2011: A Review

Wow - 2011 has been a terrific year...full of first, lots of weddings, smiling babies, and lessons along the way. As I approach the new year, I cannot help but think that I am more than blessed to be in front of amazing people every day who want me to capture their memories. As the year ends I have been chomping away at new year's resolutions, different pricing structures, and multiple excitements along the way! This year personally has been an exciting one too - with our first little one on the way (due in March), she's bound to make a GRAND appearance and change our lives forever. I can only hope that 2011 has brought many blessings to you and your family as well - I cannot BELIEVE that I get to do what I love every day and bless others with it - it's the greatest blessing of all!

To commemorate the amazing year, here are some of my favorite images of the year - enjoy!
Some amazing weddings (and details):






Some SWEET & cute kids:




And even though that's technically over 11 pictures.....I have to include some GORGEOUS couples!

Thank you, thank you, thank you for an AMAZING year & I cannot WAIT for 2012!!!

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween!

from the Skellingtons!

18 weeks

So I really don't want this blog to become a pregnancy blog but since most of my family and friends live far away, I can't help but share this! Today (actually yesterday technically) - Little boo grew to 19 weeks old! S/he is SO big! :) Actually, as big as a mango!

BUT last week (sorry I'm a week late posting) - s/he was the size of a pepper!

Here's a picture!

And here's a pic with the boys who are saying: "Mom, why are you holding a pepper...and can we have it?!"


With love,
K, L, & Little Boo! :) (and of course the baby boys!)

Baby Janie

This lovely little lady is absolutely precious! I spent a couple of hours at her house working on my newborn photographing skills! I must say that I love photographing newborns – Baby Janie is so precious – her faces are hilarious! I hope you enjoy her silly faces as much as I do!

She had many different outfits but the TUTU won my heart! We also found out that she is NOT a hat or bow girl! :)

Want to see more??!! Click Here

A LONG awaited POST!

Sorry that I have been a COMPLETE.BLOG.SLACKER lately - when I saw my last post was in June I almost fell over! It's been quite a whirlwind in the Mathews home - not only professionally (changes in full time jobs, decisions being made, and more photoshoots) but also personally.

Forgive the absence. Forgive the silence. But now, I can't hold it in any more!

Kenny and I (after almost 13 years of happiness and 4 1/2 years of marriage) are ...

Pregnant!!!!!

We are SO SUPER EXCITED!!

Promise there is MORE to come, but until then - here's a 12 week picture!

So Grateful...

The morning will be forever ingrained in my mind. The thought that America had been attacked; the feeling of helplessness, anguish, and remorse for those who had fallen due to the terrorist’s attacks – my boat was rocked, no tipped over.

But later I realized that this had happened to EVERY generation…from my great grandparents on. And someone was always there to protect us. My grandfathers, Kenny’s grandfathers, millions of soldiers – thank God for them!

Kenny was a Senior in high school and I was a freshman in college. We had pretty much decided that Kenny was going to go into the military – Air Force. Until he was pretty sure, but September 11th changed his mind.

Nevertheless, I am extremely grateful to those who have defending our country and who will continue to fight for us no matter what the circumstance.

That’s why, on Memorial Day, I decided to offer a free session to a family who was nominated…and then I couldn’t just choose one. Hope Shots will be taking pictures of families in both Louisiana and Texas (no one nominated in Arkansas, Mississippi, or Oklahoma … wink wink…7/4 is coming!) – I am so excited to announce the winners!

Louisiana - Tami Morgan & her precious family!! Dad is currently away on assignment

Texas – Corina & Ed Stoway - their entire family (almost) is in the military!


I cannot WAIT to show you these pictures & thank you so much to those who nominated these precious families!!

More than just a picture...

My hope is that I will not only take pictures....not just good pictures....but amazing pictures that people will want to look at forever and ever!

No, I'm not kidding - that's my crazy side coming out! I've always wanted to capture the lives of others that will hang on their walls forever! (ok, maybe not forever...but a loooonggg time!)

Here's where I entered Melanie & Jeff's wedding. My goal at every wedding is to not only capture the traditional pictures but actually the ones that show emotion, that really brings that person back to the day!

But this time...it was EVEN.MORE.IMPORTANT.

I won't tell you the details, but essentially this wedding was backed with emotion, packed with fun, and packed with sadness. And ... packed with moments that will NEVER be seen again. I can only ask for you to pray for this family, because I know the upcoming months will not be easy - but I am certain that they will be strong and I'm so glad the moments I captured will forever be in their hearts.

We never know how easy our lives can change until you are in the moment. It's sad to think that we don't take advantage of our lives. We don't take advantage of who is in them. And often, we honestly don't think about others (family and friends) until it's too late. I've been thinking about this often...trying to live life to the fullest, and trying to work hard to capture time in other's lives.

