69 years!

   My family has known Brad and Amy for 6 years. They go to our church and I recently shot their son's senior portraits. Amy has had all of my girls in Bible Buddies or Bible Drillers. We've also gone camping with them. I am sure I can find the picture of Brad swinging on a limb that promptly gave way lol! This family means a great deal to us (and Amy is just funNY).

   Brad's mom and dad have been married for nearly 70 years. Mr. Buck and Ms. Ivo have such a lovely family! I didn't get to meet all of them, but I had a wonderful time. In my head, I still feel 18. So imagine my shock when I pulled 2 grays hairs out of my head before going to shoot this family. It got me thinking though ( so it wasn't for nothing ). I wondered if Buck and Ivo still felt like they were 18 in their heads? I wondered what it would be like to literally grow old in front of my husband. I wondered if I would still feel like I was 18 when I had grown grandchildren. I mostly wondered though, what it was like to be married for that many years. Was there still a romantic spark? Did they still see each other as they did when they first met? Call it curious, nosey, whatever. But I wanted to KNOW. Fast forward to the session, and just Mr. Buck and Ms. Ivo.

   I asked Ivo to scoot next to Buck, lean her head on his shoulder and to hold his hand. It may have been a little strange at first (there were a ton of people there). But she was so sweet and did it. Then she said something that gave me chills. She said "I feel like we're courting." That was exactly what I wanted her to feel like. When she said that Buck cuddled her a little closer :) What a sweet and precious couple. They have a large family and I was honored to be chosen to photograph them. Here is a little preview.

*And for the family that lives out of town, here is YOUR preview*

Oh the weekend is finally here!

   Today has been tedious. My nights have been broken up. By this I mean, my animals are driving me sleep deprived! Tedious today ~ try making beds while shuffling the same pets over and over from point a to point b. "The cat" has been sleeping in places where he shouldn't, which freaked me out when I plunged my hand into my shelf in my closet and grabbed him instead of my shirt. Freaked me out, that is an understatement. That's the weird kind of hair raising experience. This was after I ran him off the bed so I could make it. "The dogs", which one was the bigger pain in the neck today? Would it be Edgar who lays on the back of the couch (he KNOWS he isn't allowed, he is breaking that part of the cushion down, but I sincerely think he is smarter than I give him credit for, which in my opinion means that yes, infact he IS plotting against me)? Or how about Goose? Goose, GooGah, Googie, Gus, Gussy, Guzzy, whatever you want to call him, he is like velcro. He goes where I go, even when its not very comfortable for him or me. He is a lap dog. No matter how big he gets. He likes me to carry him like a baby (he is nearly 50 pounds), either cradling him or him on my hip. Weird. I know. Or is it Puccini? He just randomly barks (a LOT) at noises that don't exist. Which in turn gets the other dogs carried away. Then there is Pippa. Well Pippy has just been alright, but that is because she is "grounded" to a designated space because she destroyed my precious comfortable shoe liner. Why? Simply because she could (and I wasn't literally looking at her ~ that will teach me).

  I know, I know. Sounds like a rant, right? Well sort of, but they earn their keep. It is a little thing I call compromise. They let me take their photos, well some of them, notice who is missing in the photos below. And in return, I don't hold their aggravating habits against them. In real life, I love them lol. They are family. And there is that "unconditional love" thing Angus has going for him. Meaning, he loves me more than anything in the world...so I just go ahead and let him :) In all actuality, it makes up for his utter craziness. That dog is a loon. Just saying. BUT even those that aren't big fans of his (read that as they are jealous that he won't let them pet him), will admit that they have never seen a dog be so devoted to a person. It is a redeeming quality in their eyes.

   So today, it was storming out. What is there to take pictures of when it is like this? Anything that moves on four legs! Hope you all have a wonderful weekend. Jim and I celebrate our anniversary on Saturday. Won't be much computer time. And then in a short couple of weeks we are off to Indiana!

   

The Bowling Family

   We have had computer problems, and weird weather here. Thankfully I got the computer problems resolved, and the weather decided to cooperate for us to finally get this session done for the Bowling family. We had fun, and the weather was perfect. Totally worth the wait. I really wish that I had the kind of tall green grass that was at this location. Wonderful! PERFECT for pictures.
    I had the honor of photographing Cale's baptism pictures. He is a ham! Thanks guys, I am glad we were finally able to get these done for you :)

In the Storms of life...

