Mine.

I recently found videos that we have taken since my girls were born. Amazing. I never realized at the time how much those small every day moments would mean to me. They took my breath away and inspired me in new ways. So refreshing. I sat here at my computer laughing and crying at the same time. Remembering those sweet tiny voices, the little baby belly laughs...the way they said their sisters name before they could really talk. Music to my ears. In one video I asked them if they knew their daddy's name, they were just about two, and one of them said it right away. The other moved her hand around and said..."tick a tick a tick" (tickle tickle tickle) because daddy has always been the silly one! lol I forgot about that.

They are truly my sunshine and light up my world in the most spectacular ways. They are Identical twins, yet so very different at the same time. Alone they are miraculous and I adore their beautiful souls...together they are breath taking in a whole new way. I think that was my favorite part of those old videos. Watching again how strong the bond that holds them together has always been. I remember back then how I would sit and wonder what they would be like, what they would love to do, what their favorite things would end up being. The things they would excel at and all the little quirks they would have that make them unique. Today, I smile as I know a lot of those answers and am in awe of how much they have grown. They turned 6 this past December and I am beyond proud of who they have become. I have a whole new array of wonders filtering in my heart for them....but love that I am here with them to witness who they are right now and stand beside them as they learn to walk down their own path. That I will always cherish.

Those little pictures and videos froze my sweet baby girls in time and have inspired me to take a whole new turn on my photography in my own families life. My favorite things to photograph have always been those small details that one day we will long to remember and those special "real" moments that hold so much raw emotion and love. However, in this crazy busy life we all lead I sometimes let the days go by too quickly. My goal for this year is to remember to take my camera out more often at home...and capture all the moments that make up our days Today....so I have them to hold onto tomorrow.

For now I will share this with you. These were taken last November right before their 6Th birthday. Don't let them fool you...I had to bribe them into it, but in the end...we had a really fun day, one that they were thankful for as much as Mommy! ♥xo

a thank you

I have been meaning to blog this session for a while, but have not been able to write the words down just as they are in my heart. Just over four years ago I met an amazing woman. One who has a heart of gold and who lives her life sharing it with everyone around her. I am not sure if she realizes it or not but she makes a difference every single day with the little things she does to make everyone else around her smile. Those little things are not so little, they fill your whole heart and soul. If everyone where to be so compassionate with out a second thought...this world would be such an amazing place. Not only is she one of a kind, so is her wonderful family. They all make me smile just to think of them. Along with her hubby (who has a heart just as big I will assure you! ;) They are raising some unbelievable little men. Three to be exact and they are stunning from the inside out! Sweet D I am so blessed to have you as my friend. Thank you for more then words can say! ♥

xo

a quiet moment...

I just wanted to take a step back and share something with you today. I know I am not alone when I say that I find my self not having enough time to do all the things I have to do, not to mention all the things I want to do. Some days I wake up a ball of stress just thinking of all the things I have to get done and where I am going to rush to at any given moment. From school to homework, soccer practice and dance for my girls....the list goes on. Every family has something similar and some days it is so hard to slow down and enjoy the little moments as we are rushing our children from place to place and trying to keep up with our every day responsibilities.

This morning my girls were listening to music in their room and playing a card game on the floor. I did stop and smile as I got myself ready...just to hear their giggles. However, that quickly changed as time didn't slow down and mom had to hurry them to brush their teeth, finish getting dressed and get their library books ready to go. Off to school we went, then I was off to a shoot with a wonderful family and my husband off to his busy day as well. A new day has started!

My session was amazing...refreshing and full of laughter. To have a job where you get to go outdoors, run around, laugh and be carefree and remember what it is like to be a child again is such a blessing. Not to mention all the wonderful families I get to spend time with! On my drive home I thought to myself...why do I have to feel so crazy...I do not remember my parents feeling rushed to get us here and there. Maybe they did, but I never knew. I do not want my children to look back and think, "wow, mom was always so rushed and busy...". I want them to know how much I loved them being where they are and that its ok to slow down and enjoy the smallest moments out of the day. That they do matter...more then others actually. Then I saw it. Right there sitting on one of our pumpkins as I walked up to our front door. A perfectly calm Praying Mantis. I took out my camera, laid on our front porch to get in close (my neighbors probably think I am crazy! lol) and took a few pictures. She didn't move until the end...it looked right at me for a moment and then back down again at the ground.

I knew there was some kind of "belief" or old wives tale about Praying Mantis and good luck, so I looked it up and this is what I found. "The mantis comes to us when we need peace, quiet and calm in our lives. Usually the mantis makes an appearance when we've flooded our lives with so much business, activity, or chaos that we can no longer hear the still small voice within us because of the external din we've created. An appearance from the mantis is a message to be still, go within, meditate, get quite and reach a place of calm."

Being a spiritual person who thinks so many things in our world have special connections beyond our understanding... I took this as a sign, coincidence or not. I needed this Praying Mantis this week...and there she was reminding me once again to slow down. I wanted to share a little bit of peace into your day and hope it helps you remember the dishes will be there tomorrow, the laundry too....and use this moment to go run outside with your kids, sing a song and dance all crazy. Those are the moments that matter the most!

