first snow !

We got our first major snow in a LONG time here on Saturday ! The verdict is still out, but it has been rumored we got between 6 and 8 inches - which is a lot for this area to get in one day! It is very beautiful & the kids love it - but it also meant lots of nasty driving conditions and cancellations. [Like, I was supposed to shoot a 1st birthday party, but it got post-poned, and I already had other plans to be out of state on the day it got moved to -sad panda-]

We were also supposed to drive to Maryland Saturday afternoon to spend the night at our Pastor's house and then be there for church Sunday morning and their MAJOR production of a puppet show! [Photos of that coming later!] However, with the roads so bad, we opted to go back to plan A, which was to leave early Sunday morning and drive the 2 hours in before church.

By Sunday morning, the roads were cleared and we had no problems driving up into the mountains. While we got 6-8 inches - they got almost 18 inches of snow!! And, that's normal for them. Eek.

Having all that covering everything sure makes for some BEAUTIFUL scenery!! It was super cold [about 18* when we arrived] but we did make it over to our cabin in between church, lunch with the Pastor and his family, and the puppet show. AND - to top it all off, the sun came out and the skies cleared up for a short period of time while we were at the cabin - so of course my photography side was just DYING of happiness!!







The lake isn't QUITE frozen over yet. In some spots it definitely looked like it was on it's way to being thick enough to walk on - but as you got farther out the inlet and closer to the main part of the lake, the ice thinned and then disappeared altogether. Dad wants to go back sometime in late January or early February when the ice is super thick so we can walk on it!! It's definitely a cool experience - people snow-mobile and ice-fish. It's pretty wild to walk out to the middle of the lake where we typically swim!!

Oh, and the rest of these photos were just snapped as we were driving around - yes taken THROUGH a dirty window. I was super impressed with how they turned out =D

mini vacation time !

Before I run off and get hitched - and move to the other end of the world and never see my family again [or so some people seem to think will happen =D] : Mom wanted to have a Mother/Daughter getaway time for just the two of us. Of course, she also conveniently wanted to come visit Berlin, OH and do a little Christmas shopping - haha. So, we put the two and two together and you get a Mother/Daughter mini vacation getaway weekend [in the middle of the week] !

Mom picked this amazing place to stay overnight here in Ohio - it's SO beautiful - see for yourself :

oh - and this is the theater - the ONLY hotel in Ohio that has a private theater ?! man alive - who builds a room like this into their hotel ? It was amazing !!

the story in an image

I was going thru' photos this afternoon [surprised?] and I came across this one: and I realized, I never blogged about Naomi's baby showers !! Oh, I'm such a bad [almost] sister-in-law. But it seems silly to blog about them now: now that PJ is already born and almost 2 months old !

However, I couldn't resist this image: Isn't it so darling? No, Mom, sorry but I don't think it will fit you - although yes it will look adorable on your new baby =D

I just couldn't help it: I love this photo ! It tells so much of a story - the connection between new Mom & baby, the slight smile on her face tells how happy she is and the great anticipation on meeting this little one, and well gosh, its just so darling how could you NOT eat it all up? :)

.. the ceremony

I'm nearing the end of editing Alicia & Justin's wedding and I figured it was time to post some of my favorites from their ceremony.

I haven't been to many wedding ceremonies, but I doubt I'll ever attend another like this one. The format was just different - the second half was the traditional wedding service, but the first half was different: they had a time of worship & singing, then played a video proclaiming the gospel through mime, then Alicia and a few other ladies did a worship dance - and then the "traditional" section of the ceremony started.

I have to admit, when I first heard about their format, I was a little skeptical. This was a wedding and it just sounded strange to me. But - I truly did enjoy it !! It was different but in a good way and it all seemed to blend together beautifully. The gospel message was clearly proclaimed and Jesus was definitely the center of their ceremony.

Glancing over to see Justin for the first time :)

[I think this is one of my new favorites =D]

Toward the end of the ceremony, they asked anyone who felt led, to come forward to pray for Justin & Alicia and their new lives together. I loved how large a group of people got up to pray for them. It was so cool to see !!

MARRIED !

I LOVED this shot I got during the portraits ! This is Justin's Dad & brothers - and Alicia gets major props for trusting me - and them - to be picked up by all these guys !! =D

are you hungry?

if you weren't hungry - you might be after you see these photos :)

.. the before =D

SO, let's start at the very beginning :)

I caught Maddy jumping out of the car & running into the church. She was so excited ! Her Mommy was marrying this amazing man named Justin today ! =D

A few more detail shots : the rings

Alicia's gorgeous dress !!

Before putting on her dress, Alicia helped Maddy - such a sweet moment :)

Maddy is a completely gorgeous little girl - definitely her Mommy's girl.

I LOVED Alicia's hair - so gorgeous ! She really didn't get emotional as in crying while putting on her dress - she was so excited ! She kept letting out little screams and then covering her mouth and going "I'm so sorry ! But I'm just so excited !!" =D

A few people got sneak peaks of Alicia in her dress : Larissa & Cheri came up to pray for her

Catching a glimpse in the mirror.

Like I said, she was SO excited the whole time she was getting ready !

Utterly gorgeous too

This is Alicia's Grandma who came up to see her - and complete a special tradition in Alicia's family.

She sewed a piece of red thread into the hem of Alicia's dress

A little more prayer ..

Shoes..

A hug from Mom.. and she was ready to go !