  On April 27 of this year, Alabama and several other southern states got hammered by one tornado after another. Being from Indiana, when I heard the weather channel mention "super cell" I went cold. For one, I don't like storms, and there are usually only 3 things I ever really have nightmares about 1) snakes 2) vampires and 3) tornadoes. I hate them. So eye to the sky, I watched and waited. We do not have television. I went to our neighbors house at their insistence to come and look at what this storm was doing in Tuscaloosa (2 hours south of here) and then Birmingham (1 hour south of here). What everyone in the country was witnessing was stomach turning. We sat there determining when to go to the city's shelter, which happens to be our church. Our weatherman then said the next large city in this storms path was Gadsden. It would reach us before Gadsden.
   We do not have a basement. So we went to the church. The hail was so bad that I thought we would have a broken windshield. We got into the church just in time. We prayed, we waited, we listened. It was over. Many were ready to leave, but our police insisted that we stay as another was on its way. After that final tornado went through our area we went home. I am so thankful that we had a home to go back to. The next day we got to see first hand the destruction of these storms. It was like nothing I have ever seen. There are places that are bald! No grass was left even. A house that we considered buying when we moved here, gone. Neighborhoods gone. Death, missing people and search and rescue dogs. Search and rescue dogs are absolutely priceless, however it is sad to see them because you know they are called in to find a missing loved one.
   Ohatchee is the hardest hit area close to us, and by close some of the destruction is as close as 1-3 miles. Glencoe, and Alexandria are also hard hit and also close. We all have gone through something, some sort of terrifying life storm that may not be as violent as a tornado, but something just as life changing. What I have seen in the people that we have talked to is a peace, a strength and a faith that is amazing. God IS good. No matter the storm. These people are walking it. A sense of community, strangers helping strangers. It is a blessing just to see it. I am amazed at it. When you go through a storm ~ it is how you handle it that is a witness to someone.

   I pray for all of these people affected by these tornadoes. I pray for all of the people who are being Jesus' hands and feet. Out of every bad thing something glorious comes. We are already seeing it. Here are some photos taken from my van window, we weren't allowed to stop.

Man's Best Friend

  Have you ever had a dog? How about one that was your absolute best friend? Dogs (and cats too of course) are such an asset to our lives, a relational enhancer. They are also just plain fun, snuggly and sometimes a real pain. But when you have one that is family, grows up with your kids and is with you longer than most marriages these days last, when it is time to say goodbye, how is that ever easy?

  We know what good pet ownership should be. Sometimes we live up to that expectation, sometimes we don't. But as much as our pets love us, how can we not be brave enough to do the kindest thing, the most compassionate thing for them? Today my aunt and her family put to sleep their sweet boxer girl, Charlotte. She wasn't a dog, she was people, she was family, and sometimes, she was the Avon Lady and the Taxi Driver among other things. Charlotte was a nursing home regular when my grandpa was there, she was a pet parade participant ( a LOT ), she was nurse maid to many creatures, she was a food beggar (always ~ and she was good at it), she was SMART and knew more tricks than any other dog I know, she was loved to the moon and she was one lucky dog. She lived a great life with a family that loved her. And not many dogs get that chance.  Give your dogs, cats, kids, whatever a hug tonight. Make sure they are warm, fed, dry and loved. Our dogs think we hung the moon. If we could measure up to just a fraction of that, our world would be a better place.

   We love you Charlotte. You were a good dog. And you earned that title.

It's time!

