Anna turned four so we celebrated at The Woods // northeast, tx portrait and lifestyle photographer

Down a windy road shaded with trees of all shapes and sizes, drooping together to make an archway of sorts, freckling the pathway with glimmers of sunshine seeping through the leaves, there is a home with a giant oak tree, which has seen many an autumn, that guards the front yard, surrounded by 70 acres of, what we call, The Woods. Underneath the shelter of its branches several gatherings have been held with a good amount of chattering, eating, laughter, and memory making. Sometimes these gatherings are elaborately planned to mark a special occasion and sometimes they are thrown together for no particular reason; similar to how you would quickly bake a batch of your favorite cookies to take to a friend's house for the afternoon...the spontaneity doesn't diminish the value, it gives it a certain element of surprise and adventure. This particular story I'm going to tell you today tells of a mishmash of those two possible scenarios. :)

You see, though it was thrown together rather quickly, there was a special occasion taking place. A very remarkable little girl, the youngest in our family, turned four. {Insert much ado of tears and smiles and bittersweet feelings here please and thank you.} My precious baby Anna Claire...the one who shyly giggles when I act silly with her, the one that cares for baby dolls like her life and their's depended on it, the one who is deathly afraid of dogs but will pet them if their face is turned the other way, the one whose curls and dimples and bright blue eyes have stolen my heart over and over again until I have given up trying to compose myself. ;) She is my Anna Banana and I am her Owl-itz. :) I hope she remembers these sweet days that are shaping her life. I hope she will be able to flip through them like a beloved photo album or bedtime storybook. I hope, when she and I are both older and wiser, we will be able to smile upon the faded recollection of the fall chill that kissed the air, the fields and trees peppered with yellow flowers and red leaves, the long walk she and I took with all her best friends, discovering the world and all its wonder and beauty together...

one twist and turn of the trail at a time. :)

Here she is. :)

And we can't forget, Big Sis Maggie Grace. :)

Anna certainly never forgets her. They're closer than close friends....because everyone knows sisters are built in besties. :)

Gavin is on the left, Dalton is on the right. We ladies couldn't go on a walk without big strong men there to protect and guide us. :)

Miss Abby. I quickly noticed that she was very fascinated with my camera so I let her give it a whirl from time to time...I declared her my assistant photographer for the night.. :)

Every time I turn around, she's having the time of her life. :)

And this is Katerbug...Kate actually ;) , Abby's little sister. She is full of joy and always bubbling over with incessant giggles. :D

They're buddies. :) 

About to set off on our Great Journey into the Unknown Forest. ;)

Alexis. Abby and Kate's cousin.....she is a hilarious ball of fire, if you couldn't already tell. ;D

Abby wanted her picture with the Birthday Girl since they were both wearing pink. ;)

That little fella in blue is Alexis's younger brother, Reece. He may be the smallest but without a shadow of a doubt, I will tell you he's the bravest. He's really the man that was our chaperon.  I felt very safe with him around. ;)

I just love bitty people. :)

Maggie climbing an old deer stand to impress everyone with her Great Outdoors experience. ;)

 

Yes, his pocket knife is out....something serious must have been going on. 

Once we decided to start heading back to "Camp" as we called it {to sound cool and official}, everyone's little legs suddenly got tired and I had a symphony of pleading voices begging me to pick them up and carry them back. I grabbed as many hands as I could, we formed a line, and I assured them we would make it back before we knew it. With the boys trudging on before us, it became a race against time...it was my mission to get these darling girls back safely and not totally exhausted. As I racked my brain, trying to think of a solution fast, I was subconsciously and quietly humming a Justin Bieber song to myself as I sometimes do {no judging allowed here, sorry} and all those sad little moans of agony turned into shouts of exuberant happiness. "YOU know that song?!" They all exclaimed at once. I knew what I had to do. I had fallen into the most fervent mini Bieber fan-base you can imagine. I scraped the bottom of my brain for every J.B. lyric I had ever known and that became our marching anthem. Then, as if transported there, we arrived at our destination without a single thought of hurting legs or tired feet. Like George Washington before me, I cannot tell a lie...it honestly was one of the funnest moments of my entire life, bar none. :D

When we did finally get back, Anna watched this as a birthday reward of sorts. ;) Well...actually...they all watched it, huddled like penguins trying to stay warm. Reece poked his head into the circle for just a moment but then, after realizing what was going on, said, "Oh good grief! They're watching Yustin Beaver!"


