Remember Amy from her July engagement session? Well she and her fiance Adam will be tying the knot this Saturday on a beach in Florida! It was so beautiful in Little Rock this morning for Amy’s session. Amy is such a sweet, beautiful and radiant woman. I know that she and Adam will have such blessed life together!
I had been planning for this past Saturday for weeks. The Koonce family was making their way around the states on furlough from Africa with a planned stop in Searcy. Each time they come to the states, their time here is jam-packed with people to see, places to go and connections to make, so I knew we would have to squeeze the most out of our day and maximize our sharing! (and did we ever…) We laughed and teared up as we swapped stories and basked in the joyful reunion, filling in the gaps time had created. Our friendship with them has stood the test of time and distance for over 20 years. We met right here in Searcy, AR while we were students at Harding University, and although we’ve each grown and changed, lived on different continents and added family members, the bond is still strong and a true blessing and gift from God.
After spending more than a decade living in Togo, West Africa, Marty, Louise and their four boys moved to Rwanda in December of 2008 to begin a new season and an exciting journey. With several other families, the Koonces have formed Africa Transformation Network, an NGO (non-governmental organization) created to invest in the lives of individuals, families and communities the ideas, skills and training that will result in positive change and improving lives in African societies.
During our time Saturday, we sat with tears in our eyes as they told stories of the people of Rwanda and how this country is faring after the unthinkable genocide that ocured 16 years ago. It is truly hard to wrap your brain around something so horrible and even begin to comprehend that there is redemption and reconciliation for such an atrocity. But it’s true. God is working and moving in Rwanda. There is healing and hope because of a loving, caring God.
I am excited for what God is doing through them and look forward to telling you more in the coming months as we communicate about some partnership opportunities in the future. Please go check out what they are doing in Rwanda, pray for them and if the Lord puts it on your heart, get involved.
Marty, Louise and boys, we are thankful for the time we were able to spend with you and will cherish it in our hearts. You will continue to be in our thoughts and our prayers!
Much Love to you all!
Edited to add: I linked to ATN above, but you can learn more about the Koonce family HERE and get more information about the work in Rwanda HERE.
I just wanted to blog an update on my little Halle this morning. You may remember THIS sad scene from Lily’s first day of Kindergarten last week when Halle had a bit of a breakdown over leaving her sister at school. She and I are trying to get into a routine and though she is still asking (multiple times a day) to “go pick up Lily”, she is doing just fine. I didn’t realize how much Lily being gone would change our day! In the last two weeks I have played my little ponies, done puzzles, cooked in the play kitchen and played super heroes more than I imagined that I would. : ) This change has been good for all of us in that Lily is LOVING school, we are on a better schedule that has us getting up early and going to bed early and Halle and I are getting to spend some very special times together. This morning, she seemed to just want to be held for a while so we sat and watched cars come and go as they dropped children off at the school across the street. Halle suggested a game of “I spy with my little eye” that went on for quite some time and produced LOTS of giggles as we guessed back and forth. I treasure moments like this with her and never want to forget this stage we are in now, just the two of us. Here are some happier images of my little peanut. The last picture is her “I spy” gesture. I love it. : )
These two kiddos were a crack up! I so enjoyed traveling out in the boonies with them to do their session at this beautiful creek. I have to give props to my sweet hubby for telling me where to find it. It can be hard to find a nice creek around Searcy, especially this time of year when everything is dried up! After our creek adventure, we drove back into town and did a few last shots in the studio. Thank you so much guys for tolerating me for your session. You were truly so much fun to be with!
I would like to start this post off by saying, again, how much I love my job! I loved this session, I loved the lighting and this couple was precious and I am so blessed that they chose me to document this very special time in their lives. Also, I am so excited to announce that this was my very first session in our new studio!!! Holla! The renovations are still underway but that didn’t stop me from utilizing the amazing natural light for this very special session. You see, this momma is expecting TWINS and she deserved a nice cool place for her shoot. And on a typical August day like today, I won’t complain one bit for getting to work indoors! Especially when it means that I still get light and images like this. : ) Keep your eye out for the arrival of these two sweet babies in the next few weeks. I can’t wait to get my hands on a set of newborn twins!!!
I could sit here and type away about this Searcy High School senior’s session…the great location, superb lighting, low humidity and lower temps…blah blah blah. But, seriously. JUST LOOK AT THESE IMAGES! Words aren’t really even necessary! She is a STUNNING beauty and this entire session WILL be added to my “FAVORITES” folder.
I met with this little sweetie pie and her mommy last week for an early morning session. Despite our early meeting, it was HOT outside! Every August session poses the threat of high humidity and fogged up lenses. Thankfully, all we had was the high humidity. : ) Little L didn’t even seem phased by the heat. On the other hand, her mom and I were dripping by the time the session was over! It is so worth it though when I get to sit down in the cool AC and edit such darling images. Thank you, Amelinda, for braving the heat. I hope you enjoy your sneak peek!
