We grew closer and closer to the Moons through our churches Young Married’s group. We would gather every Wednesday at the Garcia’s house to share our hearts, our lives, our mistakes, our victories. I miss those times…

Joe and Spencer also worked together for some time in Joe’s business…Mobile IT. Spencer loved working with him because Joe had a way of always encouraging Spencer and making him feel like a million bucks…even if they weren’t making that much money yet! Thanks Joe for always lovin’ up on Spencer…well, not in THAT way. You know what I mean!

Julie is also a photographer in town… a hot one! We got our start together. Although I had taken photography classes in college, digital was new to both of us so we took a class at the Lyndon House together. Our teacher didn’t teach us too much, but we still had fun! She also took pictures of me pregnant with Xander and most importantly, took the last family picture of Spencer and the kids before his second surgery. I cannot thank her enough for those pictures….

Love you guys!

And she had hair of onyx, like her mother, it even had some curl.

Here’s the store, of a man named Gene, who was in the military zone.

He was one man, and had it all together,  yet he was all alone.

Till the one day when the lady met this fellow, and they knew it was much more than a hunch,

That these two would somehow form a family.

That’s the way the two became the DeWulf Bunch. The DeWulf Bunch…

WOW. That was the cheesiest thing I’ve done in a while. Forget I just sang that to you. But srsly, I was so excited when I was asked to come and photograph a very special birthday…a 60th birthday! Berma, or B’Ma, as the grandkids know her, is an incredible woman. I love the dynamics between Berma and Gene, her husband. He’s the refined, dare I say strict, and by the book Army Colonel (retired now). She’s a feisty and cheerful Puerto Rican with a ton of energy! Their love story reminds me of a movie scene: tall, handsome soldier walks into the officer’s club on base and asks the cute, bubbly nurse to dance. They dated, got married, had three beautiful kids. Now, in the last two years, they’ve become grandparents of 5, yes 5, grandkids. And one on the way will make 6. So blessed.

Happy Birthday Berma! Thanks for letting me come hang out and eat your yummy food! You have a beautiful family and a beautiful heart!

Jennifer wanted to take some cute, vintagey (is that a word?) pictures for Mother’s Day! Their girls couldn’t be any different from one another, and yet, you can feel the love they share! I asked them who the quiet, shy one was (Chloe), who the funniest and most inventive one was (Hannah), and who the silliest and craziest was (Shelby). We had a lot of fun pretending to be models, dancing like the stars, and trying on vintage clothing (tee hee).

Girls, I had a blast and I can’t wait to spend more time with you playing dress-up and having a singing and dancing party! Never lose your joy and zeal for life!

Quiet one

the funny one

the crazy one!!

I had a blast just following the boys around…using caterpillars this time for bribery (instead of the silly bands!). I met up with the Sledge family at Harris Shoals Park, walked around, caught caterpillars, created some artwork, and slid down the most incredibly fast (and dangerous) slide in a 50 mile radius!

I have so much respect for Mary and Jason! It takes a lot of energy to keep up with three little kiddos…let alone three little boys! I feel so honored to photograph your beautiful and adventurous (and growing!) family!

I was fortunate enough to finally meet up with Rebecca and her family recently in Athens for a photo shoot. Rebecca knew Spencer when he was just a boy and has been a huge supporter of our journey…and now, of me. Extremely creative herself, I can proudly say I’ve met my first official glass blower. Yes–she knows how to blow glass! I mean, how many people can say that?!? This is just one of her many creative outlets she’s pursued over her life. I can honestly say that some of the cooler shots of the day were her brain-child!

Her girls are beautiful and funny…and so very “tween”! Her husband looks like The Rock and can make some of the funniest faces I’ve seen!

Faithful and encouraging, I felt so blessed to finally get a chance to hang out with them! I’d also been dying to shoot in a new location I will admit, one shot was inspired by another local photographer (thanks Frankie for the inspiration!).

Love you guys!

Upon stepping out of the car, I knew we were in for a fun and spirit-filled photo session. Jill and Dwayne have a beautiful family…as in their children should seriously be models. With their wide eyes, big, captivating smiles and pleasant disposition they were so easy to photograph…even while picking their noses and pretending to eat their boogies (they truly did this…it was hilarious!). Jill and Dwayne were classic opposites…Dwayne being pensive, quiet and “endearingly serious” and Jill being loud(er), creative and a free-spirit. Kinda reminds me of me and Spence.

Jill & Dwayne, I had a wonderful time with your family…getting to know you and playing around in Athens! Thanks for trekking out to see me and encouraging me all the while!

Told ya they were picking their noses...and yet, it's cute, right?!?

I had the pleasure of photographing sweet Reagan at Memorial Park last weekend. She’s sweet and funny and her favorite question is “Why?”…but then again, what 6 year olds’ isn’t!?! We swung on the swings (is that correct grammar?), checked out the geese…we even found a baby frog…and to make it even better, said baby frog peed on Reagan’s mama. You know it’s been a good photo shoot when something like that happens!

On a more serious note, Melanie (her mama) was a big support to me when I was going through all that I did with Spencer. Even though we never met until this past weekend, her encouraging emails lifted my spirits on days when I needed it most. She recently even told me, “You know, one of the things I’ve admired about you since I first started reading your blog last year is the constant testimony you present to everyone and how obvious it is that you have such a special relationship with Christ. Thank you so much for inviting me to visit your church! You have my permission to stay on me about it – hehee! I do want to come check it out very soon.”

Yeah, that’s the best compliment someone could give me. Thanks Melanie! See you at church Sunday?!?

They are a movie-watching family  so we headed over to Cine downtown for some cool shots. We walked next door to check out a cool vintage shop called Modern Star as well. What I appreciated that most about this family is that you can just sense their deep love and devotion to each other…even the brother and sister. Although they could have been at each others throats (like most young children can be) they just loved up on each other. If I said “give your brother a hug” there was not a second of hesitation. (Lord, please let my children be that way!) There were lots of hugs, kisses, smiles…and most importantly…lots of tickles!

Angelica and James, you’ve done a great job raising your kiddos and you have a tremendously beautiful family!

To call her the glue that held our family together would be an understatement–and by family I don’t just mean my immediate family growing up. My mother has a heart for family. She exemplifies James 1:17 “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” Although she’s never adopted, she definitely took in “orphans” from our own family. At one point she took in her 16 year old unruly nephew to help straighten him out. Her mother (my grandmother) also lived with us numerous times over the course of my life. She even later helped another of my cousins out when he made the move from California to Georgia and needed help getting on his feet. She has ALWAYS put family first and herself last.

Although life’s not always been a bed of roses for her, she’s never given up, never given in. She has a quiet strength about her that you can only detect in moments of suffering and pain. That is not to say that she is not also vulnerable though…she is. After losing both sisters and step-father to cancer  and her mother to emphysema, my mom didn’t have much left in terms of immediate family members. After Spencer died last year we prayed that this would be the end of tragic family deaths (at least for a while, we are all obviously going to die). For some reason, God has chosen not to answer that prayer. Shortly after the new year, my mom’s stepmother died and her father today at 2:30 EST.

Besides my sister and I (and a couple neices and nephews) my mother will have no remaining immediate family left…and she’s just barely over 50.

There is a loneliness that comes with that truth. A sadness at the inevitability of life. It makes me want to scoop up my children and tell them how much I love them. It makes me want to call my mom every day and tell her how much she means to me and how much she’s inspired me over the years. It makes me want to hug my sister and tell her despite all our differences that she is a beautiful, compassionate woman whom I admire and love.

Don’t let the time pass you by without telling someone how much you love them. How much you care. We aren’t guaranteed to have these people in our lives forever.

Mom, I love you. I’m so sorry about your dad and everyone else. I don’t know why God has taken them all away. I don’t have the answers. I know His ways are not my ways.

ps-Be looking out for a big hug and kiss when I see you.

pss-I love you too Curtis…thanks for loving my mom and taking such good care of her.

psss-I love all the Whitworth family too…what would I do without you?

Cherish the time.