“Coo!!!”

On the fourth of July, Shep got to play ‘coo’ to his little heart’s content.  ‘Coo’ in case you were wondering is how he says ’school.’  Why did he want to play school?  It’s because ’school’ is what he calls basketball, because he first got to play basketball at the school across the street from our house.  Now every time he sees a basketball hoop he calls it a ‘coo.’  On the fourth we were with our friends who had a ‘coo’ for their pool.  I just wanted to show you how completely in enthralled he is.  He got SO excited every time Daddy made a basket.

“Jesus give her a heart for the nations!!!”

When I was 15 years old, I got a word from John Paul Jackson that I would take a trip within the next year that was going to change my life.  Boy was he right!  That fall, I had the opportunity to go to Cambodia with my parents, and with that word in mind, the three of us packed up and went.  I had no idea then how my life was about to change.  I had never been out of the country except to Mexico and this was completely different than Mexico!!  We had a great time seeing new things, trying new foods, praying for the sick, giving food to the hungry, driving twelve hours through the mud on flooded roads to visit village churches, and of course using squatty potties (I was so confused the first time!!)  During that trip we also became very close with Pastor Sophal and Deborah.

Here is my Mom and I somewhere along the road when our truck got stuck in the mud.  Note the nice cow behind us.

At the very end of the trip, my parents were helping to host a conference at the church and Pastor Sophal and his wife Deborah called up the youth the the front for prayer.  Now one thing you need to know about Pastor Deborah, is that she loves to pray and she loves to pray at the top of her lungs.  She decides she’s going to pray for me.  Into the microphone.  At the top of her lungs.  She was scream/praying all kinds of blessings over me and at the end she said, “And God give her a heart for the nations, give her a heart for missions!!!!”

I stood there with my hands up like a nice little girl with a smile on my face and thought to myself, “I don’t receive that Lord…”  I had seen enough of missions I thought.  This trip had been great, but I didn’t want to do that full time!!!!  Well God politely declined my request to opt out of a heart for missions and everything changed after that.

Pastor Sophal and Brad Burns who was on the trip with us.

I went back to Cambodia by myself two years later and had the time of my life.  After high school, I joined Youth With a Mission.  I always thought I would be in missions for the rest of my life, but now our role in missions has changed.  Now we get to be on the other side, the side of giving and praying and organizing groups from our church to go on short term trips.  I know I’ll get back out to Cambodia some day, Cambodia will always have a special place in my heart.

Me in Cambodia when I was 17.

This past Sunday, we were excited to find that Pastor Sophal was in the country and had come to Dallas!  We spent all evening Sunday listening to him tell the most amazing stories any of us have ever heard.  He survived the famous Killing Fields during the Pol Pot regime in the 1970’s and went on to start churches all over Cambodia.  For a while in the early 80’s, he and his family had refugeed to the US.  They were on welfare, but they lost their welfare because he wasn’t showing up the his required English class because he was too busy preaching the gospel!  That’s just who he is.  He can’t stop sharing the love of Christ, praying for people and giving of himself.  It is such an honor to know him and hear his stories.  It is such an honor that he calls me his daughter.  I am so blessed by him and his family.

Here are some pictures from the other evening.  We started by taking some new portraits of Pastor Sophal.  Look at his eyes, don’t you just want to be his friend?

Then we had dinner and sat around and listened to Pastor Sophal tell us the most amazing stories of miracles, near death experiences, and  amazing provision.

He’s a very animated story teller!

Now I know what you’re thinking, yes, that fabulous zebra chaise belongs to my mom.  No you can not get in line to inherit it from her, there is already a long line starting with yours truly =)

My Little Swimmer!

We have gone swimming every day this week!  Shep has become quite a champion swimmer this week.  He loves floating around in the pool with his floaties.  He also loves jumping off the side of the pool in his floaties.  And he furthermore found out that if he jumps off the step with no floaties, that he is not going to float (insert mommy heart attack here).  Here’s my little swimmer -

Denver Trip

I wish I had words for a nice little description of my trip, it was lovely.  But I’m too tired right now, we went swimming all day!  And I need to go blow dry my hair before it dries all yucky!  Instead I’ll just share some pictures and give little descriptions here and there =)

Sunset from my window…aaaaahh!

Some details of my lovely room

My cousin Alice getting her face painted.  I didn’t tell her to look at me with her serious face, she just did.

She was a leopard for the rest of the day.  Not just her face, her whole persona.

Me and my cousins, Ruth and Alice.  Loved hanging out with those girls!

Mackenzie T

It was fun playing with Mackenzie.  She is about the same age as Shep, but she is definitely all girl!  I was really struck by the differences in the things she wanted to do, play, hold, etc. than what Shep would’ve wanted if he were there. Of course I know that girls and boys are different, but I guess I didn’t realize how different they are at such a young age.  Mackenzie knows so many words and she knows tons of sign language!  She gave me kisses and asked me to sing “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands” over and over again.  We had fun.  We’re buds.  I kept reminding her of our buddiness.  Mackenzie’s parents are our good good friends Jon and Jamie.  I got to take some portraits of her back in Semptember which you can see here.  She’s grown!

Hehe, she wanted to wear a hat that was not on the approved wardrobe list…

Circle Park Bridal

I love Circle Park Bridal!  If you are a bride looking for a unique dress but don’t have much to spend this is the place for you!!!  I seriously tell everyone I know who is even thinking about getting married that they have to check out this shop.  The shop itself is adorable decorated in black and white and full of charm, and Andrea is so helpful.  She is really passionate about helping brides find dresses that they won’t see anywhere else that they otherwise may not be able to afford.  She wasn’t in business when I got married or I know I would’ve purchased my gown from her.  Jessica and Mackenzie both found their beautiful gowns at Circle Park Bridal.

