A Sweet Gift

Yesterday my hubby and I celebrated our 22nd wedding anniversary! I can remember my wedding day like it was just yesterday, and yet here we are 22 years and 3 kids later. Wow. If I just sit back and let my mind wander through the years, through the memories, I realize just how much we've done in those 22 years, how far we've come. Sometimes when you've been married this long, you start to take things for granted and not put the work into the marriage that you did way back when. My hubby and I have been guilty of this from time to time as well. But the thing with us is we're solid. We love each other through thick and thin and we're in it for the long haul. So today we begin year 23 and I think it's going to be a good one.

We didn't do anything special for our anniversary this year. No "out to dinner", no gift exchange ... after just getting back from our vacation we're really happy to just be at home and chill. We threw some steaks on the grill and just enjoyed propping our feet up in front of the tv. That's what 22 years will do for ya! lol

But my daughter Stephanie had to work yesterday and when she came home she surprised me with this sweet little bouquet of flowers. Let me just say it's really awesome when your kids grow up and start to do things on their own. I am so honored to be their mom. All 3 of my kids are wonderful, wonderful people. They each have their own personalities and strengths. I can't wait to see them all grown with families of their own some day. That will really be something. :)

Thanks Steph for the beautiful flowers. I love them! xoxo M

Forty-Seven - 47

Do you ever wonder about what fun facts you can come up with about a given number?
Let's look at the number 47.

Did you know that American's eat an average of 47 pounds of chicken each year???

Or that there are 47 species of gulls?? Wow!

Bet you didn't know the average temperature of Troy, NY is 47.8 degrees. Brrrrr!

The first space shuttle flight after the Challenger disaster was STS-47.

For you TV buffs... did you know there are 47 voting members for the Academy Awards??

This is a no-brainer. Of the books sold in the U.S., 47% are romance novels. lol

For you sports fans ... Babe Ruth's career home run record of 714 home runs stood for 47 years until Hank Aron broke it. The last day Ruth's record stood was 4/7/74! How cool is that???

I liked this one cause I come from Ireland (way, way, way back when). The Great Potato Famine in Ireland occured in 1847. There is a commerative beer named Black 47Stout.

Sorta gross ... A cubic foot of human flesh weighs approximately 47 pounds. Okay, really gross!!!
South Carolina has 47 state parks.

For you history buffs ... When Lord Carnavon tragically opened Tut's tomb, 47 people died from the curse.

This one makes my say "WHAAAAT!!" According to "The Book of Facts" by Isaac Asimov, a mosquito has 47 teeth!!!! I didn't even know these little beasts HAD teeth!!! Maybe that's why I had 15 bites behind my knee last week!!!

My personal favorite. 47 years ago today, I entered the world. :) Wow, that was a loong time ago!!!


My kids greeted me this morning with Happy Birthday greetings, hugs, kisses and gifts. Stephanie bought me the cutest wine glass! I am not much of a drinker. But I do like the occasional glass of Sangria. My favorite comes right from the grocery store. If you've been to Hallmark lately, you've probably seen their adorable collection of hand-painted glasses. We always stop and admire them. Stephanie got me the one appropriately called "Sangria". :) So I had to run out to the grocery today to be some so I could try out my new glass!!!

Kelly made me an adorable picture of my name. I LOVE it! She is my crafty kid. She's just like her mom. Always making things, painting things, rearranging things, etc. She'll have an awesome house someday, I just know it.

Ryan, being the boy of the bunch ... he greeted me with a hug, a kiss and a Happy Birthday. What more could a Mom ask for. :) Love them all. xoxo

(I found all the fun facts about the number 47 at http://www.orbitals.com/psiu/47.html)

Home Sweet Home

Hi Everyone! We're back from vacation. And after a couple days of regrouping, I'm fully back to work.

Our trip to Florida was great! Just the break we all needed. Although, I have to say, we're just NOT Florida people. Way too hot, humid and sticky for us. We're more moderate temp people.

I had an interesting time last week. On the way down to Florida ... an hour and a half from our destination to be exact ... I got BIT BY A DOG!!! Yes! On the leg! By a little pip-squeak of a dog at that! The girls and I were walking into a fast food/convenience store/gas station to use the restroom. On the way up to the door this little dog (on a leash) came running up to me. I thought it was just sniffing my leg. Next thing I knew it was biting me!!! I jumped back and was so shocked I just stood there looking at the dang dog and it's lady, who did and said absolutely NOTHING I might add! I said "YOU'RE DOG JUST BIT ME!!!" No response. Although it was immediately a deep purpley red, I didn't think it had broken the skin so we went inside. However, in a few minutes it was bleeding. We bought a bottle of Hydrogen Peroxide and headed back out. Of course, the woman and her mutt were gone. Can you believe it??? I'm glad it bit me and not one of my kids. A week and half later it's still healing. The two puncture wounds are taking the longest. Thank goodness I didn't end up foaming at the mouth!!!

