Gideon-July 9th

There's a new kid on the block. Eric and I are officially owners of our first puppy, Gideon Ross! He is a purebred chocolate lab and he is only 9 weeks old. We are so in love with him! We've been talking about getting a dog for awhile now, but never got serious about it. Well, our friends made us aware that they were selling chocolate lab puppies. Monday night we went to "look at him", pretty much knowing full well that we would be coming home with him. As soon as we saw him we knew we were not going home without him! After a trip to the store to get all the puppy supplies we needed, we headed home with our new "baby." It honestly is like having a child. He is constantly needing something-food, water, a potty break, a scolding, some lovin', etc. We (Eric & I, and Gideon) are all learning so much about living together in the same house. Everyone looks at his paws and says,"Oh my, he's going to be big!" And we got the runt of the litter. We are excited about adopting Gideon into our family and hope that a lot of you can come and visit him. He loves to give kisses and is definitely up for walks and playing with whoever comes over!

Kelly-July 10th

I'm pretty sure it was the hottest day of the summer so far today! Kelly and I found out that even if you do an early morning photo shoot, it doesn't stop you from sweating like crazy. We made it though and it was a lot of fun for both of us. Kelly is another one of my field hockey girls that I coached from LMH. She is a quality woman who loves the LORD and has such a gentle spirit and huge heart. Kel, I am excited to see you develop as a leader as you prepare for your senior year.

Kennel Family-July 7th

Well, 19 people can sound kind of like a zoo, but it actually went very smoothly. The Kennel's have a great location for a family photo shoot and the 9 kids did a super job! Each family has it's own personality and it's fun to see them be who they are behind my lens. All of them were so laid back and easy to work with. Eric and I had a lot of fun with all of you. I know this was a special time for your family since some of you will be moving to another state in a few weeks. May these pictures be a great reminder of the closeness a family can share.

Rocky Mountain High

June 23rd-30th...This year for our vacation Eric and I decided to head to Colorado, which is where we went for our honeymoon four years ago. It's absolutely the most beautiful countryside we've ever seen. We started in Denver visiting my cousin and some friends and then went on to about 10 different places and put on over 800 miles on our rental car! The speed limit is usually 75 so you just cruise everywhere which is helpful since everything is so spread out. We did lots of different activities like horseback riding, hiking, white water rafting, shopping at REI (every outdoors lover's dream store), stayed in a cabin in the middle of nowhere and also a house that overlooked Estes Park, stopped in at the Rocky Mountain YMCA (which is huge...nothing like the one here in the city on Queen Street), drove through Rocky Mountain National Park and to the top of Pike's Peak, had lots of picnics, took lots of pictures, went out to eat (I even had lobster!), watched some really good movies ( I think, Joseph, King of Dreams is a new favorite of ours), and were completely refreshed! It's always so great to go away for awhile, but it's also good to be home and back to the things we love around here. Below are some of my favorite shots. I found it really hard to capture the true splendor of the mountains. They are so big and we are so small. You have to go and see them yourself sometime! To think about the fact that God carved those huge mountains with his hands...wow, kind of makes you realize how incredible our Creator really is. I stand in awe of You, LORD.

Mary-June 20th

It's that time of year...senior portraits! I must admit that these are my favorite kind of photo shoots. I love the one on one time which really allows me to focus on bringing out each senior's personality. I used to coach junior varsity field hockey at Lancaster Mennonite School and Mary was one of my girls that I coached. She is such a sweetheart and super fun with the camera. Her sincere smile and radiant personality show up quickly in these shots. Mary, I am excited for you to begin your senior year at LMH. You are a true leader and I am so proud of you!