8 years...

It's hard to believe it's been 8 years since my life changed forever. Let me think back to 8 years ago. 8 years ago I was 17, a senior in high school, and getting ready to go on a missions trip to Russia the day after Christmas. 8 years ago I was excited about decorating for Christmas, complete with lighted garland and white twinkle lights in the bushes. 8 years ago I was also helping my sister plan her wedding which never happened...

I'll never forget sitting in the car about to visit the cake vendor for last minute touches. Rodney Atkin's "Honky Tonk Badonkadonk" was on the radio and we were both singing it as loud as possible. It was her favorite song at the time. My sister pulled out a shade of red lipstick that always made her blue eyes pop and applied it with perfection is one swoop. I had yet to master the art of the lipstick; heck the idea of tweezing my eyebrows was still a bizarre concept to me. I remember telling her that I didn't know how she did it; I would never be that good. She smirked at me with the side of her mouth and said "It's like with anything you need to learn. Commit to doing it and it will eventually work itself out." I smiled at her thinking "yea right..."

I miss her so much sometimes it physically hurts. I miss harmonizing with her while singing The Little Mermaid's "Part of Your World" while clearing the table after dinner. I miss experiencing fireflies for the first time during our trip to North Carolina when I was 12. I miss venting my anger and frustration over whatever stupid fight I got in with my parents in her room while we both colored Disney princesses and she silently listened.

I miss thinking that no one would ever be as gorgeous as she was.

I trust God completely and I rest in knowing that He does work terrible experiences for His perfect will. It doesn't mean I'll ever understand it....but that's ok.

Whenever I freak out, convinced that I'm going to wind up being the only 30 year old woman who ever lived that never had a serious boyfriend, I always hear my sister's voice as she told me that one day there will be one boy who will be the one person I had been waiting for. I always knew she was brilliant... ;)

Holiday Mini Session:: November 16th

Hey all!

Have you wanted to get some photos of you and the kids but didn't want to deal with a 2 hour shoot with screaming kids and the lovely Florida winter sun beating down on you? This year I'm offering Holiday Mini Sessions for you to get your annual family pictures just in time to send out those Christmas cards! Contact me for more information. 

I look forward to photographing you and your family!

Event:: Uncommon 2013

I've been doing recreation for the middle school summer camp at Calvary Chapel Fort Lauderdale for 9 years....

9??? 9????? WOW!!!!!

God has been so good, He really has.  Every year, about 1 1/2 months before we leave for camp I go into panic mode. Complete. Panic. I begin listing all the things I have to get done and get so overwhelmed that I shut down, shove my notepad aside, and go to sleep. Because if you know anything about me you know that when I get thrown too many things as once I just kind of look at them and walk away, not wanting to do it and not knowing where to start. And then every year I get to camp and am in awe of God and what He has done. For some reason He's chosen me to do this job and I love it. I mean absolutely love it. I get to experience Him using me in such a simple way to bring an environment to these kids where they can have fun and learn how to love Jesus more.

That's why I come back every year. I want to be used by God and He uses me at camp so show me how good He is. It's crazy.

It's been a crazy ride, honestly. The pictures I take each year bring me back to where I was in life during that time and it just brings me back. I've been through the mountain and the valleys but each year I come back to camp. Camp Geneva. Good Lord, Camp Geneva...

I pray for the team I'll have with me each year and am constantly provided with some of the best people I'll ever meet.  They're heart to serve-I love it.

Here's a couple of pictures from this year- Uncommon 2013.

Family Shoot:: The Maurilus Family

She's like my sister from another mother. My Haitian twin. The peanut butter to my jelly. Emmy my love, you are amazing. And your family is hilarious. I think I knew the instant your father peered at me over his sunglasses and said "I make this look good." I hope you guys enjoyed yourself and the pictures even more!

Engagement: Jose + Sheena

College has its ups and down. You go to class, take some tests, pull a couple of all nighters and eventually you earn a degree. Something you can be proud of. One of the best things about college is the chance to meet new people and form new relationships. Occasionally those relationships can turn into more than friendship; as is the case with Jose and Sheena.