Andrea has been recognized by WFAA, a local news station here in Dallas as an A-List top wedding vendor in North Texas.  Check out the info below and vote for her to win in her category!

On May 11th, WFAA began a contest called the “A List” with 121 categories for North Texas to vote on.  Circle Park Bridal Boutique was nominated for the “Best Wedding Dresses” category.  Now one month later, little Circle Park is in the first place spot, even ahead of the largest bridal boutique in the entire Southwest!  We are definitely the underdog in this David vs. Goliath race with tons of votes being cast in the wedding dress category.

Being such a new shop, we would love to end the contest with the top ranking, as it will give us exposure to brides who need to save on a wedding gown but do not yet know of us.  The winners receive free advertising/listings on the WFAA site for a whole year.

Please consider rocking the vote….please ask your immediate family and friends to cast a vote for us.  It would be so appreciated!

To vote, click on this link:  http://tinyurl.com/17ozcw or cut and copy this link to your browser: http://alist.wfaa.com/contests/best-of-the-wfaa-list/4732/weddings/wedding-dresses  You simply create a user name and vote. The contest ends July 2nd.

Jamie – Portraits of a Trooper

“Jamie looks amazing!!  The only part of her that looks pregnant is her tummy!  Her arms and legs and neck and face look thin and normal and she doesn’t look eight months pregnant at all!”  This is what I told Jake with a bit of jealousy when I got home from Colorado this past weekend.

Jake calmly replied, “That’s because she throws up every day.”

He got me there.  I suppose if I had been throwing up every day when I was eight months pregnant I wouldn’t have had balloon arms and legs…

Jamie has had two extremely difficult pregnancies.  When she was pregnant with Mackenzie, her daughter, she hardly left home for nine months because she was so sick all the time.  Both pregnancies she’s been in and out of the hospital for dehydration and has had to take meds just to be able to keep food down.  Let’s just say that not being able to keep food down was definitely not my problem when I was pregnant (pass the buffalo wings!)  This pregnancy has been pretty much as rough (she had to fly home three weeks early from an outreach she and her husband were leading in Southeast Asia in her first trimester).  However, since she’s survived it before, she’s decided not to let her constant naseua get her down!  She’s such a trooper!

Here are some maternity portraits I took of her in my hotel room at the looooovely Westin Westminster -

For this shot, she actually had to push her tummy out so I could even see it!  Eight months preg!

Stay tuned next week for pictures of Jamie’s sweet little daughter Mackenzie!

Aaron & Desiree’s Wedding at The Event Center at Church Ranch

Aaron and Desiree met through a mutual friend.  I was asking him to tell me the story as I took some portraits of him and he said, “I came home one day and there she was with our friend Brandy.”  I was so blessed by their love for each other all weekend.  It was so clear to me that Aaron adores Desiree and that she is so in love with him.  I have known Desiree for several years.  We were in Thailand and Hong Kong together for two months back in the day!  When she called me and said, a) that she was getting married and b) that she wanted me to be her photographer, I was so honored and so excited.  The wedding was lovely and I had so much fun being apart of it.

Venue: The Event Center at Church Ranch

Florist: Swiss Flower and Gift Cottage

Cake: Das Meyer Fine Pastry Chalet

Here are Desiree’s wedding colors!

Des’ future sister-in-law was giving her makeup the finishing touches.

Apparently, Des does this little perfume dance every morning.

The groom, what a stud!

These two made me laugh so hard!  This is Desiree’s brother Matt picking up Aaron.

And then Aaron picking up Matt.  I about died!

The gorgeous bride!

Some Details

Getting married…

Married!

Fact: I’m a huge crier, except behind the camera.  I never cry behind the camera, but I definitely teared up during this first dance.

The groom dancing with his mom.

Des and Aaron, thank you so much for allowing me to be a part of your beautiful day!

Sayler’s Baby Portraits

While I was in Colorado, I had the privilege of meeting and photographing little Sayler.  Sayler looks exactly like what you think he would look like when you see his parents.  You look at his mom and look at his dad and you think of the baby that would come from them and he is exactly it!  Adorable in every way and so squishy and snuggly!!!  Thanks for letting me snuggle you Sayler!  Give your mommy a hug for me!

Of course starting with feet.  I can’t get enough of baby feet.

We took Sayler out to the beautiful green grass, but he wasn’t a fan.  I love his expressions,

“Mommy I don’t understand what we’re doing, this isn’t fun!!!”

His daddy loves him!

Once we went back inside, Sayler perked right up.  Look at those eyes!!

Hmmmm…should I have a bottle or take a nap?

And to finish it off, Sayler’s Zoolander face -

Colorado Sneak Peeks!

I just got back from a fantastic weekend in Colorado!  I stayed at the lovely Westin Westminster, which was an absolutely delightful experience.  Their branding was all about relaxing and unwinding and had very zen and spa-esque touches everywhere!  Balm to a mother’s soul….

I haven’t gone on a trip anywhere all by myself since…..I honestly can’t remember!  It was fun and relaxing not to tote a car seat around (can I get an amen?!) and to be able to do whatever I wanted (another amen!).  On top of that I got to spend time with family and good friends, and photograph a beautiful wedding.  Here are some sneak peeks of what I’ll be sharing with you this week on my blog -