Christmas is Coming!

I'm so excited about this new video by The Father's House!  It's a great representation and explanation of what is happening over in Ghana, the place that stole my heart. 

With the holidays coming, please take some time to consider giving something ETERNAL for the season.  Talk with your family, your kids, friends, coworkers and neighbors and consider making a donation to save some childrens' lives!  What better gift could there be this holiday season? 

Take a few minutes (literally) and check out the video for more information.

Father's House - Ghana from Matt Garrett on Vimeo.

Welcome Baby Tripp!

My good friend A just had her baby boy!   ( You may remember her from this post ) He's named after his daddy, who's named after his dad, so he's the third... hence the nickname - Tripp!  He was just a few days old at this session - what an honor to capture his new little life in this world!

Happy Birthday Lauren!

This adorable little girl...

... just turned ONE!  I was honored to be able to capture all the birthday fun at Gymboree - I must say I'm thankful for all the soft mats they had - they were perfect for all the kneeling and comando-style crawling I had to do to get down on eye-level with these cute kiddos!  I mean - er- it's a good thing they have those mats for the kids' safety!  ;)

Happy Birthday beautiful girl!

Fall Fun!

I love the fall.  The beautiful colors - reds, yellows, oranges, browns - the crisp, fresh air, the apple cider, corduroy jackets, I just love it all.  So I was more than happy to follow the Turner family around for some fall fun at a local park.  It was the capital P- Perfect day for it - about 73*, sunny and brisk! 
This family of five was a blast to capture on camera, and though it's nearly* impossible to get all five family members to look at the camera for that 'perfect' Christmas card shot - I think we got some great action shots and just plain ol' fun shots of the family at any rate!
*by nearly I mean entirely - just to be clear! :)

The Fam! Mom, 1yr old A, 12 yr old M, 2.5yr old C and Dad

.............. 4

4 months ago I watched Ghana fade away in the distance out the window of an airplane.

4 months ago I was on the mountain top, feeling closer to God than I've ever felt before.

4 months ago I came home from Africa and Satan tried to rob me of my joy and damage my marriage.

4 months ago Satan ALMOST won.

4 months ago my amazing friends whom I love so much prayed with my husband and I to fight, FIGHT hard against the attacks that came our way.


4 months ago my husband and I grew closer than we've ever been before.


4 months ago we DEFEATED Satan's stupid attempts to overshadow the miracles God had created in Africa and in my own life when he thought it'd be fun to mess with our marriage.

4 months ago we CREATED life.  We created a living, breathing human being to raise up in the ways of our Father to go forth and reach the nations of the world with the Word that GOD is GOD and Satan LOSES.

4 months ago my life was changed in Africa.


4 months ago our marriage was strengthened exponentially.


4 months ago our family of two became a family of three.

and yesterday... as I lay there and we heard our baby's heart beating (at a rate divisible by 4), I couldn't help but think of all that happened to bring us to this point....

4 months ago.

Growing with Baby L

The Sides family and I go way.. back... well, okay, maybe not WAY back.  K Sides and I teach together and when I was getting ready to go to Africa she signed up for a photo session for her maternity shots.  After we had so much fun hanging out at the barn and in the arts district, she asked me if I'd be baby L's photographer.  I am so honored to be able to grow with L at all the different stages - newborn, 3 months, and most recently 6 months.  We also threw in some family shots this time around for Christmas cards.  We've become good friends over the years and I love capturing that cutie pie of a boy on camera!

 I love this one of mom trying to make L laugh for the camera!

 As with most 6 month old, anything in their hand goes in their mouth... this was one of the few I snapped before it went down the hatch! (notice the drool though, he knows it's gonna taste good!)

I'm so lucky I get to capture baby L as he grows!  Thanks Sides family!

The Smith Family

These guys are some good friends of mine and I was honored that they would ask me to 'snap a few family shots' before photographing their soon-to-be-1-year-old's birthday party.  Knowing how birthday parties can go, I offered to come over one day on my way home from school instead - that way the birthday happenings wouldn't interfere with getting some great, relaxed family shots.

 These two are so in love and it shows!  I love that about them!

 Such a beautiful family!

 Catch ya on the flip side!