A Dream List

In 2002 I saw a movie called "A Walk To Remember." Based on an award-winning novel, the movie is about a boy and girl falling in true love and getting married. The girl, Jamie, was plain, modest and a Christian. She was often mocked and ignored at school. Landon, the leading guy, was cool, popular and definitely not interested in Jamie. Landon ended up needing Jamie's help at school and she told him she would help only if he promised not to fall in love with her. "That will not be a problem" he arrogantly assured her. 

Of course, he did fall for her kindness, modesty, gentleness and beauty. The story continues and Landon discovers that Jamie has a Wish List - a list of random and fun things she wants to do in her lifetime. So he decides to try and grant some of her wishes. With Landon she learns to dance, gets a rub-on tattoo, stands in two states at once and he even makes a telescope for her. The sad news is that Jamie is dying of leukemia and shortly after they get married she dies. It was a sad movie (and honestly not even very good), however, I left that movie LoViNg the fact that Jamie had written done fun things she wanted to do in her life! I was like "How FUN is that???" 

(Here is a little idea of the movie... the parts where she is singing with the fancy is dress is during the "school play")

I went home and started my own Dream List. I had a little journal and I these are the first things I wrote down:

Swim with dolphins

Become a professional wedding photographer

Live somewhere besides MD

Go to Italy

Design a dress and sew it

Sing karaoke

Write a children’s book

I ran out of ideas after a few minutes of sitting there, and being 13 I thought "Hey, thats a good start." And that was that for a whole year. I honestly forgot I even did it untillllll, 

November 19, 2003 when the show "Ed" had a proposal episode. I never really watched "Ed" at all. I think I was waiting for another show to come on, cause I haven't even see this whole episode. I just saw the last five minutes and it was enough (you need to watch the video if you didn't.. its just so happy). It totally reminded me of my Dream List - that I hadn't touched in about a year. So, for the last few years I have been adding to that journal page. I finally decided that I needed to type it out, because there was no more room on that page. 

Quite a few photographer friends I know of have made a "101 in 1001" list - 101 things to do in the next 1001 days (Here are Jessica Claire's, Brienne Michelle's, and Melissa Jill's - this must be a girl thing haha). I debated on whether or not I would put my list up here or not. I really love to see when these ladies check something off! I love to read about and it's fun to see what they are all doing (even get ideas...). 

However, I have some things on my list that are either going to be surprises for other people, or things I want to just happen with no one else knowing I wanted it to, or things I just feeling dumb or prideful saying :) Sooo, I am going to compromise. I am going to share some of my list!

You can check most of the list here: My Dream List!

We will see how long it takes to do all of them ... I love having my list and it's been so fun to be able to check things off along the way. It's one of those things that is just plain fun. I get so excited when something gets checked off! I would highly recommend you make one too - even of its only ten things! It's the little things, everyone :)

Some of the recent things that I have been able to cross off are:

#20: Finding my name on road signs (I only have a picture of "Snyder" but I also found Leigh Street in California and Kristen Lane in GA)

#24: Learn to play a song on the guitar

Yay! So, I really have no musical gifting in me whatsoever. Singing, dancing, playing music, reading music, writing music - nothing. It's really bad. But I do love music and have always wished I could just pick up (or sit down in front of) an instrument and play something... well, one instrument down!

(I play with the real song on so I can stay on beat hahaha but the guitar you hear is 90% me - I can prove it cause the first notes are nothing that Colbie Caillat would do :)

I get jumpy when I am nervous. I also get jumpy when I am excited. So, I am pretty much jumpy in this vid  hahah

And, of course, I have to include number 19 and 87 :)

It is just so mind-blowing to me that I wrote those two things down years ago, and they actually happened - together. That wedding was absolutely a life-highlight! It's amazing how God works things together!!!

My latest entry I actually have not done yet. #103 is to see Brian Regan live. This man is so funny! He makes me choke from laughing so hard. This is one of my favorite bits (it's kind of long, but totally worth it!)

If you have lots of spare time, you can YouTube Brian Regan and find some pretttty sweet stuff! I especially like the UPS one and the Work-out one :)

Ok, ok, ok... it might seem odd that I am doing this large post about my dreams and all these videos and everything. Well, there is a reason for it! #31 is about to be checked off my list! Tomorrow I leave for Atlanta for my first destination wedding! I can.hardly.stand.it I am so excited!

The bride and her friends are such sweethearts and I am just dying to meet them! So, look for posts very soon from Atlanta!!!!!! Yaaaaay!!!!

Two AWEsome families!

I haven't done family shoots in a while, and I missed it so much!

Then, I had two in one week - it was great fun :)

The Furnish family wanted pictures before their daughter left for Panama for over 2 years with the Peace Corps. Keep her and them in your prayers!



















This is my favorite :)


And the Campbell family! The kids were seriously the most well-behaved kids at a photoshoot I have ever done! Good work parents! It was a JOY to take these pictures!

Val and Jimmy - again!

You may remember the fabulous and fun Jimmy&Val :)One of the most talkative, loud and crazy couples I have ever met...well, because they are awesome they had another engagement shoot! We went all around the Naval Academy in Annapolis. It was just beautiful!

I am pretty busy this week, so I decided to try slideshows to get all these upcoming posts up... let me know what you think!