Then, as if that wasn't enough, I woke up the next day with FIFTEEN (15) mosquito bites behind one knee!!! Obviously, that little pest hung out with me under the covers. And to top it all off I broke out with a massive fever blister on my upper lip about mid week. It was just not my week.

Other than those minor incidents and the heat and humidity, we had a great time. We hit Busch Gardens which is a fun , fun place. We spent one afternoon at the beach, where the girls got some major back sunburn, from which they are now peeling. And we went to the Tampa Aquarium, which was alot of fun. I just love aquariums.

The best part was hangin with family. My Dad and Norma are always so much fun. My hubby and I are now in the process of dropping the extra pounds we gained from all of Norma's cooking!!!

I took tons and tons of pics, as you can imagine. Haven't even downloaded them all yet. But as soon as I do, I promise I'll have some to share. Here's one that the girls and I just couldn't wait to see. This little pair was from Busch Gardens. Aren't they the cutest things you've ever seen!
The girls both want this pic in poster size. lol

On Vacation

S Keys Photography will be closed until Monday, June 22nd.

All emails and phone calls will be returned at that time.

2009 Startown Stables Charity Fun Show

If you live around here and travel on Startown Road you know of Startown Stables. It's a wonderful Paso Fino Horse Farm that sits right along Startown Road. You can't miss it. And those of you who travel that road early in the mornings have surely seen Mr. Alvaro Iriarte riding his beautiful Paso Finos along the edge of the pastures, rain or shine. It's truly a wonderful place. I have been blessed to be part of their world for the past couple of years now. They have taken me and my family in and just treat us like part of their family. That's just the kind of people they are. Loving, giving, full of life. This giving nature is what prompts them to host events like this year's Startown Charity Fun Show.

This year's Fun Show was held last Saturday (June 6th) at the Latta Park Equestrian Center in Huntersville, NC. The purpose of the show was to help raise funds and awareness for the Be the Match Foundation - The National (Bone) Marrow Donor Program.

This foundation is very near and dear to the heart's of the Iriarte family. They
lost one of their own last year to leukemia. Juan Carlos Iriarte was on the list to receive a Bone Marrow Transplant but lost his battle with leukemia before he could get the transplant. Since then, the Iriarte family has worked very hard to help spread the word about how important it is to be a Bone Marrow Donor. How you could potentially save another person's life.

They are so pleased to report that 46 new donors were added to the registry on Saturday! A big thank you to all who registered! I'm pleased to say that my daughter and I registered as well. Here's Stephanie going through the sign-up process. So simple! Just swap the inside 4 corners of your cheeks, fill out some paperwork and you're done! You never know who might be out there who needs your help.

Another amazing program participating in this year's event was the Misty Meadows Mitey Riders. Meet Rebecca. This beautiful and courageous young lady has cerebral palsy. You'd never know it by looking at her!!!

Rebecca, led by her cousin Debby, rode around the arena for everyone to see. She just beamed! Debby said she had only had 3 sessions with her prior to her exhibition! She looked just wonderful out there and I know she touched the hearts of everyone in the crowd.

Way to go Rebecca!!

It was just a wonderful day. Can't wait to go again next year!

For more information, please check out the following links:

Startown Stables
Owned by Alvaro Iriarte - Newton, North Carolina
http://www.startownstables.com
828-465-3322

National Marrow Donor Program
Be The Match Foundation
http://www.marrow.org
1(800)MARROW-2

Misty Meadows - The Mitey Riders Therapeutic Riding Program
Waxhaw, North Carolina
http://www.miteyrider.com
704-841-0602

Dancers
Carmen Woschkolup, Director GrupoLatino de RockHill
803-322-2652

Portrait of a Horsewoman ~ Portrait Photographer, Catawba Cnty, NC

Been working on a big blog post regarding Saturday's Paso Fino event, when I came across this photo. It speaks to me. All dressed in black with her face partially concealed, she has an air of mystery about her. oooh la la! :)

I'm sure I'll come across many more of these gems as I edit.

