KenzieKate Photography

So long! :)

2010-07-29T11:36:00.000-07:00

The time has come!
Time to move on....
when it comes to my blog, i tend to have BADD (blog ADD).
therefore, i have moved my blog! :)
i am SUPER excited about this change--i feel like the new one is a tad more professional looking & in the long run will be all around better :) It's a little bittersweet to leave behind all of my pretty archives and posts-there have been SO many! I just want to thank you for reading this blog, & please make note that it is no longer at this url....instead, it is HERE:

kenziekate.wordpress.com

(we are going to get rid of the wordpress in the next day or so!)

Simi Valley Wedding {Lindsay + Tony}

2010-07-26T22:25:00.000-07:00

Absolutely everything about this day was simply perfect. From the amazing dress, to the breathtaking location, to the drop dead gorgeous couple--this wedding was delish. I had the amazing honor to second shoot this wedding with the fabulous Sharon Clark of Smitten Photography {that is a post in itself :) } alongside my friend Lauren. Shooting this wedding justified everything that i love about photography-it just lit a new fire inside of me! Its such an honor to be a part of documenting true love between two people. Lindsay was the most stunning bride, and had such a relaxed demeanor throughout the entire day. She & Tony are so obviously in love with eachother, & it was such a joy to view their love through my camera. Sit back & prepare yourself for the deliciousness of this day....

John 15

2010-06-23T22:12:00.000-07:00

For my youth group, i am a part of the leadership team called the "Revolt". Last week, we spent 5 days on a houseboat trip, and one of the qualifications for going on the trip was to memorize John 15. Yes it took alot of work, but it definitely taught us alot. These verses have so much substance in them, and if they were actually lived out, & people actually took them seriously....thats when crazy things will happen.

¹"I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. ²He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.³You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. ⁴Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

⁵"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. ⁶If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.⁷If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. ⁸This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

⁹"As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. ¹⁰If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love. ¹¹I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. ¹²My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. ¹³Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. ¹⁴You are my friends if you do what I command. ¹⁵I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. ¹⁶You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. ¹⁷This is my command: Love each other.¹⁸

"If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. ¹⁹If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. ²⁰Remember the words I spoke to you: 'No servant is greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. ²¹They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the One who sent me. ²²If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin. Now, however, they have no excuse for their sin. ²³He who hates me hates my Father as well. ²⁴If I had not done among them what no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. But now they have seen these miracles, and yet they have hated both me and my Father. ²⁵But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: 'They hated me without reason.'

²⁶"When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me. ²⁷And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning.

My Life!

2010-06-23T22:01:00.001-07:00

My summer is a TAD crazy ;)

Summertime

2010-06-23T21:43:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures from a shoot I did a couple of weeks ago...or a couple of months ago? Ah..i dont even remember! To be honest, I'm not even sure if i have even posted these or not! ahha. Anyway, Gracie was begging me to do a photoshoot with her, so we kinda flew this shindig together, & called over or friend Amy! These are the two girls that participated with me on my first photoshoot together, & it became the thing we used to fill our time when we were bored/not at school! My oldest models, and favorite people :)

Summer.

2010-06-06T16:52:00.000-07:00

What time is it?? SUMMERTIME.

ok...aaaalmost! in four days. i just have to get through four days of finals, & then i am headed into summer bliss! :) I have a packed summer ahead of me & i am SO excited to get started!!

Today, my alarm didnt go off.....so i didnt wake up in time for church. Sleeping in, with the house to myself, i could tell it would be one of those days. My phone died, and i didnt bother finding the charger, so i just left it off. Today has been a day that reeks of summer. MMM. Therefore, in leui of my SUPER LONG absense from this blog ( over a week...ahh i'm awful), i want to bask in all of the glory of summer by listing of my favorite things about summer.

