LET'S CELEBRATE

//we'll take a cup 'o kindness yet, for auld lang syne//
--Annalise Emmerick--

Happy,  Happy New Year! 

Exactly one year ago today I was shooting my first wedding. I was worn out, but excited because I knew that this is what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I fell more in love instantly with this little joy of mine. Twenty-Thirteen was full of growth in many areas of my life and I know I have much growing left to do this year. It was full of struggles turned into victories, pains to joys, a multitude of joyful tears and big smiles, welcoming hugs and loud laughter, goals accomplished, and dreams happening. I am excited, thrilled, and scared{in a good way} for this new year. I have lists of  resolutions, dreams, and goals for twenty-fourteen and I already feel like some of them are in play. I want to stop dreaming, and start doing. I want to glorify God with this simple joy--photography. I want to bless people with images that will tell their story. I want to be more intentional with each photo I take. I think that is the marvel of film, you have to think about it. I, hopefully, will be attending more workshops, finding my personal style in photography, and feeling comfortable with it this year, along with taking baby steps to make my work it's full potential. I will never be content with my photos, but that is what makes me want to learn, to grow.  I am planning trips already, and am squealing with excitement for them. Oh, God is good and provides continually, loves enduringly, and forgives daily. Even when I don't deserve His grace, He overflows me in it. 

 That was an "all over the place" paragraph. Full of all my little ramblings squashed together in one paragraph. 

Hopefully, you didn't get too lost. 

If you made it to here--hip hip hooray! 

Let's celebrate this exciting new year! 

Much more, let's celebrate every new day this year has!

xx. Liz

p.s. Does anyone want to help me with my new blog design? I am clueless. I would be most thankful. 

  

//This Season of Life//

He gives them the seasons, 

each season different, 

yet every year the same.

 C.S. Lewis.

..

I am becoming more and more grateful for this season of life.

 It has been filled with new opportunities, 

celebrating over the simple things

and 

realizing the places in need of improvement,

being busy 

and 

knowing that "it is okay to be busy sometimes." 

christmas lights{ohsomany}

and 

tummies full of hot cocoa,

good food 

and 

great people. 

God is good. 

And I am thankful.

...

{p.s. Does anyone know how to get rid of the shadow box around the pictures?}

//Starting Anew//

//Hello//

       I am starting anew. I have said this many times "I am going to start blogging again", yet I continually shove it to the back corner of the attic. I, honestly, have went through a phase for the past few months of despising the blogging world. I hated the fact that we all were trying to be authentic and real, honest and different, yet, we all somehow faded into the same thing. I hated the masquerades people put on--both the "perfect life" and the "my life is always mundane and messy."  It has become a battle between these two types of blogging mind sets. I don't want to be one or the other, I want to be both. Life is messy and it overflowing with imperfect moments and terrible hours, days, weeks, months and years, but I don't believe in having to just focus on this cold hard, yet real truth. We are to be honest and real--that means sharing both the imperfect and the perfect. If one can not admit that they sometimes have nearly perfect days and moments, then they are completely contradicting their idea of being "real". 

..

         I am walking into blogging as a place for me to become more intentional with my words and photos. A place to share and to listen. As I go into twenty-fourteen, I have made a mile long list of my goals and motivations and I think blogging is helping me take one step closer to those. I want to put my aspirationss into actions. My dreams into reality. A year ago I would have never believed I would be here today. I shot two weddings, two very beautiful weddings at that, buckets and bucket loads of shoots, attended "Jessica Shaes Summer Adventure Internship,  have learned more things than I could name from this year of shooting and shooting and shooting and I still have much yet to be learned. I am grateful, anxious, yet filled with so much excitement that I could burst. I am even more excited to share with you, lovely people, my new aspirations. I want to grow both in my writing{I can use much growing in that area} and in my photography--Starting December 1st, I will be taking a photo every day that looks into that day. My goal is to really capture a picture of that day. Not just a random photo because I need a picture for that day. I want meaning behind that photo. I want the photo to speak for itself. 

...

        This is the start of checking off lists and making goals into accomplishments--a new name, design, and much much more newness is to follow soon. Heeeerree wee goo. 

xx. Liz

       

       

Because We Had to Celebrate

Because yesterday was a day to celebrate{you will know why soon} with snow cones and a golden hour photo shoot. 

Oh, and because we were giddy and smiley we attempted to take some excited pictures together...

God is so good. He has been blessing me abundantly with many amazing opportunities lately that I am beyond thankful and excited about. He is merciful, and loving, and forgiving, and blesses me daily. 

God is good. 

Because It Felt Like the First Day of Spring

{written Sunday night}

     Because it felt like the first day of spring, and it was bright and windy and lovely, I decided to attempt to make us a picnic dinner. My mother is the most amazing and wonderful cook and baker, you can ask anyone. She can literally make anything and everything taste delicious. I love her food, everyone loves her food. Let's just say I sadly usually do not carry on that trait{apples sometimes fall far from the tree?}. Nevertheless, I decided to step out of my comfort zone and cook because it felt like the first day of spring and when it feels like the first day of spring you must celebrate. Now when I say "cook", I mean I made sausage patties, over-easy eggs, toast, and sliced oranges--all of you foodies and cooks may giggle, but for me it was a proud moment ;). 