Eye On The Prize ~ Portrait Photograher, Catawba Cnty, NC

Miss "A" competing in one of several events throughout the day. She is quite the accomplished little horsewoman!!

This is just a really tiny sneak peek at what my daughter, Stephanie, and I did on Saturday. We spent the entire day around our beloved Paso Fino friends and their beautiful horses. Startown Stables hosted their annual Fun Show at Latta Plantation Equestrian Center in Huntersville. The purpose of the Fun Show was to raise funds and awareness for the National (Bone) Marrow Donor Program.

I took approximately 1500 pictures! I have so many I want to share with you and I have so much I want to tell you about the day. So please check back over the next few days and see what the day was all about.

Mr. S Slideshow ~ Catawba Cnty Portrait Photographer

Remember this guy??

You can check out his entire photo shoot here.

A Few More From the Wedding ~ Portrait Photographer, Catawba Cnty, NC

I wanted to post just a few more from the wedding I shot a couple of weeks ago. The bride was just beautiful, as was her groom. :O I'm so glad I talked them into a couple quick shots outside before they left. I just the love the look of these against the beautiful green. I couldn't possibly get a bad shot with these two.

Of course, I had to take a few of my own pretty girl! Stephanie looked just lovely and sooo grown up! It must be the very HIGH hair! She got the biggest "poof" award. That's what naturally curly hair will do for you! haha

This was my first and, probably my last wedding. At least for the time being. It was a real experience and a long day. But I'm so glad that I had the opportunity to capture some really special images for two wonderful young people.

Meet D.S. ~ Teen/Senior Portrait Photographer, Catawba Cnty, NC

Sometimes the best places can be found when you're just out "hoofin' it". Like the most fantastic alley my friend and I found last night! This alley was chock full of the coolest doors and windows I've ever seen! I was in Heaven. The only bad thing was the sun was really pouring in. I will definitely be back to check out sun angles and I'm sure you haven't seen the last of this awesome alley.

Last night was Mr. "D"s turn for his photo shoot. He's been waiting patiently and last night turned out to be perfect. It's been raining here for days, weeks, months even. I was so glad that Mother Nature gave us a couple of days off!

"D" was awesome to work with. I love it when my subjects really start having fun and get in to it! That's when we really get great pictures like the ones below. I've got so many fantastic ones, it was hard to choose just a few. But these are some of my favorites.

"D" is a very artistically inclined guy. He plays the trombone, sings and acts, so I thought I would add an "artistic look" to his photos. They are highly saturated and some are sporting textures. I love how they came out. The first two look like they could have been taken years and years ago in a back alley ... 'cept for maybe the flip-flops. lol :)

Hope you like them "D"!

AFJROTC ~ Portrait Photographer, Catawba Cnty, NC

Two of my kids have been proud members of their high school AFJROTC program. Air Force Junior Reserve Officer Training Corp. My eldest, Stephanie, was a member for four years and made it all the way to Cadet Colonel as well as Squadron Commander.

Now my son, who just finished his third year and is currently a Cadet Captain, has his eye set on Colonel as well! He'll have to work really hard next year, but I think he'll make it!

Saturday night we had the AFJROTC Awards Banquet. It's always a fun and exciting event. Each year there are several National Awards given out by various veteran organizations. They are beautiful ribbons and medals and each cadet hopes that they might receive one.

This year my son, Ryan, received the top National Award of the year. The Air Force Association Award. It's a beautiful medal and ribbon and he will wear it with pride. He was shocked and pleased that HE was the recipient of such a prestigious award.

AFJROTC has been such a big part of our lives for so long now, 6 years to be exact. My husband and I have always been very patriotic. Me having a Dad who served his country in the US Air Force for 20+ years. And my husband having brothers and nephews serving their country as well. JROTC has given my kids a sense of pride and patriotism that will stick with them their entire lives. They know things about the military and flag etiquette that too many American's nowadays know nothing about. We will never worry about them having a lack of respect for their country or our American troops. And believe me, they know that Freedom Isn't Free.




These two men have dedicated 15+ years to teaching kids at M.H.S. how to be good citizens, good leaders and to respect their flag and country. They are two of the best JROTC instructors I've ever met. We will be forever grateful to them for all that they have taught us and for helping to ensure that our kids are decent, upstanding citizens.

If you have children entering high school and that high school has a JROTC program, I encourage you to highly suggest that they take the class. You will not be sorry.
I wish every high school student in America would take the class. It's a wonderful program.