Leaving Home

I have to apologize for not blogging so much this month. We're closing on our home and just moved out... yesterday as a matter of fact. It's somewhat bitter-sweet, because part of me understands it's just a building, a bunch of lumber, and it's fading away just like anything else in this world. But it's also been more than just a place to hang your hat.
The steps, where my boy took his first major tumble in his walker, scared us to death.
The dining room where Abby was chewing on sweet corn from the garden when she was just a baby.
In the living room is where Logan accepted Christ into his heart, and on the hardwood floor in the kitchen is where my little girl figured out how to twirl in her Sunday dress...

I remember the day we had to bury our kitty in the back yard after a run-in with a dog...my son sitting with droopy shoulders on the front porch, fighting back the tears and yet happy to see me because he thought that I was going to fix his cat and make her all better.

I remember taking off the training wheels for my girl this summer as she flew down the sidewalk and took her spill into the grass. I remember putting the training wheels back on after that. :)

All of the Christmas mornings and the snowball fights, the Easter Egg hunts and the birthday parties, the early hours spent listening to the birds, sipping coffee with Kari on the back porch, smelling the lilacs bloom.

It's hard because we have a tendency to tie all of those great moments in life to a place. But really, when you think about it, the house is not really where those memories live. Those memories have a home in my heart. And it's the people that we get to spend this precious life with that really matter. They make the memories, not the house.

Christmas will still come and we'll still color funny looking eggs in the Spring. The seasons will still be sprinkled with cake and ice cream and there will still be notches on some wall, somewhere, marking the passage of childhood. With a little luck, there will be some pictures to remind the crumbsnatchers that they were, in fact, crumbsnatchers when they are older.

But as for the rest, it's just a matter of putting our trust in the only real constant. Setting our compass so we know where we're going and where we've been.

That True North is Christ, and everything else along the way is just a road from here to Him.

Happy Trails.

Emily

We're knee deep into senior sessions this time of year, so I wanted to showcase one of our most recent favorites, Emily. Her dress was a perfect fit for her personality.

Milo & Cody

This is easily going to be one of my favorite weddings of the year.

Milo is just about as sweet and natural as they come, and she set the day on fire with her smile and her special spark for life. I saw her long, flowing hair through the lens, and somehow I immediately pictured the wild horses that we've seen galloping in the mountains back home in Wyoming... Manes, whipping in the wind.

Cody is a true cowboy, and I don't say that because of the cattle or the ranch or the hat on his head. I say it because he was man enough to care about their pictures. Because he knew how important it was to Milo, he drove around the city parks and found good spots for the pictures, spots he thought she'd love.
He was there for her, and his focus was completely on her throughout their day.
The clothes don't make the man. It's where his treasures lie that sets the course of his life and the mark he leaves behind.

The reception was amazing. A barn wall and a great white tent, setup in the middle of the pasture under God's green grass and blue sky. There was a big dance floor guilded in golden sunlight, and to me it was more beautiful than any venue or event hall the city could ever hope to offer.

We found her dad that morning amidst the bustle of family, setting up the tables, and I told him that I really liked his mailbox, a welded picture of a man on his knees in reverence to the cross.


His words were, to me, the most important of the day,

"It doesn't mean anything if God doesn't get the glory. It's all because of him."

Amen.

Ashleigh & Jeremy ~ 7.7.07

Our 7.7.07 wedding was with a very down to earth couple, and we had a great time.
At the ceremony, Ashleigh's dad actually knighted Jeremy, passing the torch to him to take care of his daughter and to be there for her in his faith.
Spiritually, it's not something I've ever seen at a wedding, but the wisdom behind the idea was profound.
Of all the advice fathers could say to a newly wed couple, it's hardly ever mentioned to be prepared for the spiritual battle. To keep God in the middle and our selves out of the way, remembering that the two are one, and to tap into His strength, His love, His wisdom, when times do, and will, get hard.
Being married 13 years, I can look back and say that it would have been the best advice for us.
Now, would we have paid any attention back then, at 19 years old, practically deaf to anything outside of eachother during our wedding ceremony...hmmmmm.
I remember looking into her eyes, fluttering lashes, watching her lips move in slow motion, singing to her under my breath...the rest?
It's a blur.

Heather & Jason

These two had a beautiful wedding at the Sioux Falls Cathedral.
Part of Heather's dress didn't make the trip to the church, so Heather was stuck in the dressing room a little longer than she wanted to be, but it was a very minor hiccup.
We knew tons of people at this wedding, so it made the day very exciting for both Kari and I. When we got to the reception hall there were no guests yet, so after a few detail shots we walked a block to the pub where we knew we'd find the wedding party. Everyone was shooting pool and playing video games, and we got some "unique" shots.
The flower girl was a little bummed when she found out she didn't have a seat at the head table, and I overheard her conversation with her Daddy,
"That table is just for the wedding party, honey."
"But I'm part of the wedding party..."
Good thing she has such a great dad to turn that frown upside down. :)

Monica & Ryan

We had a great time with Monica and Ryan at Tuthill. From the bagpipes to Dad's special extra touch with the bride's bouquet, it was a day to remember. The weather was great and when you've got that big old house to get ready in, it feels like a home away from home.
Monica stood at the window, watching for Ryan to arrive, looking beautiful as ever, telling me that he's always late for these kinds of things.
And he was late. But from the moment he showed up to when we said our goodbye's at the reception, he was focused on nothing but his Monica, and when I say focused, I mean focused.
Ryan is a police officer. He's a serious guy, eyes like a hawk and sharp as a tack, but when she looks at him, he's all smiles. I think she has a place in his heart that he's kept just for her and noone else.
Monica is not the serious type. She has a great love for life and it shows. She'll grow the bond in their marriage just by keeping things fresh and interesting.
Just in the short time I've known them, it's easy to see that they compliment one another. She is the rest of him and vice versa. They can literally talk about anything, and that's a great beginning.

Amber & Chad

I'm over a month behind in posting sessions and weddings. I've decided I'm going to blame it on my assistant Kara, for getting married and ditching me for the last couple of weeks. :P Just kidding. It's all my fault.
Here's a few shots from Amber and Chad's wedding.
We got to play around with a few locations at this wedding. From Augie and Ole to The Falls, then the Pavilion and the downtown streets of Sioux Falls, these two had a beautiful day.
The lines of Ambers dress and the style of Chad's tux really gave the shots a classic feel.
Amber if you remember was this tough girl that braved the deep, deep snow and severly cold weather for her engagement pictures (impressing me completely), and yet on her wedding day, here she was, the essence of grace.