SJ News, and a bit of life!

January has crept up on me, and has revealed itself as a very busy month! The SJ Photobooth is making its first debut this Friday(more details coming later), I am hosting a baby shower for my sister-in-law next Saturday, and the following weekend we will be at our very first Bridal Show! Whew, I have a feeling January is going to go by very fast!!!

So, our first Bridal show…I am VERY excited about this! I never knew a bridal show could be so much fun, or combine so many of my favorite things. It’s not just about putting together material to show, nope, there is a lot more to it than that! Brad (who is a handyman as well as a photographer) and I have been planning out how we are going to build walls, discussing wainscoting and chair rail, paint colors, lighting fixtures and furniture! You would think we were decorating a house, but nope, just our booth! I am so excited to share pictures of the final product with you, but for now, you will just have to imagine it 🙂

And the next exciting thing…the SJ Photobooth! Details are still under lock and key, but be watching, we will have something very exciting to announce soon!

And Aimee’s baby shower. This in itself is more exciting than the bridal show and the SJ Photobooth together! Aimee and Robb are preparing to welcome a couple little ones into their home, but not in the conventional way. They are opening their home to the foster to adopt program, and are hoping to have a couple little ones in February, to foster at first, then after a six month evaluation, adopt. We couldn’t be more happy for them in this new journey, and are so excited to help them prepare a home for their new family!

To sign off, I want to say how thankful I am for all that God has given me, not just with photography, but for my wonderful husband, my family and my dear friends, and the love God shows me everyday. It makes the things like photography, all the opportunities God sends my way, and all the things I get to do meaningful and so wonderful. And thats all…for now 🙂

I am an Aunt, again!!!

I am now a very proud aunt of seven little rugrats, well, not so little anymore…my oldest niece, Madeline who is now eleven would probably  be pretty upset at being called a little rugrat! But, ah, I love being an aunt, and miss my nieces and nephews very, very much that live in Colorado. But God has blessed me with nieces here in Indiana, and I am so excited to get to know them and watch them grow! Lilyan Sariah Hendsbee was born last night, at a whopping 8 lbs, 1 oz. Annalea, her older sister was 6 lb. 5 oz (I think that’s right Ash!), so she better watch out, her younger sister just might have a good head start to pass her up! Here are a few pictures of Lily, just about one hour old!

Yep, she is THAT adorable!!!

Alex + Emily, Engagement Photos, Fort Wayne, IN

We  met up with Alex and Emily yesterday for their engagement session. We were hoping for enough snow to cover the ground, but I think we hoped too hard because it sure was snowing hard! Alex and Emily were great about it though, being that they are from California, they were really enjoying it! I think they enjoyed it a little more than us, knowing they get to leave it behind soon and head back to sunny Cali. I have to admit, I really do like how the snow looks in the pictures, it just adds something special to the pictures. But in no way does it take over the love that shines through that Alex and Emily have for one another! We really enjoyed visiting with them and exploring downtown, Alex had Emily laughing throughout the whole shoot, we can’t wait until their big day, it will be such a privilege to capture and partake in it. So, Emily and Alex, soak up some sun for us Mid-westerners, and we will see you soon!

 

Alex is responsible for this smile…

We had to incorporate the snow in some sort of creative way!

The Living Christmas Tree, Scottish Rite, Fort Wayne, IN

I have always loved singing, when I was a little girl I would pretend I was a singer, and it was my songs playing on the radio! I was a choir girl in high school, and participated in one musical (I guess one was enough!). I love watching a well put together musical, or concert, there is just something that grips me and draws me in! I think that is why I enjoyed photographing the Living Christmas Tree so much, it was such a wonderful production, and I was able to enjoy while looking through my camera – even better!

If you are a Ft. Wayne local, and didn’t make it out this year to the Living Christmas Tree, I would encourage you to go next year!

My take on Christmas

I really have been slacking in posting entries simply about photography, there are still many pictures I want to share with all of you from this last year, but the time to do that has escaped me! I am hoping for some down time soon, where I can get my thoughts straight (at least about this blog!) and can share some of them with you. Until then, you get my attempt at creative writing, and just a bit of pictures 🙂

I have been thinking a lot about Christmas lately, and what it means to me. I think for most of my life it has been what I am going to receive, and overspending on all my loved ones. When Christmas decorations first started going up, and holiday ads started to appear on TV, I discovered my first thoughts about Christmas were about what I was going to get…not good. It seems the spirit of giving, that stems from Christ becoming man to be our Savior, would have been a foreign idea to me and not something I know deep in my heart. So here I am, thinking about how to change that. I feel like I have had this revelation about Christmas, when really it’s not a revelation at all, but an obvious truth! Sometimes I can be so silly 🙂 It has me pondering the entire gift giving idea, how I can have it be sacrificial, and yet still have Christ the center of it, and not materialism. It seems that I would rather have the mindset to be amazed by the simple things, the heartfelt things, rather than be disappointed and unsatisfied this Christmas by what I didn’t receive. I would love to hear your thoughts about Christmas, and would love for you to be reminded that Christmas isn’t about all the gift giving, but simply about sharing the love that Christ shared with us when he became man. And that’s the end of my thoughts for Christmas, for now!

And just for fun, here is one of my favorite pictures from this past wedding season, taken again, by my wonderful husband! This couple had set up an old camcorder, and had all their guests record messages into it. If I can remember right, this is their grandpa!