The Aftermath...

The fact that I was able to capture the following images just breaks my heart. For those of you who do not know, I am from Yazoo City where a deadly tornado touched down on Saturday. Most of my family is still there. Fortunately, no one in my family was hurt, but the aftermath of what every Yazoo-an is dealing with is incredible. It is hard to take in. The landscape has completely changed. Sadly, there were some deaths and many injuries. The stories are horrific. To pull up to "Four Points", the main intersection as you enter Yazoo City from the south and the area that is shown on the news, and see orange signs that say "Disaster Area" is something  no one wants to see. There is no way to describe it and, honestly, pictures and news reports can not accurately depict the destruction.

What is not being shown on the news are the small surrounding communities that were also hit. Zeiglerville, just northeast of Yazoo City, looks like a warzone. If you don't know, I am a Zeigler, and this is where our family homeplace and farm is located. There are so many people in that area that lost everything. Yazoo County is just not the same. It brings tears to my eyes just thinking about it.

I went to my dad's yesterday and just started to cry as I topped the hill into that small community on Hwy 433. There is hardly a tree left on a road that was canopied by them. I thank the Lord that no one was harmed. Things can be replaced, loved ones can't.

Please continue to pray for all of those affected in the Yazoo area and the entire community as a whole. It is amazing how folks have pulled together to help one another. And for all of my friends that went to my dad's yesterday to help with the clean-up, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. For anyone who wants to help with the efforts, be it monetary, supplies, food, or search and rescue, the Yazoo City church of Christ is being used for distribution, as is the Red Cross, Salvation Army and MEMA.

Ratcliff for Judge...

I debated whether or not to post an image from this "session" and have decided to give in. Steve Ratcliff is an incredibly nice guy who is running for Madison Co. Judge on November 2.  Steve asked me to get a few headshots for him, and of course I said yes! He is so personable and kept me laughing the entire shoot.  Check him out at www.steveratcliff.com or on his Facebook fan page for more info. Good luck, Steve!

Cohen...

Meet my little cousins, the Cohens.  Andrea has been trying to get pics of the kids for quite a while and, although we didn't actually have a session, during yesterday's Easter festivities I was able to capture a couple of images. We'll try for a full round of pics in the near future:)