Smile!!! Look at the camera, sweetie...look over here!! Don't pick your nose!!!! Say cheese!!

I've always loved taking pictures. To take a picture of someone is capturing a moment of their life...a moment that if not frozen in time through a picture, would one day be forgotten. That's the beauty of a photograph...it won't let you forget.

Was the groom nervous? Did she take her first steps in the living room...or was it in the kitchen? Did grandma make her famous pumpkin pie last Thanksgiving?....Photographs tell our story, they reveal the details of our lives...without a word.

Photography has always been a hobby of mine. I always have a camera on me...you just never know when you'll have a "moment". I have recently decided to turn this beloved hobby into a business venture...LH PHOTOGRAPHY!

If you or anyone you know needs family, engagement or baby portraits...I'd love to capture their moment!!

They can reach me at 404.790.2221 or lindsay.hooten@gmail.com!

You can access some of my work off of my Facebook profile.... : )

Thanks so much for your love and support through this new adventure!!

PS: Jake makes for quite the assistant.... : )
There's a lot of heavy equipment involved!!
He's such a sport for putting up with his wife's dreams!

LH PHOTOGRAPHY ONLINE!

A Gator Girl in Bulldog Country

I know my Gator girls have a tough time seeing me in RED & BLACK....
Is it possible to truly LOVE thy enemy? I thinkith so! ; )

Over Easter weekend we stayed in Athens with Jake's grandmother, Nana. She's so sweet! We went to G-Day in Athens on Saturday with Jake's sister, Kate and his Dad. It was a blast watching him play flag football with his fellow Georgia Lettermen. We got to take a few pics with Uga...he's precious....but Bailey is still my #1 canine!
On Sunday we went to the Masters. Its a family tradition I've been able to share with Jake for the past three years. We're so grateful that his grandmother, Cici, is kind enough to share her passes with us!
Making these kinds of memories together is such a blessing! : )

KitchenAid Mixer Date Night

We FINALLY got our mixer out of its dusty little box for our date-night on Friday!

We had a blast making a pound cake, recipe courtesy of the AJC! It's absolutely delicious and was a big hit in our family....me, Jake....and Bailey. : )
Though I think Bailey preferred the spatula licking action more than the finished product!

Ingredients:

love

patience

the ability to eat tons of UNCOOKED batter and NOT get sick

the ability to eat tons of COOKED pound cake and NOT care that you just ate your entire daily recommended calories in one slice

1 pound (4 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 2/3 cups granulated sugar

8 eggs

3 cups all-purpose flour, sifted

Pinch salt

1/2 cup canned evaporated milk

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon almond or lemon extract (or some of each)

SNOW DAY!

Wow, the Hooten's really enjoyed today's snow (from inside the house!) I had been in bed sick almost all weekend when Jake came home from Waumba Land this morning and opened the curtains to reveal a total WINTER WONDERLAND. I had no idea it was even snowing...thanks NyQuil for knocking me out!
We have done the following on our snow day: cooked General Tso chicken from Trader Joes, study for GMAT , worked on planning for "Operation: Wish", made homemade ice cream and Funfetti cake, Yankee Candle -Vanilla Cupcake- smelling, watched Bailey nap alllllll day, house hunting investigating, and now I'm about to curl up with my hubby to read more of my new fav book...How to Get Into the Bible by Stephen Miller.
I grew up Catholic and was not introduced as a child to any formal bible teachings. Through my own journey with the bible, small group, Waumba Land and Starting Point I have had amazing opportunities to learn about scripture. However, recently I had been feeling that I wanted to know more and really strengthen my foundation of the Word.
I went to Borders about a month ago and bought the book mentioned above. It has the cheesiest cover I've ever seen. I almost didn't pick it up. But part of the cover caught my eye...it reads...Journey Though the Greatest Story of All Time.
That was exactly what I was looking for. I had done some pretty extensive bible studies in my small group...which I was able to pick through and apply to my life. Yet, when I sat there and really thought about....I could honestly say that I knew where God was in MY story....but what about His story....did I know Him the way He knows me? And the answer simply was....no....I want to know the story....all of it.
I used to get so caught up in the language of the bible and get stuck on a word that was hard to translate. So that brought me to Borders, trying to find a book that could accompany me on my journey. The book gives really neat time lines and backgrounds to each book of the bible. So far I've really enjoyed it! It's VERY user-friendly and is fun to follow. Let me know if you have any other books you would recommend! I'm definitely enjoying digging deeper into the Word!!
We hope you enjoyed your snow day (if you were lucky enough to have one!) This week I'll be working on our "message center" with Nanny. Wish me luck! : )

(pic of Jake was taken last year during another fun snow day...except that one was spent OUTSIDE!)

Dreaming BIG!

I love my job. Don't get me wrong. But I've been feeling in my heart lately that I want to do more. I'll be at CCDHC (GI Care for Kids) for a loooong time...it's a wonderful work environment and I really do love my patients. Ever since we got married, I've felt a change in my heart. A good change! Not only was there the change of becoming a wife (which is such an incredible blessing)...but, I've felt God calling me to do something BIG for our community.

