Andrew Niesen

One night while in Playa del Carmen, we went to a thumpin' club right on the beachfront called the Blue Parrot. After the stunning fire show I stumbled over to another section of the club and there was this woman doing trapeze acts up in the rafters swinging around on some fabric. Shot a couple of photos and went back to dancing.

Oh, and I modified this blog so that we can now put bigger photos on here. Yay!

I decided Andrew needed some stress relief this holiday season, so I gave him a helicopter for Christmas! It's so much fun, but you can see that we're still learning to how fly smoothly. It's a tough little chopper though – it's already had many crash landings and has survived unscathed! Check it out:

I've always felt a connection to family traditions and celebrations. So, when I started planning our holiday party, I wanted to establish a new tradition that we could enjoy for many years. With help from Katie and Chris Torres, Andrew and I hosted a Solstice Party at our loft. Since the Winter Solstice is the shortest day of the year, we decided it would be fun to enjoy the longest night with themes of light and fellowship. We decorated the loft with 50 hanging votive candles and asked each guest to bring an individual candle to symbolize the light they bring into our lives. The table was covered in white and silver, which reflected the light throughout the room. It was a beautiful evening and we were surrounded by wonderful friends! Of course, Katie and I are already looking forward to creating the menu for next year's Solstice Party. Cooking for 16 people is an adventure!













Like I said, cooking for 16 people can be an adventure — especially when the bread catches on fire and takes the whole "light" theme a bit too far! Thankfully we had lots of photographers around to take pictures, and a fire extinguisher on hand.

Various incarnations of Santa wave at passing cars outside of The Vortex in Little Five Points.

One of the things we love about Atlanta is there's always some crazy, quirky adventure to participate in. This year we found out about SantaCon, an event held in several cities around the world where hundreds of revelers gather together in Santa costumes and stop in at various bars and restaurants to have a drink or, sometimes, just to walk through and perplex the normal civilians.

Mark and I, Mel and Jeremy, and our friend David Hamilton had a blast parading around Little Five Points with the hundred or so other Santas. We danced, handed out candy and gifts to passersby, and even found a Christmas tree lot where all the Santas could feel at home. Can't wait to do it again next year.

Mark and me

Jeremy, Mel, me and David

For once, Mark was not the only one with a big beard.

But Mark was sporting a big hat!

This week and next, restaurants and event venues all over the country are filled with companies - big and small - celebrating the past year with toasts, treats and togetherness.

Last night our little company of eight enjoyed an evening together over wine, cheese, dinner and dessert at one of our favorite Atlanta restaurants, ecco. We feel so fortunate to have such a talented, driven team. We are truly a family, and we can't wait to see what 2008 will bring!

Here are some photos from the evening:
Jenn Linke is Marketing, Management & Mom extraordinaire who can juggle just about anything! She keeps The Decisive Moment running like a well-oiled machine. Her husband, Adam, is our Pictage Pro Consultant and the sweetest Dad to their adorable son Hayden!

Melissa Roth is LaCour's brilliant studio manager who keeps us smiling...and sane! Her husband, Jeremy, made us all teary with his heartfelt toast last night!




Jonathan LaCour is the unflappable Mr. Q, the man whose savvy skills are building ShootQ into a superlative software solution for photographers! His wife, Lacey, keeps him sane as he deals with us!

Ryan Petrello is the latest addition to the ShootQ team and we were excited that he and his beautiful fiancé could join us for dinner last night! Hopefully, we didn't scare them too much with our antics!

Thanks guys for inspiring us every day with your dedication and friendship. We look forward to another great year together!