Tara Jayde...Maggie and Anna's sassy little cousin. ;)

Gavin's signature smirk. ;)

Digging tunnels. :)


His Daddy is in the Navy so he's representin'. ;)

While we had been on our expedition, the adults were busy preparing supper. Fried catfish, hushpuppies, french fries....it was a regular Texas feast. :D


My dad was in charge of the hushpuppies. :)





Hey Alexis. :)

Look at that face! I'm telling ya, these little boys are gonna grow up to be heart throbs like this world has never seen. ;)

Cake time. :D



This was while everyone was singing happy birthday...such a sweet moment. :)





To Anna's surprise, they were trick candles...so they kept relighting. :)

The surprises didn't stop there though...since we hadn't been able to do anything special for Mam-maw for her birthday at the end of September, we had cake for her too!



So then we sang for her. :)








Birthday Girl x 2! :) 


I love these two. :D <3

~Through Christ's Love ♥

only the truest kind : personal

I am not the first photographer who has sought to express their love of...well, love. And I trust I shall not be the last. This love of love is what drives many of us camera haulers to keep at the sport. The bashful smiles, the sweet kisses, the gentle hand holding, the tight hugs...all the adorable body language characteristic of those who profess themselves to be "in love" compounded with the fact that every couple has a unique display of it...these are the things that make our job so interesting and special. But the truth is, there is more to "love" than can be captured in a picture.

Now, I know to some people I seem very young to be talking about such a big, age old subject. After all, most high school seniors can't handle wrapping their minds around which prom dress to buy and which college they'll attend, much less aspiring to happy matrimony. Perhaps that makes me less than normal, because I, on the other hand, think about it very much. Not just my own possible future marriage...but that of others. Maybe it's because, at this time in my life, more and more of my friends are beginning courtships and getting married. I have noticed that a growing portion of my free thoughts are being devoted to this hefty subject of "love." It's so multifaceted and misunderstood yet intriguing and invigorating. It reveals itself in different ways and in different intensities. At any given time it can cause one's tongue to swell up around a certain person just as easily as it can lead you to believe you would die for this particular individual. Love has fascinated me for a while,  is fascinating me at present,  and I hope will continue to fascinate me for as long as the Lord desires my life to endure. Love is very very deep.

I have had the privilege to read [i.e. devour every morsel of every sentiment in every word] the letters exchanged between my mother's parents and also those of my father's grandparents. Both couples were very young. Both couples had very unique stories...they had rich, passionate, beautiful feelings for each other  as well as great hardships to overcome. Their love stories weren't perfect...in fact, in a lot of ways, they were very marred and broken. And yet, love remained. Love, when real, is rather powerful stuff. Though others might disagree, I believe true love is stronger than the darkest lust, the vilest jealousy, and the sharpest bitterness. 

I literally get the giggles reading the girlish words of both of my grandmothers in their delicate cursive handwriting comparing it to the undeniably masculine declarations of passion in the the less refined, rugged and slightly rough around the edges type of my grandfathers. Its not everyday you get your wish of wanting to know what your grandparents were like at your age....and younger. In the past couple of weeks I have been able to organize and look through the letters of my great-grandparents especially. My great-grandmother passed away in the spring of 2009 and my great-grandfather passed away last year in November so these letters have an extremely precious place in my heart because, even if she was 14 and he was 17 when they were written, I can still detect certain elements of their personalities that never changed and that I miss dearly. And somewhere deep in the storehouse of these words I see myself. Their legacy has lived on well. ;)

I lock into their nervous jitters, the aching yearn to be together, the silly nicknames and endearments, and dreams of the future. It all rushes over my senses and makes my heart beat faster. I feel the urgency, the comedy, the excitement, the romance of it all and I can't help but, in a small way, be left with nothing other than a deep desire to be in love myself! 

