Castles, rain, potatoes, and Leprechauns.

  One of my best friends is currently in Ireland AS WE SPEAK.

  When I first found out that Tara was going to be traveling to my favorite country ever and staying there for a week, I was a little shocked.

 
  For pretty much as long as I can remember, I have dreamed of going to Ireland. In fact, I may or may not be a little obsessed with it. I mean, come ON. Castles...rain...potatoes. Leprechauns.

  This country has it all, man.

  It's a well known fact among my friends that Ireland is pretty much my most favorite thing ever. Tara was even a little wary about telling me that she was going, because she knew that I would likely die of disbelief.

  Well, now my initial shock has worn off and I am so excited! My friend is in Ireland right now! She even emailed me! From IRELAND.

 

 



  I'm probably way too happy about this.

  Just think...If I were actually in Ireland, I would be wayyyy worse. Let's all take a moment and be thankful I'm not. I don't think my heart could take it.

Tha Mo Ghaol Air Aird A' Chuain

 

 

 

  When it comes to music, I love anything with a hauntingly beautiful and melancholy sound--especially if it's in Gaelic.

 

  I thought I would share one of my favorite songs, Tha Mo Ghaol Air Aird A' Chuain. Julie Fowlis has such a lovely voice; I could listen to her sing all day. Makes me wish I knew Gaelic as well!

 

 

Adlie {Newborn Session}

Newborns.

  Aren't they so precious, with their tiny toes and perfect lips? They're so fragile, so delicate. And though they are so small, they can hold such a big place in our hearts. They are one of God's most precious gifts, and so it was with great care and honor that I held this particular photo shoot.

  My cousin Nona and her husband Cody have been wanting a baby girl for years, and it was this past October that their dream finally became a reality. Adlie was born with brilliant blue eyes shaped like her mama's, and she had a full head of dark hair--as opposed to her two older brothers, who are both blondies.

  One thing's for sure, this lovely little girl is going to give her daddy a reason to stay on his toes!

Nona had requested a photo like this before the shoot began, and I was excited to give it a go since I like using pops of color. I actually did no editing at all to make Adlie's eyes appear bluer. In fact, they were so blue that I had to tone it down a bit to make it look more real! Is it alright to be jealous of a baby's eyes?

 

 

 

  Though Adlie didn't sleep more than 5 minutes for our hour-long shoot, she was still very photogenic (as long as she had her pacifier, she was good ;). It was a fun session and I learned some new things, which is always a plus!

Mendenhall {Family Shoot}

I had a great session with the Mendenhalls a few weeks ago! This was actually my first shoot with my new camera, and it was then that I fell completely in love with my Canon.

I'm so glad I had the opportunity to meet and photograph such a beautiful family!

 

 

 

Things Change

Well, I was going to upload some new photos, but Blogger isn't working properly for some reason and the upload button has disappeared. I have so many photos to share, too!

So, instead of pictures, I thought I could share some of my thoughts.

Things change.

That's what's been on my mind here lately, because it seems like that's exactly what's happening in my life. And I'm the type of person that does not like change. At all. I like things to be just right. If you know me very well at all, you'll know that I am a very mellow person and that my life is just as laid back as my personality.

That seems like it's all about to change.

Have I mentioned that I'm also the type of person that worries? I worry almost endlessly and sometimes about really trivial things. Most of my worry comes from the fear of meeting new people--which, as you know, photographers do on an almost daily basis. Also, college is full of new people, right?

Yeah. Hence, the endless worry.

But, you know, I realize that my anxiety is pretty pointless. It does me no good whatsoever to worry about my future and how it's changing. In all reality, even though I might get all anxious about going to a new place or meeting a new person, I end up doing it anyway because I know deep down that I'm being silly. And you know what? It usually ends up being that I worried for nothing, and that new place or new person was actually a great experience.

That's because, though I really have no idea what my future holds, Somebody does. He has every little detail planned out just right for me (whatever I might think at the moment), and He knows exactly what I need in my life.

Sometimes I forget that, but here lately I've been able to understand it on a clearer level. It's a nice feeling, knowing that Someone much greater than me has everything in control. If it was all up to me to change my own life and make the big decisions, it just would not happen. If it was all up to me, I would be too busy worrying about everything to actually do anything.

So I'll gladly let God hold my future in His hands. He knows exactly what He's doing, and it's in knowing that simple fact that I can go out and do these new things without (too much) anxiety.

Things change. And I'm slowly getting better at accepting that.

Le Random List

I have no idea what to write (which is really sad since I'm supposedly a writer 'n' stuff).

So, I shall make a list instead!

LE RANDOM LIST

1. Christmas was a blast! We had our first ever Ugly Christmas Sweater Contest, and I must say, I totally rocked that abominable snowman I had hot-glued to my own.

2. I made no New Year's resolutions because I'm terrible and didn't really feel like it.

3. Les Miserables was fantastic. Though, I must admit that I was a little taken aback by just how much singing there was. Still. It was fantastic. I had a DREEEEAM OF SOMETHING SOMETHINGGGGG. Yep, I seriously sing that.

4. I read another person's blog a few minutes ago, and I am saddened by the fact that his blog appears much less neglected than mine. I'm sorry, blog. Please forgive my forgetfulness.

5. My parents are awesome! I really am blessed to have such sweet, cool people to spend my life with.

6. College looms before me.

7. I dread college.

8. I want to travel Europe instead. Can I do that? I think I'll do that. It doesn't require me being social. Well...maybe I'd have to be a bit social to the flight attendants or something. But still.

9. I really need to stop coming up with book ideas so I can finish the ones I'm already working on. This is apparently going to be the neverending complaint in my life.

10. One of my friends is going  to Ireland later this month. I wish I could fit in a suitcase.

11. A couple of days ago, I went out into the field behind my house and took seventy-eight pictures of cows. SEVENTY-EIGHT. We're all best friends now.

12. But best of all, and I just realized I could've just skipped the list and instead written about this:

I got a website!

 Pretty exciting, I must say. I spent quite a bit of time creating it, so I am so glad that it's finally up and running.

And now, I leave you with the link that will take you to the new, shiny site.

CLICK ME.