Katie & Garrett

Two weeks ago I headed out to the Caldwell Park for my first engagement session. Garrett and Katie were such a great couple to shoot! The Lord graced us with beautiful weather (a sunny day amidst an extremely rainy February) that day. The couple's love for each other and joy for life are beautifully evident. I feel blessed to have had them for my first engagement session!! Here are some of their portraits.

Ugly and Cheap

Last night some of my closest friends and I began a tradition: Cheap and Ugly night. Our husbands all came together and surprised all 7 of us. Ryan told me at 4pm Friday night that I needed to be ready at 6, be somewhat formally dressed and that some friends were showing up at 6pm to go out for the evening. I looked out the window at 5:55 and noticed a huge limo sitting in front of our house. The Shepards and Pagans gathered at our house and we climbed into the car. We stopped by the Robertson's house, picked up Cal and Jenae, and proceeded up to Redding in luxury. We pulled off at Cypress and the limo turned into Ross Dress for Less. That's where the fun really got going! (See, Erin and I love shopping at Ross and have seen things in the past that inspired the idea to have a contest with friends: the ugliest dress for the cheapest price! And that we'd then go out wearing our finds with our husbands.) We met up with the Claassens and the Knights at Ross and begun to hunt for our er, "beautiful" gowns. I have to say, seven of us girls in the dressing room trying on the most hideous things was hilarious! I love my girlfriends!! Note that my dress here actually has pockets! It's satin! Why does a satin dress need pockets?? After our men made our purchases, we went back to the dressing rooms to outfit for the night. We paraded up to the front in our stylish attire and climbed into the limo headed to dinner at Cattlemen's! There we met up with the Parodis and had a great time stuffing ourselves. At the end of the night we had a vote on the ugliest dress. Erin took it by a landslide!! And hers was one of the cheapest ones too- $6.99! I did get one vote but apparently my dress was not hideous enough! We then headed back to our house for brownies and games. All in all, a very memorable and hilarious night! I thank the Lord for great friendships. And wonderful husbands!!

The Years They Pass

Tonight, while flossing my son's teeth, I noticed that one of his bottom teeth is loose. For some reason this took me by surprise. When did my baby boy become a kid? Must have happened one night while I was sleeping. The next few years are going to be filled with goofy smiles and gaping holes. I'm being ushered all too quickly into this next stage... This year I turn 30- not so much a big deal to me than I thought it would be (we'll see what I say on THE day but that's my feeling now). The bigger deal? That my baby girl is turning 4 in one month. My youngest is four! No longer crawling and speaking jabber but is an articulate little girl. Wow.

As Promised

I said that I'd post some photos from the wedding this weekend. I'm not including any of the portraits (though they're my favorites) until the bride and groom get a chance to look at them. But here's what I can show you...

A Beautiful Day

Well, I'm home after 9 hours of wedding photography and I am exhausted! But it was a wonderful day!! The bride and groom were beautiful! Their love for the Lord and for each other was an encouragement to all who were there. It was such a joy and privilege to be able to capture their beautiful moments. I got to work with my best friend and partner in crime- she was wonderful: creative, very helpful, assertive, supportive!! And though everything didn't go exactly as I'd hoped (our portraits were delayed 1 hour so we were a little crunched for time, I had to juggle with the lighting quite a bit, and I learned that there is much more to directing people than I'd thought to the job), I got some shots that I am very excited about and it was a joy to be a wedding photographer for the day. Thanks to many for your prayers! I'll place some photos up shortly...

I do

Some may know that I have been increasing my hobby of photography to include portrait shots for other families. This weekend the notch goes a little higher when I shoot (with the great help and talent of my best friend) my first wedding. I am very excited and completely nervous! I've enjoyed the "safe" water of family portraits because if they get botched (which has happened to me before) I can schedule a reshoot. However, we cannot simply "redo" anything for the wedding. I consider it a privilege to be able to this and am excited but my stomach is doing flips. (I believe I'll be more excited after things are said and done- the anxiety is primary currently.) But I am very inspired with this opportunity; my mind is imagining all sorts of settings and poses to capture the beautiful bride and groom. I have loved the creative "storm" I've had the last couple of days. So, we'll see how it goes. Everyone needs to start somewhere, right?

"Happy marriages begin when we marry the ones we love, and they blossom when we love the ones we marry."- Tom Mullen

What are you doing New Year's Eve?

We had a great Christmas season this year! I am extremely thankful for the many joys that were a part of our festivities- visiting with family, playing games, baking treats, watching the Nutcracker ballet with the whole family- just to name a few. The kids this year were tons of fun! They enjoyed giving their gifts to others (Lauren was still pretty stuck on receiving them), cranking up the Chipmunk's Christmas music, and stopping by every random house staring at their light display. This year we even had our own Christmas Eve service (we weren't feeling too good to go to our church's service) in our living room by the Christmas tree. And though we had four (yes, 4!!) Christmas celebrations, it was a relaxing time. Several times throughout the day, I'd sit back and remember my past Christmas' (aunts and uncles goofing with the kids' new toys, playing Barbies with my cousins) and think these are the years that will fill my kids' memories. I believe we made some good memories this year.

And now the new year is only 7 hours away and Christmas is boxed up. And I am wondering what my New Year's Resolutions are... there are many things that I can not do or do more of but where do I want to focus? Where would God like me to focus? I'm thinking about having several in different areas of my life: the spiritual (I know, this one is all encompassing), the physical, parenting goals, wifely goals, etc. Is that allowed? So, here's to next year! May the memories we make be full of joy and bring glory to God.