She went with him :)

*** Edit, I know the font & layout is a mess... I am working on it! Blogger was having a bad day :( haha

eHarmony strikes again, ladies and gentleman!

Colleen and Josh had lived 28 years of life - never knowing either was alive. November of 2007 that all changed. They were matched on eHarmony and the rest is history!

They would both agree that when the pictured their spouse, they did not picture each other. Colleen is an organized, neat, planned lady. She is adorably short, has a perfect bob hair-cut and wears pointy black heels to her office. Josh paints motorcycles and airplanes, listens to Lynyrd Skynyrd, had earrings and eats scrapple. They are so opposite and yet so complimentary. As Colleen said "God really does know us better than we know ourselves!"

Most, if not all, of the couples I shoot find their "other-half" funny. Usually it's kind of stupid, lovey-dovey, mushy, giggly, head-over-heels funny. It's cute and even appropriate. Hey, I am sure I will be the same way.

But, there is something different about Colleen and Josh. Every girl wants a funny guy - someone that will make them really laugh. That they really enjoy to be with. That makes everything more fun just because he's there.

Colleen found him. Josh is SO funny. Like, SO funny. He makes Colleen belly-laugh. It's not a sweet "Oh, honey" giggle, but they really laugh hard together. It was such a fun shoot because of that! They are seriously best friends and their wedding is going to ROCK!

"Would you go with me if we rolled down streets of fire"

"Would you hold on to me tighter as the summer sun got higher"

"If we roll from town to town and never shut it down"

"Would you go with me if we were lost in fields of clover"

"Would we walk even closer until the trip was over"

"And would it be okay if I didn't know the way"

"If I gave you my hand would you take it"

"And make me the happiest man in the world"

"If I told you my heart couldn't beat one more minute without you, girl"

"Would you accompany me to the edge of the sea

Let me know if you're really a dream"

"I love you so, so would you go with me"

"Would you go with me if we rode the clouds together"

"Could you not look down forever"

"If you were lighter than a feather"

"Oh, and if I set you free, would you go with me"

"If I gave you my hand would you take it
And make me the happiest man in the world?"

So, all the "green" shots we took were not at a little local park... it was the back of Costco. It stunk, there was trash everywhere. But they trusted me and I think it went well! Josh joked that it was "Costco Rica!" haha

Congratulations you two... Keep having so much fun and I cannot wait to see your wedding!!!

Happiness Runs

If I was a grandma, this post would be the portraits I have in my wallet of my grandkids to brag about when I am sitting on an airplane.

...

I can't imagine loving anyone as much as I love these little people! I just had to post some of my favorite stories from this week...A few days ago they all went grocery shopping with me. Usually I just take one, maybe two, of them. But surprisingly they all wanted to come!
They were so excited to come and it took a few minutes to even get in the store, because they were trying to figure out the perfect carts to get. Shannon and Lauren each wanted to push a "small" cart, but there was only one. Dude wanted to ride on the back of a "regular" cart. Then Lauren spotted the "fire engine" cart and everyone agreed to use that monster vehicle. It's like pushing a bed on wheels, with a plastic stick - its such a work out! The cart people need to figure something out with that....Anyways, I think that this was the best shopping trip I have ever gone on. These children have been trained right! They know what to do in grocery stores!
I really, really do not like to ask for help (it's terrible, but it's the truth) so I usually end up spending way more time looking for something, instead of just asking someone to tell me.The Littles, however, love to ask people! I would send them to go get the odd-end things I needed, and in about a minute they would come running back with it! Granted, once I asked for pecans and Shannon returned with croûtons, and it was hard to keep my eye on them, but the we got it all done really fast! I even had Dude go get two cans of cinnamon rolls, and he came back with two and said "This brand was one sale '2 for 1' so thats what I got."
Excellent work, kid.Part of the special trip included getting a treat at the end. They were taking forever to choose, so I told them they had 10 seconds to choose. Lauren walked over and started to give me her "puppy" eyes/voice and tried to convince me why she needed more then 10 seconds to choose. I couldn't help but laugh, cause she looked so cute!

Speaking of Lauren, she is just such a treasure. God was so kind to make her the baby of the family. She has always been an incredibly sweet, affectionate, loving little girl.Whenever I come home from being out, she is always the first to come sit on my lap and give me a hug. She loves to be cuddly and just sit together and talk. But, she is also quite fun! Sometimes she'll knock on my door and say "Kristen, can we have a dance party?" I'll turn on SpiceGirls or Chris Brown and we'll jump on the bed , with hair-brush microphones, singing our little out-of-tune hearts out."Guess what, Kristen?"
"What, Bear?"
"I love you!"
"Well, I love you more!"
"Not possible!"

Shannon came into my room today, just as I was preparing this post. "KRISTEN!!! I lost my tooth!" It's great because she has lost six teeth, and she is six :) She is quite excited about that!
Whenever I am out of town, I can count on at least 5 voice messages from Shannon - and I love to get them :) She usually just rambles on about her day and says "Ok, well, I love you and I miss you and *muah*" Shannon is one of those kids who will make you think. She asks questions about God, Heaven and life that are brilliant! She will stop me dead in my tracks sometimes.{she took this picture yesterday... i really love it!}
She is also a prayer-warrior! When something is laid on her heart, she gets passionately emotional about it. Once she was listening to "Amazing Grace" on the radio and burst into tears. We were all asking her what was wrong and she said that "the song made her think about Carl [my brother's friend who had died suddenly a few months before]." She has prayed for one of our neighbors ankles for over two years now. One day I was driving and she asked if we could turn on "God music" because she wanted to worship. I can't wait to see what God does with her little life... but it's going to be great!I hope you are still with me, cause these next two stories are my favorite.