Please - for me - take some family pictures! It doesn't have to be with me or even professionally - just make sure that you capture the right here and right now. Don't think about the past or worry about the future...reach for the people you love the most and take a picture! You never, ever know what the Lord has planned!

Without further ado, this is one of the reasons why I was balling while editing these prints.

Houston Minis!!!

It's here!! It's finally here!! Houston minis are THIS weekend!! I have openings Saturday evening & Sunday evening!!

Perfect for Daddy's day!

I promise.....

that I will blog this weekend! I have been completely swamped with work and editing!! :) (That's a good thing...but I don't want to neglect the gorgeous pictures I am able to shoot every day!)

Here's something to keep you preoccupied in the meantime...it comes from laura - it's such an inspiration!!




Things to blog soon:
Military Families
giveway!
Summer Contest!
HEATHER & TONY'S WEDDING!
a sneak peek of Simon
The Cake Barn
Mel & Jeff's Wedding
Zachary...
and more!

See, I told you that I was busy!

Love you all!
Lida

Here's a little something I've been working on - ENJOY!

Heather & Tony

Let me know what you think!!

Love always,
Lida

It's been TOOOO long!

Oh my gooooodddnnneesss has it been a long time since I've blogged!

I've totally missed ya'll - yes, that's my southern accent coming out aka I really mean it!

Well, loads has been happening and mainly that taking LOTS of pictures! Now the fun really begins!

Starting with fun, I'd love to present to you the photos that I took at Tony & Heather's Wedding! They are live on my Miller's Storefront and ready for you to purchase and print - here's a little sneak peek - otherwise go on there to find your favorites!

I am super nervous about them, so if you'd leave me a note to let me know what you think, I would SO appreciate it!!

And without further delay, I present to you:

Mr. & Mrs. Bolin 5.14.11 - Thank you soooo much for allowing me to capture your wedding, I feel so blessed that I could be at the ceremony and help in the little ways that I could (one day, I'll blog about that too!) - I so appreciate you and I hope you fall in love with these photos as they capture the excitement, the fun, and the meaning of your marriage wrapped into a gorgeous day to celebrate you two!

With love always,

Lida (and Kenny, my faithful partner in crime!)

5.14.11 - Heather & Tony

Two peas in a pod, that's what these two are - they met through mutual friends - shy at first, Heather & Tony grew to be great friends. They lived the unmarried life (their blog) for a while - and finally, today, they'll be tying the knot.

No matter if they were friends or not, I am so excited for them as they begin their journey into life together. And guys, as good as the 'unmarried life' is - the married one is SO MUCH BETTER.

I am so excited about your dress, your rings, your vows (I may have helped!), your ceremony, your reception or anything in between - but above all, I'm so excited about your love & the feeling you have when you look at each other.

As a tribute to this amazing couple, I have put a slideshow together - when I transferred it, it didn't fit to the song like I wanted, I still wanted this to be up just for you two.

To a life of undying love -

Forever & Always!
Lida

Noah's Kitchen

We met through a mutual friend - she so casually spoke about winning a car (WHAT?!?!!!) with the business plan she created with Noah's Kitchen. I asked her about it and we talked about getting to a 501c3 (I've always wanted to be a part of the creation) - Amber struck out as a person on a mission - and although life had not always been fair, it had been worth it. She works to impact millions of people in helping them eat....getting them off the streets...and providing hope.

Many moons later....as I was creating my charity part of Lida Mathews Photography, I thought of Amber. I thought of Noah's Kitchen. I called her one night to pitch my idea of photographing an event or really ANYTHING that would show off Noah's Kitchen - she invited me to the Chili Cook off.

April 30th I was nervous and super anxious to go and see the event - Kenny & I enjoyed the chili and snapping some Hope Shots for Amber & Noah's Kitchen. Although I didn't see Amber all that much, I hope she knows how excited I am for her! (Well, now she probably does!)

Amber - working with you has been phenomenal! I cannot wait for our friendship to grow! :)

Here's a little something I whipped up in tribute to this great event (that raised over $2000- woo hoo!)

After many times of trying to load the video (it's on FB!) I'll add some highlighted pics for you!

With love Amber, I am so thankful that I met you!

Love always,
Lida

I wish I knew....

You know what the neatest thing is about writing a blog or having a website? Seeing the location map - it shows me where people are viewing my website - which BLOWS my mind!

I mean, you are viewing it from across the country! And across the world! I am so amazed that you take the time out of your life to pay attention to my small footprint on the universe.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for being a supporter.

And...please leave me a comment - I'd love to hear from you!! No pressure, just to reach out and say hi, howdy, or what's up - to give you a handshake or a hug (that's my form of a hi!) - and to just know who's on the blog and who's reading my small knowledge!

Please note that this picture comes from another site here, and is not my meter!

Thank you for being so amazing!
Love always,
Lida

Exciting news for my Pineville/Alexandria Friends!