These two met working at the college book store together. Just friends of course. I feel like sometimes that's how some of the best stories begin. Side by side they worked together, enjoying each other's company and learning more and more about one another's character. Fast forward some time to a road trip to West Virginia for a community service project called Alternative Breaks. It was here that their friendship blossomed into something more and they eventually fell in love.

I asked both Jose and Sheena what they love most about each other and their responses were the kind you hear in books (can you tell how much I'm loving this couple?!). Sheena told me that the thing she loves most about Jose is his presence (swoon). She said that even if things are crazy and hectic its as if nothing else matters. Best. Line. Ever.

Jose told me that he loves Sheena's heart. "She has a good heart. She makes me want to be a better person because of her dreams." Family is important to Jose and he loves that both of their families go well together and get along. You're loving this groom too, right?!
Jose and Sheena, I adore you. I'm super excited to help you prepare for forever with each other this March!

Personal: Not a Natural

She hates to be in front of the camera. Anytime you go to take her picture, she looks like she's in physical pain. In reality, the only way to get a natural picture out of her is to tickle her until she is no longer paying attention to the placement of her eyebrow. It yields for the best photos. However someone this beautiful, in so many ways, needs to be photographed all the time. Her wisdom is evident in her stature and I respect it. Always. "These photos are for me mom, for practice. Honest."


I lied.

The Hunger Games: It's impact.

If you knew anything about me you know that I don't do fads. I don't do gossip magazines, reality tv, or trends. I won't wear my cowboy boots just because I'm going to a western place. For me, scarves are meant to be worn when it's cold out, not 72 degrees. The idea of being told that I only wear my hair in a braid because Katniss Everdeen dons one in the books makes me angry. Unless instructed to, I rarely wear pink/red on Valentines day or green on St. Patrick's day. It's just not in me. Someone told me once that I march to the beat of my own drum and I told them, no, if I like the music, I'll dance.

And in this case I did. With The Hunger Games trilogy. And when I refer to the Hunger Games, I mean the book series, not the movie. These are separate things and don't try to analyze them as one unit. Because they aren't. But anyway, not the point of this post. The point of this post is to speak about the impact of a book, story, or series.

I first heard about The Hunger Games about 1 1/2 years ago from my friend Vanessa. She explained to me the premise of the story and I rolled my eyes because again, if you know anything about me, I hate futuristic anythings. But I respected her opinion and told myself I would give it a try because I can't resist a good book (or for that matter, a good trilogy.) Fast forward 2 years and I still hadn't gotten around to reading it. Crap. Now the movie is coming out and I'll belong to that meme that people will no doubt be creating about reading a book just because a movie is coming out. Like this one:

But whatever, I really don't care because when it comes to books, I'll jump on a bandwagon. As long as they're worth my time. And they were. Completely. In all reality it didn't take much of my time because it took me a total of 4 days to read the whole trilogy. By the end of it, I was sobbing. No, not watery eyes and a lump in my throat. Full. On. Sobs. It's been a long time since a series, or even a single book for that matter has elicited such a response out of me. Throughout the series I went through a full gamut of emotions. Excitement. Pain. Intensity. Remorse. Grief. Delight. Sorrow. At times they stressed me out; sometimes I felt like a teenage girl giddy over romance; and at others I felt intense mourning because I knew the feeling of losing someone loved. Regrettably.

I haven't felt some of those feelings in a while so while it was refreshing to revisit, I'm sad it's over. I'm sad that I won't have something exciting to come home to. A place to lose myself in. To get away from responsibility and just enjoy a good story. This is what a good book does to me. Moments spent on the hammock in my back yard, straining to find a comfortable position to read in all, all the while knowing I'll just move in a few minutes anyway because a story this good can't keep me still for long...

Its pretty obvious from my ranting that I recommend the books. Whole heartedly. Do yourself a favor and take the time to read them. Not because it's popular. Not because a movie just came out. But because when you find a gem, one that makes you think "Crap, I can't put this thing down" at the end of every chapter, where you were in life will be forever etched into that book and it's those memories that sustain us.