Last week my other brother Kevin was pretty sick. He had a sinus infection, strep-thigh (yes, thigh) and doctors thought he had mono or pneumonia (he had neither, thank goodness). But, he was not feeling too hot.
It was about 9:00 am, and I came in the front door and saw Dude doing something in the kitchen.

On his own initiative and all by himself, he made Kevin a whole stack of waffles. They were toasted perfectly, with melted butter, syrup and he was in the process of getting him orange juice.

Aaaaaaah! It's too much for me! It was too sweet! And thoughtful! Goodness, gracious, I love him!
Also, yesterday I was folding this insane pile of laundry on my bed. I hear this little tap on my door. Dude comes in and says "Hey, do you want me to clean your windows for you?" He was finished with school on a beautiful day, and he came in and washed my windows - totally on his own. The first thought I had in my mind was Jesus washing the feet of His disciples. I want to be a servant like Jesus, and like Dude!

Kiddos, you make me so happy. I can't thank God enough for letting me be your sister!
You are THE best!

EDIT*** So, pretty much as soon as I was done with this post, I went into my bathroom. Found this:That adorable little girl in the frame was making mud cupcakes. Awesome.

Ok, and Shannon just spilled her lunch. I need to go...

Ana Laura

While in Mexico I got to take some fun pictures for an AWEsome lady named Ana Laura. She is just stunning, very kind and so in love with God! I had a great time with her :)

"Nobody can tell ya;
There's only one song worth singin'.""They may try and sell ya""Cause it hangs them up
To see someone like you.""But you've gotta make your own kind of music
Sing your own special song""Make your own kind of music even if nobody
Else sing along"

CUteness!

... Contest Winner #2 ...

Naomi & Michelle

This is the second winner from my contest back in the winter! Most "winners" wanted to wait until the spring for their shoots... and I happily agreed with them!

You can see Naomi's winning entry at the bottom the post. She wrote about her sister, Michelle, who had her baby right when I had my contest! For their shoot we did all the girls in the family - three generations! They are a pretty beautiful group of ladies!

"You are my sunshine, my only sunshine""You make me happy when skies are gray""You'll never know dear, how much I love you""Please don't take my sunshine away"
{the light is all a mess in this one, but I just LOVE this little face!}"The other night dear, as I lay sleeping""I dreamed I held you in my arms""But when I awoke, dear, I was mistaken""So I hung my head and I cried""You are my sunshine" "My only sunshine""You make me happy when skies are gray""You'll never know dear, how much I love you""Please don't take my sunshine away"

I love her little baby face :) :) :)

Congrats Naomi on winning!

I wanted to take this opportunity to honor my sister, Michelle. We basically became best friends on the day I was born. She was so excited to have a baby sister (being surrounded by our three, crazy brothers J) that she even took me in for “show and tell” when she was in kindergarten and I was just a baby! I can always remember wanting to be just like her, whether it was eating the same thing she was, dressing the same way she dressed, playing “house” the way she played, etc. I just wanted to be with her all the time and imitate everything she did. Being the only two girls in the family, we also got to share a room together, which meant late night talks and lots of laughs!

Michelle was there for me when I needed her to be. She always had a comforting word or a shoulder to cry on or willing ears to listen. My sister has always been a very faithful Christian and that wisdom and love for her Savior would continually spill into the wisdom and love she in turn gave me. She exemplifies the Savior well which leads me to the main reason I want to honor her.
Now that the excited bride has been married for over three wonderful years, to the sweetest and best friend, the Lord has blessed her with a baby girl that is due to come into this world any day! I remember the morning she found out she was pregnant; the proud soon-to-be parents came over to our house at 6 in the morning and tip toed up to my room and jumped on my bed! First of all, I’m not a morning person and she knew that from sharing a room with me, second of all, I was very confused as to why she was at our house at 6am! I had to think for a moment, “Wait, does she still live here?” But when she told me she was pregnant, I jumped out of bed and gave her a big hug. I was sooo excited and this was a big answer to prayer since I’ve been waiting to be an aunt ever since my siblings got married.
Sovereignly, the Lord has used Michelle’s pregnancy to bring her to her knees and rely on Him for extra grace. Unfortunately she has been sick throughout her whole pregnancy. I remember thinking, “This girl is definitely pregnant!” because her personality was always full of energy, but during the first 3 months she just had to sleep and rest when she wasn’t working. She just wasn’t her typical “go get ‘em” girl self. We were all praying that this sickness wouldn’t remain with her the whole time, but the Lord has allowed that. And Michelle has done exceptionally well in dealing with it! I never heard her complain throughout this whole trial.
Her humility and joy have been such an example! I remember when my tired sister would call on the way to work and ask me to pray for her because she didn’t think she would be able to make it through that day. I would ask, “Do you have grace for today?” she replied, “I do for the next five minutes!” Moment by moment Michelle had to rely on the Lord for strength. She knew that if there was any way she would make it to work, it would only be by God’s amazing grace! Another area of grace in her life is being others focused. I was always amazed when she would ask me about my life because I knew how uncomfortable this pregnancy has been. But she never put the attention on herself; her focus was to always draw others out.
I knew that it was only by God’s grace that she was able keep working more than full time which included crazy hours, as well as cleaning the house, making dinners, serving her husband, help lead a Care Group and have a challenging pregnancy at the same time! The scripture that comes to mind when I think of how Michelle has walked out this trial is in James 1:2-4, “Count it all joy my brothers when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” I have seen my sister count it joy walking through this trial of sickness for 10 months. Dave’s joyful wife has had much faith and trust in the Lord as she has carried this baby. What an example to me and all who know her! I also love the hope and promise the Lord says later on in James 1:12, “Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love Him.”
Michelle, I just want to tell you it has been such an honor to walk by you through this trial. Thank you for trusting God with this pregnancy and for leaning on Him for strength. Your humility and joy have been such an example to me and our family! We all look forward to another addition to our big family and I can’t wait to have a baby niece!!! I love you lots! Ni :)

