Insert Mission:Impossible Theme Song Here

You know the one: duh, duh, duh duh duh duh, duh, duh duhduhduuuhhhhhhh...

Okay, well that doesn't really do it justice, but you get the picture :)  I had my first covert operations assignment a couple of weeks ago and I must admit - it was kinda fun sneaking around.  Let me explain:

My good friends Christina & Kyle have been married for a year now, but for their anniversary Christina wanted to do something extra special for Kyle.  Kyle works for Roush Fenway Racing and travels all. the. time.  So Christina had the idea of getting her pictures taken, and then slipping some in his suitcase for him to find while he was out of town for their 1st anniversary.
But she wanted it to be a surprise.
Getting him to fess up on when he was traveling was easy, but figuring out exactly how to get the pictures done without him knowing was a little trickier... so I headed over to her place bright and early with my little one in tow while Kyle was away at work.  Christina asked her boss if she could come in a little late and we got to work!
Every bride wonders if she can still fit into her wedding dress a year later...

 

These are excerpts from the vows she wrote to Kyle for their wedding day

  

and we just couldn't resist a little goofiness :)

 

Did I mention she's a NASCAR Wife?  Well, she's proud of it so we had to show off these...

Kyle works with Trevor Bayne (who won the Daytona 500 this year) and got the HUGE ring and neat hat after their victory!

Since Kyle travels so much, Christina writes little 'somethings' and puts them in his luggage to find while he's away from home... she stumbled upon this pile one day and was pleasantly surprised to see that he had been keeping them all this time!

 Christina, I had SO much fun on this covert operation - thanks for asking me to share in such a special milestone for the two of you!  Glad to hear Kyle loved the surprise prints you planted in his suitcase!

Does your husband travel a lot?  Or is your anniversary coming up?  

E-mail me for info about surprising your honey with some fabulous photos of his favorite thing in the world - YOU!

It's A....

...Mystery!  That's right - Matt & Emily are going to be surprised at the end of August when their little one arrives - will it be a boy or girl?  No one knows, but they DO know the little one will be a die-hard OSU fan.. I mean, it's only natural since the couple is from Ohio. :)

I had so much fun hanging out with Matt & Emily at Lake Norman for this session.  Some extremely gracious friends-of-a-friend offered their gorgeous property to us for the afternoon and we were able to capture some beautiful images of their little mystery baby bump - in between mopping our forheads of sweat in the 100* Carolina heat. 

You'd never know it was hot though - Matt & Emily were troopers and such a beautiful couple at that!  I tell ya - couples like this make my job easy!

It was only a mild form a torture being so close to all this water whilst we were so hot and sweaty...

 

... but we made it out alive and downed some ice water as we headed to the front of the property where the shade was a welcome retreat for these next shots.

 

If I didn't drive a small car...

I may have just run away with this bench strapped to the top of my car.  Okay, so there's no way I'd really do that, but I am kind of in love with it.  :)

Matt & Emily - thanks so much for allowing me the opportunity to capture your first baby bump.  Emily - you're absolutely gorgeous and I wish you two all the best in parenthood!

And to the Buck family - thank you a million times over for letting us use your amazingly beautiful property for the session!

365 and then some

So I've given myself a challenge: Take (at least) one picture a day of my son for an entire year.  So far, so good.  I haven't missed a day yet!  Though... one of his photos is of him sleeping in his Pack N Play at nine o'clock at night because I almost forgot... almost. :) 
But aside from the picture-a-day challenge, I want to be purposeful about doing mini-sessions with him for the landmark ages - you know, 3 months, 6 months, 9 months, etc.  I mean, it seems only appropriate since I am a photographer and all... even if I am just an amateur. :)
Here are some of my favorites from the mini-session:

  

  

It's true what they say - "They grow so fast!"  I, however, am so blessed to be able to stay home with him, and I love being able to see him grow and change each and every minute of the day! And, yea, I'm a little biased - but, man, isn't he the cutest baby EVER?  :-D

Trader

I got no fancy prose or pretty pictures this time... but this is a pretty sweet video and I LOVE the concept.  What do YOU think?

Back on the Saddle

It's been quite a while since I was behind the lens... with good reason of course :) 

First this was the reason:

Holy. Cow.  Literally.  I was HUGE... and 6 days past due in this photo! Not so easy to get around and crouch and chase kiddos with a camera at this size :)
And then, of course (as you can deduce), there was this:

Isn't he adorable? Okay, yes, I'm a little (teeny,tiny, bit) biased. :)  After a couple months of healing and getting our routine down, though, I'm back in the saddle!  That's right - I'm back to work doing photo sessions in this beautiful (HOT) Carolina summer! 








