Summer Family Portraits in Rosemary Beach

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Summer Family Portraits in Rosemary Beach

Half a year. It's such a memorable time as a new family. Half a year together as three, instead of two. Babies sweet personalities come out and they become more independent. It's truly a precious season. It was a joy to capture this milestone for Michelle, Paul & Judah a few weeks ago.  There is something incredible about documenting the journey two people as they wed, to when they grow a family. Few things give me more joy creatively. I see them change and become different, better, more who God created them to be as they immerse themselves in laying down their lives for each other. It's truly beautiful.

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Upside-down: God cares more about the depth of your roots than the brightness of your blooms

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Upside-down: God cares more about the depth of your roots than the brightness of your blooms

Everyone loves surface things. It's easy to show what is on the top, the growing, beautiful things. We love to see what is blooming. We put it out there into the world, not necessarily in a bad way, but it's out there. We see it. Stuff. Achievements. Happy moments. Beautiful adventures. Snapshots and stories of what we can see and quantify. All the things that are beautiful. Our world is obsessed with what grows above the surface. Stay on social media long and you'll see things like "how to grow your platform" or ads saying "you need this" or carefully curated ways to get more likes and acceptance in this world. And it's all based on what you can see. Happiness is found in enrichment, enjoyable things, abundance, leisure, travel, a cute house, a cute family, a cute wardrobe, cool friends and just the right balance between killing it and exploring the world. (Among other things of course.) These things are the measure of success. Do what makes you happy and show everyone your wonderful life, with just a touch of real thrown in so we know it's legit.

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The Season of Stillness

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The Season of Stillness

Life has seasons, just like nature. It has been so helpful for me to view my life through the lens of seasons. They don't last forever, and whether enjoyable or not they do pass. Around the time we got married 7 years ago, I had a year-long season of stillness. It was a humbling time when our dreams seemed like they'd never work out and God said "no" to so many things. It was also an incredible time of growth in my life, and God's nearness was palpable. When we got married, we thought our plan was for Jonathan to finish school and then head off to seminary. We'd both get our Masters of Divinity and then head out to serve God in some big, beautiful way. After a few months of marriage, regular jobs and real life, God took away that desire entirely and we knew it wasn't what He had for us...but what did He have instead? We didn't know. We longed to get of what we felt like was not much of a mission field, if I'm honest - Dothan. It's natural really. We wanted to do something BIG for God and smack dab in the middle of the Bible belt didn't seem like the most obvious place. I don't think it ever crossed my mind that God might call us to stay.

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Hello & Goodbye

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Hello & Goodbye

I said goodbye to the job I have loved for over 5 years now. I shot my last wedding I have on the books this past Saturday, for a while at least. For the sake of laying out there, I still get plenty of inquiries and everything looks amazing - but to every single one God has said no. There is no explanation. Only a closed door. It feels scary to type this out because I still have hopes that I'll do some here and there. I have LOVED loved LOVED every minute, and feel so overwhelmingly thankful for the privilege God has given me over these years. Never in a million years did I see myself becoming a wedding photographer. It has been such sweet years of growth, learning how to find my feet as a business owner and wife, then minister's wife, mama, etc...It was just when I felt totally confident in my system, workflow and had been doing it long enough to feel so comfortable with my clients. I enjoyed the knowledge and experience and utilizing it to anticipate their needs. It truly brought me joy to serve however I could on these special, monumental days. Every single wedding has a special place in my heart. Every one was a true joy and honor. I cannot thank God enough for giving me this work, using it to grow my faith, to draw me closer to Him and bring such incredible people into my life. So many sweet friendships have been made and and beautiful places visited. It filled my soul. His gifts are good.

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