Living a love song

"Baby, just look at us,
All this time and we're still in love"

...Surprise 25th Anniversary Party...

Juarez, Mexico

Ana Rebecca and Monica planned an incredible evening to bless, honor and surprise their parents, who have been faithfully married for 25 years. The whole celebration was FANTASTIC!

"Baby, when I look at you
With your hair falling down in your baby blues"Standing there across the room
I get so lost in the way you move
It makes me reminisce, back to years agoOn a night like thisTeary-eyed, as you took my handAnd I told you that I'd be your manSo many things have come, so many things have gone
One thing that's stayed the same isOur love still going strong

Baby just look at us, all this time and we're still in love
Something like this just don't exist between A backwood boy and a fairytale princess
Just livin' our love song

Oh darling, would you look at me
With my heart beatin' fast, and my shaky kneesIt's pretty hard to believe
After all these years, I still need you this badlyYou're dancing in my arms
With a spotlight moon and a sea of starsOh, girl we've come so far
Everything I want is everything that you areBaby just look at us, all this time and we're still in loveSomething like this just don't exist between aBackwood boy and a fairytale princessBut living our dreams, we shattered all doubts
Just livin' our love songCongratulations Carlos & Kena!!! You are SUCH an example!

I love when people are in love.

"I just want to be there

When the morning light explodes
On your face it radiates
I can't escape
I love you till the end"

This is my first post from my trip to Mexico. I am gonna go a little out of order, but I have a good reason for it :)

Ok, Adam & Pami. Ok.

The reason I was in Mexico was for a surprise 25th anniversary party. I needed to basically hide in Juarez for a day, so that the surprise would not be ruined. Pami graciously offered to host/hide me for the whole day.
I fell in love with Pami instantly. She is everything these pictures make her look like. She is just happy, kind, warm and insanely beautiful. We talked and hung-out pretty much all day long on Friday. In typical girl fashion, I asked her about her boyfriend, Adam (a guy from my church back in MD). How were things going? When did you two start going out? When did you start liking him? Do you think you'll get married? How are you handling the long-distance? It wasn't quite that police-y, and it was adorable listening to Pami talk about Adam. And also encouraging to hear her talk about trusting, loving and obeying God through this process. Because, things were going well - very well in her opinion. But, she was really working on being patient, because she knew that Adam (who was coming to Juarez the next day) wasn't going to propose yet.

Ha. False.On top of the Plaza Theater, in El Paso, at sunset, Adam asked Pami to be his wife. {aaaaaaaawwww!!!}Pami's parents had arranged that I be there afterwards to take some pictures of the newly-engaged love birdsCould she be any happier? Like, really, look at her smile! It makes me get butterflies in my stomach!"I just want to tell you nothing
You don't want to hear""All I want is for you to say
'Why don't you just take me"
Where I've never been before?'""I know you want to hear me
Catch my breath""I love you till the end"

...

Sooo, because Pami's parents are wonderful, the planned another shoot the following morning. We met before church at an amazing house - you will get to see more of it in other posts :)

The good news: Their smiles haven't changed one bit

The bad news: There is no bad news

I told them to make a "little kid" face. I guess Adam was one of those awkward kids.Not really sure what that it is. But, they're engaged... they can jump however they want! haha
"I just want to be there
When we're caught in the rain""I just want to see you laugh, not cry""I just want to feel you
When the night puts on its cloak""I'm lost for words"
Don't tell me""All I can say""I love you till the end"

Adam & Pami, I hope you enjoy every.single.second together! You two are obviously madly in love - what a gift!!! I am so excited for you guys!!!!

This time.

