Girls, girls, girls

The above pictures are from my most recent photo shoot. A friend from church asked me to come over and photograph her daughters, Faith and Grace. The parents requested mostly black and whites, which was fine with me. I think there is another dimension of class that is added when taking B&W.
The girls were quite the divas. They aren't camera shy by any means, so it made for a fun afternoon. We did silly poses, sleeping poses and an occasional serious pose. Everytime I would take a shot, they would yell, "I wanna see, I wanna see!" So I'd turn the camera and show them the picture and they would giggle and say, "take another one!"
That was repeated a couple hundred times. :)

Newborn

Meet little Naomi. Isn't she cute? This was my first newborn photoshoot. I think I am going to enjoy this. :)
She was so dainty and precious.

Travel

This was taken the other day as I was stepping out the door, hoping to get some good macro shots of the recent ice and snow we were graced with. I love how the suns reflection off the clouds looks like fire. It was such a unique sky.

I'm working on editing my pictures from our weekend trip to Philadelphia, we decided to pull out the parkas and deal with the cold, instead of donning our Rainbow flip-flops down south. I still can't figure out why we chose bitter, freezing temperature over warmth and sunlight. It was an interesting trip, can't say we would go back to that city for another weekend, but we can at least check the city off the list. It was fun to be away, but the city of Brotherly Love didn't capture our hearts like DC or NYC. The subway system was fascinating, I'm such a people watcher that I thoroughly enjoyed riding the SEPTA(SouthEastern Pa Transportation Authority) We were always minority on the train, which was fine with me, there are many aspects of African American life that intrigues me. So I tried to catch a glimpse into their lives, even if it was a very quick glimpse. I saw an elderly lady covered from head to toe in bright purple clothing chanting the Presidents name and proudly declaring that he was the prince of peace(I bit my lip).

I did have my first(and last, I don't even want to know the calories in that thing!) original Philly steak n cheese sub. I will admit though, that it was the best sub I have ever eaten. To justify myself I worked out extra hard when I got home :)

We saw the traditional touristy attractions, like the Libery Bell and Independence Hall, they were facinating. I think what I enjoyed most was getting our bags searched before we entered the buildings. The guards told us to upzip our coats and open them up, I felt like there should be rows of illegal watches lined in my coat.

It was neat to be able to document our trip with pictures(which will be coming soon), spend time with Joe and just be away. But there's nothing like coming home and I was glad when we pulled down our driveway.

Hello 2009

I realize that Christmas has come and gone, but I feel like most of my brain is still in 2008. I can't believe how fast time flies. The holidays were great; couldn't have gone any better. Spending time with family and friends is so wonderful, I just wish it didn't go by so quickly. It was our first Christmas as a married couple, that was special. We even got the traditional 'Our First Christmas' ornament, I was glad, because I was going to feel pretty weird buying it for myself.

Joe and I are planning on taking one weekend trip a month for a year(hopefully longer) to someplace we've never been before and we are going to document our trips with photography. I will of course post the pictures and share of our adventure. We want to see more then just the Tri-State area, we want to get out of our box and experience life and see the beauty of our nation. I think this month we might be going to Ashville North Carolina. Other places we have in mind are, Boston, Philly, rural country, Florida and who knows where else. I'm so excited.

I'm looking forward to seeing what lies ahead in the year 2009. There is this sense of excitement and urgency in the air. I do not want to waste time, I want to be used by God.

Dreams do come true...

Here are some pictures from my recent photo shoots. I love photography, I love the opportunities that come alive once you get behind a camera. I would love to someday do this full time, we'll see what happens. I really feel like this is a direction I should be heading. Doors keep opening up in this field for me. I've been working part time for a photographer in the area, people that I know are asking me to take pictures of their children, it's been such a neat experience. I know I have alot more to learn and I want to dive head first into the art of photography and learn as much as I can. Thankfully my husband knows alot about photography, he has been gracious enough to show me the things he knows, we've been having fun taking pics together.
Been considering finishing up a degree in photography. That would be a dream come true to have my own studio one day.

Sigh

The election has come and gone. History was made on November 4th 2008 when Americans voted in the first black president. We all knew he would win. If you are a conservative you hoped he wouldn't, but prepared yourself for the worst. If you are a liberal(you probably don't read my blog anyways) but you already knew he would win and you were trying to think of how you celebrate his victory. To be honest, I was really bummed he won. I could go on and on and explain the many reasons why I don't think Obama should be in office, but whats done is done. We as republicans need to use this time to rebuild ourselves and show what true conservatism is, without shoving it down eachothers throats. We need fresh republicans with new ideas based on the core principles that this country was founded on. It will be interesting to see what the next 4 years will be like. I'm sure conservatives will be watching with baited breath, waiting to point their fingers and say I told you so..who knows? Maybe Obama will surprise us. I'm holding my breath.

I was convicted when I read this the other day from Joshua Harris(author of I Kissed Dating Goodbye), I needed this reminder..

On Sunday I told my church that after the election half the country would be elated, confident that all would be right in the world because their candidate won; the other half dejected and sure that the world had ended because their candidate lost. But Christians should realize that both sides are wrong. If you voted for Obama, he isn't worthy of your ultimate hope. And if you didn't vote for him, don't despair as though Jesus isn't reigning over the world. Those who call Jesus their Lord can be filled with a quiet peace and confidence in all seasons. Our Savior is never in the White House. Our Savior is Jesus. We must turn to him with joy and faith. And as we do let's pray for our new President Elect that God would give him wisdom and grace to lead our nation in the days to come. My friend Justin Taylor shares the following helpful words: No matter who you voted for--or whether you voted at all--it's important to remember that, as President, Barack Obama will have God-given authority to govern us, and that we should view him as a servant of God (Rom. 13:1, 4) to whom we should be subject (Rom. 13:1, 5; 1 Pet. 2:13-14).

• We are to pray for Barack Obama (1 Tim. 2:1-2).
• We are to thank God for Barack Obama (1 Tim. 2:1-2).
• We are to respect Barack Obama (Rom. 13:7).
• We are to honor Barack Obama (Rom. 13:7; 1 Pet. 2:17).

Thoughts

Here are a couple of my favorite wedding pictures, it was such a blessing to have a photographer who knew exactly what we wanted. (Rachel, if you want the link to our wedding pics let me know)
I love being married. I love having a house to look after, a garden to tend and of course a husband to care for :)
As I look back over the last year, I can see so many blessings. Last October I got engaged and my life has changed dramatically since(for the good), I've had to grow up alot, take on responsibility that I've never known before. I had no idea what it was like to be married, would I be any good at it? I did know one thing, I knew that the Lord brought Joe(y) and I together and it was up to us to make this marriage work, to sacrifice our own wants and desires and place the other person above ourselves. I knew it was my job to be a help-meet and support to my husband. I don't want to be anything less then a good wife to him. I am so thankful that my mom was such a good example to me, she is truly a virtuous wife.
I know people are probably thinking, well she's a newlywed- that will probably change, give her a couple year. I pray to God it doesn't. I want to have a successful marriage, I want it to bring glory to God, I want our kids to feel secure and know that their parents actually love eachother. It'll take alot of work, but I sincerely want to make it happen.
I know this sounds like I'm still on cloud 9(which I am, heh) but there are actually days where I don't like my husband, as there are days when he doesn't like me. I'm realizing I can be a pill to live with. But God bless my Joey he still loves me anyways.
He just likes me for my cooking. :)