Dinner with the Newman's & SING!

Wednesday, I got to go see my dear friend Cherith and her family! It's always so great to see her and this time was especially exciting because she had a baby girl about a month ago, and this was the first time I'd seen her! And she was totally precious. :) I mean, who doesn't love to hold a baby? It's the most peaceful thing in the world. It was so fun and special to see my middle school/high school friend with her growing family of 4. :D

This weekend is SING! at HSU, which is always a blast. I went last night, and it tugged at my heart a little, knowing this would be my last SING! to enjoy as a student. It also marks a very important beginning in my life--the beginning of my photography career. That's right, my very first (paying) shoot was taking photos at SING! :) My, how time has flown! It's the funniest thought to me that I didn't care one bit about photography 2 years ago, and now I can't imagine life without it. Life is crazy! :D

Wedding Weekend!

This weekend, my dearest friends Chase and Kassie got married! It was wonderful! I got to shoot their wedding, so head to the photog-blog to see it all! Here are a couple of my favorites.

I really owe a lot to Chase and Kassie. During one of the hardest months of my life, they really shined as friends and helped me keep my joy. When I was first beginning in photography, Chase helped me find opportunities that became the base of my business. Kassie has always been an amazing friend, and my favorite thing about her is her honesty. They are just wonderful and I'm so glad they're married! After something like four years of dating, it's about time! :)

My friend, Jamie.

Before reading: This is a seriously personal account that might only be significant to me, but I still wanted to write it. Sorry if I bore you or if this seems like too much information :)

This summer, I found such joy in being a part of a Beth Moore Bible study with some old and new friends. My friend Jamie, who led it, has been my friend since my Freshman year of college. I totally remember the night at Sonic when she introduced me to Brian Regan and his "Carolyn/Caroline" joke. I laughed so hard :) Anyway, Jamie and I had a rough time when we tried living in the same house our Junior year with 4 other friends (so that's six girls total in one house...yikes!!). After only lasting 6 months in that situation, I moved out, things calmed down, and we kinda went our separate ways. Then our Senior year, Jamie bravely announced she felt the Lord was calling her to leave and finish school at Wheaton and I didn't see her for a year. But she's been back this summer! And it's amazing how the Lord has restored our relationship and she's the biggest blessing to me! I don't know another person who has the ability to make things happen like Jamie does. She's the type of person who is bold and passionate enough to actually jump right into an intimidating problem to help fix it. The most exciting thing is that her boldness and passions are all for the Lord!

Anyway, I've been blessed, and I marvel when I look back and see how the Lord has refined us and brought us to the place where we are now as friends. Pretty cool.

On a funny note, last night our Bible study group got together to watch the weekly Beth Moore DVD, but we couldn't find the remote to the DVD player. Without it, you pretty much can't get the player to work...so after a time of worship and discussion, we gave up on finding the remote and watched the Women's Gymnastics on the Olympics! :) It was funny...I suppose you would've had to been there. :)

How do I write the rest of this? It's hard to communicate this without sounding trite or self-centered.

I'm so encouraged in my spiritual gifts though, after this Bible study. I've always loved to lead worship for small girls Bible studies that I've been a part of. The last time I got to do that was probably about a year ago. But people here recently have just been affirming that fact that I am gifted in that area, and that I should be using that gift to honor the Lord. It's exciting...

It's also unbelievably evident to my own eyes that this is a GIFT from the Lord. The fact that the Lord uses me and that people are encouraged is ONLY because of the Lord. I know this because the Lord has used me, to spur people to His heart, when my own heart has been struggling with sincerity in my faith. I am overjoyed to serve a God who raises up people who are not perfect, people who struggle with things, people who mess up...He specifically uses us to advance His kingdom. What an undeserved honor! It humbles me!

Swift Joy.

Nothing Brings People Together Like A Wedding!

Another one of my dear friends got married-- what a special time I'm living in! :) Hailey and Adam's wedding was last night and I have to say, the word to describe this wedding was precious. It just filled me with so much happiness. They were both so radiant and overwhelmed with the other all night! It was beautiful and I'm so glad I got to be a part of it. I've known both Hailey and Adam since Middle School! I'm so thankful for their friendship. They are both the most loyal friends and just have such a spirit of peace and contentment about them. I love it!

Hailey's eyes were just shining all night!
Hanging out with all my married/engaged friends...crazy!!
My favorite thing about their wedding was that it was like a reunion of all my dearest high school friends! I hadn't seen most of these people in years, so it was great! Most people want to forget high school, but I was totally blessed by my friends in HS. We were all in choir together and loved it! :) This is a group picture of all of us...4 years later! I have so many memories with these special people. 