"And take my voice and pour it out
Let it sing the songs of mercy I have found...
Cover me, so all the world will see
That I have nothing without You"

Less than two years ago I went to Mexico. I was 16 and was joining our church youth-group on a Missions Trip. We were going to an orphanage near Juarez for a week, and I was really excited about it! However, my life was a little different...I had just gotten my precious Nikon D50 and decided not to take it :( Even up till the last night of packing I was thinking about it. I just couldn't imagine have my $450 camera and $50 lens stolen or broken. What would I do?!?! I had just made the decision that, yes, yes I was going to do photography. My whole career would be ruined if something happened to my brand-new camera! So D50 stayed home.
This trip also happened the summer before Senior year. My friends and I were the oldest going on this trip, we had one.more.year. of high school left, but more importantly we had a whole summer ahead of us before that last year.
We were loud, young, crazy and quite fun, if I do say so myself :)Its funny to me to look at this journal that one of the orphans was drawing in. That journal was half-empty, and now it is filled with quotes. thoughts, concerns, joys and scripture from Senior year and even the summer after. How did it go by so fast?I remember talking to lots of different people about my business plans. How I loved weddings and dreamed of being able to shoot them. I remember telling people how I wasn't going to school, but was going to dive into this. Some were concerned, some were really excited. I remember telling someone that I wouldn't be ready to shoot a wedding myself for at least two years. I remember sitting on the playground swings one night and trying to explain to Julie how amazing these photographers named David Jay, and Jessica Claire, and Sarah Anne were. I was telling her about the different shooting styles around the country. Being the good friend she is, she listened and at the right times she nodded her head. "Cool, Kristen."
And it was cool to me. SO cool. I wanted to be a part of this wedding photographer world sooo badly.

It literally gives me chills to look at what God has done. I still feel like that little 16-year-old-high-school-girl with a head full of dreams, a new camera and a bad addiction to photography blogs.
What happened? Less then two years later I look back and can say that I have interned with Sarah Anne, and shot about 5 weddings with her, met and shot alongside Jessica Claire, met, hung out with and shot with David Jay. My goal of ten weddings this year has been doubled and then some. Photographers who I have followed scrupulously know me when I am at conventions, some e-mail me asking me questions.
Are you kidding me??? Are you serious?
There is no logical explanation. It's not because I am a photographer-prodigy who can do things that no one else can. It's not because I am even very good! It's not because I have impeccable business skills, or because I know the ropes of the industry. I most certainly do not.
It's because of God. It's His kindness to me. I like to think of myself as someone who is adventurous, daring and has big dreams.
Well, God has taken my "big dreams" and wow-ed me. On my desk sits a little card that has been my "theme verse" for my business since I was 16. "For the Lord has blessed the work of yours hands. These years He has been with you. You have lacked nothing." {Deuteronomy 2:7}

Today I leave for Mexico, again. This time hired as Kristen Leigh Photography. And God has been with me. He is blessing me in a way I do not deserve. He excites me, inspires me and loves me. It leaves me undone with gratitude for my King!

I must go finish my packing now, but I just had to shout from the roof-tops, if you will, how grateful I am to God!

See you when I get back! Adios Amigos!

"Take my time here on this earth
And let it glorify all that You are worth
For I am nothing
I am nothing without You"

Kind of a big deal.

Three nights ago Shannon came running upstairs yelling my name.

"What Shannon! What?!?"

"KrisTEN!!! I have my first soccer practice tomorrow!!!" She was smiling with her adorable missing teeth, and her heart was racing and she was.so.excited.

And I was SO excited for her!

The next morning I woke up and was in my room for a little while getting stuff done. I heard the girls outside my room and I hear this little "clunkclunkclunkclunk" running past my door. 

I stuck my head out real quick and I see Shannon in her cleats, shin guards, my dad's work socks, shorts and a t-shirt. It was definitely 10:00 am.

I was so excited about her practice I told my mom I wanted to take her. So when 4:45 FiNaLLy rolled around, Katie, Lauren, Shannon and I got into my car with directions, a green water bottle that had been filled up and by the front door since 12:45 and my camera :)

She is way too cool for her own good and was by far the best on the team :) She has that Snyder-aggressive-thing going on when she plays. They were doing this little one-on-one game and Shannon was going up against this boy named Frankie. Frankie is 6, has an earring, a rattail, and is a tough kid. His dad is this big, bearded, tattooed guy with two earrings. I was intimidated by Frankie. 

Shannon wasn't I guess, cause when she went up against him she ran right into him, stole the ball, scored a goal and skipped back to her line.

Frankie's dad mumbled something about signing up Frankie for football :)

Wellll, this morning I ran some errands and when I pulled into my house I saw this little pink balling rolling from behind a tree. And there was Shannon in her new uniform, dribbling that ball all around the front yard - with Lauren chasing her.

She makes me heart melt into a puddle of wax. She is SOOO CUTE! Aah. I can't stand it!

If you are ever trying to reach me on a Saturday morning, I might be busy watching Shannon win her games, just so you know.

;D

"Mm. I love this...part"

"Everything is all right, everything is so bright
And the sun is shining beautiful""Everyone is singing, everyone is dreaming
Every world is so colorful"

I did this engagement shoot for Jennifer and Sam the same day as I did Val and Jimmy. Now, that day was rouuuugh for me. As you probably know by now, I am pretty lousy when it comes to driving directions. But, I actually made it down to DC great and was right where I was supposed to be! One.slight.problem. Every one else was too. I think every person who lived in DC, MD, VA, Japan and Germany - and their moms - were all at the Cherry Blossom festival this weekend.
I totally understand why, cause it is just beautiful!

