Melissa and Ryan
Fredericksburg Wedding Photographer
Monday, August 27, 2012
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Football and Thanksgiving - A tribute to my left tackles
Because, as every
housewife knows, the first check you write is for the mortgage but the second
is for the insurance. And the left
tackle's job is to protect the quarterback from what he can't see coming, to
protect his blind side. - Script from ‘The Blind Side’ –
A thank you to my left tackles: my friends, family and
clients.
As autumn approaches, the excitement for football fans
everywhere intensifies. We anxiously await
Sunday afternoons to see who will win, to eat ridiculously unhealthy food and pour
our hearts into the game as if we were the very players making the score. I love football; nearly everything about it,
even movies about it. I have two
favorites; The Blind Side and Rudy. No one may guess, but I still have a huge football card collection from when I was a little girl.
We all have a blind side, a vulnerable side. During a football game, the quarter back knows he’s in a game, knows
the defenders are coming after him. You
could say that he knows what’s coming.
But at the same time, he is still vulnerable. He is vulnerable to getting hurt. That’s where the left tackle comes in. The left tackle is there to counteract the
pass rush. He is there to protect.
Today as I reflect on the people in place that God has sent
to protect me, I thank them. They protect me at times when I feel down, when my heart is broken and you think you don't have a friend in the world. That's when they show up at your side to remind you, you are loved, you are valued and you are appreciated. I thank my
left tackles. My friends, my family and
even the clients God has so lavishly blessed my heart and life with. I don’t know exactly what I did to deserve
the people in my life, the things they do for me, the love and support. Most of all, the extra mile they go to
put a smile on my face.
Because I am a photographer, a blog is not a blog without
pictures. Today I selected my friends
Mickey and Jeremy Raines to thank.
They are two of many clients who have now become friends.
Mickey and Jeremy
hired me to photograph their wedding in 2007.
Since getting married, I have been honored to photograph maternity and
newborn portraits for them as they welcomed their son Hunter in 2010 and their daughter
Peyton in 2012.
My photography has improved over the years (thankfully) and continues to
do so to this day. As I look at the
technical issues, my eyes quickly refocus to seeing two very special, wonderful
people. Two clients that I humbly and
graciously get to call my friends. Thank
you Mickey and Jeremy for the confidence you put in me five years ago and for
the support and encouragement you still provide to me this day. May God continue to bless you, as you have
richly blessed my life.
The wedding
Maternity Session (Pregnant with Hunter)
Baby Hunter's Newborn Photos
Maternity Session (Pregnant with Peyton)
And now, the creme de la creme, Peyton's newborn session.
The bed photographed in this image was hand made by her father. Her father so graciously made the very same bed and gifted it to me for future newborn sessions. Her mom made the mattress and water proof blanket and tied it up with a bow. Mickey gifted it to me and filled my heart up with thanksgiving! Thank you to all three of you for coming together to do that for me.
Big brother Hunter wanted to test out the bed too!
And what better image to wrap up my story then this one. Mickey and Jeremy's wedding bands on Peyton's little toes.
Dedicated to all of my friends, family and clients. Thank you for all you do for me!
And now....."Are you ready for some football?!?"
Monday, April 30, 2012
I Believe In Love.
A fairytale come true......
What girl isn't a hopeless romantic? I'm sure there are a few but I am certainly not one of them. I love romance and maybe even to my detriment. I believe in love like in the movies. I believe in love like the love between Jack and Rose in Titanic.
My husband is a romantic and that is one of the reasons I married him. A few weeks after we had been dating, we went for a walk in the park. He suggested we sit down under a tree and relax. He pulled a small jewelry box out of his pocket, opened it up and inside was a heart shaped diamond necklace. He asked me to be his girlfriend in the same way you would propose marriage. Naturally, I said yes.
This month I turned 35. To be honest, I wasn't excited about it. Not so much the age, just the day itself. I don't really get excited over my own birthdays. I'd rather just get them over with and get on to the next day where things are normal again. I thought this one would be the same.
The evening before my birthday was absolute bliss. That Saturday I had a consultation for a wedding. When I have a consultation, I spend at least 3-4 hours trying to make this house look as if we don't really live in it. When the meeting was over I had the house all to myself. My daughter was having a sleepover at her grandparents and my husband was working until late in the evening. A mother getting time to herself is a miracle in its own right, but time to herself in a clean house, that's unheard of. I would have been completely content for my birthday with just that gift alone.
The next morning my husband offered to make me breakfast in bed. In my head, I'm thinking, "Oh dear..... I really want a good cup of coffee. The only way to be certain it's the way I like it, is to make it myself." He knew this before he even offered, I'm sure. So I suggested that I would start the coffee and he could scramble some eggs. So I head downstairs in a half awake state of mind. I reach for the coffee pot handle. I missed. I reached again and realized my coffee pot no longer has a handle!!!! The jumping up and down commenced!
A Keurig! I LOVE IT!!!! I only have one cup of coffee a day but that might change. This thing is so fun you just want to make cup after cup. If anyone wants to have some coffee with me, let me know! I'll make it for you.
Per my husband we needed to be at my parents house by 11:00 a.m. Really? So I guessed we would be playing T-ball in the back yard, sitting on the deck, etc. Off we went. As I politely informed him that he had missed the turn to my parents he informed me we needed to go to Target on Route 17 in Fredericksburg. My daughter wanted to get me part of a Lego set we build together. He said all the other stores were sold out. This was the only store in town that had it. I was fine with that. An extra hour to ourselves would be nice. As we are driving on 17 I mentioned to him in my politest voice that we may have passed Target. He tells me, "No, it's a little further up here." I quietly wait for him to figure out he is wrong and that he has indeed passed the Target store. As we get further and further away, I decide to mention that I'm certain he's passed it because it's right off of the exit. We were a good 3-4 miles away at this point. He tells me I'm right and he will turn around at the next light. Three lights later I asked, "Babe, are you going to turn around?" He smiled and said nothing. We were not going to my parents and we were not going to Target. He kept driving and driving.
When we pulled up to The Inn at Kelly's Ford Equestrian Center I sat there in the truck crying, my face buried into my hands. I was so happy! My husband was helping me check a wish off of my bucket list, to ride a horse. It took me a minute to let it sink in, to really allow my heart to accept that this wish was coming true.
I love horses and have always wanted to ride one. They are such beautiful, majestic and spirited animals. It's like they can see into your soul with their big loving eyes. It's like unconditional love, rare and mysterious.
We were booked for a one hour trail ride. I was in heaven and beaming from ear to ear.
As I met the tour guide and she was brushing her horse Melody, she told me I would be riding with Brandy. They brought her out of her stable and she was a beauty.
The experience was just as I had imagined. Everything went perfectly. Below are some more photos from our day. These were all taken with our iPhone.
At the end of the movie Titanic, the camera scans across Rose's dresser. There was a photo of her riding a horse. It's a scene that really stands out to me. I'm not sure if it's because I love horses or because she kept all her promises and lived out the adventures she promised she would.
The story of Jack and Rose is a fairytale but I believe in fairy tales, in love and in happy ever after. Thank you Matt for helping to make my dreams come true. You have given me the best birthday I have ever had in my life.
Next up honey is sky diving! Get your parachute!
"You jump, I jump" -Jack
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