1. July 24- My birthday! Definitely one of the major reasons that i have always loved summer....i am one of those people that flaunt my July-baby-ness. :)
2. Watermelon. When i think of summer, i picture little children eating those HUGE slices of watermelon that cover their entire face. I want that!
3. Burt's Bees....they just smell like summer
4. Rainbow Sandals .....a must have. all year round, in fact
5. Bathing in the middle of the day, with the bathroom windows open. I love the sweet juxtaposition of a cool breeze, & a hot shower.
6. SYTYCD . Doesnt even NEED an explanation.
7. Car Washes
8. The fact that there is no school, no deadlines, no alarm clocks, and the fact that every night is a friday night.
9. Beaches. Bonfires. Smores.
10. Laying in the sun, and feeling the heat on your skin.
11. Wearing shorts, dresses, & no makeup
12.Driving with the windows rolled down, blasting Pepper or Rebelution
13. The anticipation before school is out & summer begins. The amount of promise & possibilites summer holds.
14. HUME LAKE
15. The overall happy feeling summer gives you.

In case you havent noticed, I'm a little excited for summer! :)

Best Week of the Year.

2010-05-23T22:27:00.000-07:00

We quietly ran down the stairs, being careful to not be too loud. Music boomed through our chests, and the lights caused us to squint our eyes.

We walked in place anxiously. We rubbed our arms in attempt to wipe away the goosebumps, and attempted to fix our buns. We all checked eachothers' teeth for traces of red lipstick. As the dancers onstage got to the climax of their dance, us with our view in the wings knew what to anticipate.

"Guys! dont forget...we have to have our breathing circle!"

The six of us quitely got into a tight circle. Our shoulders squished together, our heads bowed, and our hands found their way into eachothers. Together, we took a long, deep breath. Together, we let all of the air out of our longs. The music and lights quited...we focused our attention soley on breathing. We squeezed eachothers' hands, exhaled our last breath together. A couple of us said a small prayer, we all hugged, and then we silently lined up, as our music slowly began.

I could go off for hours on my so called "Favorite Week of the Year". There isnt enough time or words to clearly express the comraderie and love all of us LODG sisters have for one another. For many of us, this was our 13th dance show with LODG. All of us have grown up with eachother, and we understand eachother in ways that other people dont. All of our friends outside of the dancer circle know the names of all of our dance teachers because we talk about them constantly. We are continuously reminded that not everyone in the world does dance, therefore they like to talk about different things. Go figure!

This past week was completely centered around our annual show. 4 sold out shows, countless dances, costumes...thousands of bobbypins, hundreds of dancing feet. Unending amounts of memories.

For us, dancing isn't just a hobby. It is something we every day of the week. It's where our oldest friends are from. Our shows are the most anticipated event of the year. It makes us all cry to think that a year from now, we will be up on the stage getting our roses as seniors. We realized last night how we take dance for granted. As some of our closest friends danced their final dance on the stage as seniors, we realized that our time at LODG doesnt last forever. We have one year left, and we tend to make the most of it.

As I stood in the breathing circle before the last dance of our last night, I reflected. I opened my eyes and looked around the circle. With our hands squeezing one another, my mind was flooded with memories that I have had with these girls. The bond that we have as LODG sisters is unbreakable. God has blessed me with such an amazing dance community, with fabulous girls (and boys) that I have been so lucky to share passions with. To all my dance girlies: I love you SO much & am so proud of all we have done this year. Thanks so much for an awesome show :)

Here are some of the girls at school, wearing our LODG pride :)

I hope you have a wonderful week! Sorry that I have been MIA from this blog......as you might have noticed, I have had a week full of dance :) Now that school is kind of slowing down, I should have many more posts headed your way! Summer is soooo close, i can taste it! :)

xoxo

2010-05-13T23:22:00.000-07:00

Its been a week since my last post! oh my gooodness I'm sorry! I am now going to list off a schpeel of reasons why I havent posted anything recently:

1. I havent had any photoshoots! Dont worry, Dont worry...there are TONS coming up! (ps if you would like to schedule one, just email me!) The end of may/all of june is going to be SO slammed for me with operation freedom photography! :) SO exciting!

2. AP tests were all last week. If you know what AP is...then that is explanation in itself. If you dont know what AP is....they you are lucky.

3. Last Saturday was PROM! It was sooooo fun. Ok...more like soo fun. Lets be honest, prom is a TAD overrated!

4. My dance show is next week!!!!!!! Dude...im SO STOKED about this!! We have had tons of rehearsals the past week in preparation. All next week starting tuesday, is practically the best week of the YEAR! we have three nights of shows, and one matinee type show. These arent your typical ballet recitals either...these are inSANE! Our theme is So You Think You Can Dance...and its gonna be off the chain. Freal. can. not. wait.

