last month i had the privilege of capturing my dear childhood friend’s family reunite after a long 7 month deployment. i was beyond excited when she asked if i would be willing to take some photos of her and her family now that they were “whole” once again. enjoy sneaking a peek at this gorgeous family…and many thanks to my beautiful friend tiffany and her family for the opportunity to capture these moments!
pretend: to represent fictitiously in play; make believe.
in the interest of honesty, i cannot pretend: this week marks the beginning of an incredibly hectic time for my family and i, as we are preparing to make a move 900 miles north to our home state of michigan in exactly 10 days. with that said, i am one busy momma who is pressed for time! so…without further ado, here is my sweet gracie doing one of her favorite things: having a tea party. her grandmother gave her a porcelain tea set when she was just a baby, and we have just recently braved bringing it out – when her two younger brothers are napping, of course! ;)
be sure when you’re done to http://www.lucyjanephoto.com.au/ and give Lucy Jane | Adelaide Photographer some love!
the other week i had the opportunity to photograph a new little neighborhood darling, luke. there is just something fun and exciting about an infant shoot…they are all so precious and different from their sweet little heads right down to their tiny toes. many thanks to the graniero family for inviting me into your home to capture these precious moments!
welcome back for week 7 of project 52! this week’s theme is love. the word conjures up so many things in my mind: my first love, best friend and now husband, Marc…my love for my children…my love for Christ…my love for dark chocolate, coffee, running, reading, my friends and sushi – just to name a few. there really were a million directions i could have chosen to go with this this week! given all of that, i opted to keep it simple. the kids and i returned home from the park the other afternoon to do a fun valentine’s day craft and it served as the perfect opportunity to snap away.
“…have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply from the heart.”
- 1 Peter 1:22
now go see what lovely photos Lucy Jane, Adelaide Photographer has this week!
http://lucyjanephoto.com.au/2012/02/52-week-challenge-love-adelaide-photographer-2/
it was the day our sweet gracie marie had been counting down to for two straight weeks: the day of the daddy daughter dance. we had gone out the week prior to find the perfect dress for the “ball” and gracie was bursting with excitement. for my husband it was an evening that was marked with a hint of bitter-sweetness. as our time in the marine corps is coming to an end in a few short weeks this would likely be the last time marc would be wearing his dress blues. but as he reflected the morning of the dance, the significance of being able to mark this “last” by taking his beloved little girl out on such occasion brought about such sweetness.
ironically enough i received an email that morning from focus on the family emphasizing the importance of “a date with daddy” and how influencial a father is in the life of his daughter — stating that a father can impact his daughter’s life even more than his wife. wow! i am so incredibly thankful to know that marc and gracie were able to share in this special evening together. while she may not realize the significance of such traditions just yet, he is working to cultivate a unique relationship with her that will shape not only her values and ideals, but her ideas and trust in him as her father.
wow, all i can say is that i truly cannot believe me and my fellow Bloom Forum photographers are already at the end of ANOTHER week with project 52! this week’s theme is “letting go of perfect“. the pre-children girl in me loves order, organization and tidiness… however the momma of three children under the age of five in me has come to accept this simply cannot always be achieved often – if ever at all! it was pretty easy to come up with a multitude of subjects for this week… heck, i just looked around the house and the work was practically done (or not) for me!
as a mom it can be so easy to feel like everything needs to be kept “just so” around the house all the time. but let’s be honest, if i spent the amount of time needed to make that a consistent reality i would miss out on so many moments throughout the day with my children. i’d be lying if i didn’t admit that from time to time i get frustrated when i step on a cheerio (again) or am confronted by a mound of (endless) laundry that needs washing and folding, or trip over my son’s garbage truck while toting a huge basket of laundry and almost take a nosedive into a sea of legos, like i did just before writing this. however, learning to let go of these things to a certain degree brings about such joy; joy in knowing i was present and enjoyed this very day that God has given me with my family and friends. one day – before we know it – my children will have left home and it will be just my dear husband and i. something tells me when those days arrive we’ll think back on how we miss these very imperfections that make up much of our days now.
now, see what Cate Waters | Indianapolis Photographer let go of this week!
http://catewatersphotography.com/project-52-letting-go-of-perfect/
i’ll admit, upon reading this week’s theme i simply wasn’t feeling my creative juices flowing. couple that with my youngest coming down with a virus on wednesday and i was feeling set up for an underwhelming post. i tend to use my kids nap time for my photography and housework, however the last two days that time has been fully exchanged for snuggling my precious nathan while serving as his personal tissue and burp cloth. during a brief moment of quiet this afternoon i stood in my kitchen with my cup of coffee pondering what on earth i was going to photograph…an old doll given to me when i was born? hmmm…no. my favorite collection of cookbooks? nah. then i glanced over at a small plaque that has maintained its place in our home for years now. it is something i see, read, and remind myself of daily: psalm 118:24.
it is on days like today that this promise brings such comfort, strength and purpose. days when i feel like i have many needs to meet and not enough time to meet them, days where tantrums begin before the sun has even come up – and continue ’til the sun goes down, days when children are sick and i’d do anything to make them feel better, days when my husband and i receive news that is a true answer to prayer, birthdays, anniversaries, holidays, laundry days – and everywhere in between. every single God-given day we have has purpose. tell me that isn’t something to rejoice in?? it’s hard sometimes, this i know. i have on occasion found myself loudly singing this verse in a more forced, playful tone while all chaos breaks loose in my house…and while i almost always break into a giggle while doing it, i am also reminded that even those moments that weave together another day in the bullock house are worth rejoicing.
now, be sure to head on over to see my dear friend and talented photographer, ginger unzueta’s post for this week!
http://www.gingerunzuetaphotography.com/project-52-l-week-5-l-on-the-shelf/
