Good Friday

JUMP FOR JOY! cause winter's over.

(WARNING: I might ramble in this post.)

A new season.

A new post.

As always, I've failed miserably in the blogging world. I could blog everyday if I wanted to. I have enough to say, just not enough pictures to go with it.

Spring. There is something about it. The freshness of the air. The brightness of the flowers. The happiness of the people.

Whatever it is, I'm not complaining. You know it's been a long winter when the first day it's over 50 degrees and:

1) everyone on campus is going outside for a run and usually with somebody else

2) the gym is deserted

3) when going on said run the smell of a bbq and cigars fill the air

4) everyone is wearing shorts and/ or a tank top, or no shirt at all rather.

It's Good Friday today. I went to a Good Friday service from 2-3 pm, around the same time of the day Jesus was crucified. It was convicting, as it should have been. During the beginning of the service, I was thinking about how much in my life I need to change/ fix/ work on, all of my imperfections, basically all of my "humanness", when it suddenly hit me (I know, it takes me longer sometimes)...this is WHY it happened. This...this sinfulness of mine is WHY I'm here today, at this Good Friday Service reflecting. It's why Good Friday exists. It's why He died. For a long time I used to think of the crucifixion as a blanket forgiveness for the human race, but never specific to me. Of course my sins are forgiven, but it's not like Jesus did it just for me.

I hate to admit it, but I am wrong. I like being right. I fight to be right. But this time, I realized how wrong I am. This was even more convicting for me. Still convicting. Still thinking about it.

So much to think about. Easter does this every year, and I'm so thankful. I need it.

“Sovereign Lord, now let your servant die in peace,
as you have promised.
I have seen your salvation,
which you have prepared for all people.
He is a light to reveal God to the nations,
and he is the glory of your people Israel!”
Luke 2:29-32

The same passage I posted last year.

Peace...may you find it this Easter season.

H.

only one person stalks my blog. but i'm okay with that. i'd rather have one amazing person look at my blog everyday than a thousand awful ones.

Owen Foster

On my dad's side of the family, I am the oldest granddaughter. Just a few days ago, there were 13 grandchildren, 9 of which are girls. Prior to New Year's Eve 2009 the family spent much time discussing names (both boy and girl) for the anticipated new cousin. As we gathered for three days after Christmas most of the family put much thought into this. We never came to an agreed conclusion, but that didn't keep HIM from making his arrival...just in time to celebrate the New Year with us and to help balance out the male-female ratio.

2009 was a wonderful year of opportunities with photography for me. I did a lot of firsts including a wedding, several engagement, and multiple family shoots. But still, there was only one thing missing: a newborn baby. I have never taken pictures of one, and there couldn't be a more perfect time than in the beginning of the year. I was ecstatic that he came a few days early so I had the chance to see him before I went back to school. He was welcomed by his older siblings-- Jacob, Maggie & Simon, who were all willing to have their picture taken with him (minor coaxing needed). It took some time to convince Simon that this was for the better, but I think it was worth it.
L-R: Jacob, Maggie, Simon
I spent the afternoon at their house taking some pictures here and there, leaving lots of time for many photographic moments.


As far as the baby goes, he is peaceful and quite precious. I probably couldn't have taken enough pictures of Owen. I can't wait until I can do this again! (Any takers??)

Owen's siblings could not get enough of him. They were literally fighting over who got to hold him next. Above: this one of Simon (age 2) is probably my favorite.



Happy New Year to all! One of my goals this year is to blog more than once every two months! We'll see how that goes...

This One's for Lisa

My wonderful friend, Lisa, told me today that it's been too long since I've updated on here. Knowing this is true, but denying it for several months now, I decided that I couldn't resist anymore. Let's face it, I've had some unique "photographic" opportunities over the past fall, and I have yet to post about any of them. I should never go a whole season without blogging because now I am so overwhelmed by all of the pictures I could be posting that I don't even know where to start.

But before I do, I'll start by saying that I've been all over the place this semester, busier than ever. I haven't had time to sit down and reflect on my life, my circumstances, and sometimes blogging is a good opportunity to do just that. So, even though this is a photography blog, I am going to let it be personal just this once (okay, I take that back...it might happen again.) I've had a rather difficult semester, not for any particular reason, just that life can be full of ups and downs. I had the most incredible summer of my life away from reality (this was an up part of life), living in seclusion at a wonderful camp in western Pennsylvania where I didn't have to face the problems life can throw at you on a daily basis. I was away from everyone I ever knew, which left me with the only constant in my life- God. It sounds cliche, but for those two months I felt closer to my Heavenly Father than I ever have. Because I took a step back from the day-to-day living that our culture immerses us in, I was able to see God in every situation, in every detail, in nature, in people, in hardship, in happiness... I spent so much concentrated time getting to know Him without any other distraction, that I actually began to know Him for more than what I just assumed He was. Although I've been a so-called "Christian" for many years, it wasn't until this summer that I felt like I KNEW God in real ways. Even though I still barely know Him in comparison to who he really is (because He is so mighty, vast, and intricate), it was a small taste of something wonderful. To say the least, adjusting back to the "real world" was well, a culture shock in many ways (this was when a down part of life kind of happened). I've spent the past three months trying to figure life out again, how it works, why it is the way it is, and why I suddenly don't have the ability to experience God like I did then. Don't get me wrong, He is still everything to me that He was on those beautiful mornings at the lake when I got to talk with Him over the summer, but it's not just me and God anymore. Throw classes, grades, school, friends, family, temptation, sadness, my own desires, selfishness, injury, ME ME ME, others, etc... into the mix and suddenly it's like I'm trying to talk to Him through a crowd. Or am I? Maybe it's the opposite.

A few weeks back, one of the directors from Summer's Best Two Weeks, (the place where I spent this glorious summer) Timotheus Pope, spoke at Messiah. He asked us a very basic question during one of his sessions: "Is God enough?". It sounds simple, and initially my response was "Yes, He is! Always will be. Duh." And then I realize what Timotheus is talking about. He isn't asking if God is enough when I have a ton of other earthly things on top of that. He was asking if God is enough if I only have God and nothing else. That's a hard thing for me to answer. Because yes, God was more than enough this summer, when I did have what seemed like nothing. But now that I have the option of other things, I tend to choose them over Him. That's the part of life I'm working on. I could go on and on about this, and I wish I could bring this full circle and say that it relates to my photography and this blog, but I can't. God needs to be enough for me. I can't cling to life and what is around me so tightly, ignoring the One I should be living for instead. I promise I won't ever wait this long to post again and abruptly pour my heart out to you over an online blog.

So this fall (or since I last posted): Two engagements, two HS seniors, one wedding, one family and much more... here are some of my favorites. No particular order, just enjoy. I hope you find a little bit of happiness in these pictures. They are filled with something we could all use a little more of: love...true, authentic, REAL love that our world is often missing. Loving others, especially others that are seemingly unlovable is a difficult thing. This is another thing I'm learning these days, although I should probably save that for a later post.
But speaking of love, I leave you with this. (It's for you and it's for me, because I need to be reminded of it too.)

1 Peter 4:8
"Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins."