST!!! - ok, this one just started out of boredom. after reading my post about becoming debt free, it's no surprise to find that we are doing whatever we can to save money in all areas of our life. so we decided to beg, steal, and borrow all previous seasons of Lost to entertain ourselves. at first, we wanted to get caught up before the new season started this last tuesday, but then we wouldn't have anything to do the rest of the week. haha! we have just started season 3 and it's getting so good!!

6. ROSS - ok, lemme just say that i have ALWAYS loved Ross. but lemme tell you why i have been so OBSESSED with it this past month. MATERNITY CLOTHES SUCK!! ok, not all of them. but, i have had the hardest time finding cute, inexpensive, fittable (word?) maternity clothes. yes, i do own preggo jeans that are really comfortable, but it cost me twice as much as my normal jeans! anyway, Ross has a teeny tiny section of maternity clothes and now i can buy them without feeling guilty and they are super cute!

7. Amy's Black Bean Vegetable Soup - although i don't write about it much, i am still a vegan...about 80% of the time. even when eating out, i still try to make healthier choices with the least amount of milk, cheese, eggs, etc. anyway, i have tried several different kinds of Amy's soups and this one is my fave. i feel it needs a bit of salt (and i do not add salt to ANYTHING) and some crackers, but it's very filling and very healthy.

8. the dave ramsey show - no surprise there. dane listens most days while he is out and about at work while i just download the podcast and listen the next day. i feel i have a legitimate question, but i'm too scared to call in for fear that he will yell at me. he can be mean sometimes!

9. zillow.com - this is one of my most favorite tools if you are in the process of buying a house. all you do is put in an address and it gives you a satellite view of the home and how much the asking price is. it shows you where there are houses for sale in a certain neighborhood. hopefully, we won't be using it that much anymore since the bank accepted our offer on a house a few days ago!! now we just have to get all that paperwork out of the way.

if you made it this far, then you must have been really bored. 

:)

this little boy is cameron. he gave me the most perfect session for a 3 month old. he did not even whimper until after my last frame. i can only hope my baby boy is half as content as cameron was...and half as cute!

nicole, thank you for letting me photograph and spend time with your family. i hope our paths cross again soon!

ok, so it's not at all finished, but i have been having the BEST time designing it!

even though it's been 18 months since our wedding, i really enjoy looking back at all of our wonderful wedding photos (thanks to brittany strebeck and casey lampert).

since it is FREEZING outside today, i thought i would give a little TLC to our unfinished wedding album and try to knock out a few more layouts. i don't really have an end in mind...i'm just going to keep adding spreads until there are no more photos! haha.

here are just a few of my favorite spreads.

so, on my 101 in 1001 list, #19 and #20 had to do with debt.

in the past few months, dane and i have felt pretty convicted about the debt we owe and finding a way to pay it off as soon as possible. so, of course, we turned to dave ramsey. when we first married, we actually took a financial 'class' and felt pretty secure in our budget and we were overall 'doing well'. we were making payments, but nothing significant. and we would always choose something else we wanted and just send in a minimum payment. we got nowhere...fast.

lemme tell you about dane's credit card. (note: i am not telling this story to make fun of dane's habits or to make him feel any less of a person. i would never do that. we all have our own ways of spending and there is no way i would be the first to throw a stone. we payed off my credit card in april of 2009 so this is the most relevant credit story i have. i am sharing this so as maybe to be some help to someone else out there dealing with the same thing.)

like most of us, dane signed up for a credit card to build credit. it was supposed to be used just for gas/necessary things and then to be paid off immediately. dane did well compared to the rest of american teens as far as spending habits go. 

but if you know dane, you know he LOVES to eat out. and so that's what he did...with the help of his credit card. when we got married, he had a little over $2000 on his credit card. 80% of it was FOOD! he made no big purchases other than a couple hundred for books for school. we made a commitment in august of 2008 to not use our credit cards for ANYTHING (i had about $600 on mine as well).

we thought it wouldn't take long to get rid of that debt since we lived pretty frugally and were making payments diligently.

and here we are now. as of january 2010, the balance on dane's credit card was a little over $1000. how have we not paid this off in 18 months? and how do we still owe more than half the balance when we haven't used it at all? needless to say, it was embarrassing to think about $2000 not being 'that much debt' and we still had not paid it off. how was i ever going to tackle school loans? 

well, after a little kick in the rear from dave ramsey and his book, Total Money Makeover, we are now paying off debt in full force. 

after paying off some hospital debt for bebe earlier this week, this morning i finally clicked 'submit' to the LAST PAYMENT EVER to dane's credit card! the hensons are credit card debt free! all we have left is our school loans (and possibly a mortgage sometime this year).

i cannot explain the transformation we have been through. once we moved to arlington, the rv  park was supposed to be temporary. now, we are thinking of staying here for as long as it takes to pay off debt with all of our savings. although our needs haven't changed, the way we think about our needs has. now, we find ourselves saying, "live like no one else, so you can LIVE like no one else". cheesy, i know, but it gets us through those 'american way' cravings like big tvs, new cars, and a fully functioning house. once we decided to start 'snowballing' debt, it was something we couldn't stop talking and thinking about. if you look hard enough, the money IS there. and that's my only advice in all of this. FIND THE MONEY! and when you find it, do not hesitate to send it ALL in at one time. just pray over it and then click 'submit' and let it go. you ARE making the right decision. and if you are scared to let it go because you 'need' other things, then you need to let that go, too and let God take care of it.

(end note: it is extremely difficult to get out of debt unless BOTH parties in your marriage are on board. not impossible, but difficult. that is why i am so extremely thankful for dane taking the lead in all of this. and besides that, it's just plain fun! we are, once again, taking on debt TOGETHER. his desire to take care of his family is something i have come to appreciate at a whole new level.)

the end.

with over 30% of the total votes, #3 is the winner.

natalie and corby's wedding was my only one for 2009 and it was a blast and so pretty.

i will get your canvas ordered today and have it shipped to your house!

2nd place - #5

3rd place - #12

thank you everyone for playing!

here we go.

the best of my 2009 sessions (well, my faves anyway!)

vote for your favorite and the winner will receive a FREE 11x14 CANVAS!

contest will end monday at 7pm CST.

happy voting!

so, this blog makes it really hard to post captions "under" each photo, so i'm just going to list the activities all in one section and you can make up the captions as you look.

1. arrive in oregon thursday night. mom lisa, auntie sarah, janie, and ken pick me up in portland and we head to salem.

2. arrive at sarah and ken's apartment where i hide in the closet.

3. sarah and nicole finally show up. SURPRISE!!!

4. talk endlessly into the night about marriage (you know, since sarah and i are experts now! haha)

5. 7:30 wake up knock from sarah at the hotel so that nicole can get an emergency root canal (i know! yikes!)

6. 3 hours and a starbucks smoothie later, we greet nicole out in the lobby.

7. off to walmart to fill her prescriptions (i mean, she JUST had a root canal!)

8. taco bell

9. shower and dress and wait for ken to get off work. we had a few hours so decided to use the window light for some self portraits.

10. uncle kent's 55th birthday celebration friday night at a fabulous pizza place in portland. loved seeing all of the rest of the fam!

11. katey rides back to salem with us and spends the night!!!

12. 8:00 am wake up knock by sarah. shower, dress, make up. off to the place for nicole's bridal tsunami!

13. prep, prep, prep. dance and sing a bit.

14. bridal tsunami. nicole got to see some old friends and got some fab gifts!

15. back to the hotel (just the girls). reminisce aobut when we first met, how far we have come in our relationships with each other and our significant others, and how excited we are about where we are going.

16. sunday morning wake up knock by sarah. off to church for 10 minutes to meet mom lisa so she can take me to the airport. 

17. nine hours later and i am greeting cleo and dane back at the trailer.

whew. 

i knew it would be crazy. but i decided to go JUST IN CASE i cannot make it to the wedding in march (which happens to fall on my 36th week of pregnancy). you have read before that sarah, nicole, and i are really close friends. other than nicole's short stay in oregon, we have never really lived anywhere close to each other. and for the past 1.5 years, we have all lived in three different states, three different time zones. but even still, we have remained close. the hard part is that i don't know if we will ever live near each other. 

but thanks to the internet and cell phones, we can remain connected. 

(more photos are going on facebook)

i just got back from a whirlwind weekend trip to oregon late last night.

here is just one photo that kicked off the festivities. nicole, dane's sister, was the guest of honor at a bridal shower on saturday (the reason for my travels) but had no idea that i would be attending.

this is the 'surprise' moment! i was hiding in the closet and i decided to snap a shot of her expression...because she ALWAYS has the best ones.

this was shot at ISO 3200 1/100 at f/1.8. super grainy and not as sharp as i would have liked, but it's still the best photo of the entire weekend.

more to come later...

we are loving the simple life in our rv park.

so many stories to share already.

we spend more time together (this might have something to do with the fact that we have no other friends yet)

we laugh. a lot.

more than i ever remember.

we spend less time worrying about 'stuff'

i hope this continues even when we move into a house.

cleo loves that i am home all day. i love it, too.

dane works overtime almost everyday but does not complain much.

it's better than college. :)

i think we found a new church home.

so thankful.

we officially move all of our junk from lubbock to a storage building in ft worth next weekend.

still looking at houses.

and changing our minds as we go.

if it wasn't for our desire to be in a house before baby, i think we would live here for another year.

just a little over three months left.

dane finally felt him kick on new year's day.

i love it. it makes me literally laugh out loud.

having lots of nightmares lately.

no sleep.

but last night i did not wake up once and slept for 6 hours.

it was awesome.

business is slow.

i am learning to truly rest.

trying to rebuild with a new client base.

and that's about it. :)

this list almost took me 1001 days just to complete! i started working on it before christmas and just finished it a few days ago.

here is the idea:

Day Zero Project is the home of the 101 in 1001 which was made to inspire people by having them write down 101 goals and then set out to achieve them.

(taken from the website)

The Challenge: 
Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days. 

The Criteria: 
Tasks must be specific (ie. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (ie. represent some amount of work on your part). 

Why 1001 Days? 
Many people have created lists in the past - frequently simple challenges such as New Year's resolutions or a 'Bucket List'. The key to beating procrastination is to set a deadline that is realistic. 1001 Days (about 2.75 years) is a better period of time than a year, because it allows you several seasons to complete the tasks, which is better for organising and timing some tasks such as overseas trips, study semesters, or outdoor activities. 

 and here is my list! there are things i have never done, things i want to do again, and things that i don't think i will ever get to! but it should be fun in the process.

let me know if you make a list and put a link in the comments and i will read it!

1. donate blood
2. make a cake for someone
3. participate in a 10K
4. participate in a half marathon
5. read the entire bible
6. read a biography
7. create an iPhone application
8. photograph a birth
9. invent something
10. get another tattoo
11. send Christmas cards/letters
12.  hire an assistant for my biz
13.  have a garage sale
14.  read 50 books (0/50)
15.  get a massage
16.  write a song for baby
17.  give a 100% tip
18.  take an aerobics class
19.  pay off dane’s credit card
20.  pay off school loans
21.  mail a secret to postsecret
22.  golf
23.  buy a car
24.  buy a house
25.  go camping
26.  join a library
27.  have a traditional picnic
28.  learn to make 10 more vegan meals (0/10)
29.  sell a photograph (as art)
30.  publish a photograph
31.  hot air balloon ride
32.  make our wedding album
33.  host a workshop
34.  complete P90X routine
35.  attend Mavericks game
36.  attend Cowboys game
37.  visit Ginny
38.  create a music video for fun
39.  take Dane to Disneyworld
40.  got to a midnight movie premiere
41.  join a new gym
42.  organize old photos and put in albums
43.  finish honeymoon scrapbook
44.  meet two facebook friends in person
45.  join a new church
46.  buy a bike
47.  attend a photography workshop
48.  take a dance class (with Dane)
49.  throw a New Year’s Eve Party
50.  fly a kite
51.  meet someone famous
52.  take a drawing class
53.  buy a new computer
54.  buy a new camera
55.  go to a concert
56.  carve a pumpkin
57.  go fruit picking
58.  double 2009 income
59.  sidewalk paint with Kinz
60.  go to WPPI
61.  play laser tag
62.  make a snow angel
63.  build a sandcastle
64.  have a baby
65.  learn to grill meat
66.  visit a photography gallery
67.  learn to snowboard
68.  photograph 12 newborns in 2010 (1/12)
69.  refinish Dane’s dresser for baby
70.  make french toast
71.  go on another photo mission trip
72.  visit New York
73.  make a bet ($$$)
74.  dress up for Halloween
75.  participate in lent (2010)
76.  learn to tie a tie
77.  donate hair to locks of love
78.  color an entire coloring book
79.  have $2000 in emergency fund (already have $1000)
80.  trip with friends
81.  pick a project from Design Sponge and complete it
82.  visit Nicole + Joel after they marry
83.  photograph someone out of state
84.  start a family tradition
85.  have a dance party
86.  drink a cup of coffee
87.  participate in NaBloPoMo
88.  get a dog
89.  grow nails
90.  boogie board
91.  get a new logo
92.  visit another country
93.  plan something for anniversary
94.  take Dane to Medieval times
95.  paint something on canvas for house
96.  buy a film camera
97.  print gallery canvas for office
98.  host a contest on my blog
99.  try a new food
100.  buy new lens
101.  make another 101 in 1001 list when completed

here is sweet baby ava! i drove down to college station, tx to visit some old friends. (casey and dane were roommates in college). 

newborns are typically easier to maneuver when asleep. but not with ava! she did not want to sleep while i was there. casey (dad) would trick her for a few minutes into thinking she was sleepy, but then as soon as i lay her down for photos, she was wide awake. even after all of my tricks.

thankfully, she was super pleasant and we were able to get some photos of her wide awake and very alert. i felt like i was photographing a 3 month old! i think she is going to be super smart when she gets older.

casey and kelly - it was great catching up with you!

i know, i know! lots of baby stuff lately.

but, i will have a dfw/move update next week and some newborn photos since i finally met sweet baby ava yesterday! so, stick with me while i post about the preparation of our baby!

i found this book at anthropologie thanks to my mom-in-law for the gift card! my mom kept a baby book for me and i really loved reading through it once i was older, so i thought i would do the same for our kiddos. also, even though i LOVE photos, i am not at all into scrapbooking. i just get too overwhelmed at the idea.

this book allows for a few photos (if desired) and the rest is just for filling in with my own thoughts or even doodling!

the art is all done in watercolor and i just love the simple and cute designs!

not having anything to do all day leaves lots of time for surfing the internet. :)

so, i have made a little inspiration board for the baby's room (in the house that we do not have yet!).

the primary colors are teal, orange, and white and although i am not doing a 'theme', i found these paintings (middle two photos on the second row) that i fell in love with. 

so, monsters it is!

can't wait to get started! and hopefully we will get a house soon.

....where we will live in the next month.

....how i will handle not having a job.

....how i would have survived living in this trailer without dane.

....if we will ever have running water.

....about our neighbors.

....how you cook things without a microwave (i kid i kid)

....whether to go with 'zoo animals' or 'monsters' for baby boy's room

....about my plans for new year's. it's my most favorite holiday.

....if there are any great books out there that i am missing out on (obviously, but i fear i will never read them!)

....if baby boy is an 'ethan' or a 'caleb'.

....what kind of mother i will be.

....whether or not i really could afford that plane ticket.

but most of all (these days) i wonder...

