Jesse & Mary-Sept. 22nd

My assistant Kelly and I had a great day last Saturday shooting a wedding in Columbia, PA. The ceremony was in a small beautiful stained glass church. Afterwards, the bridal party (and the photographers) loaded up on a big limo bus and headed up to Chiques Rock overlook for some bridal party pictures. The reception was in downtown Columbia at a place called A Taste of Styles. Kelly and I agree that we've never had better food! It was so scrumptious. The thing that was really fun and unique about this wedding was that there was a lot of kids invovled. There were 4 flower girls and two ringbearers. You just never know what they'll do. That's why I love it, because they are so unpredictable. The dance floor was hopping all night. I found myself laughing hysterically at some of the moves the guests were pulling out. Jesse and Mary, I pray that you would enjoy married life to its fullest. Thanks for inviting me to be a part of your wedding day.

Gideon

I wanted to give you an update on our little puppy, Gideon Ross. It's been awhile since I shared any pictures of him. He's growing so fast. I just took him to the vet today and he weighs almost 53 pounds already and he's not even 5 months old! I did a photo shoot with him one afternoon. A local artist saw him when I took him into her gallery and she was thrilled. She wants to paint a big portrait of him. So we walked right back home and I made him "smile" for Julia! He's so beautiful. Eric and I are really enjoying his companionship. I also added a few pictures of a recent hiking trip we took to the Pinnacle in Holtwood, PA. I shot a wedding this past weekend, so be watching for images coming soon from that.

Tanner-Sept. 17th

Last night I drove to Airville, PA. It's down below the Buck. It is a beautiful area with lots of farmland and woods. Tanner's family has a big farm with some calves, turkeys, and white tail deer. It was so much fun to be out in the country. I even got to ride around in the family's truck when we went from one location to the next. I felt like part of the family. Tanner is a worship leader at his church so we got some fun pictures of him with his guitar. He also is a hunter, but opted out of the camo shots! Tanner, I hope you enjoy your senior year at Lancaster Mennonite this year. You are a young man with many talents and your love for the LORD is evident in your gentle and inviting spirit. I am excited to do your family portraits in a few weeks. Thanks mom and dad for your part in the photo shoot. It's always nice to have extra hands to help me out.

Gobble, Gobble, Gobble...

Here are a few pictures of the turkeys on Tanner's family's farm in York, PA. I just got a big kick out of these guys. It made me want to run up and yell, "Gobble, gobble, gobble!" at the top of my lungs. I refrained since Tanner's whole family was standing right there.

Wenger Family-Sept. 8th

This family was very unusual and unique in the fact that there were 4 brothers who happened to be 2 sets of twins! At one point during the photo shoot I asked who the oldest son was. "We are," Darren and Dustin said at the same time. "Oh, you're twins, I didn't even think about it." I said. "We are too," said Chris and Ben. "WHAT! Two sets of twins in the same family!" I blurted out. I was so impressed. That is not a common occurrance. Their mom, Eileen is a twin herself. It will be interesting to see how many multiple births happen for the grandchildren. It must be fun having so many family members the same age. It's like having a young adult group in your own family! Thanks for a fun morning at East Lampeter Park!

Steph-Sept. 8th

County Park is a special and beautiful place to me. Eric and I had our engagement portraits taken there and so I like to go back and take wedding portraits and senior portraits there too. It's always so incredibly landscaped and colorful. Steph and her mom came down from Coatesville for a Saturday evening photo shoot with me. We had a lot of fun, even if we were sweating quite a bit. Steph has a sweet spirit all over her and those green eyes of hers are very captivating. I hope you can enjoy your field hockey season this year. I know it's frustrating to not be winning games. If nothing else, enjoy the other friendships on the team. As you prepare for college next year, I know you will pick the best school for you (I can still put a plug in for Messiah, even if your sisters went there, it really is a great college!) Enjoy some of my favorites, Steph and thanks for giving me the opportunity to do your senior portraits.

Matt & Cori-Sept. 6th

What a fun couple these two were. We headed up to Masonic Village for an evening engagement photo shoot. These guys are getting married in October in Bermuda. Talk about exciting! They have almost 40 friends and family members going with them which is even more special. Too bad they didn't book me for their wedding! That would be incredible. So, Matt and Cori have known each other for 7 years and are really great together. Cori is fun and bubbly and Matt is Mr. Smiley with a gentle spirit. Enjoy these last few weeks before you head to "paradise" for your wedding day. Thanks for giving me the opportunity to do your engagement pictures.

Bill & Melinda-August 25th

101 degrees, out door wedding, sweating profusely...need I say more? This was a memorable day for sure. The Two Mile House in Carlisle, PA was the setting for this wedding. It was gorgeous, but definitely a scorcher. Bill and Melinda were such great troopers through it all. Bill even stayed in his suit and tie, even though he was sweating buckets, because he wanted good pictures. I think we all lost a few pounds just perspiring. These guys were so laid back. It was so relaxing for Eric and I. It was like a big party where two people happened to be getting married. Now that's fun! Bill and Melinda both love burritos so you guessed it, that was the food of choice which was so fun for the guests. There were at least 10 different kids to pick from. The day was even complete with a bean bag toss out in the yard. Bill & Melinda, Eric and I are so excited for you as you begin your life together as one. God has brought you both together, even if it took a long time, I can testify that the longer the wait, the greater the rejoicing! So we rejoice with you like crazy! Marriage is a gift. Love each other deeply and love the LORD deeply.

Codorus State Park

This past weekend, Labor Day weekend, Eric and I headed out for our annual camping trip. It's crazy how much more room is taken up just bringing Gideon along! Imagine what it will be like when we have several kids and a dog...definitely need an SUV! Well, we left on Friday night thinking it would only take a little over an hour to get there. Needless to say, things didn't go quite as smoothly as planned. We ended up getting lost (thank you, Mapquest) and made it there in two hours instead of one. So we get to our campsite and it's literally out in the middle of a big grass field. I guess when I made reservations I didn't know you had to specifically ask, "Is this campsite in the woods?" Seems like that would be a given, but nope. So, that was frustrating and to top it all off, we were unpacking things and getting ourselves set up and Eric looks at our camp stove and says, "Oh no!" "Don't even tell me we forgot the propane tank!" I said. Yes, sad to say, it was true. We had packed everything and the kitchen sink, but forgot the blasted propane tank to cook our food with. I was sure there would be a camp store with items in that people often forget, but there was no store and "town" was about a 20 minute drive away. So there I was zooming down back roads at dusk on the hunt for propane. Two stops later, tired, hungry, and a little out of sorts, I had what I needed. Now, it's a funny story to tell, but in the moment, there wasn't much laughter. After we got past all of that, the weekend was tons of fun and so relaxing for all of us. Eric enjoyed seeing Gideon retrieving so well from the water. He loves to be wet. We went hiking and had a picnic, read, made smores, and I even took my guitar along. There is something so refreshing about being out in God's creation. I feel like I can go back and face my "to do list" with a much better attitude when I am enjoying the great outdoors. Just wanted to share a few fun pictures from our time.