happy veteran's day!

The military life runs deeps around here. My grandfathers, uncles, cousins, my mom, dad, and husband... it is just what we do. I am honored and so proud to have grown up on a military base and raised with the pride and values of the military. Happy Veteran's Day to all of you who have served or are serving our country. I understand the sacrifice it takes and though times have been and will be difficult in the future, I believe it is all worth it.  This country is awesome and it's because of YOU that we are free! Thank you, thank you! Happy Veteran's Day!

Three more days!

until a week of Sundays!

I'm excited...! I've been working on lots of goodies to share with you all about something I love dearly: motherhood.

I'll be kicking things off on Tuesday with a giveaway of one of my favorite products so don't miss it!

Gratituesday: The right to vote

We were out of the house bright and early this Tuesday morning to cast our vote for the next President! But before we left the house I spent a few minutes on Facebook (who doesn't?!) and read a status message that someone posted about deciding NOT to vote today. Just... a casual "eh, I don't think I'll vote." It got me really fired up.

Being a mom has definitely changed my perspective on a lot of things, voting in elections is one of them. I see now that my responsibility to educate myself and cast my ballot surpasses just being an American citizen. I am setting an example for my daughter. I am voting for HER future. I am honoring those women before me who fought for the right of their daughters to vote. I am honoring those servicemen who fight for our freedom!

How do people miss this? How do they not understand the great responsibility we have to vote? (sigh)

So this week... it's an easy one! I am grateful for my freedom to vote! And my freedom to express frustration about those who choose NOT to vote! :)

Join us for Gratituesday at heavenly homemakers!

The Prince Family | Lynchburg Family Photographer

Back in 2009, I went on a life-changing trip to Nepal. It was life-changing in a lot of ways, but meeting Jennifer was one of them. We were two of the five ladies on the trip and we had no choice but to get to know one another between the close quarters we shared and the long hours spent in the car! About a year after we returned from Nepal, Jennifer launched Hill City Bride and has continually created opportunities for wedding vendors in the Lynchburg area. She has coordinated many style shoots, launched a beautiful bridal guide and a women's magazine, is continually putting on events for the vendors in the area, and always brainstorming another new project! Because of her I have met so many other wonderful people in the industry, made numerous friendships that have blessed my life in great ways, and had a handful of opportunities presented to me through my business that otherwise would have never come about.

Jennifer is the heart behind Onetober (which I will totally be participating in next year!), 30 Days of Thank You, and the I Dream of A Wedding project. She is changing lives and blessing people left and right. Yet somehow she manages to gracefully balance being a mom to three beautiful children (one of which is Sunday's sweet babysitter!) and a wife to Earl, who is a successful entrepreneur as well. So I hope you believe me when I say I adore this family and am super grateful to know them.

Here they are in all their gorgeousness! I mentioned to Jennifer ahead of time that the session would probably be super-fast because her children were old enough to smile-on-demand. And that's exactly what happened! The pictures below are a perfect example of a mini-session and the variety that can come from just about 20 minutes of time together!

Equipment used for this session:  canon 5d mark ii // canon 50mm f/1.2 lens // canon 70-200 f/2.8 lens

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Liz Cook is the owner and photographer of sincerely, liz: photography. She is a virginia wedding photographer and virginia portrait photographer who loves virginia weddings, family portrait sessions and couple photography.

To see more of Liz’s work, check out her latest work as well as some of her favorite weddings. To hire Liz, simply fill out this form.

Welcome November!

Well, hello November. You sure did sneak up on me. Friends! There's so much going on around here this month... would you join me?

First up... I cannot believe I'm writing this, but Sunday turns one this month. Wow. I am not even going to waste a minute mourning the quick passing of this year. My goodness. I have to focus on the fun time that is right now or else I'm going to LOSE it! Yes - it went FAST. Just like everyone said it would!

So, her first birthday is right around the corner and the party planning bug finally bit me last week (a little late, I know). Check out my pinterest board to see the fun things that are inspiring me while I plan 90 minutes of celebration between Sunday's nap times. :) It should be fun!

On the note of Sunday's birthday… I have a whole week of blog posts planned for the days leading up to her birthday (Nov 13 - 20). I'll be discussing our must-have products for baby's first year, sharing how motherhood has changed me, finally(!!) posting her birth slideshow, and of course blogging all the birthday party details with you guys. Oh! And a GIVEAWAY is coming, too! So fun! So take note: A Week of Sundays is coming November 13-20.

I am also excited to be jumping in on an Instagratitude project…! Every day in the month of November I'll be instagramming (that should be a real word in the dictionary by now) a picture of something I am thankful for. Be sure to follow me on Instagram if you aren't already: sincerelylizinc. I'm planning to share a round-up of pictures here on the blog later in the month for those of you who are not active on Instagram yet.

And finally… another Thankful Project. The Clutch Guide is sponsoring 30 Days of Thank You. I've got my stack of thank you cards, envelopes and stamps ready to go and I plan to write a note and drop it in the mail every day this month. What a cool idea, right?! You should join us, too!

So, like I said... lots of things going on around here. In the meantime, I am wrapping up Fall Family Portraits (just a few more on the calendar) and the 2012 Wedding Season. The holidays are right around the corner, y'all! So excited!