A little less than a month ago, my (fabulous, amazing and cute) husband and I took a trip we’ve been dreaming of for years- Italy! And some of our perspectives were changed… That anything “old” in the States hasn’t even reached toddlerhood compared to Rome… That Olive Garden isn’t exactly Italian food… That small business that only carry a few select things offer greater business than big box, one-stop shops can… That speed trains are the way to travel!!… That sleeping-in is easily sacrificed if you value what’s to come that day… That the accordion actually is a beautiful instrument when the notes float down a cobbled street on a warm evening… That gelato may just be the best dessert and ought to be consumed daily.  And other perspectives were solidified… That hard-boiled eggs do not belong on a pizza… That we love our church body and the community life we have… That all bottled water is overpriced… That the natural beauty that we are privileged to live amidst doesn’t hold a candle to the city life… And that of all the men in the world, there is only one I want as my travel partner in life.

Here is just a couple images from our trip (really only about 2% of the images I took!!) from my perspective.  The bulk of them are from the different perspectives of St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican City.  It was interesting how it changed based on our various perspectives.

Our first sight of St. Peter’s Square

The columns at the entrance- massive.

Just inside the entry

Michelangelo’s Pieta- amazingly breathtaking to see it beyond the pages of an art history book

Halfway up the hike of over 400 stairs to get to the top of the dome at St. Peter’s

From the inside of the dome above- it was incredible to hear the songs of hymns raising up inside that dome during the evening service.

A quick one by my husband on the way up- here we’re between the inner and outer structures of the dome.

We made it!  Those columns surrounding the square are the ones we first looked upon when we walked up. It was amazing to see them looking so small after them towering over us below.

(One of the only 3 times I was willing to hand off my camera to a stranger- Ryan figured they wouldn’t be able to run away fast enough…)

Il Vittoriano with the Colosseum behind to the right as seen from the top of the dome at St. Peter’s Basilica.

Panoramic view of the city-  with all the buildings being at least 3 stories tall, while walking down the streets you loose a sense of the beauty of the city and the surrounding landscape as a whole

One last street view of St. Peter’s as we left that day

The next day we visited the Pantheon, the temple to all the gods of ancient Rome built by Hadrian almost 2000 years ago.

The open-air dome allowing the sunlight to come in and fill the room

It was also amazing to see this outside of textbooks.  Massively stunning!  I no longer look at it as a boring piece of information I once memorized for a test.

And here were just a couple images I captured trying to look at things in different perspectives… here is the Duomo in Firenze (Florence), Italy

It had been raining off and on all night so the cobbled streets created pools of reflection

The massive entry of the Duomo- standing there felt as daunting as it looks

And these were some fenced gates at Basilica di Santa Croce in Firenze

Now that you’ve experienced a bit of my perspective, go over to Erin Claassen’s blog and Andrea’s blog for other great perspectives as well!!

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Aren’t they the cutest??

No, not an engagement announcement!  Just a sweet promise ring he gave to her on their second anniversary

Congratulations to you both Justin and Ashley!  I so look forward to what God has in store for you guys!!

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Today’s post is going to be a bit abbreviated. I’m trying to frantically thoroughly get ready and packed for a trip with my fabulous husband! (Side note:  I won’t be reachable via phone while I’m gone but I’ll still be able to answer emails- as long as you promise to bear with me as I type them out on my iPhone!!)  Anywho, today’s Project24 is fruit or floral so I have just a little collection of the flowers that are blooming around my place.  How I really wished this assignment was several weeks out when my hydrangeas (my absolute favorite flowers) were blooming but, as my kids say, ‘you get what you get and you don’t throw a fit’!  I wasn’t the most creative with this assignment but I was having fun experimenting with some textures and such.  Hope you enjoy!  And happy spring!

I kinda had fun with this moody one.  Certainly not my typical clean, cheery take but something a little different every once in a while is fun.

Don’t forget to check out my friends’ take on this Project24 assignment: Erin Claassen’s beautiful photographic take, Andrea’s encouraging and challenging written interpretation, and Jensen’s double duty (photos and written) work!  I love taking these challenges on with these guys!

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I was first stumped by this next assignment of Project24. I would look around my house at any and all things white (plates, husband’s socks, my shower curtain, even toilet paper) and wonder what to photograph and how. But then it hit me mid-week last week when our school took a field trip to the Mt. Shasta Ski Park! There would be white stuff everywhere! While my girls and I played in the snow (Husby and my son were off boarding the slopes) I tried collecting different images of purely shades of white (in order to stay true to the assignment). But I was bored with the photographs I was making. And I once again rediscovered that I so love color! Black and whites can be stunning, dramatic photographs but I’m a girl who gravitates to color!  Give me the pop of an orange and blue complement or a soothing wash of yellow and green.  So, instead, I turned my lens to my playful kids and figured, while the images I collected may not be solely shades of white, it would be a prevailing backdrop. Hope you enjoy these- and can forgive my artistic interpretation slight deviation from the topic.

Oh, yes!  These neon red pants are my fabulous “retro” ski pants from the 1980′s.  There’s no losing me on the hill!

Using Dad’s board as a sled- it works well in a pinch!

AND, just so it can’t be said that I didn’t follow the prompt: Shades of white!  (Yes, super corny I know!!)