I've been praying about HOW I can achieve this dream in my heart. I've always had this mentality of ...I wanna SAVE THE WORLD! Hence the nursing career....but I get distracted by the day-to-day demands of my little world. My world/my distractions: Jake, Bailey, our home, our family, our friends, work, errands, 20% off Bed Bath & Beyond Coupons, Facebook, post-wedding stuff, cleaning, cooking, budgeting....the list goes on. Distractions aren't necessarily BAD, but...they do take up time, despite their goodabilty. ; )

The dream: I want to set up a website/forum...where local ATL peeps can MAKE and GRANT wishes. In a time when it may be a little hard to give money to your local charity, wouldn't it be great to sign-in to a website and see what the local area needs are, and be able to contribute, even non-monetarily? Jake and I are very strong believers in tithing and giving to the church, so I'm not insinuating that this is what you should do instead of tithing...but, that's a whole different subject! This is about LOCAL COMMUNITY, and rebuilding the spirit of Atlanta.

Ok....so I know I probably lost you. So....this is how it would work:

Hi, I'm "Jane"...I work for Atlanta Elementary School.....and there is a need for 10 pencils at our school. I'm going to post our "wish" on TheWishNetwork.com (the site I'm trying to get) that my school needs 10 pencils.

Hi, I'm "Steve"...I work for Pencil Makers of America...and I happen to have 10 extra pencils.
I'm going to sign-in to TheWishNetwork.com and reply to "Janes" post. I'm going to grant the school's wish.

That's the basic idea. It's that simple...there are NEEDS in this community and there are people that want to GIVE. The problem is, those that have the need don't know how to make that need known. And, those that want to give, don't know who needs. And in a time when writing a check to The American Cancer Association may be hard on a lot of us...that doesn't mean that we can't fulfill our hearts desire to GIVE.


...........so.............


There's a TON that I have to work out. I've been working on turning this into a non-profit organization but am realizing that it's quite difficult. SO, with that said, this is still a dream....but I'm hoping that I'll meet just the right person, who can help me see this dream turn into something that can really help our community.

There is NO financial obligation in supporting this, which is how this organization would be different. It's people using resources they may happen to have "extra" of... or people that may want to give their time. For example, yard work for an elderly woman.

Let me know if you have any ideas or suggestions. Jake and I will continue to pray about this and how God wants to use us. Until then, I trust that He will continue to wrap his arms around our country as we are all dealing with this economic turmoil.

Live.Laugh.Love.

Don't those three words just make your heart smile??

A picture is worth a thousand words!

Enough said!

Another wedding in the family!!

My brother, Andrew and his girlfriend, Erin are ENGAGED!!! They haven't set the date yet but it will be sometime in 2010. We couldn't be happier for them. They are both amazing people and together make and incredible couple!!!! Jake and I took them to Fado to celebrate last weekend. The new location is awesome and the food is delish!!!

A New Year: NEW Resolutions...Giving in a World of Wanting

*written 1.1.09*

So last night I started thinking about resolutions...

They are typically about ourselves:
lose weight
get out of debt
learn something new
quit smoking

What if this year our resolutions were not about us?
What if we sought to resolve issues that went beyond our personal goals?

2008 was rough on a lot of people....whether it was losing a job or foreclosing on a house...our country went through some heartache this year.

I have to believe that God is delivering these trials to teach us a lesson. He's not punishing us, he's simply showing us that there's more to life than the bigger and better. Americans have fallen into a mindset of "it's all about me" which has probably contributed to the position we're all in now. We, in general, have forgotten what its like to be happy with what we have. There is so much pressure put on us by society to WANT more...and more...and more.

This year, let's GIVE more..and more...and more....to our families, friends, husbands, wives, boyfriends, girlfriends, strangers, the homeless, the less fortunate, the neighbors we've never met, the cause that breaks our heart but we say we don't have time for....simply, GIVE.

2009: I strongly feel that we have been given a fresh start with this new year....an opportunity to GIVE and not WANT. Maybe we'll see that with a change of resolutions, we'll come to find an even bigger change in our hearts.

I hope 2009 brings you peace, love and joy......and, I hope it brings our country together!

Love-
Lindsay Ann

**picture taken of a chapel in Maui**

Bienvenido a blogo de Hooten!

Welcome to our blog!!

Make yourself at home! Our blog is your blog, well, not really.... : ) Jake and I decided this would be a neat way to let our family and friends know whats new in the Hooten neighborhood! As for whats NEW...we are married!! We got married 11-22-08...it was the most incredible day!

We were so fortunate to be able to celebrate our marriage surrounded by our incredible family and friends! It was a VERY cold evening...but we couldn't have asked for a more perfect wedding! We went to Maui for our honeymoon. We're hoping we can go back...tomorrow. Somehow I don't think that's going to happen. We're free next week...how 'bout that?

**Check out our photographer at jkdallasphotography.com!