 What time? For me, at this point in my life, it is time for a complete restructuring of everything. I have been in a constant state of chaos for the last 2 years. Let me explain. Two years ago, I was facing a year of a lot of change. I roll well with change, but this was the big milestone stuff. So it wasn't really that I was bothered with change, rather, I was having to plan the "what next" part of my life. I had my first baby at the age of 20. I have been a parent and partner, since I started my adult life. Here I was facing my baby going to kindergarten, and my oldest starting middle school. I was having to make plans for being home during the day ~ what was I going to do? Get a part time job? And if so, who would hire me? I have been out of the work force for 10 years or so, and then what about school breaks and sick kids? As I was transitioning into this next phase of my life, I found out I was pregnant. Now I was thrown back to square one. I went from, "Ok, we are done having children, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, and I am going to fill my days with something a little more for me. A little more free time (much deserved I might add lol). I can focus on getting to know ME." Remember, at that time I was almost 32, and had been every ones everything since I was 20. Who really knows themselves at 20? I was excited to get to know who I was as a person. Then I was right back on the baby train. It really, really threw me for a loop.
   I went from I am done having kids, to expecting again. I was super sick for my first trimester. It was only at my first ultrasound that we knew something was wrong. The second ultrasound at the high risk center revealed that we were looking at not only a very deformed baby, but our 4th baby girl. We also became a rarity of sorts. Our baby, Vivian Jane, had a most severe case of Amniotic Band Syndrome. It was causing her to grow backwards. Without going into too much detail, even the top doctors in our nation had never seen such a case. We tried to get a specialist to do surgery while I was still pregnant. They declined, saying that it was more risk than benefit to her and mostly to me. Torn. The mother in me wanted to move heaven and earth if it was possible to help her. But on the other side was a mother of three amazing girls, who need their mother. At 30 weeks exactly, I delivered her. She was born sleeping. We are forever changed.
   I say all this to get to the point that our experience with Vivian led me to a point to so badly want to pay it forward. Pay what forward? Well during the labor, we were approached by the bereavement nurse to see if we wanted photographs done of Vivian and our family from NILMDTS. I had never heard of it. It is an organization of volunteer pro photographers that come in when this sort of thing happens and gives these families the memories in print. We are from Indiana. We transferred here to Alabama. NONE of our family is here. It is just me, Jim and our girls. If it hadn't been for NILMDTS, our family couldn't have shared in our loss as completely as they did. We are so thankful to these strangers that came into our lives at our darkest hour and gave us a gift beyond measure. I knew immediately that I wanted to volunteer for this organization. But I also knew that I would have to hone my craft. I want to give families a treasure.
   So after these last couple of years, I have dove headlong into photography. It has been healing. It has moved me, and driven me to push forward even on the days when I didn't want to get out of bed. I am so blessed for it. ALL of it.
   Now, it sounds all wonderful. But I had NO idea what I was doing. I know I have a passion for it, but the technical aspect has been such a massive learning curve for me because I am teaching myself ALL of it. It has been a slow, but satisfying road for me. Although volunteering is my ultimate goal, there is more to it than that. I want to build a solid photography business. And when I started, I had no idea what my style was or what type of photography I wanted to do. So I dabbled in everything. I am also thankful for those opportunities. I wouldn't be where I am right at this second if it wasn't for them. I am standing here humbled and grateful. But also wiser, stronger and more determined. I am at a fork in the road with my business.
   In the next year we will be making some major changes. Everything will be restructured. It is a new beginning and I am on the edge of my seat in anticipation of what is going to happen next. Thanks so much for being along with us on this journey. It really means the world to us to have the support we have. God is in control, and I firmly believe that years ago, He had not told me "No" in regards to photography, but that he just said "Not yet". And that I would have been all about making a profit instead of giving back if it hadn't been for Vivian. Also my other girls have played a huge part in me wanting to be successful. I want to be a good example for them. I also want them to see that I have faith, and try so hard everyday to walk in it. With Him, we will get there. I am very excited. So please hang tight with us! Hopefully by the end of the year we will everything we want at this time underway.

Houston, we have a problem!

   I was incredibly lucky enough ~ no BLESSED enough, to be the WINNER of the Polka Dot Umbrella photography giveaway. The one I mentioned in a previous post. I am STILL super excited about it. I never win anything, and I was the winner of ALL of it!
  One of the items I won was this awesome new blogger template, courtesy of Birdy Photography and Designs. However, I am SOOOOO technologically inept, that my whole page is wonky! I am working diligently to get it straightened out and right side up lol. So please have patience with me, it will be great once it is done. But for the time being, it is a bit of a mess.
  I am loving the wonderful gifts that have been trickling in from the vendors of the giveaway, it's just like Christmas! Stay tuned, there will be new photos soon :)