- Tomorrow is the last day to take advantage of the Nesting Sale if you would like a disk from your 2008-early 2010 session. Contact me if you’re interested!
 
- I have opened up my post maternity leave calendar for scheduling. August is filling up with a few openings remaining. September is still pretty open, but I suspect may fill up quickly also. You can view my current openings by clicking on the “Current Availability Calendar” link to the left.
 

Baby has finally arrived, and it’s girl #4 for the Christiansons! Joely Marie was born at 12:50am on Friday, July 23rd after a quick labor. It was an amazing home water birth experience. 8 lbs. 15 oz. (weighed after pooping, so I’m saying she was a solid 9 pounds!) and 20 inches. We are definitely very blessed!
 
Here is Joely yesterday at 2 days old:
 

 
Katie is the winner of the “Guess baby’s birthdate contest”. Her guess of July 22nd was the latest of all the guesses, and was very close! I will get the gift certificate sent off to you Katie, enjoy!
 

So who does this ever expanding baby belly belong to?
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Why that would be me!
 

 
Any of you who have seen me recently (whether in person or on Facebook ) obviously knew this news already, but I figured I better make the announcement for everybody else! Yep, I’m currently 26 weeks pregnant with baby #4. He or she is due to arrive mid July. Which means I will be taking that month off for maternity leave. I have updated my availability calendar (link to the right) through June, so if you’d like to book a session before August- now would be the time to do so.
 
As we get closer to July, be on the lookout for some fun contests! With my last pregnancy, I did a “guess when the baby will be born” contest and it was a lot of fun, so I plan to do it again.

They’re back… Sweetie Sessions!
 
Bring your little sweethearts in to the Blessings Photography studio for an exclusive custom portrait experience! These mini sessions are available for $65 (for 1 child, $10 for each additional child) and include the following:
- 15 minutes of photography
- 20 custom Valentine cards (perfect for classroom giving) OR a mini desk collage (think present for Daddy!)
- 1 8×10 OR 2 5×7’s
- 1 sheet of 8 wallets
 
Your choice of red, pink, gray, or white background. I will have a variety of props on hand, and of course you are welcome to bring your own also!
 
Sweetie Sessions are being scheduled for Thursday, January 28th and Saturday, January 30th only. Space is limited, so reserve your spot early! Email or call me to schedule. (tera@blessingsphotography.com, 701-200-9687)
 

Ugh, okay so it’s not Friday anymore- but Saturday morning is pretty close! Truth is, I was so excited to post the sneak peek of the little cutie yesterday that I forgot about Flashback Friday. But I remembered today, so here it is!
 
A reminder of the details:

Every Friday I will randomly select two sesions from the Blessings Photography archives, and one photo from each session will be posted here on the blog. The featured family will be eligible to win a free 8×10 from the archived session and a $40 gift certificate towards a future session for themselves or a friend. The featured clients have one week to contact me to claim the prize. Sounds like fun, right!?
 
And the flashbacks:
 

 

 
If one if these cutie pies is yours, contact me at tera@blessingsphotography.com or (701)200-9687 to claim your prize by midnight on next Thursday. Have a great weekend!

There are just a few spots left for the Holiday Mini sessions in November:
9:30am on Saturday, November 7th
11:30am on Saturday, November 7th
5:00pm on Friday, November 20th
 
AND- I’ve also been reminded that there is no school on Wednesday, November 11th so I’m opening that day up for Mini Sessions also! 9:00am through 4:30pm on that date.
 
Below is a reminder of the details on these special sessions. Yes, the session fee is only $30! The Collection is optional, or you may order a la carte.
 

 

It’s October already (crazy, I know!) and that means it’s time to book those holiday portrait sessions and start thinking Christmas cards! Luckily, Blessings Photography has got you covered:
 

 
Email me at tera@blessingsphotography.com or call 701-200-9687 to book your mini session spot!

Can you believe August is already here!? I seriously don’t know what happened to the month of June, let alone July. So that means before we know it, kids will be back in school and we’ll all be back to the daily grind of all the busyness that goes along with that. Which is why I thought August would be the perfect time to sneak in some special Mini Session dates!
 
Did your baby just get his first tooth?
Did your 1st grader just loose her first tooth?
Does your daughter have a new outfit that is just adorable and begging to be photographed?
Does your son love to show off his muscles in his favorite superhero costume?
Did your school age child just celebrate a birthday?
Does your preschooler have a best friend that she adores?
Does your child have a special passion or hobby?
Would you like some fun, different images with attitude? (think sk8ter boy, tutu girl, or fun hats and accessories!)
 
All of these would be GREAT reasons to schedule a mini photo session! I do this all the time with my own kids, just bring them into the studio for a quickie session to capture their adorable pigtails, or a super cool new hat, or even just to have some fun and catch them as they make funny faces. So basically, anything goes for these! If you have an idea, throw it at me and we’ll customize the session to fit.
 

 
And because a post is not much fun without pictures, here’s some shots from minis I’ve done with my kids.
 
K. with some attitude-
 

 
H.’s very first piggytails-
 

 
B. trying on my wedding dress-
 

 
Email tera@blessingsphotography.com or call 701-200-9687 to schedule your mini!

I will be heading out bright and early tomorrow morning with my family on our way towards sunny Myrtle Beach, SC. I cannot wait to get a better taste of summer than just the couple days we’ve had of it around here. My sister is down there already and she tells me that it is HOT, but I’m pretty sure I can handle it!
 
I will be back on June 28th and will return all calls and emails as soon as I can after that. For all you faithful blog readers and those of you waiting to see your sessions featured on here, no worries- I’ve got it all set up so that my blog posts will continue while I’m away. So keep checking back to see lots of new adorable kiddos!

Thanks to the fabulous photography studio management software developed by my husband that I have been using for the past 4 years, I have been able to keep track of a lot of fun stuff- like how many clients I have had the joy of working with! Since 2005-ish, I have done photo sessions for almost 500 wonderful families! I’m guesstimating that to equal around 1,000 different adorable kids. No wonder why I see familiar faces every time I am out around town!
 
So I think client number 500 deserves a celebration, don’t you?
 
Lucky client #500 will get their photography session free, on the house, gratis, complimentary! AND they will receive a $50 gift certificate to the West Acres Mall (I recommend spending it on some fun clothes for the kids for the photo session )! Only new clients will qualify for this, because if you have had a session scheduled with Blessings in the past few years you are already in the client database. So to make it fun for past clients too- if you refer new client #500 and they mention your name, you will receive a $50 gift certificate to West Acres too!
 
A few notes- clients are entered into the database and given a number after a session has been scheduled. If you last had a photo session with Blessings in 2003 or 2004, you may not be in the database and may qualify as a new client. I estimate #500 to be coming up within the next month or so. While June has been filled, July and beyond still have plenty of openings. So let the referring and scheduling race begin!
 

 
I haven’t been tracking session numbers, but I’m guessing that I would be right around the 1,000 mark on those now too. Wow, what an amazing ride the past 6 years has been!