I was thrilled to get a kick-start with the Huff family as they celebrated their baby girl's sixth month of life... and lots of family fun to go with it!
Here's baby Caroline - just a little over 6mos. old and she's so. flippin. adorable.  I mean, seriously - how can you NOT smile at this sweetie!?

You might be thinking..."Wait, Huff family... hmm sounds familiar... but didn't that baby girl have dark hair?"  You'd be right!  This little one had a head full of dark hair when she was born (as seen in her newborn session HERE)... but she decided to go blonde - hey, a girl has a right to decide! :)

And this would be her big brother - he's such a good brother to his baby sis.  And pretty adorable himself - he's definitely going to be a ladies man some day!

Mom & Dad got in on the action too!

The kids... all three of them! :)

Family fun!

I had SO much fun photographing your family yet again - so thanks Huff's for giving me the opportunity!

So what are YOU waiting for?  

E-mail me at missionformawu@gmail.com to book your session TODAY!

Packing for Africa and an Empty Box

A year ago this is what my bed looked like:
I was surrounded by Ziploc baggies, dryer sheets and clothing.  Little pieces of paper were fluttering around in the breeze of the fan and I was trying my darnedest to remember to put the cap on the Sharpie after I used it every time so I didn't color on my bedspread.  The scent of lavender in the air was pleasant as I sorted and organized my outfits for the upcoming trip - putting each one into its own bag with a dryer sheet to keep it fresh-smelling. When I wasn't packing, shopping, or making lists, I was busy taking photos and editing images, raising money for the trip... that's how Mission for Mawu came to be! 
What I didn't know was that when I returned from Africa I would rebuke those dryer sheets.  I didn't know Mission for Mawu would keep on going.  I didn't know that I'd leave my (mostly) unpacked suitcase laying open on the sofa in our room for over a month just so I could smell Africa every time I walked by it. 
I didn't know that I would come back missing a vital organ: my heart. 
It's been (almost exactly) a year since my trek to Ghana, West Africa.  (You can start reading day 1 of my journey if you haven't read it yet, then follow the sidebar links to the other days)  I knew going into this journey that it would change my life, but I didn't know the effect would be so long-lasting.  I mean, I had hoped it would be, but (and those of you that have been on short-term missions know) I figured it would wear off after a few months. I felt inside-out-upside-down-turned-around when I came back and I have to say, I still get those feelings a year later.  I can't keep my mind off of Africa.
I can't stop thinking about Father's House.

I can't get these sweet little faces out of my head.

      

My dear friend (and co-founder of Father's House) is heading back to Ghana in a few days and I thought about sending him with an empty box.  That way he'd have something to put my heart in when he found it there, and he could bring it back to me here in the States.  But I'm not giving him a box, even though I know he would totally take it if I asked him to.  I kind of love that my heart is in Africa.  I wouldn't feel right if it were anywhere else.  So I've tossed the empty box in the recycle bin and look forward to the day my husband gets to visit the place that stole my heart.  And I look forward to the day my son gets to meet the kids that will teach him how to play a mean game of futbal.  And I look forward to the day our family sets off on the journey together, following God's call for our lives. So until then, I'll keep snapping photos, I'll keep editing images and mailing out CD's... I'll keep donating 25% of every session fee to Father's House, and I'll keep putting the other 75% into our special missions fund so we can go when God tells us to.

And until then, my bed looks like this:

 

And that makes my heart happy... even if it is all the way across the ocean.

The Brittish Yavoos Are Coming!

How exciting to hear the The Father's House had some guests from Canada recently! 

That's right, Jake, Chanda and the Great 8 got a visit from 5 'yavoos' recently!  Five girls from Canada hung out at TFH for a few days and one of them blogged about it HERE.  How awesome is it that people from all over are coming to know and learn about The Father's House?  It gives me the warm fuzzies inside when I think about how knowledge of TFH is growing every day... from events like Ghana Rock, an interview on the radio with the founders here in the Charlotte area, and now this.  Awesomeness.  Yes.  I just said Awesomeness.  I can, because I'm excited! :)   Keep spreading the word about the amazing things happening at and through The Father's House - and hey, why don't YOU get involved too?  Head to the TFH website to check it out!