Oh Happy Spring

I was so excited for Spring that I just had to take the kids out for a little photo shoot. I was actually working on a secret Mother's Day gift, so I have been holding off posting these pictures, for quite a while. Here's just a few from our time!

For the Children..................

Jen Harvey, Vice President of MOMS Club of Prescott asked me a few months ago if I would be interested in participating in a charity shoot, to raise money, for the Arizona Children's Association. This association helps to provide medical care to children, from families whom cannot afford to do so. With so many families struggling by financial burden and recent state budget cuts, many children are without medical care.

This shoot was on the Saturday of Mother's Day weekend. As a mother, it was a blessing to be able to give back, in some small way. I spent the afternoon with eight families, from MOMS Club, doing mini sessions. 

We enjoyed a beautiful afternoon, with much laughter, joy and love! Here are just a few from that day!

It's a Wrap

School is just about done for the semester, and I can hardly wait! We were asked to create a montage with images representing ourselves, and were not allowed to use a photo of ourself do create this.

It took me a while to figure out how I wanted to create this. Now that it is done, I actually love it. Not because I am some amazing designer, but because I think it defines who I am and my passions as a mother, wife, and daughter of Christ.

Heather and Jon: Engagement Shoot

For Jon, it was not just another Sunday. This was the day he was going to ask Heather to be his wife. It was not the detailed plans he had in his mind, but instead it was the tugging on his heart, that he knew God was telling him "today."

  Heather and Jon will be getting married this July at Granite Creek Vineyards, and I am honored to be photographing their vows to each other. 

We had so much fun shooting their engagement at Goldwater Lake, and then in downtown Prescott! Here are a few from our time together!

Heather and Jon Engaged: Sneak Peek

I have been a bad, bad, blogger, so I thought I would post this picture of Heather and Jon. We shot their engagement session last week, and I will be posting more pictures this week! Can't wait!

Nyla D' Salon and Boutique

Jenny Bacon and the ladies of Nyla D' Salon and Boutique are always so much fun for me to photograph! Not only are they all beautiful, but they are incredibly talented too! Here's a few shots from our shoot last Sunday!

Eleven Years Ago

Eleven years ago today, Randy and I went on our first date. It was a lunch date at Ruby's Diner in Yorba Linda. I can remember it like yesterday; he had chicken fingers and I had a grilled chicken salad. When we went to say "goodbye," I asked him for a hug. It's not those details that I remember so vividly, but rather the fact that I knew that I loved him and hoped to be his wife.

I was 19 years old then, and less than a year and a half later, I became his bride.

I never thought of myself as the type to be married so young. In fact, before I met him, I had no intentions of getting married, until I finished college and was well into my career. God transformed my heart completely. Randy was like no man I had ever met. He was the kindest, most humble, God loving man, and I could not help but fall so deeply in love with him. Not to mention he was so CUTE too!

This summer we will be celebrating our 10 year wedding anniversary. Sometimes, it seems like just yesterday we became husband and wife. Other times, I can not remember my life without him. Over the last eleven years we have shared together much love, laughter, sorrow, joy, heartache, and God's amazing grace. I am so thankful that God has given me such a beautiful man to experience life with, and I look forward to what God has planned for us.

                   photos by Melissa of Gartner Photography. www.gartnerphotography.com