It's not you... It's me....

I hate to say it but I am leaving you Blogspot! You have been a dear friend and a great listener ;) But I have to move on....

I have been preparing my new and improved website the past couple of weeks. It has way better image quality and suits my business needs better than my old one... and.. it has an internal blog... So I'm sad to say that... this will be my last post on this one! :( I really hope my sweet blog friends will follow me over to....

MY NEW BLOG!

It should be up and running by tomorrow at the latest! I will continue to check my dashboard for updates on those of you still over here at blogspot... and you can still comment on my new blog! BOOKMARK ME! :)

Blogspot was a great place for me to begin my blogging adventure and I will definately be recommending it to anyone who needs a starting point in the future!

Goodbye Blogspot!

Neda Agha Sultan

For those of you living under a rock, Neda is an innocent 26 year old bystander who was struck down by Iranian militants this past Saturday in Tehran during a protest against what many Iranians believe was a fraudulent election. Her death was captured on cell phone video which makes her death more tangible to those of us following the media, but should not overshadow the many other deaths of innocent people every day in Iran. 10 other protesters were killed on Saturday. We should mourn the loss of all of these people, not because we knew them, or on a personal level, but on a global level. My heart hurts for Iran. It is a forgotten country. Children are born in Iran everyday. Someone needs to step up and give these children hope of a better life. Hope of democracy. Hope of change which was promised to them in an election built upon deception.

Neda's family was not allowed to publicly mourn the loss of their daughter, sister, and friend. That's why Friday June 26th, has been named as the National Day of Mourning for Neda and the entire country of Iran. I urge you to wear black or green and keep their country in your heart. Pray for them. Pray for change.

all work and no play....

Ok... maybe I've been playing a little bit :) It is summer after all! I figured I better write now because I have a jam packed weekend ahead! Full of graduation cookouts and bachelorette parties and swimming and grandparents and dads and old friends! I'm so excited! Summer is in full swing here in Georgia - the high is 102 tomorrow! HOLY COW! Talk about days you long for a studio!

I am so blessed though. Really. I am! I love every second of the wedding planning process [maybe a calling?] right down to the intimate moments between family members that I am allowed to share with them. The Gregg wedding was full of beautiful people, inside and out! Tiffany's grandmother sang a gorgeous rendition of Amazing Grace during the ceremony. Tiffany cried. I cried. Grandma cried. It was beautiful.



I could see the special bond between the bride and her grandmother and am deeply touched to know that this picture means something to her and will be something she will cherish in the future! Thank YOU Luke and Gregg families! :) You're awesome and I mean it! .... Maybe I will be taking newborn pictures soon???? :) Maybe?

Libby

Libby is my brother's [and his girlfriend Rachel] dog! They found her starving to death out near the lake :( Not cool. Luckily, she was found by two dog lovers who I know will give her a good home! :)

Can you find her?



....Here she is! :)



Cody loves her.



And so does Madison.



Why do I have the strange feeling we're going to end up with many stray dogs in our future? This girl is ANIMAL crazy!

these are a few of my [favorite] things....

It's a smile, it's a kiss, it's a sip of wine....

... sweet summertime!



When I have opportunities to photograph things like these it's always a good day.

How sweet it is....

Ms. Hayden is about the cutest thing in the world.



and my little brother could beat up your little brother!

Ease my troubles that's what you do....

"There's a love that's divine, and it's yours and its mine, like the sun. And at the end of the day, we should give thanks and pray to the One, to the One. Have I told you lately that I love you? Have I told you there's no one else above you? You fill my heart with gladness, take away all my sadness, ease my troubles that's what you do." - Rod Stewart

I'm so there!

Have you ever reached a time in your life where you are SO busy that you turn around and realize you have missed a whole week somewhere in the abyss of chaos that surrounds you? haha. That's PRETTY MUCH how the past week or so has been for me!

I work a full time job that takes up my 8-5, have a family that I spend majority of my time laughing with, a house that needs cleaning, friends that need a shoulder, a wedding that needs planning, a little brother that needs advice, a million and one summer birthdays, a blossoming relationship with Christ, a future that I'm molding, and a hobby that is growing quickly! And I truly love every SECOND of it! I really do!

But I'm so busy that Starbucks has become my one true sanity in this world! Thank you, coffee gods. [Oh, and BTW, Howard Schultz... Will you please come invest in my business? All you touch turns to gold!]

Things have been amazing on my end though! I wish I could share every second with you! Maybe I'm biased... but LIFE IS GOOD! :) I get to share special moments with people like the grooms father licking the icing off his fingers when he thinks no one is looking, a 5 day old babies interaction with his older brother, children laughing, stealing a smile from a painfully shy child, all these moments are so precious to me and I am SO blessed to be able to share them with people! Even the not so great moments, like the fact that the wedding cake was NOT what the bride ordered or a 5 day old peeing on my props. I love those moments just as much because they are life happening right in front of me! Moments I wouldn't get to share if it weren't for my hobby! :) Yeah.... life is goooood!

I am still busy editing over 1300 wedding pics but here are some of my favorites.... [these are REAL moments I captured AFTER the wedding ceremony while everyone was in the courtyard - they are truly touching!]Thank you SO much Tiffany and Alan for letting me be part of your special day! You and your families were a blessing to work with and I hope to get to work with you in the future!!!!!




Have a blessed weekend everyone! :)

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

PS. If you live in the CSRA and will be out towards the Columbia County Amphitheatre this Saturday stop on by between 10am and 1pm! We will have juice and cookies and be making Father's day memories for lots of special dads- make yours one of them! :) Hope to see you there!