St. James Wedding: Laura + Greg

Valentine's day is the perfect day to honor marriage. A lot of people seem down on the day of love since the commercialization of the holiday. I would agree that there seems to be a little too much pink and red heart shaped this and buy your honey that to let them know you care. I do like Valentine's day though. Not because it brings pretty flowers into my home, (I do love the flowers) not because of the red heart shaped jello jigglers I made for Tommy's preschool class(yum!) but because it is a day of hope and faith for me. A hope for everyone in this little world to learn to love with all their potential and a faith that one day I will love more perfectly. I am the first to admit that I will always need to work on honoring those I love with more patience, understanding, communication and patience. :) I am imperfect and John loves me in spite of my imperfections. For this I will always be eternally grateful.

Valentine's Days' origins come from Saint Valentine. Valentine was a priest who believed in marriage so passionately he secretly wed the soldiers of Rome when Emperor Claudius forbade all marriages of young men. Emperor Claudius outlawed marriage because he thought it made the men poor soldiers. I wonder if Emperor Claudius knew true love. I can't believe if the Emperor had known true love he would have made the law, for only when someone loves with all that they have would they be willing to give up everything to defend it. I would argue marriage would make a stronger soldier. Marriage teaches you to fight for the greater good, to value someone more than yourself, to believe in a beautiful future and to never give up.

St. Valentine is the patron saint of couples and young people in love. There couldn't be a more fitting day to post photos of Laura and Greg from their wedding a week ago at St. James Catholic Church in Vancouver. The ceremony was so touching and the couple very much in love. Father Hahn spoke of beauty while marrying them and a phrase he used during his message has been playing over and over in my head since that day. "You are beautiful, because you are loved." Laura is beautiful and she looked so much more so standing up beside Greg, to take him as her husband. Marriage adds beauty to the love people have and adds it in different ways for every couple. I wish Laura and Greg all the best as they start their own journey.

Go Crusaders! Jesuit HS Basketball photography

I really love the sound of hi-top sneakers on wood floors. It is comforting to me to listen to the rhythm of the leathery ball bouncing. bounce, bounce, bounce, swish! bounce, bounce, squeak, bounce. Winter time and basketball have gone together since I was in grade school. I spent every birthday from junior high on at a basketball tourney.

I miss shooting baskets, running drills, being a part of a team. I miss those afternoons filled with basketball. I was lucky enough to hear those comforting sounds and watch rivals play last week at Jesuit High School in Beaverton, Oregon. I forgot how dark the small gyms at high schools are after shooting years of high school varsity basketball and Blazers ball. I have not forgotten how many life skills I honed in a smelly locker room and while running back and forth on a wooden floor. I hope that the girls I met at Jesuit learn as many powerful lessons about life as I did while enjoying their afternoons of basketball.

Go Crusaders!

Happy 2010!

When the new year comes the comics always depict a babe of some kind. They are rosy and cherubic and make you giddy for what the future will hold. Babies, in their innocence and vulnerability, remind us to cherish everything we are given in life. Here's to cherishing 2010!

merry everything......

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Sweets

Our house is still dripping with candy and I don't see it going away until summer. Once Halloween comes the holidays, which keep the kids fully stocked, hit at a regular clip until Easter. 

My oldest is the type who will finish his last piece of Halloween candy the day before trick-or-treating again. I think most parents throw it out, steal from it themselves or let the kids eat it all quickly so it doesn't draw out for months but those options haven' t felt right to me. yet.

He digs through the bag and has the self-control to keep the best pieces of candy the longest. Where he got his restraint, I don't know. 

All the candy at my house got me thinking about a shoot I did this summer of a few of our nephews. We are lucky to have such great family. For the last few years we have been able to spend some time together at Cannon Beach each summer. The cousins play, the adults eat way too many maple bars and carry all the pails, shovels and children back and forth to the beach several times a day.

One of the highlights of the trip for the kids is a trip to Bruce's Candy Kitchen to hunt for a special treat. Each of them choose unique flavors, shapes and sizes and everyone come out with giant smiles. I bought a few extra lollipops while we were there as reward for my cooperative subjects. I love that my boys will have such great summer memories to hold on to when they grow up.

...brown paper packages tied up with strings

...these are a few of my favorite things. 

What fun it has been for me to package orders which have been heading out the door. Thought I would share a photo of the brown packages I really love getting ready for my clients. 

If any of you are looking for a Christmas gift, I could wrap up a beautiful gift certificate for a special someone on your list.

The holidays are here, hope this helps get you in the mood.

"invisible to the eye" -Vancouver, WA Family Photographer

"Here is my secret. It is very simple: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye." -- "The Little Prince" by Antoine de Saint-Exupery

I am pretty sure my heart grows three sizes, just like the Grinch, each time I spend time with adorable families taking pictures. I get excited and bubbly and I talk way too fast and too much. A tremendous rush of creative adrenaline comes over me which needs to come out somehow.

I get a chance to hang out with the best people in the world and get to make photos and create art. For this I am thankful. But when all is said in done, it is not about the photographs. It is about life and living it and sharing it with others. 

I like to read my horoscope, just to see what it has to say. Sometimes it doesn't come close to describing life as I know it. Today I think it held some truth. It read, "Somehow you manage to put other people's interests before your own without selling yourself short or making yourself small." I don't know about the first line, but it is the second line that got me. "You just love people, and serving others is as natural to you as breathing air." Wow. That's me.

Now for the sneak peek of the little Prince I got to hang out with. Thanks for putting up with my fast talking so my heart could learn a little more about you.