Dillon & Brianna Matthies Wedding

As I promised on Valentine's Day I finally have select images from Dillon and Brianna's wedding.
This was the 29 degree wedding! I truly felt sorry for the bride, she had to have been frozen solid by the time I got through with her. The pictures will tell you more....


I had the priveledge of taking Dillon's senior pictures a few years back, he has grown into a responsible young man that should be proud of himself.

And he chose a beautiful bride. Brianna is so incredibly photogenic! She was so at ease during the entire day, I was truly impressed with her.

We had to keep her covered with a blanket in between poses to keep her from just freezing. Seeing her in the strapless gown just made me hurt! But she was so up to the challenge. I guess the love in her heart for Dillon kept her warm!

A lot of weddings are all about the decorations, guest list, money spent, the ring, but truly this wedding was about Dillon and Brianna. I loved the simplicity and the sincerity I could feel in the ceremony.

Very few wedding afford a casual shoot after the ceremony but what a fun thing for me. Remember we were in a unique and wonderful setting. Chipmunk Ranch which is close to Lloyd Mountain here in Scurry County was perfect for this wedding.

Aren't they just beautiful?

...and they lived happily ever after...

A New McCowen

Meet the newest McCowen.
This is Case-i. (Pronounced Casey) We named her after the tractor Case-ih.
She came new to us Saturday and has already turned the household upside down. She is finally figuring out who is who and which of us are the most fun.
She is part Catahoula and seems very intelligent.

Raven is one of the biggest reasons we got Case-i. She was just devastated when our other dog got run over and every night since has prayed for a puppy. We finally found the one that we thought was right.

Blair seems to like Case-i. She talked to her for the longest the other night in the barn. Blair is alot like her dad, they don't want anyone to see them loving things.

Emily thinks the dog can't walk. She loves letting her maul her. It reminds me of the old Coke commericals where the puppies are licking the little kid and the kid is laughing. We have laughed alot lately watching little Case-i overtake the kids.

Initially Case-i was not at all sure of her situation and she looks it here, as if she just wants to be back with the litter.

The cats had the same sentiment. They wanted her back with the litter as well.

It took NO TIME at all for Shawn and Case-i to bond.

Welcome to the family Case-i!

The Seasonal Migration

It is time for the flyover (and not the roost, if you are lucky) of the SandHill Cranes. About this time every year they begin their migration, I am not sure where they are headed to or from but they move through here by the hundreds.

Occassionally they will stop through in our fields to rest and eat. They are pretty neat to have in the area if you can stand the cow lot smell. As this bunch was flying over yesterday we could hear their wings beating the air. They cry out alot too and can be heard easily.

Calvary Valentine Banquet

Calvary Baptist had their Valentine Banquet Friday night. Jayson Steelman whose blog you can see below performed for the entertainment. He did a great job and the food was excellent.

Here are a few pix from the eventing....


This is the Minister of Calvary Larry McAden and his wife Janelle


And the Music Minister Steve Highfield and his wife Stephanie...


The Youth Minister Josh Liles and his wife LeDawn...


This is Jayson Steelman, our superstar and his wife Angela

A few pictures of the attendees..

Thank you Calvary for a wonderful evening!

A Sneak Peak from Dillan & Brianna's Wedding

Here are some pix from Dillan & Brianna's wedding this morning at 29 degrees.

Happy Valentines Day & Happy Wedding guys... there will be more to come in the weeks to come.....

College on the Square

Our photography class ended last night. I so enjoyed the students and the chance to teach what I enjoy so much.
Western Texas College has invited me to teach the class again. It is set for March 31, again running 4 weeks, from 6 until 8 Tuesday evenings. The only difference is that this time we will be teaching only Digital SLR's. Point and shoot needs a class of its own but the larger DSLR's have so many creative tools within them that they truly need to be a dedicated class.
I hope that you will sign up. It will again be held at College on the Square and you can contact Stormy Sheilds for more information at 573.6580. She will get you signed up.

West Texas Wind

You can't take a picture of the wind but you can see it's effects. This is the west sky as a wind began to enter Scurry County today. In some areas of the country this sky might indicate that rain is coming. Not here. It means Dawson County is coming!

The Lady DAWGS

These are some amazing 7th and 8th grade girls.
Tonight our Jr. Hi. Basketball girls concluded their season.
These girls had an awesome season lead by a couple of dedicated coaches who taught them how to play a better game of basketball.

These are our Ira girls:
Standing: Sarah Kellner, Mallorie Warren, Ariana Perales, Tanya Elam
Standing on the floor: Kayla Taylor, Priscilla DeLuna, McKinsey Ellis, Mindy Warren, Kohl Rich and Blair McCowen
Squatting: Rilee Dunn, Shelby Meador, Brooke Hamilton

Our Coaches, not pictured are Troy Humphrey and Jan Kruse

Thank you girls and coaches for a fun season. We enjoyed watching, screaming and following you girls around!

Leo the Lion

I hated to get the two other cats and miss blogging Leo. He was less than cooperative. Leo is new to us. He has to be someones pet who must be missing him. He was very camera shy and people shy though he loves to be petted on his terms. As you can tell, I had to crawl under the car to get this picture and he doesn't look too happy about that.

Leo is a huge Tom Cat with all kinds of bumps and bruises all over his body, he has lead a hard life lately just trying to stay alive. Now he has a good home and he eats like a little horse and he is currently courting Aggie, our youngest cat. I think she still has a pure heart so far though. She stays way away from him and there are no signs of our cat family expanding.

Call to Seniors

Seniors! Now is the time to start scheduling your senior sessions!

Before we know it the trees and grass will begin to turn and we will need to get these pictures taken for your invitations.

Now is the time. May will be here before you know it!

The Final Draft

The album cover has gone to print and this is how it will look:


You will notice that the songs have changed, these are the real songs rather than my crazy named songs. I had the opportunity to listen to some of the CD today as we worked on the cover and I am very impressed, Jason did an excellent job on this project. You will be very pleased when you buy it!

Congrats Jayson on your first project! It is surely a success!

Jayson Steelman's Album Cover

Meet Jayson Steelman.

Jayson is a very talented individual who goes to Calvary Baptist Church.

He not only writes his own music but he also playes every instrument you will hear on his album and mixes them all together for his own sound and a project that is completely and uniquely his.

Calvary Baptist is having a valentine banquet this coming Friday night and Jayson will be performing live for the attendees. Because of a demand for Jayon's music he put together a project that will be on sale at the banquet with the proceeds going to the Youth of Calvary!

When Jayson isn't spending his time working on his music, which is fantastic by the way, he is a Lineman for Big Country Electric Company.

Jayson is married to Angela who is a good friend of mine.

And Jayson has two great kids, Amber and Alex who attend school in Snyder.

I started working on the design for Jayson's album cover last night. I haven't finished but I certainly am enjoying the challenge. This is the unauthorized version, Jayson hasn't ok'ed this one, so the final design will likely be very different.

I worked on the backside as well, You have to remember, these are NOT the real songs, I made up the titles. But this is a sneak peak of what it COULD look like:

For more information about Jayson and the sale of his music you can contact him or Calvary Baptist Church.

Thank you Jayson for giving me the fun opportunity.