Amy and Blake's little Brady !

Just heard the news from Amy and Blake who shared this photo of their new son. Almost 5 months old, Brady has brightened their lives beyond words. He looks like a happy baby!

Prayers answered!

UPDATE: Good News!!!! Keri is cured and getting married this September in Evansville! Her undeniable spirit, all your sincere prayers, and her wonderful medical team has made her upcoming wedding day extra special indeed. The day after her wedding, she and her wedding party is participating in Race for the Cure! She said she'll be in her veil and her bridesmaids in special shirts. How world class cool is that!?!? We're not photographing her wedding day, but we couldh't be happier for her and her husband-to-be!!

BELOW WAS POSTED April 14, 2008

I received some news from one of our 2007 brides, Julia Hornung, about a girl we were fortunate to be able to meet while photographing Julia's wedding. Though we met Keri for only a relatively short time, both Lajuanna and I fell in love with her beautiful spirit and how much she delighted in Julia's big day and how she was always there to help Julia (her entire party was awesome). Keri is facing some health challenges and I'd love anyone who reads this to simply say a prayer for her and her family.




Below is Julia's message. If you decide to donate, please send it to the address listed below.
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Sometimes life is so unfair. Keri is one of those people everyone loves to be around. Her charisma is undeniable and her positive attitude is contagious. Keri has always been a fighter, a leader, and a pillar of strength for those in her life.

She is a down-to-earth, true Mid-western girl who has called Kansas, Missouri, and Indiana home. As a Physical Therapist, she makes her living by caring for others, and now is the time for us to return the favor.

On March 14, 2008 Keri’s life changed forever. At the age of 26 she was diagnosed with Stage 3 breast cancer. On April 2, 2008 she underwent a bilateral mastectomy and began her fight with a disease that knows no limits.

Her bright future is clouded with the cold hard facts: 8 rounds of chemotherapy, 6 weeks of daily radiation, multiple reconstructive surgeries, hormonal replacement therapy, and infertility treatments. When you attack cancer with chemotherapy and other estrogen suppressing drugs before you’ve had children, your dream of becoming a mother is jeopardized. Keri’s doctors have said her treatments will most definitely stop ovulation for the rest of her life, throwing her young body into menopause. So Keri will freeze her eggs to give her hope of having a baby—a procedure that comes with a $10,000 price tag but not covered by insurance.

Helen Keller once said, “I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something.” If everyone who reads Keri’s story contributes to her fund the financial burden of cancer could be lifted from her shoulders. Any amount would be greatly appreciated and every dollar counts. Why not make a difference in someone’s life? And what better time than right now?
Please make your tax-deductible donation check to:

Keri Wilkie Breast Cancer Medical Fund
P.O. Box 833
Emporia, KS 66801

If you’d like to follow Keri’s online journal please go to:
http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/keri

Thank you so much. Sincerely, Julia Hornung

Emily wants you to smile! :)

UPDATE: Just found out Emily will have some work in a Juried Show through April. The opening is next Friday, Apr 9th, from 5-7pm, May Gallery, Webster Univ campus. Check it out if you get a chance.

Emily has photographed with us before and does wonderful work. This is a little invite she did of an exhibition of a personal project. Yes, she started WAAAAYYY before the "smile" commercials hit prime-time. :)

Emily and Nate's wedding invitation

It's fun seeing all the super cool and fun ideas for invitations and save-the-dates. Here's Emily and Nate's unique and very appealing invitation. Designed to look like a punch ticket, the RSVP is the perforated "ticket stub" at the right end of the invitation. The other part had directions and reservation information with a very handy map on the back.

(note: we had nothing to do with the design or printing of this wonderful invitation. We just thought it was cool and wanted to share) We're looking forward to their wedding and they're having studio B! as well!

Truman Anthony

We received some beautiful news in the mail! Julia and Nate had a baby boy! We could not imagine better parents than Julia and Nate! Congratulations!!! Happy birthday Truman!

Studio B!

Though we're not very good at "tooting our own horn", I do want to toot just a little about these two amazing gentlemen. We try and give back to the community in our own way. Whether a fundraiser for someone in need or a fundraiser for a local school, these two gentlemen always step up to donate their personal time any time the need arises. Not only do they help make studio B! the best event photography experience in St Louis (bar none), they also are heavily involved in their own communities, volunteering for sports programs and various other civic opportunities. Rich is busy working full time with the Air Force AND finishing his advanced degree and he STILL has time to come out to play with studio B! Not only is Rich always good for a laugh (or five) but he will bend over BACKWARDS to make sure studio B! is the best it absolutely can be! We'd be lost without him!

Jim is super cool under pressure. Heavily involved with his sports photography and running various sports programs for his school, Jim still finds time to come out to play with studio B! Because we custom install for any venue or event, running complicated network or radio systems for image distribution, or setting up unique projection scenarios (hanging a high output projector from a beam 14' in the air) sometimes things get a little tense for the timeline. Jim never caves under pressure and is just a steady force...always helping to pull off a fantastic studio B! experience. We'd be lost without him too!
And here's me. I like cake and goofing off with stacks of studio B! cards...LOL. What can I say... ;)

a few more peeks at Cake Boss!

I can't say enough about how nice Buddy is in person. He is amazing and has an amazing wife and family.

Cake Boss

Yesterday we had the great pleasure of photographing an event in St Louis featuring Buddy from the TLC program "Cake Boss". I have to admit that I didn't know much about him before but Buddy is such a genuinely nice guy, I'm definitely a fan now! Lajuanna had a chance to visit with his beautiful wife, Lisa, and she's just as nice. If you haven't already, check out his program on TLC. Pictured above is a 500lb cake. As amazing as it looks, it tastes just as good! We'll post a few details a little later.

playing dress-up...

Lajuanna and I had fun playing dress-up with a bunch of fun kids the other day!

Lea and Mike