5. I got a JOB! First day was today! :) Say hello to the new employee of Figuerola Laboratories! woop woop! :)

6. I was crazy busy writing Uganda letters! I thought this was going to be easy, but it wasnt! Its super difficult to put the reasons/importance of going on a missions trip of this calibur! And its always suuuuuper awkward to ask people for money in a polite way. super awkard. BUT! i guesss this pretty much means that Uganda is ALMOST set in stone. SO CRAZY! oh my gosh. end of july.......it hasnt hit me! now i have TWO things to fundraise for! keeps me busy :)

here is all of the girls from our prom group! i have some gorgeous friends, eh? SUCH a fun group....we had 22 people in all :) Yay for Prom!

I am ditching school tomorrow to go to Magic Mountain with a bunch of friends in honor of Maddison Nicole's BIRTHDAY! yipee!!! :)

Have a faaaabulous weekend!

2010-05-07T10:36:00.001-07:00

Hi! If you are here about Operation Freedom {photography} you can click the button right below my logo! I was going to make all of these nifty tabs that go to different categories, but figuring out html coding is SO HARD. i had to get tons of help from google just to create this baby one :) so there you go! whoop whoop!

TGIF! have a faaabulous weekend!

What a Disgusting World....

2010-05-05T17:36:00.000-07:00

This makes me want to throw up. Please take a minute to read this & think about the sick injustices we subconsciously tolerate every day.

http://humantrafficking.change.org./blog/view/an_open_letter_to_jim_buckmaster

{Withrow Family}

2010-05-04T21:00:00.000-07:00

I love these pictures so much!

I go to the same church as this family, & I go to the same school/youth group as their son. I looooove this family! They are so hilarious, & so fun to be with! I am so glad that I have gotten to know them, & that they trusted Lauren & I with their family pictures!

She was such a sweetheart! She looked perfect in every. single. picture. How is that possible?? Such a gorgeous girl!

ooooh my gosh! this little girl right here is HILARIOUS! She would say the funniest things, & kept us laughing throughout the entire session.

it wasn't tooo easy to get a picture of allllll of them with normal looking faces:)

Withrows: thanks so much for trusting us with your family pictures! you have an exceptional family & i am so glad to know you! :) i hope you love these! There are TONS more!!

Also--a shoutout to my girl LAUREN {click HERE to see her awesome blog} who rocked it out at the shoot yesterday! here she is in the background...

Happy Tuesday!

I love Summer

2010-05-02T17:23:00.000-07:00

I love how the sun looks in the summer! sooooo excited that i have more yumminess like this to look forward to :) I was driving home & saw this FABULOUS light, so i was going to call gracie ( but i didnt because i'm a responsible driver! ) but instead i got home fast, ran into the house, and told her to change into her white dress. We did this shoot in about 5 minutes, & i love the way the sun is hitting her! ahh so pretty. Next time we will maybe brush her hair & find a field or something ;)

^ we kinda think she looks like an avatar in that one....haha

maaaan my sister is beautiful! if only i had her face...watch out boys, she's only thirteen ;)

happy sunday!

Sprague Family

2010-04-28T21:03:00.000-07:00

I think this is why i love photography....

For quite a while now, the Sprague family & I have been trying to work out our schedules to put together this shoot. Nicole & Ben are such a huge part of my life! They are the leaders of my youth group, and are a large source of inspiration for me. They have put their entire lives into their ministry, & have sacrificed so much in order to reach the kids of our valley. They have their own amazing family, with three kids that we have all gotten to know very well! They have supported my photography from the beginning, & have been brave enough to allow me to take their family portraits, and their newest baby's pictures after she was born....I feel like I have grown soo much since those sessions! Overrall, words cannot express the appreciation I have for the Sprague family. It began to rain as soon as the session started, but luckily, it held off for the majority of the time :) Those Spragues make some cuuuute kids!

Nicole is a major part of the behind the scenes portion of our youth group. She has had to stay home from many trips & events because she was home with the kids. She is an amazingly beautiful, hilarious, and unbelievably strong woman! I am sooo glad that I have had the opportunity to get to know her! :)

Thank you guys so much for trusting me to take your pictures, and having such generous & beautiful hearts!