      The sun had almost completely set, there was only a bit of light left--the world had a gray and purple and blue and green tone. It felt more like a summer evening rather than a spring, the warmth with a tidbit of a breeze soaked into our skin like the sand soaking in the ocean. I grabbed our blue and white checkered picnic blanket and threw it across or picnic table, which took several times since it was a little windy and the wind kept making the blanket stick to me{I am sure it was a hilarious sight}. I carried, more like juggled, all the plates of food out to the table. I set out the not-too burnt sausage patties, a little over-fried eggs, toast, orange juice in my favorite glasses, and sliced oranges in an adorable bowl. We all scurried to the picnic table with our hungry stomachs and scarfed down our delicious sausage patties, slightly burnt eggs, toast, and sliced oranges. The surroundings around us, from the super green grass to the painted blue and purple and pink sky to the budding trees showed God's beauty. It was a time of shooing away cats, talking and enjoying each other, praying, eating simple foods, and having a picnic dinner because it felt like the first day of spring. 

 What are you doing this spring? 

Cindi:) 

      
       

In with the New, Out with the Old

   
     Twenty-Twelve was full of so many priceless memories, both good and bad--but this is where I must say "In with the new, out with the old".  Twenty-Thirteen is here{and has been here for eighteen days. a little late writing this;)}. Starting a new year is so exciting, there are so many new things in store-- new people to meet, new places to go, new things to learn, new stories to be told, and new adventures to begin. This year will have its joys and its sorrows, its magnificents and its mundanes, its news and its olds, but through it all our Lord stays constant, merciful, and unfailing, loving and redeeming.  I am more than excited to see what the Lord has in store for my life this year. I am making New Year's resolutions, or in other terms "Plans" for this year, but in my heart I need to remember the Lord may have plans of His own for me. As it says in Proverbs 19:21: "You can make many plans but the Lord's purpose will prevail." 

      My life of lately has been so crammed full, and finding a spare moment is rare. School work, and practices, and jobs, and editing shoots have seemed to take over my life{don't get me wrong, I love learning and practicing, dog sitting, baby sitting, and of course having shoots. Those all are very much blessings, actually}--what else is new since I last posted two months ago{me,oh,my.}? Well, let me show you through some photos+words a little glimpse of my life.....

   My mamma's most delicious, homemade, cherry pie. Me, oh, my, the smell of pie says "home."  It was made with love, in the kitchen that is full of memories of baking and cooking, laughing and talking. Also, I am a proud owner of my first Kinfolk magazine--it is full of so many priceless words and photos that inspire one very much{if you don't have one. Buy one.:)} 

Hot cocoa drinking with friends, of course. 

Going on mini photo-shoots. 

Feeling blessed.

Oh, and a few more things that are a little more exciting...

 I photographed my first wedding. 

Oh, I am totally in love with photographing weddings now. This was my first, and I hope there are more to come. Though there were many stressful moments, it was such fun. These two newly weds are the sweetest. We went out to take their portraits{and let me add...it was freeeezzziingg out.} and they kept wanting to take more and more. It was too much fun. More to come soon. 

I turned sixteen. 

The day after Christmas I celebrated my sweet sixteen. I woke up and ate the most filling breakfast, made by my mother and spent the day with my family. I couldn't have asked for a better birthday. :) 

     I am an Auntie. 

 This is Hadley Joy and she is one of the biggest joys. She is a sunshine in my day. The Lord is truly the most wonderful artist of all. He made this little girl, whom is the most precious, sweetest baby ever. I feel so utterly blessed to be her Auntie, and I am so excited to watch her grow up. {A post specifically for this sweet baby girl soon.} 

Cindi:) 

You are here. Be present. Live.

Sometimes you won't know the true value of a moment until it is a memory.

I can't tell you how many times I have taken a moment for granted. How I rushed through it, or how I had an attitude during it, or I just didn't even think about it. It is always afterwards that I realize how much of a treasure those little, and sometimes seemingly unimportant things are.  A minute seems like a second, an hour seems like a minute, a day seems like an hour, a week feels like a day, a month feels like a week, and then you realize it has been a year. Time goes too quickly when you want it to slow down, and too slowly when you want it to go quicker. Moments are so fragile and so special. I don't want to hustle or bustle through it, I just want to live moment-by-moment. I want to live every second finding joy in the Lord and this life He has so blessed us with. 

Here are my sweet, little moments of fall that I oh-so-want to keep locked in my heart forever: 

You are here. 

Be present. 

Live. 

-unknown

We went to the pumpkin patch one fall afternoon, wearing mittens and a scarf. We stuffed our faces with kettle corn, while we walked in rows of pumpkins looking for the perfect one. We laughed, and smiled, and were reminded of our childhood that one fall afternoon. 

My  afternoons usually consist of being curled up in my bright, pink blanket reading, and writing, and learning, and growing in knowledge. I am really growing in the knowledge of the Lord. The Lord is living truth. He is not only there, but he is visible. God shows Himself through His creation.  

I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen;
not only because I see it, but by it 
I see everything else. 
C.S. Lewis

Good Night, Friends! 

Cindi:)