A Day In The Life ...: April 2011

It's always really exciting to hear when someone is having a baby....no matter who it is. But that excitement goes beyond any normal level when it's your best friend. It was one thing when she called on Valentines Day two years ago and left a voicemail that scared me more than anything. I could tell she had been crying and she said, "Where are you? Why aren't you answering your phone? I NEED to talk to you!" I called her back semi-afraid of what she needed to tell me which in fact turned out to be that she had gotten engaged hahaha. I think after I told her how scared I was listening to her voicemail, she took it down a notch when telling me that her and Chris were going to have a baby. But it really didn't matter how mellow she was in telling me, I was excited beyond belief, however I couldn't express it because I WAS at work :o). In any case, we are just a couple weeks away from meeting this beautiful baby boy that will be more than spoiled by his family and all his aunties.

I wanted to capture a few shots for Chris and Elissa just as a treasure to keep and of course we laughed hysterically during most of it but I managed to get a few good shots. I can't wait to meet little Ben ... he better be REAL prepared for all the love he's going to endure <3.

March 26th, 2011 my brother and his wife renewed their vows to one another one year after getting married in an intimate affair on March 25th, 2010. Family and friends gathered together to witness the renewal of the binding love between the two of them and pretty much nothing could go wrong....well except for Jeff (aka their "minister") being held up on a plane with no pilot because the computer systems went amuck...but him and Jenelle eventually made it! I took a few moments to take in the visuals that lay before me and I realized that sometimes we have to just stop look around and take a picture, not just with your camera but in your mind. Embrace the vision of love, happiness with the sounds of laughter and chatter. Watching the people I care about so happy filled me with this uplifting feeling that I will never forget...I will say it over and over again as you read these blogs that I literally have THE MOST AMAZING family. The way they laugh, the way they smile, the way they love with everything they have, the way they support, the way they appreciate life ... Every member of my family amazes me in one way or another and I know that if a day ever came that I had nothing but my family that would still make me the luckiest, richest person I know.

I smiled as I watched my uncle twirl the glowing bride around on the dance floor...I smiled as I watched my brother so handsome and so grown up converse with everyone, all with this big smile on his face and his chest out so proud of this love he had found and will have for the rest of his life and quite honestly HAD for most of his life.

Let me take a few steps back here...Aaron and Cara met years ago in grade school, our families shared holidays, vacations to Vegas, Laughlin, camping to name a few. They were destined from the beginning...and while they tested fate many times from the ages of 13 to the age of 30 they realized it was meant to be After All. There's something about destiny, fate, and soul mates that is so magical....the twists, the turns, the ups, the downs, the laughs, the cries, the tests, the trials....none of it matters because whats meant to be will be. It's no wonder they chose After All as their wedding song:

"After all the stops and starts
We keep coming back to these two hearts
Two angels who've been rescued from the fall
And after all that we've been through
It all comes down to me and you
I guess it's meant to be
Forever you and me
After all"

As I watched them renew their vows smiling it all felt more right than it ever had before. They danced their first dance and smiled and whispered to one another.

Life is funny, it's funny because at the end of the day things JUST WORK. Whether you think it's been a bad day, or you maybe got frustrated about something, or you cried a good cry for no reason you can explain....it kind of all is worth it for moments like this when NOT ONE THING in the whole world seems wrong: It's exactly how it should be....it's just right!