All lovey dovey, mushy gushy feelings aside, there is so much more about love that I desire to know about, grow in...possess. For example, I have just been overwhelmed recently by the qualities of a marriage that enhance sanctification in such a significant way. Two sinners living in a fallen world seeking to live together as one and have a relationship glorifying to God isn't exactly easy. Learning to die to self and love someone unconditionally and sacrificially as Christ loves his Bride is a daunting task and it takes more than being smitten with someone's eye color or mannerisms. 

Yes, I'll be honest, I want to have a romantic love. Figuratively speaking, I can't wait!! I too want to have a box full of love letters written by hand that partially capture what we were feeling as our love grew that we can pass down for generations. I want to laugh about inside jokes that only me and my love know, I want my breath to be taken away when I see him, I want to serve him, I want to be silly sometimes and serious at other times, I want him to love when I smile, I want to be nervous and excited and wooed by him. I want to catch myself focusing on his long eyelashes and crooked grin {cause let's face it, ladies...it seems like all guys have those heart stoppers to some extent.} I want to learn to just listen to him talk, and make memories, and feel the weight of how much we are blessed. I want us to take walks, and hold hands, be in his arms, and be swept off my feet more every day. Hollywood has taught me to expect at least one good dance in the rain with plenty of twirling, dipping, laughter and kisses...with soft music playing in the background, right? ;) 

{They often signed the bottom of their letters or the flap of the envelope "S.W.A.K." or "S.W.A.M.K." Which is "sealed with a kiss"...or "sealed with a million kisses"... sometimes it was slightly more literal than others. ;)}

But I am not ignorant that there will be hardships and struggles. There will be disagreements and heartaches. If God does see fit for me to be in love and be married, there will be times when he and I don't feel very much in love anymore. And that's when true love, only the truest kind will prevail. Because love is an action. Not just a feeling. That is when, I pray, we will be reminded of how much the Lord has forgiven us of and how unlovable we were and are and yet His love never fails. So, among the many "particulars" that I desire in a future husband...there is one that stands above them all. I want a man after God's own heart. A man who will desire to win my heart, because his has been purchased by Christ. A man who knows how to love because He has been loved by God. I don't want to settle for anything less than that love which is of the truest kind.

I get anxious and impatient about God's timing in the matter of my "love life" sometimes. Even when you know His time frame is perfect, it's still hard to submit to, deep down. But I pray for strength...I pray for His plan to be fulfilled and I pray that my mind would be stayed on Him so that I might have perfect peace. And as I, the clay, wait to be shaped and molded in the hands of my Potter...I am excited about the future. The future, no matter what uncertainties, darkness, and fears it holds is very exciting when you know that the Creator of the Universe is in control of it and He will not let His purpose fail.

~Through Christ's Love ♥

10 on 10 // October // northeast, tx portrait and lifestyle photographer

The wind is nippy and the sky is weepy. I suppose you would call this...autumn? A spider weaved her house of string, the morning sun rose gently, I wore my "I'm officially cold now" cow sweater thing that we've had forever {can you keep a secret? I have a blue one with a panda on it, too. That's confidential biz though, ya hear me?! ;)} But mostly I fingered through crinkly old memories of young love...letters between my great grandparents before they got married. While listening to sweet/fun love songs to get in the mood, I wiped away tears from the corner of my eyes and laughed at their teenage wise cracks that haven't grown a bit stale since the forties. :) There's so much more of that adventure I'm gonna share with you. :)

And if you feel like thanking someone, thank Kiley for coordinating this project this month. :)

Also, I can't count. This is close enough to 10. :)

Rhythm of Love // Million Bucks // This Will Be {An Everlasting Love}

Don't know what to do next? I have an idea! Go visit the precious and wonderful Julianna. :) It'll be loads of fun. :)

~Through Christ's Love ♥