Abigail and Daniel - Brother and Sister

I met Abigail when I was 12 years old.  We were both in the Christmas Pageant at church and became fast friends during all the time we spent backstage - swapping lip gloss, digging through each other's purses, and being ridiculous in every way.  She's remained a dear friend of mine, and I was thrilled with the oppurtunity to take a few pictures of her and her younger brother, Daniel. 

4 months.

Precious boy,
I probably will say this every single month, but you really are growing way too fast. I feel like you were just born! I so badly want to treasure every single moment with you, but I also look forward to the coming months and years because every new little development is just so fun.

You've grown a lot in the past month! You are now eating lots of mush - and loving it! - standing up on our laps, sitting up better, and giggling. Your little laugh is my favorite.

Daddy and I publicly dedicated you at church on Sunday even though we actually dedicated you to the Lord the day we found out about you. You have been His all along.

But, sweet boy, one day you will have to choose for yourself who you will serve. Following Jesus has to be your very own decision...not ours.
I pray you will count the cost to follow Jesus for your whole life as soon as you possibly can.

I love you.

2 years.

2 years. That's how long I've been married to the love.of.my.life.
I always like recounting our progress to Ben - I think he appreciates it.

2006 - I fell for him hard. (I enjoy reminding him that I liked him first.)

2007 - he got with the program and started liking me ;)

2008 - we started dating! dream come true!

2009 - he asked, I said YES.

2010 - We got married.  Best day of my life.

2011 - Levi! Sweetest boy ever.

2012 - Married 2 years!! I'm sure there will be more to report by the end of the year, but seeing as how we're only 9 days in, this is landmark enough.

I love thinking back to what I was doing at this time two years ago.  I woke up so.excited. that it was OUR wedding day and was rushing to get ready - only to find that the pipes had frozen over and I couldn't take a shower.  No big, I just went across the street to the neighbor's house and took one there.
For being January, it was a gorgeous day - the Lord sent a little dusting of snow that made our outside pictures gorgeous.  Sorry bridesmaids in strapless dresses.  I remember the whole day seeming to fly by so fast. Before I knew it, it was time to walk down the aisle.  I remember brushing my teeth or something at the last minute and freaking out that I was going to be late and they would start without me.  Then my friend reminded me that I was the bride and that couldn't happen.
All of the sudden, it was time. I grabbed my brother's arm and the doors opened.  There he was...my sweet Ben.  The man I couldn't wait to spend every day of the rest of my life with as my husband. 

We said our vows, and it some kind of unbelievable and very unreal way, we were married.
Just like that.
I didn't feel one dot different, but I was instantly a wife.  In the sight of God, we were now one, bound in a covenant of love for the rest of our lives.

That's what we're learning to do now.  Be in covenant.  Be one. Be the clearest picture of Christ and the Church so we can say to the world in case you're wondering how Jesus loves His people and how we should respond to Him, look at our marriage. 
That is a huge and weighty thing to be able to say, but that's why we're married. That's the whole point we are working towards and we are not there yet. At all.
So that's why we're talking it through, learning to communicate about everything, reading books about marriage, crying about things (ok I cry. not him.), and pressing in to Jesus to learn to love each other better.
And it's pretty much my favorite thing in the whole world.

DIY Christmas presents

I tried to do as many homemade Christmas presents as possible this year.  While much more time-consuming than storebought presents, they are cheaper (generally) and, to me, more thoughtful and meaningful.

I made these little clutches for my married sisters...you can get follow the free tutorial here.

And this scarf was for my brother in law's girlfriend.  Serious modeling skills, huh?
True fact about this scarf - it was white, I tried to dye it charcoal/gray/black (I was hoping for a cool combo) and it turned out purple and navy blue because I didn't leave it in the dye long enough.  Not what I was envisioning, but I'll take it.

Brown paper packages tied up with string...these are a few of my favorite things!

Levi's "cousin-twin", Caleb, is affectionately called "Cub" by his big sister Caris.  Now pretty much all the rest of us call him that too.  So I made a cub for Cub.

If I did this over again, I probably wouldn't make his arms quite so lanky and outstretched.

pressing on.

I saw a tweet yesterday that said something about how intimacy and discipline go hand in hand - basically those who are disciplined to seek God experience the intimacy of knowing Him.

I so want that.

Being disciplined typically is not a problem for me, as far as external actions go.  I struggle in plenty of other areas of my life - but having a daily quiet time just isn't one of them. That's the grace of God for sure. However, I often struggle with being disciplined in my heart. To seek the Lord earnestly and passionately and hardcore.  To read my Bible with hunger and longing, not just to read it to check it off.

That's something I really want to work on this year/for the rest of my life because I know I will need to.
He is so worthy of much more than just me showing up to do the same thing every day.
He is worthy of my heart being fully His, fully attentive, and deeply hungry for Him.

"...not that I have already obtained it, or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus.  Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet, but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."
 Phil. 3:12-13

These berries have absolutely nothing to do with this post. At all.

Aidan

This little man is such a sweetheart.  Rich chocolate eyes, blond hair that sticks up on end (I think his momma might have something to do with the style), and the sweetest demeanor.  He doesn't necessarily love smiling on demand long enough to capture it, but his personality and cuteness still comes across to capture his 4 year old self. 

This guy LOVES trains.  And it just so happens that while we were taking these pictures, a real train passed by - and it was his first time ever seeing one.  I loved being able to capture the wonder in his eyes when he got to see his first real train!

Caitlin and Allison - Mother/Daughter

Are you prepared to meet one of the most beautiful mother/daughter pairs you've ever seen? Because you're about to.  Caitlin and Allison are just that - beautiful, sweet, and quite funny.


"Oh hello there, how nice of you to stop by."
Allison has some hilarious faces...stay tuned.

Dang baby...look at those eyes!

I think it's safe to say that motherhood is treating Caitlin well. She is one beautiful momma!

And time for another one of Allison's faces.  That will sure bless ya.

Aren't they just the sweetest?

twenty.twelve.

I go back and forth on whether I like New Year's Resolutions or not.  Then I realized that - for me - what worked far better than trying to tackle a whole year at once, was to make little resolutions a month at a time.  30ish days is waaaay more doable to me than 365.
So. My January resolution is to get this blog up and running - upload past photoshoots and categorize them, become more consistent in posting, and get the logo exactly the way I want it.  Then make it public.   Which will hopefully lead to more photography business.

I do have a few resolutions that I will stamp on 2012 as a whole, but I'm just going to keep them to myself except for this one:

To know Jesus so much more.  This is the goal of my life, but I know too well that if I don't keep re-committing and re-counting the cost, I can lose momentum very quickly.  So at the beginning of this new year, I commit myself to Jesus once more and choose to follow Him with all of my heart.

Happy 2012!