summer delight {anna's first pie}

my sweetie-girl baked her first pie and we all got seriously spoiled. she used our summer-fresh strawberries and made her glaze, then added in whole strawberries. now to be fair, she did use pre-made pie crust, but i've no doubts she will handle it just fine next time around. look at her little initial! thank you's to my baby-girl for the most delicious breakfast we've had all summer!

angel-girl kylie.

kylie is the newest addition to one of my favorite client/friend families. working on her images today, i just had to share. can't you almost breathe that sweet little newborn breath? yesterday my baby-boy (not far from two now...) wasn't feeling well. he wanted to nap in my bed so i lay with him till he fell asleep, staring into my eyes and gently stroking my cheek. then intensity of his gaze and the gentleness and momentary stillness in a busy toddler's world took my breath away. every moment of these years is not to be missed... Papa, never let me forget...

sunday night couples' night...

on sunday nights we get together with some engaged/married couples to talk... well, marriage! we're reading through an amazing book called This Momentary Marriage by John Piper (thanks, hay!) and having some super-fun hang-time. last night we did a cheese plate and someone said it looked like a picture (hey, i don't need much prompting!). some friends jokingly say they hired me for a wedding because of my oreo pictures... think what a cheese plate could land me! mmmm... i'm getting hungry.

the view from my makeup counter this afternoon...

the blue eyed boy gets a bit of "coolness" from his brothers, it's true. you should see him rap!

a few shots from NYC...

so spoiled i am. this trip almost makes up for the fact that my precious studly husband of over 14 years just bought me a huge, white, custom van with teal shag carpet, mood lighting, and teal leather seats. just a few shots banged off at the wedding photography workshop i attended this week. pier 17 and times square were our two manhattan locations. happy, happy!

The Fresh Air Fund

I was contacted recently by a girl named Sara, who works with a neat organization called The Fresh Air Fund. This organization takes kids from some of New York City's toughest neighborhoods and gives them homes with host families outside the city for two weeks of "Fresh Air" vacations. According to their site, more than 65% of the children who make the trip are invited back to stay with their host families in future years!

The Fresh Air Fund serves boys and girls ages 6-12 who live in low-income communities in New York City and "are eager to experience the simple pleasures of life outside the city." They are still in need of host families for THIS SUMMER in various states, so please consider sending this info to friends in other states.

Having just been in New York City, getting this reminder from Sara touched my heart - please consider hosting a child or encouraging someone you know in another host state! Click here to visit their site and learn more!

inadequate to capture...

as the rising sun grazed the face of a sweet young friend this morning, it occurred to me, "i couldn't capture this with the camera."

not that i didn't want to try, but i knew in that moment i needed to speak the beauty to her and savor the effect of Papa's creation on his creation, and leave it at that.

as i study photography, i have realized that there are some moments which cannot be encapsulated as accurately as the eye can perceive them. i am sure some would disagree, and while at times i am in awe of how post-capture techniques can enhance what the lens saw and bring out the essence of the emotion of a moment seemingly more than when it was observed, sometimes even the best of equipment and technique can't completely do justice to the exact softness of the light on the curve of a cheek. sometimes the subtlety of God's hand just needs to be savored in the moment.

Paul says, "now we see through a glass darkly; then we shall see Him face to face..." as much as our Papa longs to reveal His heart to us, part of His beauty is in the mysteries of Who He is... sometimes rather than teaching or studying, dissecting or sermonizing, or trying to sum Him up, it is all we can do to hush and savor Him.