I hope you all have a FANTASTIC rest of the week! Don't forget to spread the word about Operation Freedom Photography! :)

Eden

2010-04-23T13:51:00.000-07:00

When the first light brightened the dark

Before the breaking of the human heart

There was You and there was me

Innocence was all I knew

'Cause all I had to know was You

We were running underneath the trees

I wanna see you face to face

Where being in your arms is the permanent state

I want it like it was back then

I wanna be in Eden

I remember how You'd call my name

And I would meet You at the garden gate

How the glory of Your love would shine

And I remember when the stars were young

You breathed life into my lungs

Oh I never felt so alive

I wanna see you face to face

Where being in your arms is the permanent state

I want it like it was back then

I wanna be in Eden

To be naked and unashamed

In a sweet down pour of innocent rain

I want it like it was back then

I wanna be in Eden

Where my eyes can see the colors of glory

My hands can reach the heaven before me

Oh, my God I wanna be there with You

Where our hearts will beat with joy together

And love will reign forever and ever

Oh my God I wanna be there with You

I wanna see you face to face

Where being in your arms is the permanent state

I want it like it was back then

I wanna be in Eden

To be naked and unashamed

In a sweet down pour of innocent rain

I want it like it was back then

I wanna be in Eden

Tivoli & Emma!

2010-04-20T21:50:00.000-07:00

Happy Tuesday! i can't think of TEN things that i am loving/hating right now, so instead I went ahead & thought of two :) hey! it starts with a T!

ok. number one: What Does it Sound Like, by Ian Mcintosh.

I am OBSESSED with this song! ah. so good. it repeats basically the same 4 sentences over & over...but it is so beautiful.

number two: Tara Whitney's Home Videos.

Check them out! So good. I wish I could make videos like this...maybe one day! I love the absolute simplicity of them...nothing posed, all real!

.......................................................................................................

Soooo, I have been thinking recently that i havent posted enough pictures on here....so here are some new ones! :) Emma & Tivoli are AMAZING dancers that have gone to the same studio as me since i was a little girl. Both are SO extremely talented! Ridiculous. So last week we decided to go on a longggg drive to a local waterfall & shoot some "Ballerina Project" inpired pictures! Ballerina Project is a group on Facebook that is a collection of absolutely breathtaking pictures by professional photographers of professional prima ballerinas. They are super simple pictures of these amazing dancers in gentle poses throughout the streets of New York City. We were so inspired, that we wanted to try some of our own! There are sure to be many more of these shoots to come...

Below is the fabulous Tivoli! She is very well known around here for her various ballet accomplishments across the country. I have had the privelege of going to school with Tivoli, church as a girl, witnessed her being baptized last year, & being in a ton of dance classes with her! She is such a wonderful girl with a beautiful heart!

Emma & Tivoli are best friends! They are seriously NEVER apart!

This is the GORGEOUS Emma! Emma & I grew super close over the past two years, & i LOVE this girl! She is sooo funny-we have so many inside jokes! She is one of those people with a huge laugh & laughs at EVERYTHING! She is a sweetheart, & nice to everyone. i love being around her!

So as we were taking pictures, the location was SUPER busy! We had to constantly wait out all of the people walking by. When we were taking the picture below, there was this kinda creepy man walking by. Like everyone else, we just waited until he was out of view to continue. But this guy wouldnt leave! He half hid behind this tree & watched....um hello! We can see you!! SOOO creepy. Thankfully some more people walked by, & then he left. AH!

Sooo....taking pictures by rushing water is difficult. Figuring out how to not blow out my highlights was certainly a struggle!! Rough life. I am definitely going to be working on this! oh well....

Have a great day!!! PS: In regard to Operation Freedom Photography, become a fan of us on Facebook, & be sure to tell your friends! We just ordered the flier cards today :))

Operation Freedom

2010-04-14T14:56:00.000-07:00

There are currently 27 MILLION people in slavery.

i thought slavery was over after the civil war.

There is MORE slavery today than there was back then.

Millions of people-mainly women and children-are victims of human trafficking. Pimps prey on vulnerable girls that are trying to support their family. They target them, & promise them "jobs" such as working as a model, at a hair salon, or in a store. They pay for their boat/train ticket and bring them to a new city for them to work. Once the girls arrive, they are brought to a brothel. They are not allowed to escape, because they are in debt for their travel fare. These girls are around the ages of 13 or 14. That's the age of my little sister. They are kept in small rooms, and forced to see a "customer" the minimum of 5 times a day.