I would like to introduce you to “J”. J is an amazing kid and he LOVES trains. And I don’t mean that he just watches Thomas the Train and has a nice train set either. No, J watches real trains, knows all about them and truly appreciates them for all that they are. He can literallly, sit and watch them move down the tracks for hours. Since he loves trains so much, J’s mom wanted to capture this time before he outgrows them. So, we headed to Kensett one hot and sunny day last week to watch some trains and photograph this awesome little boy in his element. If I wanted to get his attention and get great expressions out out of J, all I had to do was get him started talking about trains. I just LOVE how his sweet eyes light up when he is telling you all about them. :) Thank you both so much for spending time with me last week. I had so much fun with you and can’t wait for you to see this sneak peek!
On a side note and since we are on the subject of trains, I would like to say that I do not photograph on train tracks. Especially with children. I know that you may see a lot of photographers do so and train track shots can be really, really cool. But I have two very clear reasons why I choose not to. The first is that it is ILLEGAL to photograph on train tracks. There are laws against it that vary from state to state. The second reason is that it is dangerous. No photo-op is worth risking a person’s life. I wanted to take this time to go ahead and make this statement because I do get asked to do it from time to time and thought it would be good to explain my reasons for not doing so. All that aside, I have no problem photographing in the vacinity of train tracks… : ) All of the red caboose shots below are taken at a park that has the old car on display.
We literally had to hop in the car and chase this engine down to get this shot. Once we got ahead of it, we jumped out and got into position.
Just as J turned around to look at me, the engineer layed on the horn. It was so loud that J immediately pulled his hands up to his ears. I just LOVE this image!!!
This post is very bitter sweet for me this morning. I was thinking about waiting a day or two to post this but some things are best written while they are still fresh. So here goes…
Today is Lily’s first day of Kindergarten. Despite the fact that I have known this day would come for a long time, nothing could really prepare me for the heart-wrenching reality that so many moms experience this time every year. I literally cried myself to sleep last night. I don’t remember the last time I cried that hard. I don’t consider myself a very emotional person, so I’m really surprised at how hard this has been for me! When Lily was born, the decision to stay home with her was an easy one. I didn’t want to miss any part of her growing up and we knew that being at home with her mom was the very best thing for her. And it has been. I thank the Lord every day for His provision making it possible for me to stay home with my girls. I am so blessed and I know that not every woman has the luxury of staying home with her children.
As a mom, I continually worry about how well I am raising my kids. More often than not, I feel like I must be a total failure as a parent and I suppose that just comes with the territory. However, this morning I sent a confident, eager and joyful little girl out into the world (I know a kindergarten classroom may not seem like “the world” but give me a break, she isn’t in my nest!). And today, I do feel like a little bit more of a success as a parent. I am proud that Lily is secure in who she is, in how much we love her and that she has grown into a sweet, gentle and socially independent little lady. I would like to think that those qualities are a reflection of the job we have done raising her.
With all of her confidence and excitement, I have had my moments. I’ve asked myself “Is she going to miss me?”, “Does she realize we’re not going to be together like we always have?”. You see, she has been begging to go to Kindergarten since the day she turned 4. I’ve never seen a child so ready to go! I suppose there is a small part of me that secretly wanted her to hang on to my leg as we walked into her classroom and then she would slowly warm up to the room and shyly break away when it was time for me to go. But not my girl! She busted the school doors wide open and jumped right into the swing of things. Yesterday at the school open house, though, Lily gave me my moment. She was busy running around and checking things out in her classroom but stopped and came over to me. She grabbed both of my hands and pulled me down to her level and whispered “Mommy, I am going to miss you while I’m at school”. And that was all this mommy needed to hear. She is going to miss me and I am going to miss her and I am going to be ok. I’ll probably have to tell myself that 1,000 more times this week but I think I’m going to make it. What’s most important is that I know she is going to make it JUST fine.
Please forgive the quality of this next series of pictures. I was a little emotional and not quite able to focus on my settings. It can be hard to see what you are
doing when your tears are fogging up the camera’s eye piece. :)
Halle is having a hard time with letting Lily go too. She is her best friend. Don’t worry baby, we’ve still got each other!
What a great big sister. She is the one trying to help us keep it together!
I am really glad we moved back to Searcy. In more ways than I can count, I can see the benefits and blessings of coming back to this town. I have truly learned to appreciate it and it’s charm. I am now able to see a bigger picture and have really enjoyed the familiarity and daily reminders of living here. Everywhere I turn, there are things that remind me of my college years, meeting my husband and starting our family. Some of the greatest times of my life have been spent here. This beautiful high school senior was the sweet, quiet little girl who lived next door and who played so many hours outside with my own kids when we lived in our little white house on the west side of town. I can remember her sweet smile so vividly and it is just as sweet of a smile today. I loved every minute of our session earlier this week and was so happy to spend time with her as a lovely young woman ready to conquer her senior year of high school. I know it sounds a little cliche…but really, where does the time go??? When her mom contacted me about a session, I had to resist the urge to blurt out “She’s a senior? ALREADY?” Yes, time moves on and little girls do grow up. I was honored to photograph this special time for her. It’s good to be running my business here in Searcy.
It’s good to be home.