Warning: It gets sappy...

Wow, I've been neglecting the ol' blog! Haven't blogged in a week!

Summer is coming to a close and I'm not going to lie, I'm kinda happy. Summers are wonderful, but too much free time can get boring. And when I have free time I just think and think and think. Too much thinking can get boring too. :) I'm very ready to see friends I've missed and get back to my lovely little apartment (which I rearranged yesterday!).

So highlights since I left you hanging:

1. I went to Dallas for a weekend to see my brother and his wife and their puppy! It was good times had by all.
2. HSM2 Soundtrack came out! Can't wait for the movie. I know I'm a nerd...who cares?
3. Set up a date for our Girls Bible Study leaders to meet and share thoughts, pray, and worship our great God.
4. Found Carla Bruni, a folk singer from France and fell in love with her chilled sound! (Her french album is the best.)

Yep, that's mostly it! I told you...not much going on towards the end of summer.

Can I just share something sappy? One of my favorite things this summer has been the journey towards photography as a career for me. The thing that makes it so special to me is that now I take time to notice the smallest details of beauty throughout the day. It has made me so much more aware of how the Lord's hand is active in our lives. The tiniest thing, like leaves on a green tree, can make me smile and praise my God. And that makes my day so much sweeter. I want to be obsessed with Him. He is so good. Another little thing, I found a quote by Jeff and Julia Woods, a photography couple with FOUR kids, and it just made me happy. Quite honestly, (and this is the full Caroline here, holding nothing back) I wanted to pursue photography in the beginning because I could look cool. I had this mentality that it would be all about me. Terrible pride. But now I see things so much differently. The Lord has opened my eyes again to the fact that I am not here on earth for me, but I am here for Him, and to be his hands, feet, arms, heart, to those around me. I am no longer trying to build myself into an amazing person to be looked at, but I am in awe that the Lord might want to show Himself through me. I am only a vessel...and to be such I need to be empty of all my pride and self-centeredness.

Anyway, here's that quote: “As we grow together with our four children, we continue to learn that our most precious treasure comes from the relationships we share with family and friends. This is what feeds our passion for our profession. We count it a great honor to be given the opportunity to capture images that encourage our clients to embrace the relationships and the special times in their lives.”
–Jeff and Julia Woods

You are a window the sun shines through

Hi everyone, I finally got to go take some pictures! I just went around town looking for cool details and textures. Here's some of my favorites that I came up with. I know it's not as interesting as people (and it wasn't nearly as much fun) but it's always nice to try something a little different...

I especially like the last one with "grace" written on the side of a dumpster. Just cool.

Today was also Cherith's baby shower! She's due in September. It's just crazy to see all my best friends growing up around me, getting married, having babies...amazing! Cherith is the first of all the friends from HS to have a baby! This was my favorite picture. Little baby shoes! Nothing is sweeter when it comes to baby stuff :)

One thing that was so amazing at this mother-daughter baby shower was all our moms. It was amazing to sit back and watch Cherith open gifts and then hear my mom and my friend's moms lean over and make remarks about how, "Oh, she'll use those plenty" and, "When Elizabeth was a baby, that was her favorite thing" and "When I was in labor with Karen..." The stories that have been cherished in their hearts came through not only their words, but their facial expressions- looks of motherly joy, the "knowing" look, and contented radiance. It was amazing and humbling at the same time. They had all been there, they knew the joys and the pain; they deserve such honor. Sometimes I get frustrated with my mom for "mothering" me when I'm 21, but I've begun to see things in a different light since this afternoon. Mothers are truely amazing.

Age Old Message, but Don't Take Them For Granted

Happy Birthday, Dad!

Today my dad is 55! My awesome grandparents with an awesome sense of humor came by the shop today and brought us McDonald's "Senior Cokes" - for only 32 cents - claiming he could get them now since he was a senior! Isn't that just great? I love my grandparents. And my parents. And my life. I've been given so much. Sometimes I stress about relationships and things, but how empty would my life be without them? There are people who would love to be in my shoes - I have an amazing family, good friends, and a loving boyfriend. I never want to take them for granted. Even though it's hard sometimes.

So I encourage you, if you are having troubles with some friend or loved one...remember what they have invested in you. Remember all the people who are alone who would love to have those frustrations simply because it would mean they would have somebody. Remember Who gave them to you. Remember He calls us to be kind, patient, selfless, and compassionate. Remember Who made them...and what Image they are made in! Wow!

Anyway, thanks for letting me be sappy...but it's true. Love to you all!