Did you see the movie Taken? Then you got a glimpse of these atrocities.....but it isnt just a movie. This is happening right now. As you sit here, another child is being lured to a brothel. As you sit here, another girl's innocence is being taken from her. As you sit here, a woman is living our worst nightmare. Our biggest fear when we are walking through dark streets at night, is what these girls face every day.

Their freedom is only $500, but they are never able to reach that. In countries such as Indonesia, sex is a very common & comfortable thing. Men do not find anything wrong with sleeping with these young girls, and the government is doing nothing about the situation.

There are plenty of things we can do. We can give some of our extra change. We can forget about it, or assume that somebody else will help out. We can sympathize. We can pray all we want for them. But the fact is, none of that is going to work. Yes, prayer changes things, but it isnt going to work if we aren't willing to be that change! We can't pray for their freedom, and then move on with our lives. We have to do something. This is what we were made for.

My youth group, Paradigm Shift, and the Jr High youth group, Velocity, has started on a fundraiser called Operation Freedom. We are doing everything we can to raise money to free 50 girls stuck in sex trafficking. So far, 3 girls have been freed! :) Lauren & I have decided to work together to raise money. We have started a small photography business called Operation Freedom Photography. The cost will be $100. If we just get one customer, then great! Then we are $100 closer to our goal. This endeavor may or may not work, but its what we can do. I don't have any cool flowers or tshirts i can sell. I'm deathly afraid of lawn mowers. I don't have amazing ideas for how to raise huge amounts of money. All i know is that girls my age, Women that i could be friends with, are being forced into sex slavery as we speak. That in itself is motivation to do everything we can to stop it.

* for more information on Operation Freedom, or Op Free Photography, leave a comment :) We are trying to let as many families as possible know about this, so spread the word! thanks! :)

Lauren Girl!

2010-04-13T17:15:00.000-07:00

Ok, ok, two posts in one day?? normally i wouldn't do this, but this is an exception!!!!

its LAUREN PORCHER'S BIRTHDAY! woot woot! :)

all week long, i thought that it was on wednesday! but i was JUST informed that it is today!! Lauren is one of my faaavorite girlies! i know her from church, the Jr. High group of girls i work with, & because she is best friends with one of my best friends little sisters!

Lauren is an amaaaaaazing photographer , an incredibly kind girl loved by many, has a HUGE heart for others, & her love for Christ is an inspiration! She is prettttttty darn amazing :) I became friends with her about a year & a half ago at my friend Melissa's birthday. Lauren, Melissa's sister Heather ( who happens to be Laurens best friend) and I bonded over our secret plans to get them into the jacuzzi witht he "older girls" ;) ever since then, i have gotten to know this wonderful person, & have loved to be with her! we are also SUPER scarily similiar! Like, in every.single.way. From the shows we watch, the blogs we read, the songs we listen to, the movies we love, the food we order, and the clothes we drool over-we are twins! the only major difference between us is that she is soooo little :) Here are some pictures of the ever so fabulous LAUREN. i love you girlie! have a FANTASTIC day!!!! :))

xoxo

I'm Quite Peculiar....

2010-04-13T16:46:00.000-07:00

Soooo while we were in Mexico, my friend Chris informed me that i was one of the strangest people on the trip! What in the world! I get it from my friend Taylor...its not my fault! However, after some evaluation i came to the conclusion that i am pretty strange! So today, since i can't come up with 10 loves & hates, we will have 10 facts about ME that make me so strange! :) Self absorbed? ok, maybe a tad...but hey, its my blog ;)

Numero 1: I'm one of those people who cannot STAND when people talk to me while i am watching a movie. I'm not sure why this is, but it drives me IN. SANE. Nothing personal-but if you have some commentary, keep it to yourself, because i will most likely snap 'atcha!

DOS: When i was little, i HATED bananas. and string cheese. and jello. All of a sudden, i love them. I would marry a banana tree if i could.

3. When I'm watching TV or listening to music, the volume level HAS to be on a number divisible by 5. Otherwise, I can't focus.

