Here they are! A preview of this year's Christmas cards! I think they are so cute and hope that you will, too. I will be sharing all of the details as well as each card individually very soon so stay tuned to the blog in the next few days!
I have been thinking a lot about life these days. Not really in a philosophical kind of way but more in a how does it go so fast and how do we learn to really be present in it. I get so much joy from being around families and stepping into the way that they love one another. When I sent this slideshow to the mom of this family, she wrote me back to tell me that she loved them and that they were "exactly what she wanted." I guess that is kind of always the thing about taking pictures for people. You know that really (deep down or otherwise) people have some idea of what their family looks like, of what it will be like to actually see themselves through the lens of a camera. My job is to show that to them, to bring to life what they somehow knew was true but did not have tangible evidence to know it for sure. Enjoy the Harbour family!
Sweet Lauren was just not into taking pictures with her brother unless they were in motion. If there is anything I have learned, you've got to just go with the flow. You cannot manufacture a posed sibling shot when it's just not happening!
We met Rebecca last fall when she was a bridesmaid in a wedding that we photographed. April and Jonathan will always be one of our favorite couples and we knew that photographing any friends of theirs would be just as wonderful. We were so excited to learn that the wedding ceremony was going to be at one of the prettiest churches in town! Even though we knew that the site was going to be pretty, there is no way we could have been prepared for how breathtaking Rebecca was as a bride and the beauty of every single detail. From start to finish, this was an amazing wedding. Rebecca and Cason made our job a complete delight. They made it clear that they wanted lots of pictures and gave us full creative reign over the day. Their wedding party was so much fun and so committed to honoring the couple they were standing beside. And their families were truly amazing. My hope is that these pictures will capture the beauty of this day and that in doing that, they will communicate the gift that it was to Corey and me to be there to document and celebrate their promise and commitment.
Click here to watch the slideshow of Rebecca and Cason!
I can never contain my excitement when couples see each other before the ceremony! Can you see how special this moment was for them?
Rebecca and Cason were supermodels. So easy to photograph and needed so little direction. They just enjoyed each other and let us be there to capture that. As photographers, you cannot ask for any more than that.
How awesome is the car?
We love fun bridesmaids and groomsmen! We know we ask a lot of them and this group of guys and girls just totally went with the flow.
Supermodels, I tell you....
Well, after what seemed like forever, we got the call on Wednesday afternoon that my sweet sister-in-law was in labor! We packed up the car within the hour and headed out of town to be there for the big event. Baby Myles, however, took his time and did not appear until after 22 hours of labor! Kelly was incredible, so strong and brave. And my little brother was amazing. It is an unbelievable experience to see them being parents. And really, how cool is it that Grayben and Myles are just three months apart? I never had cousins who were close to my age and I am so thankful that they will be so close. We are truly overwhelmed with gratitude.
So, I've been thinking about my blog a lot lately. Mostly what I've been thinking is how little I've really shared in the past few months. There are a couple of contributing factors to that. One is that things have really been busy. Even since I've been thinking about writing this post, several days have passed. It is amazing to me how fast the days fly by (I mean, really it's already time for Christmas cards?) Another reason is that I've been trying to figure out what blog life looks like with a baby in our family now. We've talked a lot about how much to post and how to find the balance of being real while still being aware that this is, after all, the world wide web.
This has continued to be a wonderful season for us. As of yesterday, our adoption was official and final. It was an exciting and celebratory day for our family to say the least! Grayben continues to delight us and we still cannot believe that he is really here. The truth that our longing has actually been fulfilled is still somewhat unbelievable. We hope that our story will be an encouragement to people who have considered adoption. If there is anything I have learned, it is that everyone's journey looks different. Yet I know there are things that bind and connect us and I hope that our story will be used in some way. Though it is a cliche, it is nonetheless true: Grayben is a testament to God's faithfulness to us. Had we waited longer or had our longing never been fulfilled, God would be no less faithful. We consider Grayben such an overwhelming gift, so much better than anything we could have imagined. Friends who have gone this way before us told us that this would be true but you don't believe it until you walk it yourself.
We were able to spend a few days down at the beach a few weeks ago. Our friends, Josh and Keely, were able to join us there over the weekend and we had a wonderful time. We ate at all of our favorite places, the boys played tennis while we talked by the pool, and we fit in time for a brief little photo shoot. Keely offered to take these pictures of our little family and she did an amazing job. I am so grateful to have them and will treasure them always.
Wedding days are never dull. Maybe I should just go ahead and say wedding weekends or maybe entire engagements. I have to say, though, Ashley and Bo's wedding seemed to be going rather smoothly. Yes, it was about a million degrees outside for their outdoor August wedding (that freak cool spell came the NEXT weekend) but truly everyone handled it with the kindest of attitudes. Bo and Ashley have the kind of love that is unmistakable. She was a gorgeous bride and he could not take his eyes off of her. The location was super cool and unique, everyone arrived on time, there was plenty of bottled water to go around. The time for the ceremony arrived, the reception began and filled the room with laughter and the sounds of guests celebrating such a special day. It wasn't until the first dance that we looked out the window and saw them: the darkest and largest clouds looming just over the river. We sprinted outside for a few final pictures before the lightning was too close and the wind nearly blew us away. It was total chaos! There were people gathering chairs, bows, flowers, anything that they could grab! Within ten minutes or so, the unthinkable happened. The power: totally out. By this time, it was dark outside leaving the candles on the tables as the only light. As we waited out the tornado warnings, we were so excited that Bo and Ashley were up for staging a leaving like no other we've done. Since the sparklers she had so excitedly hoped for were no longer an option, we improvised with everyone holding a candle as they ran through! Ashley was so amazing about all of it and did not let a little (okay, an incredible amount of) rain ruin her wedding day!
Thanks again, Ashley and Bo! We had a truly unforgettable time!
Because I'm always trying to really capture who an individual family is, I will often ask them to just talk to one another, to just hang out and be together. One of my favorite things about this shoot was just listening to them talk and enjoy their family. From upcoming Wii tournaments to playing outside, it just made me look forward to the days to come one day for my own little family. I hope you enjoy the pictures of the Logans!