And since spring has decided to show itself in the last few days around home, I thought I’d better capture some true shades of white.  I absolutely love our fruit trees- beautiful blossoms in the spring, delicious fruit later in the year!  These blooms happen to be our Asian Pear tree- cannot wait!!

Now that you’ve had a chance to check out my thoughts and captures, please go visit my wonderfully talented friend, Erin Claassen’s blog for her take on this week’s project!  Also, check out my good friend Andrea’s blog on a written interpretation of “Shades of White”- she’s going to be joining us in our Project24 adventure in written form.  It should be great to see another artistic interpretation of the various assignments through the year!!

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Yea! I’m almost caught up!! And some would say that the best is always saved for last. Not that I’m saying that- the past families I’ve had the privilege to photograph are counted among the best. (I LOVE all my clients! Seriously, I’m incredibly blessed by each and every one!) But, the proud mom and dad of this four week beauty and the excited grandparents, aunties and the like, would probably argue as such!! I shared a quick sneak peek a couple weeks ago and I wanted to share more of my favorites from our session!  I do want to say that Mom and Dad (amazing first time parents) are doing such a beautiful job with her! They are so tender and relaxed with her!  I love being able to capture a little family’s first days together- there is something so beautiful and heartwarming about it.  It is a joy to be invited in to share and capture it for them!  That said, enjoy! Hope you have a fabulous Wednesday!

I just love little baby details!  So sweet!!

What a beautiful new family!

Asleep in daddy’s arms

Aren’t both girls stunning!?!

We were able to grab a quick shot with Kaiyah’s beautiful grandmother- such love!

I love this cutie face- and this little girl LOVES her tongue!!

Seriously, one of my favorites!  Such a beautiful baby girl!

…And dream time

Sweet dreams little one

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Thank you Stower/ Switzer family!! You all made me feel so welcomed and I loved getting to share in your family’s joy!!

These guys were hilarious!

Isn’t she just precious?!

Cutie-Pie

Such a cute couple!

The older sister always has the upper hand.

Grandpa loves his baby girl!

And end with one of my favorite shots- this was the very last one as we were walking back to the cars!  You can tell just how loved she is by her Grandma and Grandpa!

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But I digress… I tell you these things to say, I’ve been able to play a little catch up and realized that I have two sessions from last month that I never got to fully share! So, today I bring you more of the adorable Caleb!! We were able to go out and get his six months portraits and, I feel in those two short hours, I was in love with this cutie. Seriously, he was such a wonderful boy! And his mom and grandma are such fabulous women as well!! I adore all of them! I sure hope I get the opportunity to see more of this amazing family!! Enjoy!!

I love this picture!  Such a beautiful mommy!!

I love these little hands!

And it was there he got me!!  How can you resist that handsome guy?

Caleb love, loves his Grandmommy!!

Love his beautiful eyes!

…And this face?!  The best!!

This one is possibly one of my favs- he is so super cute!!

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“1: a 2-leaved hinged tablet folding together to protect writing on its waxed surfaces; 2: a picture or series of pictures (as an altarpiece) painted or carved on two hinged tablets; 3: a work made up of two matching parts”  (Thank you, Merriam-Webster!)  A triptych, naturally, would be a work made up of three matching parts, but for the sake of my purposes today, I stuck with the simply diptych.

Rather than just placing two beautiful images side by side, I wanted to play with their position to one another.  So I decided my take on this project would be something a little playful.  I was originally inspired by a friend’s t-shirt like this one at Snorgtees.com.  (Which I so want one of my very own!  Hint, hint, husband!)  So, today, I present you with “We Go Together Like…”  Some things are just better when paired with a compliment.  The whole time I was working on this, I was mindful of the many wonderful friendships I am blessed with in my life.  I may not be a carbon copy of many of my friends; in fact, with several of my closest friends, we couldn’t be more opposite (including my husband, at times!).  But together, I think, we’re something pretty fabulous!  And for that, I am very thankful!  I hope you enjoy; I’d love to hear which are your favorites!

WE GO TOGETHER …

…like Peanut Butter and Jelly

…like Bacon and Eggs

…like Cheese and Macaroni

…like Monkeys and Bananas

…like a Toothbrush and Toothpaste

…like a Lock and Key

…like a King and his Queen

…like a child and a mud puddle

…like Kisses and Hugs

Now that you’ve seen my take on this week’s project, go visit my great friend, Erin Claassen’s blog to see her interpretation of this challenge!  She is amazingly creative and has some brilliant ideas for this one!  I definitely count her as one of my great friendships that I am blessed with!  Question is, who’s the peanut butter?  Who’s the jelly??

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Last week I got the special privilege of meeting and photographing a four week beauty! Being a little older than some of my other previous infant sessions, this little girlie was a bit more alert and watching us with her beautiful brown eyes (though, eventually she got comfy and fell asleep for the last portion of our session). I’ll be sharing more next week once I’ve gotten them all finished up for her mommy and daddy but I wanted to just get a couple out for them to see!

This sweet-pea loves her tongue; she wouldn’t go without showing it off to everyone.  It made me smile!

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~Joy~

~Excitement and Anticipation~

(This one comes with a little story… My sister and brother-in-law announced to us this week that they’ve received their referral for my niece in Ethiopia!  After 16 long months of [my not-so] patient waiting through the adoption process, we now have a name and a face of our newest family member!)

~Exhaustion~

~Contentment~

~Remorse~

~Frustration~

~Hopeful~

~(Abundantly) Loved~

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