....what characteristics our baby boy will get from him. i especially hope he keeps the child-like, inquisitive mind that his father has.

that is my favorite one.

what a fabulous christmas!

after lots of running around in the dfw area trying to find a house and a place to stay until we find a house, we drove down to gorman DURING A BLIZZARD! it took us twice as long, but we were happy to arrive home and start the christmas festivities immediately.

and that, we did.

dad gave us an HD video camera for the bebe. dane is in love!

kinsey got lots of new friends for christmas (including minnie mouse) and since she always sees me with a camera, she decided it was best to have a photoshoot with EVERY single one of her new friends. i won't post them here, but it was pretty interesting.

merry christmas! i hope all of you were able to spend time with the ones you love.

just words tonight.

we have been in fort worth for 2 days and have officially begun house hunting. dane's parents are here with us and we are splitting our time vacationing and working.

since dane starts work on monday (28th), we will live in my dad's rv until we decide, sign a contract, and close on a house....however long that takes. our goal is to be in a house before baby boy gets here. that's about it.

sessions have slowed way down since december. i have a few newborns scheduled and i am happy to announce that i will be narrowing down my photography to JUST newborns. i will be taking a LIMITED amount of families and engagements in 2010 as i enjoy them so much as well.

if you have contacted me, please be patient with me as i am in the middle of a big transition in my life. i will get back to you!

that is all.

yesterday, dane and i went in for our first sonogram.

i loved seeing our baby boy swim around. i just started feeling him this past week so it was wonderful to see his little body and watch his heart beat.

while mine stopped. 

he is beautiful.

it was hard to see his facial features because he liked having his hands close by. 

he also made us work hard to find out if he was really a 'he'.

he weighs 1lb and is right on schedule with our due date (give or take a day) which is april 26th.

he has no name except 'my love' and 'bebe'. we're working on it.

i hope he looks like his daddy.

and knows, one day, how much we love him.

newborn photography is what i love. it took me awhile to find my niche in the photography world, but i know for sure that this is it. i just love everything about it. an although i still do many different lifestyle portraits, i will eventually narrow my field to just newborns. it's what i love. and they are heavenly.

speaking of heavenly. this is haden. and he is perfect. he slept the entire time except for a short feeding. his body moved to where my hands placed him and he rarely made a peep. 

perfect.

i just arrived home from his little man's session and could NOT wait to start editing!

here is just one for now as i am about to head out the door to brownfield to have dinner with my dad and brothers.

mom tara - he was so perfect today!

had so much fun with this little girl last week while visiting my parents. she is at such a fun age where she learns 4736289 things in five minutes!

can't wait to see her again!

i LOVED working with this family! they live in eastland, tx which is 20 minutes from where i grew up in gorman. they definitely have that 'small town family' vibe. they were down to earth, humble, and so happy! they reminded me so much of where i came from and each one of my family members.

thank you for such a great session!

we are in gorman...finally! it is going to be a much needed break.

some updates: i am going to be very vague as some of these events are still pending.

1. baby H only has a girl name (three of them...can't decide. so if you have any cute boy names, let me know!)

2. we hope baby H is a girl. (of course, we would love a little boy, too!)

3. we find out the sex of baby H on december 17th.

4. we are 4.5 months pregnant.

5. dane is graduating in three weeks!

6. after several trips touring texas, he finally heard back from a company in ft. worth with a job offer.

7. he also heard back, unexpectedly, from his #1 pick of companies.

8. officially, he has not accepted nor declined anything yet.

9. i resigned from my job (this list is out of order, as i resigned before we had a job offer)

10. we are moving come january 2010....somewhere else.

11. that somewhere else will most likely be closer to my side of the family and i am so excited!!!!!!

i wanted to include these updates in my 'thanksgiving' post because there is really no way for me to say how thankful i really am about all of these events. not only does God provide me with a loving family, friends, and just basic needs like a roof, food, and clothes, He also gives comfort through His promises.

i remember sitting here, two years ago, on this same couch, typing out an update list for my blog readers. in that list, i included a job offer for me as i was about to graduate from college. i remember how excited i was to continue to work with my students and the friends i had made through my coworkers. now, just two short years later, we are moving on and excited about another job offer.

even though this past month has been such a stretch for us financially, spiritually, and emotionally, i am thankful that God loves both dane and me and cares enough for us to grow us. i look back on this time and realize i was not angry with God or questioning God, I just believed He would take care of us. (i say that like i have it all figured out, but in reality, it's the first time i have been able to say that about HUGE life decisions and really mean it).

