The Kicklighter Family


Sometimes I meet up with a family for the first time, and there’s just something about them. A light.
This family had that “something.” I loved spending a Sunday evening with them. They were real. And it was refreshing!
I’ve started typing about them several times, but I keep deleting everything. So instead of my words, I’ll leave you with this:

“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress
and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” James 1:27

October 31, 2012 - 12:25 pm

Maria - Wow, their name! They are such a a beautiful family, great pictures.

October 24, 2012 - 10:40 am

Marlena - I see exactly what you mean in the photos. Beautiful family. And hello, love their name!

October 13, 2012 - 8:25 pm

Ginger Blackmon - Lyndsay, I love them! Thank you so much! They came home and talked about how nice you were and how well you worked with everyone. Thank you for taking such beautiful pictures of their new family! I know they will be treasured.

1 dress – 3 ways

Good morning!
I’m guest-posting over at Sincerely Arizona today.
Come on over and see how I styled this dress 3 different ways.

October 12, 2012 - 9:08 pm

abbi - SUPER cute!!! i love all of them but # 1 is my fave!!:)

October 11, 2012 - 7:42 pm

peggy - No.2 is my fav! You cute,funky child!

October 11, 2012 - 10:21 am

Andrea - Such a great post! I’m coming over from Sincerely Arizona. Love your blog!

FAQ: Round 9 – Striking a Balance

Balance.

The B Word.

I get emails at least weekly about finding balance. People want to know how I do it. How I balance being a wife and mom with running a business.

Does the fact that I haven’t answered any of these emails in over a month tell you anything?

Truth is, sometimes I don’t. I get overwhelmed. My house is a wreck today (and I HATE a messy house). But my Mom is coming over to watch Kingston tomorrow, and I know she’ll clean up the mess for me. She always does. Yep. My Mom cleans my house. And my husband sometimes cooks dinner. Last night I woke up from a dead sleep and remembered I hadn’t paid 2 bills that were due over the weekend. Ugh! Balance is hard. I struggle with it constantly. Between taking care of my boys, running Pink Coffee, doing graphic design work for my church, blogging, working on freelance projects (and everything else) it’s hard. Really hard.

I struggle with it just like everyone else, but I try to remember that at the end of the day my family is what’s most important. That’s why I only take on one photoshoot a week. And it’s also why I don’t participate in photography networking groups or anything else that makes me feel like I have to compete. I want my Pink Coffee clients to have a great experience, and I’ve realized that in order to make that happen I can only do so much. I want to say I’ve learned to say “no”. But I think it’s more honest to say that I’m learning to say “no”. I don’t have it all figured out yet, but every time I turn down a project that I know would interfere with my family-life it gets easier. And it feels so good! I’m learning what works best for Team Almeida and trying to ignore what other people think.

So that’s my long answer to this often-asked question. I’m a work in progress!

October 12, 2012 - 9:07 pm

abbi - love, love this post. it’s so hard to find balance. i struggle with work, house, family and maintaining my relationship with God. at the end of the day all that matters is your relationship
with the people you love and God. everything else can wait.

October 10, 2012 - 12:22 pm

pinkcoffeephoto - Pops, I got that phrase from you. :) Love you too!

October 10, 2012 - 11:01 am

Pops - Your comment, “I am learning…” is something I say regularly. In 58 years I don’t think I’ve learned anything TOTALLY. Rather, I am still learning to be a husband, a daddy, a faithful Christian, a pastor, etc. Thanks for being honest. I love you.

October 9, 2012 - 2:58 pm

Marlena - For the record, I think you’re doing a wonderful job.

October 9, 2012 - 2:13 pm

annie - THIS IS SO HARD FOR ME! I have SO MUCH I want to do, ‘need’ to do, make, sell, etc…but after these 42 dresses, I’m really realzing, all I really NEED to do is SIT and BE STILL. Thank you for this. Thank you for the reminder that the boys at home are really the only ones that matter! THANK YOU! xoxoxoxo

October 9, 2012 - 12:19 pm

Andrea Worley - I kinda hate the world balance. :) to me it makes it seem like everything has to even out with my time. But the reality for me is that I’m never going to be able to give the same amount of time to my family as I do blogging, photography, etc. Something has to take priority and that’s my family first, always. I say no a lot! and it’s really helped to wage everything against is this a benefit to my family? does it take away time from them? could it be better spent elsewhere? these are questions i ask myself before committing to anything.

i love what you said about finding what works for you! it’s so true because every family is different. :) thanks for sharing today!

October 9, 2012 - 12:03 pm

Molly - Thanks for this!!! I really needed it!

Holly – Just Because

I’m so proud of Holly. I’ve known her forever. As in, I remember her being in a bassinet. And I can tell you that this gorgeous girl has always been stunning. She never even went through the awkward, lanky kid stage. I know. It’s not fair! But if I tell you she’s as pretty on the inside as she looks in these pictures does that make you feel better?! She needed some fresh images for her modeling portfolio and is starting a style blog soon, so we had a little photo date last week. I’ll pass along all the details when her site launches, so you can add it to your list of must-reads!

October 12, 2012 - 9:01 pm

abbi - she is beautiful. i’ve seen her at church and thought…she should model.
great pictures!!:)

October 9, 2012 - 12:56 pm

pinkcoffeephoto - Thanks Kristen! I asked about that belt too. :) She got it at a local boutique!

October 9, 2012 - 12:32 pm

kristen - SO beautiful! Great pics. And WHERE did she get that belt?!

October 9, 2012 - 1:42 am

Marlena - I was totally thinking she should model. Girl just has IT!

October 8, 2012 - 1:46 pm

Andrea Worley - Beautiful pictures!

October 8, 2012 - 11:56 am

annie - HELLOOOOOOOOO LEGS FOR DAYS!!!!!!!!! NOT FAIR AT ALL! She’s beautiful! And so refreshing to know she’s just as beautiful on the inside! Great job Lynds! Love these pictures!!!!!!

Oscar and Erica in Grand Rapids

Another shoot from Michigan…
I knew from talking to Erica that I was going to like her a lot. And I was right! She and Oscar are celebrating their 5th anniversary this year, and she thought that was a great excuse for new pictures! This couple is quite the stylish duo, don’t you think?

October 6, 2012 - 1:59 pm

Erica Ramirez - Love Them!!! Awesome Job Lyndsay! So now I need to figure out how I’m gonna get you to Holland for all my special events that happen in our lives!

October 6, 2012 - 12:52 pm

Ginger - Good pictures, Lyndsay. They’re a sweet-looking couple. I love the look on Oscar’s face while Erica was kissing his cheek. If that picture were mine it would be displayed prominently in my house. Absolutely adorable!

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