My poor blog, I have been neglecting it for a while. So much has been happening here at Photography By May and something had to give to where I was not sacrificing my time with my precious family and unfortunately it was my blog. So with that, I wanted to continue on the road trip we took this past summer...yes, I did say summer and yes, I know it is fall now, lol!....If you missed my blog post on Road Trip Across America Part one, do check it out.

This blog post is going to pick up on our trip in Albuquerque, New Mexico. It's my very first time there and I must say it has an interesting landscape. A lot of brown everywhere until we got to the other side of the Sandia peak and then there was more green all over. We decided to take whatever available time we had to check out the Sandia peak and parts of the city around the University of New Mexico campus. The trek up Sandia was pretty long. In fact, it was 2.7 miles long. It was Daniela's second time on a tramway but fun nevertheless.

See all the brown....
 Getting a little greener...

 That shadow aaaaaallllll........ the way down there is our tram car
 Isn't it beautiful? This is at the peak at 10,378 foot above sea level.

Now that it's officially summer, more and more people are out and about to have some fun before the scorching Texas heat gets unbearable. Oopss! wait it IS already unbearable. We had taken advantage of some cooler evenings to hang out in the backyard before it got too hot. Texas has some really awesome places for kids to go and have fun but, sometimes the best place is right in your backyard. When you have a toddler, believe me you will look for activities to let them burn out their never ending energy. What is your backyard fun like?!

I just wanted to take this time to wish all my wonderful clients, friends and family a very Happy Mother's Day. I hope you have a wonderful day celebrating your awesomeness and the wonderful things you do for your children and loved ones.

You know, it's amazing what mother's do and sacrifice for their children and loved ones. I know this first hand cause I have a mother like that who puts her kids before herself. She has done so much for me to get me to where I am today. And while I tell her Mom, its your time to enjoy life now and not worry about the kids, it is a habit that is hard for her to change. I remember when I was running a fever as a child, she would stay up all night sponging me down even though she had to get up real early for work. She would take on part-time jobs on top of her full time job just so she could give us better of everything. She would teach me art (I guess that's whom I got my artistic flair from). She would even make clothes for my barbie doll(yes!...... I did play with Barbie dolls growing up). She would cook awesome yummy food and baked cookies during holiday celebrations. She would take me to school and wait for me at the cafeteria because I was afraid of going to school that one day. She was just that kind of a mom. Selfless, caring and hardworking putting her family first. She has given so much of herself to each and everyone of her children. For that and everything else that you have done for me and my siblings, I cannot thank you enough MOM. You are an inspiration. I hope to one day be at least half the awesome MOM that you are. I am so blessed that GOD gave me you. Have a Happy Mother's Day!, MOM. Love ya.

Me and my mom hanging out by the beach. Isn't she HOT! and that's after having 5 kids y'all.

Giving back to my community is very dear to my heart. People give in so many ways. Some people give money, some give things, and like me now, some give their services. I couldn't be happier to have the chance to give back to my community through my photography.

A couple of times out of the year, I will donate my services to non-profit organizations as well as to deserving families. So stay tuned if you or someone you know runs a non-profit or knows a deserving family within the Dallas-Fort Worth area. I will be holding contests in the near future for you to submit your deserving nominee of choice. Details of the submissions will be given at that time both on my facebook and right here on my blog. To not miss out on this contest, make sure to follow me on facebook  or you can subscribe here to my blog.

My first GIVE BACK of the year was to First United Methodist Church of Frisco, TX which also happens to be my church family. When Pastor Jason approached me about taking some pictures for the church, I was elated. Now, FUMC Frisco was a deserving candidate not just because its my church family(although that plays a huge role, wink!wink!) but this very church does so much for the community. They are known throughout this area as a place to go in time of need. They even have a team of early responders called H.O.P.E that was immediately deployed to assist folks in the recent tornado disaster in Lancaster. Seriously, they do so much good for the community that it would take writing an encyclopedia to list it all out. I was given the privilege and honor to capture some pictures of my church family members from our Palm Sunday service as well as our Eggstravaganza event. FUMC Frisco has some of the most caring, loving, friendly, selfless and dedicated people I have ever met. They were so gracious for allowing me to capture them in some of their most intimate and vulnerable moment in prayer with our Heavenly Father. For that, I thank you and I hope you like the pictures.

Here is just a taste of some of the great shots captured that day. To view larger, just click on the image itself.

Meet this beautiful family made up of Steve, Laura, Claire and soon to be born Cooper. I cannot say enough of how sweet this family is. They have been so supportive of my photography and Laura especially has been a wonderful advocate for me. I cannot thank her enough for her support.