i really should let my husband do all this writing (he just has a better way of saying things), but he is busy over there on the recliner writing his novel. he has been participating in NaNoWriMo this November and he has less than a week to finish. if you would like to give him some encouragement (as he has about 20,000 words to go) then head on over to his blog, facebook, or send him an email at thegreatdane@gmail.com!

have a wonderful thanksgiving!

i LOVE this baby! i cannot believe how much she has grown!

i am as excited as she is about meeting her baby brother. he makes his debut on monday and i will meet him next sunday! 

i feel blessed to be so involved in this sweet family's life!

the cooper drove to lubbock from sudan, tx a few saturdays ago (this is my third family from that town!). they were a great group to be around and were very patient as i paired people up for big groups, small groups, and individuals.

and they are beautiful which made it even better!

my fabulous friend, lauren clark, just launched something INCREDIBLE.

it's a one (UNO!) hour photoshop tutorial of ALL of her post-processing secrets! if you haven't seen her work, then you are missing out! check out her stuff and then go buy her DVD.

and then buy me one, too!

go here!

hello blogisphere! i am thinking about hosting a parent workshop at my house on December 5th (saturday) in the afternoon.

if you are interested, please comment or email me at info@sharihensonphoto.com the price will set depending on how many people are interested.

what we will cover:

• basic lighting techniques
• basic photography tips
• Q & A
• basic camera tips
• posing

thanks!

i think every photographer wants canvases lining their walls. it's the ultimate way to display your artwork and timeless photos.

but they are also pretty expensive.

so, i have been saving up for one. just one.

when i finally had the money, it took me forever to decide on one. just one.

so, i went with my classic fave...my favorite baby (other than my own). even after submitting my order, i was worried that i made the wrong decision and maybe i should have went with the newborn shot. and then it arrived! dane had it set out and displayed when i walked in so i could see the full effect.

and it was worth it!

and now i get to look at my favorite baby every day! we will be putting it up in our office tomorrow sometime.

and now i have started saving up for my next one!

(P.S. - i just realized that if you are reading in google reader, the text does not match the photo. you have to go to the actual blog site and then they will match up...i'll do better next time...sorry!)

brilliant light!

i wish i was uber fabulous at photoshop and could clone dane and me in this photo! i would love this as a canvas in my home.

nicole, you are gorgeous!

and i just love this one in the grass. they look so happy.

we also found a phone booth. i made them both squish inside while i shot on the oustide.

oh, yeah, THIS shot. the sun came out for about 3.5 seconds and i said, "ok, hold on, let me get set, you just stand there for a minute." i literally fired two shots and this is one of them. i didn't pose them or tell them where to look. they are a beautiful couple just content to be next to each other and i enjoyed being a part of it for just a little bit.

look at this amazing building we found!!

wow! what a great session! it was so refreshing to be in a brand new state and new scenery with such a fun couple. ohio during this time of year is absolutely stunning! trees of gold, burnt orange, and red just line the streets and parks.

as most of you know, nicole is one of my closest friends. we have never lived close and have to depend on talking on the phone and only seeing each other a few times a year. thankfully she is stuck with me for life (since she is dane's sister) and we will have many great times to share.

i especially love this last series. i'm sure they wished there were more like this as this is their true personalities! haha!

their wedding is in march...exactly one month before our due date! i'm really hoping to make the trip out to california, but i'm just not sure how it's going to work out. :( at least i'll have these beautiful photos to look at until the next time i see them!

love you guys!

well, here it is! the new blog!

it's nothing much, i know, but it's better than the other one which is not currently working!

here is a sneak peak of my beautiful sister-in-law and soon to be brother-in-law.

i took a weekend trip out to ohio to hang out, enjoy some beautiful scenery and capture some engagement fun for these two! i am still working on their session, but i cannot wait to share when they are finished.

be sure to update your RSS feed and google reader as I will be posting here and ONLY here!