memorial day

As I write this blog post, it is Memorial Day...
I stayed away from the news and hoopla today...not because I didn't want to honor our veterans, but because I needed to have the quiet to focus...to remember...

there are so many differing views out there...there always have been...and everyone has their justifications as to why they are right and someone else is wrong...

we can make a list a mile long on all the differences...from politics to families to finances to reality shows...it sometimes seems as though everyone has something they need to voice...

today I realized that those men and women...the ones that stand on the front lines...the ones that protect my freedom to think and voice any opinion that comes into my brain...the ones that put their bodies in danger...that risk their futures for the sake of mine...

those men and women may not agree with my viewpoints either but it doesn't stop them defending me or my freedoms to have those viewpoints...they could look at my choices or my blog posts or my parenting style or whatever...and they could disagree...

but, that doesn't take them away from the duty...the duty of protecting my freedom to have those opinions...they don't pick and choose who they will protect...they just do it...

and I am so, incredibly thankful...so, amazingly undeserving and yet, very, very grateful!!!

they do it so that we can have families like the ones you see in this post...

where children don't fear for their lives but are loved by parents that are raising them to be men of integrity...

where kids are free to grow up to be whatever they want to be...

where smiles and laughter massively outweigh tears and sorrow...

I loved meeting up with this family again this past fall because they do not take for granted the freedoms we have been given here...and they do that by cherishing the moment they have and taking the opportunities that they are given to instill in their boys a love of family and others...

Hope you'll enjoy!







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Colors of Spring

Spring is beautiful...

Every shade of green and yellow seems to fill the ground...the sunshine spills it's light and casts tree lined shadows and a rainbow of colors as it reflects off all the "newness" around...

It had been a long while since I had been downtown, but sometimes a location is "part of the story"...it was for this little family...

Two little sisters...just basking in the love showered on them from their parents...each season of life is new and different and brings with it, it's own set of joys and different achievements...

I loved the playfulness and giddiness of big sister...she was adventurous and saw wonder in all that was around her...we were loving her spunk...when she put her shoe on her head, I was just grinning from ear to ear...because isn't that what life is all about???  the sweet moments that are quick and insignificant, but at the same time, it's a moment that just IS...it captures a personality, a quirk, a unique quality in someone else...and with time and growth, sometimes those things change & transform with maturity....

it's the moments of pure innocence and laughter that make this life all the more fascinating!









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Sometimes being a sister is better than being a princess

I saw that quote and smiled...

"sometimes being a sister is better than being a princess"

I've known these girls since before the youngest was even born...

The thing I like the best about this family is the lack of pretense around them...
it's a "what you see if what you get" type of approach to life...

it makes them all approachable, likable and real...

Their laughing and giggling and craziness, makes sessions with them an absolute blast!

The oldest has a quiet, yet silly side...she's a firstborn nurturer and mother...
the 2nd one is all sassafrass and brings the FUN
the youngest is still finding her voice, but she knows without a doubt that her sisters have her back!

and in this world filled with Cinderella stories and dreams of "Letting it Go"...

sometimes, being a sister...being that friend that is always by her side...being that one that knows her best, in and out...
 sometimes, that's better than some ole glass slipper or singing snowman...









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Foundations



 It's finished...

the school year has ended...my oldest will join the ranks of the "top dogs" of middle school next year...My middle girl has graduated from elementary school and heads into the unknown waters of the 6/7/8th grade building, with an overflow of new students coming from all over the school district...my 'baby' is heading to 2nd grade...

and I can't believe time won't just stop for a second...to just let me catch my breath!!!

It's been a whirlwind of excitement and preparation for this last week of school...everyone counting down days...until it arrives...

the moment everyone has been waiting for and all of a sudden reality hits...the weightiness of it all...the significance of all this time and effort and planning...

My girls are growing up...needing me in different ways...my comforting their "hurts" looks a lot different than it did when they were itty bitty...it's not that the hurts are any more painful than they were with ouches and booboos...it's just that these "hurts" come in the form of change and independence and building their character...

I look back on sessions like these with a heart full of gratefulness..for children who find such joy in the simple things...where daddy can make every heart ache go away with just a funny face and butterfly kisses...where mommy seemingly knows all the answers to all the questions of life and can solve a problem with a cuddle...

I remember my time with this family because it was genuine and simple and easy...

it was a moment in time, where I could step back and watch parents building a foundation with their little ones...just baby steps, but ones that will last a lifetime...

time does goes fast...but, it was a reminder that foundations that are laid early, make the time lapse, not as painful...it makes the "changes" bearable and the journey that much more meaningful!










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Feeling the Color

The sun is beautiful whether in the spring, summer, fall or winter...

Everytime it comes out, everything turns a different color of light...and it inevitably brings out the smiles!!!

Every family has a different style and personality that comes out in a session...
some families match, some coordinate, and some are more "come as you are"...

I loved the colors that this family chose, especially with the gorgeous backdrop of those golden trees!

There was an "easy", comfortable feeling with this family...

The color "blue" tends to do that to me...it's a relaxing, calming, and pure color...

I felt that it reflected the nature of these sweet souls perfectly!


Sometimes, when you allow people to just BE who they are...there are moments that arise that you never expect...they are authentic and real...and moments that you never regret!

 




I hope I get to meet up with them again this year...

it's families like these, that make my "job" worthwhile!!!


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Family of Purpose

There is so much STUFF going on in our world today...

I gave up watching the news because I was so heart sick over all the deception, destruction, sadness, selfishness...it sometimes feels like this world is upside down...what used to be right and good, is now  often called old and ridiculous...

it can leave a person feeling rather hopeless after about 10 minutes on a news channel...

perhaps the media chooses to portray things that will only shock us...or maybe it is just the "norm" for some...

either way, this teacher & mom heart often wonders about those precious, innocent little ones of the future generations...

who are their examples...their role models...the ones that will instill in them a sense of integrity and trustworthiness...ones that will choose to do right, even if it means self-sacrifice...???

there aren't a lot of those types of people praised and plastered to billboards anymore...those types of character qualities aren't tweeting off of twitter or pasted on instragram...

and then I meet a family like this...


They may not have a reality TV show...they may just fade to the back...plugging along in this journey called life...

however...it's a FAMILY


...where dad loves mom...where children have a purposed respect for mom & dad...where love is spoken and shown wildly & unconditionally...where obedience is expected, and character is grown...where independence and responsibility are developed...

it's in families like this, that I see such hope...

people that are in it for the long haul...the ones that face the future...committed & together...

their children see a purpose-driven life in the hearts of their own family members...and because that place is safe, they will strive to develop that in their own hearts!

My hope is renewed!!









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The best way to contact me is either through Facebook Messaging or emailing me at ctphotomemories@gmail.com

I can't wait to hear from you!
"Teach us to number our days, (savor the moments) so that we may gain a heart of wisdom" ~Psalm 90:12

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