(Or if you are like my husband always keeping me on my toes...you will think of my Praying Mantis and remind me that the females eat the males heads after they mate...instead of appreciating the moment for peace...but at least you will have a good laugh and that always works too! :) )

Enjoy your day!

Casting Call for 2011 Spokes Models! {ny - long island child photographer}

I am back!! It is surreal to me that my daughters are now officially First graders. Time just seems to get faster by the day. I miss them already...my house is too quiet and actually found myself cleaning today to their Miranda Cosgrove CD! haha (it only made me miss them more ;) )

I have a lot of new and fun ideas storming inside my head and want to share one with all of you. I have been blessed beyond words and so thankful for all your amazing referrals. Word of mouth is such a priceless gift and I feel so honored that so many of you have felt so happy and had such a great experience with myself and diMonda Photography that you have given my name to so many of your family and friends! As most of you know I do have a referral program set up to say Thank you, but I would like to give some of you an opportunity to receive even more in exchange for your continued support and have your child become a Spokes Model for diMonda Photography for 2011! Here are the details!!

If you live in the Nassau, Suffolk or surrounding NY areas and are willing to help spread the word of diMonda Photography you and your child could be chosen!

A Spokes Model should be willing to hand out business cards and other promotional material provided by diMonda Photography at age appropriate locations, mommy and me groups, doctors office, play areas and gyms, any location geared towards children of your Spokes Models age group. You may either ask a certain business if it would be ok to leave the materials for their clients to view and take home, or you may hand out business cards directly to individuals you meet. You should also be willing to recommend others to “like” the diMonda Photography Facebook page.

If you truly love diMonda Photography and the art of capturing your children naturally as they are and meet the simple requirements above you may enter the contest! If you win you will receive a free Mini Session along with all of your high resolution digital images the session produces (between 10-20). This will be only for the child who fits the age requirements and wins the Spokes Model "job", sorry no other family members or siblings in the session. Being a mom of twins I will allow twins/multiples to enter the contest and of course both will be allowed in the free session as well. You will also receive diMonda Photography business cards featuring your child. I will keep track of all referrals and new business I receive from you and will offer the chance to win future sessions and credits towards products as well. If you refer anyone to “like” the diMonda Photography Facebook page simply have them send me a message or write on my page that you recommended them and I will give you the credit. For every paid session I receive with a new client that found diMonda Photography through your child's promotional material or directly from you, you will receive $100 towards future sessions and products! There are no limits to how much you can earn!!

To enter simply email me a picture of your child, their first name or first initial if you do not want their name posted on Facebook, the age they are today and their birthday. Their birthday and actual age will not be listed anywhere on line, it is only for me to know what category to put them in for the contest. The picture must be taken by you or diMonda Photography. Please no other professional images allowed. By sending me your child's picture you are also giving me consent to use it on my Facebook page for voting purposes and for your childs chance to win. I will need to receive your picture by September 27^th. After this date I will put all the pictures into a photo album on my Facebook page that will be open for voting. More info will follow once I have the pictures in! There will be fun prizes for the voters to win as well!

I am looking for three Spokes Models for the 2011 calendar year!

Age groups I am looking for:

Newborn – 18 months

2 years – 4 years

5 years – 10 years*

*If I get enough interest I may decide to break this group into two and will add one more spokes model!*

Thank you again for all your support and for your interest in becoming a 2011 diMonda Photography Spokes Model! Please email me your Cute Kid Photos or any questions at:

amanda@dimondaphotography.com

And of course I need a picture so here are my twin girls...all too grown up and ready for the start of their first day of their 1st Grade Year!

...for love of the game. Happy Fathers Day!

Baseball. Growing up if you asked me what I thought of when I heard "baseball", I would have answered (being a young girl from Minnesota in the 80's) Kirby Puckett, #34, Homer Hankies and 1987 World Series! Ask me today and I would tell you Magic, Love, Joey, #9 and Sunday!

The truth is if it wasn't for Baseball I may not have ever met my husband. It is an amazing story too long for this post but in the end, he has always played and loved baseball. It found him early and he never let it go. Then it found "us". Magic.

This year has been trying on my family to say the least. Looking back I don't know how we made it through some of the days...but we did. Together. The most recent event in one way or another brought us an Angel...of sorts. An Angel that has slowly helped me open my eyes and realize it is ok to smile and be happy even when things that have happened are hard to understand. An Angel that has reminded me what is important in life and that I truly need to look at them with my eyes wide open, embrace those moments and cherish them with every fiber of my being. To see that yes, this year may not be one we would have wished for in the way it has played out so far. But it did happen and it brought us together in ways we never dreamed of. We are stronger "together" then I think both of us ever thought possible. And tho it is easy to feel and see all the negative things....now is the time to focus on the AMAZING things this year has given us.

