Capturing a Miracle

Every time I have the privilege of capturing an event at Freedom House I get excited.  Excited about capturing the moment, really getting the mood and feel of the event captured with an image or two... or sixty.  :)

But on this day it was more than an event.  It was a miraculous exchange between believers and God.  

It was belief that there is more to this world than what we see  in the present.

It was faith that if each person, each one would do their part, would be a part of the many, that we could change the city, and even reach across the world.  

This was Liberty 2013.

      

It was kids.  Fundraising.  Doing chores. Cracking into their piggy banks to give. To give toward wells being dug in India (via Joyce Meyer Ministries).  

         

To give toward the architectural drawings for their new building full of classrooms that will soon reside next to the main church building. 

It was worship.  Not just music.  But get-in-your-face-see-the-power-of-God worship.  

   

  

But mostly, it was about sacrifice and positioning.  Positioning oneself to catch the next big thing God has ready for us.  Making that sacrifice to get in the perfect position to receive the next step God's plan.

And the stories that abound from this miraculous event are endless.  I have two of my own, one of which occurred the same day we gave our offering, our sacrifice.  And the miracle that came from us placing that money in God's hands is worth far more than the amount written on that check.  Times a hundred million.  And it's not just our story.  It's each and every person that gave, and continues to give sacrificially, with a cheerful heart, expectant and positioning themselves to see God move - it's their stories.  And I got to capture this tiny glimpse of it.  And for that, I am thankful.  Humbled.  And thankful.  

Welcome Baby!

I was super excited to hear that shortly after our trip to Africa together, our good friend Aimee was expecting her second little one!  Then I was bummed because they were expecting him to arrive while we were scheduled to be back in Africa.  Well, you can imagine my glee when baby Benton decided to wait until we got home to introduce himself to the world!
Welcome baby Benton!!

I may have a small fetish with baby toes - I mean, they're just so wittle and cute! :)

   

 Love this beautiful family!!

Time for the 2's!

When I was teaching still there were three of us that were all pregnant very close to each other, so it's been really neat to be able to photograph all the babies and see them all grow.  It's hard to believe that all our babies are two now!
Here's some of my favorites from my session with the Mattingly family:

  

  

 Welcome to two Harrison!

Pure Joy

This little one was full of it for the entire shoot!

She was smiling and happy and running around the entire time, and it was so much fun to capture little Ava again!  Here are a few favorites:

    

Thanks for letting me run around with Ava again Hicks family!

Then and Now

I always love photographing this family - I mean, I'm a bit biased since she's my best friend and all, but it's been so neat to watch how they've changed and grown over the years, and for me the pictures really tell the story well.
It's hard for me to remember these kids when they were this tiny...

    

And now look at 'em!

   

They're all kinds of grown up and it's just. not. right.
But alas, they are a beautiful family, and it's an honor to be able to capture their smiling faces every season! Here area a few more of my favorites from their latest family session:

Back to the Mountains!

I was so excited when the Mikesells invited me to Honey Bear to capture their Easter celebration!  I had a lot of fun there last fall getting some pics of their newest baby (the campground) and the family, so of course I was ready to head back and see it in the spring!

Except... Easter fell pretty early this year.. and there was a freak snow storm in the mountains.  So it was more wintery than springy.. snow and all.  But it was still a lot of fun!
We started off the weekend with some worship in the Coffee Shoppe on Good Friday.

The talented Andre Gonzalez leading worship.

And of course there were s'mores.  With bunny shaped marshmallows.  I couldn't bring myself to hold the bunny over the fire... but the kids didn't mind one bit! :)

Saturday was the BIG day!  There were egg hunts, games, crafts and lots of fun to be had by all the campers, and the community too!

Racing to find the eggs!

The snow didn't allow for much camouflaging... 

Nothin' quite like throwing a bean-bag carrot at a bunch of cans!

Sack Race... er... Bunny Hop anyone? 

Ready for round 2 of the egg hunt!

 

Meanwhile in the craft barn...

And s'mores... always s'mores!!!

Saturday night there was an egg-dying party and a showing of the movie Hop! for the campers - yes, those are my pair of cheeks you see below - it was his first experience dying eggs for Easter!

Sunday morning there was a sun rise service... even though we couldn't see the sun rising behind the rain clouds, it was a beautiful service with a great message and great worship!

It was my second time to Honey Bear campground and I love it more every time we go!  It is such a fun place to be, away from it all, amazing, I mean seriously amazing hosts, and - who doesn't love an excuse to eat s'mores?

I'll be headed back to capture the fun Mother's Day festivities... hopefully minus the snow.   ;)