Well, my first shoot was supposed to start at 2:45, and I got to the city at 2:30. An hour, and about 2 miles later, my gas tank was below "E" and beeping at me. I didn't know what to do. Actually, there was nothing to do. I was on a one-way, single lane street, bumper to bumper. There was no where to turn around, no where to pull over, no where to get help. My poor couple was waiting for me, no parking space was in sight, I had another couple to meet in an 1 1/2 hour, I was about to have no gas at all.

You know those moments that just hit you? Everything just welled up and my stomach was squeezing, my arms felt watery, my head felt like it had sand in it, my lips were dry, my nose itched (but that probably had nothing to do with the traffic), and I just wanted my car to evaporate into thin air so I could take these pictures! I was determined not to cry. So, I turned on some Christian music. "Lord move (moOoove), or move me!" blasted from the radio. "Just move the other cars!" I said out loud. I left the music on and sang to Chris Tomlin and prayed that I would not run out of gas. I also called the couples and they happily agreed to just walk my way and do pictures wherever I found a spot. It was still another 45 minutes before I found a spot, but God kept my car running (I know there was nothing left in that tank!). I was actually so excited when I got out that I jumped up the curb and did this little run/dance/skip thing with all my camera equipment and then rolled my ankle and fell all over the grass. I like to think that I cheered up the day of the many, many people who saw me :)All that to say, I was feeling a little "less than inspired" by the time I got to the shoot - but instantly, Jennifer and Sam got me right back in the swing of things.It made me all mushy inside when I saw how Jennifer looked (and looked and looked) at Sam. It was hard for her to take her eyes off of him.Sam is such a wonderful man - and he makes Jennifer weak at the knees, and I can almost feel her heart beating, she is so happy when they are together. He is also quite pleased when she is in his arms :)Their wedding is going to be beautiful - springtime in the city, with a tented reception. I can hardly wait!!!

Congratulations Sam and Jennifer!

The day ended up being wonderful AND while I was shooting these two, Val and Jimmy went to get me gas! I have the best couples EVER!

Little Moments

I knew from the first voice-message that Val and Jimmy were going to be an incredible couple. These two love-birds are getting married in a few months I wish it was sooner, cause they just need to be married!
Ever since Jimmy saw Val - this bubbly, loud, funny, sweet, giggly, girl - he knew she was it. He fell in love with her and dealt with her confused "girl-ness" as she fell for him too.
I think the pictures will speak for themselves - these two are hopelessly in love!

When they asked me to use this song for their post, I was real happy. But as I put words with pictures I teared up here at my computer. This song was written for them!

"Well I'll never forget the first time that I heard""That pretty mouth say that dirty word""And I can't even remember now what she backed my truck into"
(and its funny, cause Val really did crash his truck)"But she covered her mouth and her face got red

And she just looked so darn cute""That I couldn't even act like I was mad""Yeah, I live for little moments like that""Well, that's just like last year on my birthday""She lost all track of time and burnt the cake""And every smoke detector in the house was goin' off""And she was just about the cry until I took her in my arms""And I tried not to let her see me laugh
Yeah, I live for little moments like that"

"I know she's not perfect but she tries so hard for me"

"And I thank God that she isn't 'cause how boring would that be""It's the little imperfections,
It's the sudden change in plans""When she misreads the directions and we're lost but holdin' hands
[ps. thats going to need to be the motto of my husband! hahaa]
Yeah, I live for little moments like that""When she's layin' on my shoulder on the sofa in the dark
And about the time she falls asleep so does my right arm""And I want so bad to move it 'cause it's tinglin' and it's numb""But she looks so much like an angel that I don't wanna wake her up
Yeah, I live for little moments""When she steals my heart again and doesn't even know it
Yeah, I live for little moments like that"

SaWEEEETTT!!!!

He

and herare on tour together.


My dad got me tickets to go.





AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Christy and Shaun!

Well, I am kind of sad. I found this AwEsOmE song to use for this post. It's by Bebo Norman, one of my favorite artists, and it's called "Sunday" - which was perfect because Christy & Shaun were married two Sundays ago.

However, I could only find a 30-second clip of the song on all the playlists. Oh well, you can just read the insanely beautiful lyrics and make up your own tune!


"Day is fading, but baby, I don’t mind

‘Cause sunlight is dancing in your eyes""And time is frozen but somehow flying by

Here with your hand holding mine"

"It just feels right kissing on a Sunday

I’ll hold you tight as if it were the last day""With all my might, I will keep the world away

It just feels right kissing you on a Sunday""Time is racing to the sound of my heart beating

Can the dreaming escape this life""Unfair, maybe, but know that I’m not leaving""Right now, baby, life is kind""Make this moment last for a lifetime

Don’t let it slip away""Play it over and over like your favorite song"

"And we’ll fit forever in a day"So pretty, right?
Well, not as stinkin' pretty as Christy was!!!

Well, anyways, now my post is a little out of order, so lets go back to the beginning of the day :)

The day was very pretty, but also very windy. The girls were literally screeching in the wind and it made me laugh so hard!But, they were troopers and we got some fun shots :)The boys were much more cool and suave about the weather. Don't they like niiice?

