Gratituesday: A New Year

Gratituesday is back! If I have a New Years Resolution this year it is to commit to a whole year of weekly Gratituesday posts. Some of you have emailed me asking where Gratituesday's went... and I have to say I have missed blogging about the goodness in life probably more than you have missed reading the posts. ;)

So... Gratituesdays are BACK! My ultimate goal is to be able to print a book of 2011 Gratituesday posts (inspired by StevieT's 365  book). I am going to do everything possible to have a weekly post up for you guys this year. Starting today.

This week... I am grateful for a new year... a fresh start. I am so glad that our culture embraces January 1st as a "fresh start" and I really enjoy setting goals and making plans for the upcoming year. I am actually starting my first 101 in 1001 list... I plan to blog about it soon. I hope 2011 will be full of productivity and intention... and as always, love.

See you in 2011!

baptism | personal

This morning my church had another Baptism Sunday. They do these a few times a year and they are my favorite type of service, ever. The way my church approaches this is they have two people per service (6 total) stand up and tell their story. They tell the story about their life, the path they went down, and how they ultimately came to know Jesus as their Savior. Then in front of hundreds of people, they are baptized. And they are followed by a handful of other people who say a few things (not everyone shares their full story) and are also baptized. Usually about 30-40 people are baptized during these services.

Without fail, I bawl my eyes out every single service. And.... today... I REALLY bawled my eyes out!

My beautiful, incredible, and loving sister-in-law, Christy, shared her story. I wish it was online so that you could all hear it. She sets an amazing example of a follower of Christ and she has been a huge influence in my life in recent years. It was an honor to be invited to join her on stage today as she was baptized. Her husband Frank, was baptized immediately after her and it was just as wonderful.

These pictures make me so, so happy... I couldn't not share them with you all.

happy thanksgiving

I know, yesterday was Thanksgiving. But around here we've got a whole weekend to celebrate. Last night we had Thanksgiving dinner with my family, tonight we are headed to Tommy's parent's for another celebration.

I have so much to be thankful for this year... but I truly don't know where to start or how to say it. I just read this blog post and I was inspired.

It is exactly what I would say if I were as talented a writer as her. Here is my favorite part:

I used to believe that happy, optimistic people were just in denial. That they weren't as realistic as the rest of us. But not anymore. Optimists just make better choices. They choose to believe God is good. They choose to believe their lives are good. And maybe "optimist" is the wrong label. Maybe the right label should simply be "thankful."

This year, I am thankful that God truly is good all the time.

This Little Man | Fredericksburg Portrait Photographer

He has the cutest dimples

And the most charming smile.

He is the most laid-back child I have ever met.

He really only ever wants one thing:

To be held and cuddled each and every day.

He loves his momma

and trucks.

He is a loved little man.

The cutest, most loved little man on Downstream Court.

Around the Web | Personal

Confession: I have been fighting the term "computer nerd" since the 7th grade. Back then, I was the first of my friends with an email address, an online diary, and an AOL screen name. I know... my friends didn't know what to do with me. I was a well-socialized (ahem, that's debatable I guess) pre-teen at the time, and when my friends found out I was spending my evenings plugging in AOL Keywords and reviewing the results, I think they were a little concerned about my future.

Well, well, well... looks who's the computer nerd now? Hah. Everyone. :)

I love it! I love catching up with old friends on Facebook and reading blogs of new friends! I love that we have the world at our fingertips with our ipads and smart phones. Friends moving away? No worries! No longer do I think  "I don't know when I will see you again!" I love this thing we are all addicted to... the internet. That said, I am excited to share with you all that in recent weeks I have expanded my website wings. Right, I know, I needed more on my plate!

In addition to this blog, you can now find me on other blogs on the web:

Beginning in October, I started writing a monthly column titled Point of View over on the Hill City Bride blog. The goal of the column is to share with future brides how they can make the most of their wedding day photography. You can check out my debut article here and my latest one here.

As of November 1st, I am the official "Director of Social Media" over on The Creative Mama website. I was really excited to be invited to join the the team at TCM. They are a fabulous group of women and I am honored to be associated with them!

I hope you will go check out both of those sites. They are awesome resources for both brides and creatives, alike. Again, I am proud to be a part of what they are both doing in the online community!