Fall Family Mini Shoots: The Pettits

There is something so beautiful and special about a mother's connection with her little boy, these two knew just how to encourage each other. They knew how to make each other laugh, smile and really shine. They brought out the best in each other and it made our job not only easy but really fun. Karen and Drew, we seriously had such an amazing time with you, it was everything we love about our family portrait sessions.

See more of this fun shoot here!

Sunday Citar: Light for the Way

I just love the way the light breaks through my curtains at the start of each day, I am not a morning person by any means but the warm glow is comforting to me. I try to remind myself that every day is a gift and every morning I am given a new chance to make that day count. Life is full of blessings that can turn your world around and alter the way your heart beats and is also full of heartache that has the power to bring you to your knees; but no matter what the day holds we have the gracious promises of God to stand on. That He will never leave us or forsake us, that He has a plan and purpose for our lives, that He loves us so much that He died and rose again so that we might truly live. We don't know what tomorrow holds, but we do know that no matter what it is we are not alone.

“God didn't promise days without pain, laughter without sorrow, sun without rain, but He did promise strength for the day, comfort for the tears, and light for the way.”

Anticipation

To start off I must say that I am a bit of a travel bug, I can never get enough. Whether it is getting in my car and driving a few hours away or if it's hoping on a plane and crossing the Atlantic. I love everything about a trip. I love picking out the destination, I love figuring out the budget, I love figuring out places to visit and restaurants to dine, I even love saving for a trip. I love getting closer and closer to my goal, closer and closer to my adventure. I am currently saving for a trip to France and Italy for next summer. I am about half way to my goal. To encourage myself, and to fight off any impatience, I visited the National Geographic site and took in some of the beauty I am going to behold with my own eyes in just a few short months. I am not sure it actually helped with the impatience but it definitely stirred up some great anticipation.



Since France and Italy are a little ways off, and I cannot elude the constant travel itch, my friend Rachel and I have decided to start planning mini day-trips every month. Our rules are that the destination must be within a 6hr driving range (from Davison, MI,) there has to be some fun/interesting stops along the way, and there has to be a semi-cheap hotel to stay at. I am excited for our mini-adventures. I will be sure to keep you updated when we start officially planning our first. If you have any suggestions for us please share, it could be anything from your favorite place to eat, to an awesome park or landmark. We are up for anything.

“We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open.” – Jawaharial Nehru

“Travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living.” – Miriam Beard

Discovering Life through Young Eyes

"Through our great good fortune, in our youth our hearts were touched with fire. It was given to us to learn at the outset that life is a profound and passionate thing." Oliver Wendell Holmes

Sunday Citar: Music that Moves You

jónsi: Concert Timelapse at The Wiltern Theatre from Henry Jun Wah Lee on Vimeo.

Jonsi - Go Do

"Go sing, too loud
Make your voice break - Sing it out
Go scream, do shout
Make an earthquake...
You wish fire, would die and turn colder
You wish, your love, could see you grow older
We should always know that we can do anything
Go drum, do go out
Make your hands ache - Play it out
Go march through crowds
Make your day break...
You wish silence, released noise in tremors
You wish, I know it, surrender to summers
We should always know that we can do everything
Go do, you'll know how to
Just let yourself, fall into landslide
Go do, you'll know how to
Just let yourself, give into low tide
Go do!
Tie strings to clouds
Make your own lake - Let it flow
Throw seeds to sprout
Make your own break - Let them grow
Let them grow (Endless summers)
Let them grow (Endless summers)
(Go do endless summers)
You will survive, will never stop wonders
You and sunrise will never fall under
You will survive, will never stop wonders
You and sunrise will never fall under
We should always know that we can do anything
Go do!"

Fall Family Mini Shoots: The Trieloffs

This gorgeous family was all laughs and smiles for their mini-session, they were an absolute blast to shoot. You guys, we seriously had such a blast and it was everything we love about our family portrait sessions.

Washington: Night One

After getting settled and unpacked from my 10hr drive, Amanda and I ventured out to dinner at Art and Soul and then walked our way from the Jefferson Monument to the Lincoln....it was a great first night.

*Edit*
Now that I have a little more time because Amanda is working, I thought I'd share a bit more detail about yesterdays adventures. The drive to DC wasn't bad, the weather was gorgeous and the traffic was decent, that is until I got to DC and then traffic was absurd but we'll touch on that later. I had a good road trip music mix of Jesus Culture, Jonsi, John Mayer, Ingrid Michealson and Taylor Swift. I absolutely love her new Cd, Speak Now, I was singing it out at the top of my lungs. I am a major road trip junkie, I love being on the road. Each time I cross a new state line I get a jolt of excitement. My favorite part about driving East is that first view of the Mountains. They always leave me breathless. One funny thing that happened when I was going through the Toll's in PA, the toll booth operator asked me how many people I had to flash to get the beads that were hanging on my rear view. I was so caught off guard that all I could do was laugh which then led to him doing a creepy eyebrow lift. Haha It was absolutely ridiculous, but it definitely spiced up the 2nd half of my drive. As a said above the traffic in DC was absurd, I sat in stand still for about an hour and a half. I started entertaining myself by taking pictures of the people in the cars next to me. It was fun, some of them actually got really into it.
Once I got settled in at the hotel Amanda and I met her co-worker Rich for dinner at Art and Soul. They both were raving about the Macaroni and Cheese there, so I had to check it out myself. It was pretty good. After dinner Amanda and I set out to see the Jefferson Memorial, well actually Amanda said the Jefferson Memorial but what she meant was the Lincoln. So once we got out of the cab we admired the Jefferson Memorial from the road and then started the trek over the river and to the Washington Monument and the Reflection Pool and then to the Lincoln. The city lights were mesmerizing, along with the gorgeous architecture. DC is a definite stand-out when it comes to big cities. More to come...

She is a Rockstar!

Tabitha was Rachel Zoe (or Kim Kardashian) for Halloween and she was rockin it! This was my favorite pic of the night and I couldn't decide which version I liked best, so I decided to let you tell me...which one do you fancy the most?

Hope you all had a grand Halloween :)