Last lip-stick application as a single!!! Aaaaah!!!

hahahaAnd here they are in their happiness.
I have shot many, many times in our church, but this wedding had some cool red lights that I was loving.This one is just intense :)

Ok, and here is one last sweet dance moment

Christy and Shaun, I love you guys SO much. Thank you for letting me be a part of your day - your love for each other makes me smile so big, and I love to just watch you two be together.

And, SPECIAL thanks to Lydia Jane and LensFlare Photography for assisting me - you are the best!

My Vaca :)

I am here in lovely Miami with internet, cell-phone reception and mosquitoes :D
The cruise was more than wonderful and I have so much to show and tell about it.... I hope you enjoy this super long post!


Ok, and I am going to start this post with a question that was asked at one of the game nights. Do your best to figure out the answer:

What is the most popular peacock lime?

Think about it. Wait for it. And see the answer at the end :)

...The Cruise Ship...Here was my home for the past week! An outrageous floating mansion called "The Brilliance of the Seas"
"This world keeps spinning
And with each new day""My mind begins to spread its wings
There's no stopping curiosity""I want to turn the whole thing upside down
I'll find the things they say just can't be found"
These cards are the Top 10 best inventions ever.I was in love with the Big Band show they had. I loved, loved, loved it!Dad, this picture is for you :)And it would be rude of me to not give a big "Hello!" to Vanda, our awesome waitress every night. We all loved her dearly"I'll share this love I find with everyone"Ok, this is brilliant. Every morning they would put in the day on the elevator floor. SO smart, cause man, it is so easy to forget what day it is!And these vacuum cleaners made me smile. I want one....Aruba...

"We'll sing and dance to Mother Nature's songs"Oooh Aruba. Aruba was my favorite stop. Aruba
Aruba is "touristy", but it doesn't feel America at all. The locals are very, very nice. They little, colorful town is so much fun to just be in. You know how commercials for cruises or resorts have the sweet little clips of everyone laughing and having fun, with music playing in the background? Well, thats kind of what Aruba is like
They also have unbelievable jewelry. Like, if any guy was smart he would buy a ticket to Aruba, buy an engagement ring there, and fly back. I promise you would pay half the cost of going to the neighborhood Zales. And the rings are just stunning.

I love the colors!!!

... Cayman Islands ....

Grand Cayman was, well, beautiful, but it was kind of a weird day for me. The day before was my whole sick/fainting/ER day, so I wasn't feeling awesome. I decided not go snorkeling and then, the para-sailing trip was canceled :( bummer.

"I don't want this feeling to go away" But, God blessed me with a wonderful place to walk around and take pictures! It was perfect for me that day and I had so much fun roaming around the island.
... Costa Rica ....Ok, so Costa Rica was by FAR the least tourist-y place we went. It was definitely a foreign country.In the morning Lexie and I went on a zip-line through the rain forest. We left the port at 8:00 am and it was quite a dreary little morning.
We drove our small bus through the city, then up the side of a muddy mountain. I am sure it was not the safest thing in world, but we made it.
Once we were in our flattering harnesses, I was the first of the group to go. It's crazy to be standing at the top of a tree on the top of the mountain and being hooked onto a wire and then jumping off! It was SO fun, though, and I loved how everyone along the route called me "lady." "You ready to go, Lady?" "Walk this way, Lady" "Lady, jump now"
Once we got back, my mom and I shopped in the town and I took pictures, of course.I love how in the central park there are palm trees covered in names. "Miguel + Maria" "Jose + Andrea" It was cute :)Speaking of couples, I did meet someone in Costa Rica.
Three someone's.I completely love these three little guys - Eduardo, Manuel and Ricky Mom and I were walking around the city and the come running up "Hello!HELLO! Hi Lady! Do you want to see a sloth? Come, come here!" They grabbed my hand and brought me to a tree and showed me a sloth. "You are so pretty. Wow. You are beautiful. I love you. Look to there more, see, see the sloth?"

Hahahah I really liked them

... Panama ....

Captain of the cruise: "Goooood morning Ladies and Gentleman! We are now passing through the Panama locks and, well, as you can see its a tight squeeze."
I rushed out of bed to see what this Panama Canal was all about. When I got to the window I saw a wall. It was literally less than a foot from me. When he said tight squeeze, he meant tight squeeze. But it actually was pretty fascinating going through the canal!
One of the most amazing parts of the entire trip was as we were passing through the canal, an unmarked, US submarine passed through with us. Another boat had gone right before we did, and the military men in the submarine chose to wait for us because of safety. The submarine was barely above the water, and there were little boats ALL around just decked out with men and machine guns. It was so, so exciting because they were on there way home from war - they all looked so tired, and brave and just happy to be going . I was very proud of all of them and waved my heart out when they passed by (and in doing that I forgot to take a picture) but it was very neat.