So for Fathers Day Joey, I would love to give you the gift of knowing I am OK. That I love you with all my heart and soul. To know that with out you my life would not be complete and I would not have two of the most beautiful souls on this earth to call our daughters. It is this year, this difficult year, we were brought together 10 years ago. And one that an "angel" has brought us together again...in a different way. This year our gorgeous daughters graduated Kindergarten with flying colors and are so excited for the journey they have begun. One that together we have helped nurture and prepare them for. This year diMonda Photography turned one...and with out your guidance, love, encouragement and support it would not have been possible. This year...will end up meaning so many different things to us, but I want you to always know that I am honored and proud to call you my husband. There are no words to express exactly what you mean to me...but I will spend my life trying my best to show you everyday. Love.

Sunday. Every Sunday during the Spring and Summer you can find us at one Baseball field or another. It started off the two of us, then mommy, daddy and twin 4 month old girls. Now Daddy, Mommy and two 5 1/2 year old beauties that eyes shine to watch their Daddy play and so proud to be his girls. Below are a few pictures from a few Sunday's ago. Pictures someone has been hounding me for but I somehow held him off! lol The girls got to watch their Daddy play in the leagues All Star Game at a "real" Baseball stadium...Where the minor league team, the Brooklyn Cyclones play. With the "All Star" of our lives being the MVP to us...every day.

We Love you Joey/Daddy. Happy Fathers Day. I think we have the best team around, and tho we may strike out every now and then, let a few players on base...the team work and home runs is what I will remember most and knowing in my heart that no matter what....for us, every day if we remember what matters most, we will have our Perfect Game!

Happy Fathers Day to my daddy, my own personal hero, I love you and miss you and wish we could be together today...we are in my heart... to my father in law and all the amazing fathers that fill our hearts with joy in ways only Daddy's do best! xoxo

Daddy's #1 Fans!

All of them...lol

Those of you that know my girls know exactly who is who in this picture by their personalities!!!

Calla Lilies...

...are my favorite flower, but I will take Tulips as a close second for the feeling of Spring they recently brought my way.

Last Friday, a Snow Day from school, the girls decided to dress themselves in their brightly colored sun dresses and deliver me a couple tulips from the vase downstairs. It is extraordinary how children know just when to do the sweetest things. How their innocent ideas and playful "plans" can turn any dull day into anything but. They made my heavy soul feel light as air and pushed aside the debris so I could see the first "buds" of Spring already blossoming. Life has been full this past month to say the least and I had no idea beneath all that "snow" there was a "Spring" working its way up from underneath. My children gave me the best gift on a day I truly needed it.

I know so many special people, family and friends who could use little bit of "Spring" in their souls right now...and this is for all of you. You know who you are. Please know I am sending with this, the biggest hug too!

Thank You!

Watching my children grow everyday and evolve into these beautiful little people leaves me at a loss for words. Their spirit shines so bright in even the simplest of moments and leaves me with tears in the corner of my eyes. I have so much to be thankful for and my life has been blessed in countless ways. It is from my pregnancy with them that I found myself with Cardiomyopathy and yet it is also because of them that I am so thankful that it was me who was diagnosed with it and not my babies.

Since finding out that children are susceptible to Cardiomyopathy I have been determined to do my part in helping find answers. Last fall I posted that I was going to donate 10% of my prints profits to The Children's Cardimyopathy Foundation, and today with the help of so many of you, I did! So thank you everyone who ordered prints and holiday cards. Together we were able to help out an organization that is close to my heart. If you have not already please visit their Facebook page and become a fan in hopes to help spread the word and find a cure. If you would like to help even further please visit http://extraordinarymeasuresthemovie.com/#/quilt The movie, Extraordinary Measures, is giving away $10,000 to a charity doing extraordinary things. Please click on the CCF video (currently on page 3) and place your vote.

My heart goes out to all the children and families of children who are dealing with this condition. Always.

And because no post is complete with out a picture....my girls caught after a sisterly wrestle! ;)

Five

Five years ago to the hour I was being transported up to my room in the maternity ward and holding my babies for the very first time. I had them at 1:03 and 1:05pm and because of complications was in recovery for 11 hours with out even getting to hold them once. Seeing them for a short minute was amazing enough...but to hold them in my arms...my own heart times two...I have tears now just thinking about it. I have tried many times to put into words the feelings and emotions that awaken inside of you the moment you become a parent, but I have not gotten it perfect yet. To put it lightly it was one of the most breath taking, heart stopping, happiest life changing moments in my life, and one I would love to travel back in time to experience all over again.

Emily Isabella and Lily Anjolie. They are the most amazingly sweet, smart and beautiful souls you could ever meet. As different as they are the same. Complimenting and completing each other all at the same time. They amaze me. I am blessed in new ways every day. I can not believe how fast 5 years can go by and only wish, as ever other parent out there, that I could slow time down. For now I will have to let pictures freeze those moments forever...so we may always remember and so they can look back one day and see for themselves, how wonderful they have always been.

Happy Birthday Emma and Lily...mommy and daddy love you more then you could ever know....but we will never stop trying to show you just how much. xo