lemonade

ahhhhhhhhhhh, the lemonade session.
what. a. session. it. was.

this session set out as a dream of mine that got unbelievably enhanced by:
an incredible photographer,
an interior designer/vintage rental company owner,
a wedding boutique owner,
a beautiful florist,
a modern vintage stylist,
a crafty seamstress,
a creative nail technician,
a meticulous makeup artist,
a unique hair stylist,
an aspiring videographer,
and eight absolutely gorgeous, hardworking ladies.

this sessions story starts with a three month old beautiful dream of mine.
I got to see this beautiful dream come to fruition.
unfortunately, I also had to watch as it was made to get torn down minutes before it was to begin.
talk about a "cinderella before the ball" moment.
the happy part of this sad story is that much like cinderella,
I had a fairy godmother that day.  in fact, that day I had over a dozen of them!
when, in my cinderella moment, I simply couldn't see a "plan b" to my original dream, these beautiful people could.
in all honesty,
elizabeth, kate, lindsey, josh, mireille (and her two beautiful girls), cassandra, priscilla, eli, lauren, lauren, emily & ashley
YOU. MADE. THIS. BEAUTIFUL. SESSION. HAPPEN.
serious fairy godmother status. :)
at the end of the day I have never been more proud to have the family & friends that I do.
the kind of friends that literally picked up the pieces of my dreams, my "lemons" if you will...
and turned them into lemonade.

joy

there are some days that I think God is blatantly trying to get my attention.
today was one of those.

this time last year was very similar to this year.
photoshoots in every available time slot...then editing the shoots, then producing the shoots...
all the while "normal" life was continuing and beckoning and had been getting busier because didn't you know it's CHRISTMAS TIME!?
whatever spazziness I might be during the ten other months of the year...those two that year topped it.  by far.
definitely happy getting to do what I love but somehow I had lost something for the first time in...ever.

I lost christmas.

and I can remember the exact moment it happened.
it was the week before christmas.
I was sitting in my car.
alone.
and that "where are you christmas song" from the grinch came on 99.9.
the busyness came to a screeching halt and the tears began to flow.
yup, totally cried to a grinch song.  not my finest moment.
blubbering to myself wondering where indeed had christmas gone? :)

fast forward to this year.
I can feel the hustle and bustle creeping in.
but today I felt like God was putting last years "grinch moment" in the forefront of my mind.
it started with blake's facebook status update the night before
(which I read at 1:30a.m. in the morning...yep...hustle and freaking bustle.) :)
all he wrote was "He is jealous for me."
it's a line from one of my most favorite songs right now.
that was the first little flick at my heart from God...reminding me that my joy was starting to creep out the door.

the day ensued until something caught my eye this afternoon before I went to pick up the kids from school.
you see I had cut back all the rose bushes in my front yard last week...they needed a rest in my mind.
the sun only shines in one part of the rose bushes at about two p.m. this time of year.
and to my surprise, I saw one single white bud open, with the sun shining perfectly on it.
it was a present.
just for me.
from Him.
whispering that He is indeed jealous for me and that I need to slow down and smell the roses.
and not only was it a rose...but a white rose (they don't bloom that much for some reason.)
this white rosebush is called peace.

 needless to say, the first tired tear of the day was shed. :)

THEN, tonight justin taught about joy.
he declared "the joy of the Lord is my strength."
yup, go ahead and laugh.  I did.  God was being a little more direct with me at this point. :)

as soon as he uttered the word joy - my mind flicked back to this weekend to my friend emily's encouraging email to me.
she had lovingly written not three days ago:
"joy is a flame that glimmers only in the palm of the open & humble hand.
in an open and humble palm, released & surrenedered to receive,
light dances, flickers happy."
joy seems to be the theme God is whispering to me.

Justin went on to teach that true joy and the chief end of man is to glorify God and to ENJOY Him forever.
to enjoy the presents He gives you...yes salvation and His Word...but in the day to day as well.
and for me His presents often come in the form similar to that of a single white rose.

I tried explaining all this to my girls tonight.
not sure if I succeeded, but I'm not sure that really matters.
God succeeded in grabbing my attention today and reminding me to find my joy.
joy and peace can be found for me in the day to day.
I just have to be intentional about seeking after them

"a thankful heart is a happy heart." (thank you veggie tales.)
true happiness = joy.
so it begs the thought:
what do I need to be thankful for today?
remembering that is where I will find my peace and joy...my christmas. :)

you won't find me in a puddle in my car this year.
nope, there's too much to be thankful for.

business trip :)

yes, I'm here to shoot a wedding with her tomorrow...but it sure feels an awful lot like vacation.
and it's been a good v.a.c.a.t.i.o.n. with much needed rest.
waking up to 40 degree weather that turns into 65.
crisp fall leaf smell mixed with the unmistakable cold smell of winter.
hanging out with my sweet niece and nephew who seriously say the FUNNIEST things...
getting some seriously fun one on one time with my baby girl.
leisurely time finishing up edits as I watch the sunset over the mountains...
but oh yeah, it's a business trip ;)
I'll post a wedding prelude tomorrow...but here a few of my favorite shots from this trip so far :)

just fresh concepts - design & decor - vancouver, canada

that kind-of explains what lights me up about design...
taking another person's thoughts and putting a visual to it.

the art of literally crawling inside another stranger's head and hand painting a visual
is kind-of a strange and accurate analogy of what has to happen for my clients to be happy. :)
and with each client, I feel like I'm understanding how to better see & create their thoughts.

so meet justyna of just fresh concepts - design & decor!
based out of canada, the floral arrangements she's created are simply gorgeous!
thanks to her creative nature, I had a lot of beautiful, colorful, whimsical, unique & vintage-y thoughts to play around with! :)

for me, it starts with an idea board...

an idea board that flowed into quite a few different logo concepts...

that started to come together a bit more into what she was visualizing...

to finally the final choice after tweaking it just a smidge... :)

 

thank you so much for letting me be a part of your design process and I look forward to seeing more of your beautiful work!

wasting time...

I've got a stack of books ranging from harry potter (yes, I'm just now picking it up, I know.) to the outliers.
I've got two sets of newly purchased knitting needles with projects to go with them.
I've got diet coke in vintage glass bottles (I've never seen these before!) at my disposal.
and to cap it off, I just got done watching an incredible midwest lightning storm roll through.
yes, I'd say it's time to rest and not waste anymore time. :)

pieces of sunshine - colorado springs, colorado

this is my little sister and her beautiful family.
and she is so much more than just my little sister.
she is an amazing wife.  a most beautiful mommy.  an unbelievably creative entrepreneur.

but to me?
she is my beautiful little sister who happens to be my closest friend.

the kind of friend who makes you laugh until your lungs feel like they're going to pop.
and most of the time she doesn't even mean to be that funny...she just is.
you can see it in her eyes when you surprise her with your laughter...they start to sparkle and then she just runs with her hilarity.
yes, that friend.

she is the kind of friend who eyes fill up with tears when you share hard things but then somehow finds a way to make you feel like it just isn't that hard of a thing anymore and that you can conquer the world...

she is the kind of friend that if you've found that you're cornered, she's the first to jump in swinging.
and only after the last foe is found lying in her wake will she even begin to think of asking what she was defending you from.

there is a poem that I love and it reminds me of her as I watch her live her life:

"...she left pieces of her life everywhere she went...
              it was easier to feel the sunlight without them, she said."

but the secret is that she is sunshine.
not only to me...but to most who encounter her.
and that is what she does...she leaves little pieces of her sunshine on whatever path God gives her.