Other than that, I didn't see much of Panama... the line to get off was very long and we had a spa treatment to get too :)I did look over the balcony and saw this, and that was enough of Panama for me!
... Us! ...
Here is the whole group: My grandpa, my Aunt Pam, me mommy :), me and my awesome cousin Lexie
Oh yeah, and TimmyA major part of cruising is eating. All the food is really good, really accessible and really good.
I ate a lot of it. Hahahah and that's why PhotoBooth is awesome haha

Here are some pictures from the formal night :)I got to wear my favorite, favorite white heels!My mom has this card game called Phase10 that she loves so much. We all, well, they all played it a lot and totally earned a spot on the blog hehe
My cousin going to be a senior, so I did some portraits of her, which was way fun.I don't get to see Lexie too much, since she lives on the other side of the country, but I always have too much fun with her. She has the best laugh on the planet and I love to hang out with her!
Early in the week Tim got a bad sunburn, so he was stuck inside for a few days. He played ping-pong like it was his job. There was this little Japanese father-son team that were incredible and Timmy even bet each of them a time or two!And my mom put up quite a fight for Timmy! She only lost to him by two :) Woohoo!Mom and Aunt Pam are quite a combo. They make ANYthing 12 times more fun. They laugh so hard, and smile so big and "count the number of times their breath is taken away" ;)
Oh, we also layed out a lot. And got very tan. But we didn't photograph that hahahOh yeah! And my mom learned how to text!!!! BIG moment for herMy mom had a great idea to wear t-shirts on the last day to thank Grandpa for taking us on this amazing cruise! He loved it, and so did EvErYoNe else. If you ever want attention, have your family wear matching shirtsAnd this is me singing a sad-leaving-the-cruise-song :(
I am so grateful that I got to go on this trip - I know that many people don't get to do things like this, and I am blessed beyond words that I was able to! If you ever get a chance to go on a cruise, do it :)

Oh, and what is the most popular peacock lime?
Answer: Do you come here often

Yeah, when men with Romanian accents say "pick-up line" it sounds a lot like "peacock lime"
hahahhaa

HIIIIIIIII!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hello everyone!

Well, cruise life is very wonderful... very, very wonderful :)

I have had so much fun swimming, getting a tan, drinking daiquiri's, getting massages, line-dancing with grandma's, zip-lining through real rain forests (as opposed to DisneyWorld rain forests), getting a tan, watching movies and live Big Band, shopping in aDorAbLe little towns, fainting and being rushed to the Med Station, eating some amazing food, getting a tan and missing home :)
We have been doing so much everyday that I am having a hard time staying awake past 9:00... I am starting to make a name for myself on this ship as "the girl who can sleep anywhere." hahaha

I have so much more to write about and you can count on a stellar post when I get home to explain all that, but right now I need to go see the guys playing "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" on their violins and guitars, or maybe I will go climb the rock wall. Tim wants to race me. hmmm... the whirl pool is sounding awesome too....

Don't miss me too much, cause I will be home soon! :)

Hello and GOOOD-Bye!!!!

Hello everyone! It's been a crazy weekend, but my two weddings are done!

Christy and Shaun were amazing and I will post more soon :)

But, I really have to go now. I need to catch my plane to Aruba :D

I am exhasuted and have been up most the night, but, oh jeez, I am SO excited!!!

See you when I get back! I will try to get extra tan for you :)

Kristen and Joe!

My wedding season officially started yesterday! I had the privelage to shoot Kristen and Joe's wedding :)


Kristen was such a happy bride!Ok, soooo, this moment was one of the most amazing I have ever witnessed. Kristen was getting her final touches done and all the girls were running around trying to finish themselves. Kristen quietly said "Uuuh. I just can't wait to see him." We were all like "Aw, thats so cute." And then she said "Maybe I could just hear his voice?" So, Joe's little sister ran to get Joe and told him to stand outside of the door and say "Hi" to Kristen.

"Hey Kristen..."And that is the face she made! She started to cry and answered back "Hiii! I love you. I love you so much"
Joe said "Oh honey, I love you too"
"Guess what?"
"What!"
"I get to marry you!"
"Heh, well, I get to marry you!!!"
"I love you."
"I love you."

They ended their little talk, and I looked around and all of the girls who were listening had glazed-over eyes, and were holding their hearts "aww-ing" at them. I looked over at Lydia, hoping she was crying, too, cause I totally was.

I love this picture of Kristen and her dad right before they walked down the aisle. That is such a "proud dad" face! Too cute!
Oh how she loves him :)
And their first kiss ever!
And everyone's reaction:

Kristen and Joe surprised their bridal party (which was only their siblings) with a stretch Excursion limo to take to the reception. They were all SO excited!!!Everyone was dancing and laughing and singing to the songs on the radioThen, "Realize" came on and Joe's brother said "Hey guys! This song is about two best friends who fell in love - just like you two!" Joe and Kristen agreed and then spent the rest of the ride like this... pretty lost in conversation :)

"If you just realize"
"What I just realized""That we'd be perfect for each other
And we'll never find another""Just realize""What I just realized""We'd never have to wonder""If we missed out on each other, now"

So, this was pretty funny. I was taking their pictures and someone came out and said "Hey, you should get a nice ring shot!" Kristen was all "Yeah, good idea! Let's do it!" Then she looked at Joe's hand and his ring was gone hahaha I guess one of his friends tricked him into giving it to him and Joe was a little, uh, distracted :)Kristen was good, though, and thought it was pretty funny. And, happily, the friend gave the ring back :)
Their reception was a WHOLE lot of fun! The dance floor was packed and everyone had a greeeat time!You might recognize these lovely couple - I did their wedding almost a year. They are doing quite well :)

Congratulations Kristen and Joe!!!

Wedding Happiness