4. When I was in 3rd grade, I told everybody my name was really Mackenna. In 4th & 5th grade, everybody called me Rachel. I'm still not so sure why.....

Cinco: I never, ever knew how to burp. And REALLY wanted to! Well, within the last month I burp all of the time. Lady like burps of course ;) i can't even help it! careful what you wish for folks.....

6: I can't tan. It's impossible.

7. I ran track freshman year. voluntarily.

8. I have this suuuuper annoying Mexican accent, and i have no control over it.

Numero Nueve: I sing to EVERYTHING. very often i just make up songs & sing them. Ok, all the time. Whenever I am singing in the car, whoever is with me turns up the radio SUPER loud. Every. Time.

DIEZ! : I am in love with waaaay too many photographers. I stalk some photography blogs like no other, & i feel like i really know them. Not just know them, more like we are best friends. If i ever actually met some of these fabulous people , it would be very difficult to refrain from asking about their kids or pets by name. (ahem: Sharon Clark)

yes, these are all from photobooth. yes, i am one of those people who photobooths ALL of the time ;)

whew! i'm done talking about myself...what do YOU do thats a little strange?

Faces of Ensenada

2010-04-11T12:01:00.000-07:00

can i go back right now? please??

Ballerina Project part one: Solvang Edition!

2010-04-10T01:25:00.000-07:00

i don't really have a ton of time today to post more pictures/stories from Ensenada, so instead i will show a picture from a shoot i did today! :) I am a huuuuge fan of the "Ballerina Project" on Facebook, so this was a spin off of that :) SO FUN!

more to come soon! i hope! i have sooo much craziness planned over the next two days! two birthday parties, two lunch dates, babysitting, church& youth group, & TWO BOOKS to read for school! ah! have a fantASTIC weekend :)

See ya! :)

2010-04-02T08:44:00.000-07:00

I am going to be out of the country for the next week, so, farewell!! I am leaving for a mission trip with a small team of about 15 people to Ensenada, Mexico! I am OH SO beYOND excited!! I have simply been sitting around my house all day with no motivation to do any schoolwork whatsoever....i havent even packed! i ahve just been thinking!

48 hours from now i will be all snuggly in my cowboy sleeping bag in MEXICO! i keep making lists & lists of things & dreaming up fabulous pictures & all of the sweat we will drop for the Kingdom's glory! 48 HOURS!!!!oh dear. did i mention i was excited?

I have been looking forward to this trip since freshman year, when i wasnt able to go on it! i ask for prayer & good thoughts sent my way, for both me & the rest of the team. i KNOW God is going to be doing some absolute craziness there this week & i am so incredibly thankful that i get to be a part of it :))

We have a tad bit of reservations about driving down since there are certain parts of mexico that arent especially safe....but i know that everything will work out & God's plan will be fulfilled! pray pray pray! pray for the hearts of the children we will be playing with. pray for the church that we are teaming up with. Pray that the Kingdom of Heaven will make its way into Ensenada. Pray that the english/spanish language barrier will have ZERO EFFECT on how we reach the people of Ensenada! Pray that our team will be humbled & selfless throughout the entire trip, & that we will truly LOVE LOVE LOVE. Pray that our hearts will be broken! Your prayers are SO incredibly appreciated.

I will be blogging with hopefully tons of amazing stories & pictures when i return next week! Have a DELIGHTFUL Spring Break!

Tuesday's Tens!!

2010-03-30T15:46:00.000-07:00

For some strange reason, Tuesdays are my good days. I have no idea why, because i tend to hate the beginning of the week. But bang, Tuesdays come around & suddenly everything is funny & happy! you know that mood that you get in when its super late, and everything is hilarious? Yeah. thats me. on Tuesdays! Just today i went into my spanish class & asked my friend nick "you know what day it is??" and he said "oh no! tuesday! that means your crazy mood!" there you go. So in honor of my happy Tuesday moods, here is my Tuesday Ten! The list includes 5 things i am currently loving, & 5 things i am currently not!

soooo here we go! :)

Tuesday Lovin':

1. Peace Tea: I already gave a shout out to them the other day, but i have to give them their props!! this stuff is amazing...i am a huuge tea drinker & a longtime friend of Arizona....but Peace tea is so good!

2. Say Yes to the Dress! this show is amazing. Its the only thing i ever watch while working out or editing photos. i am soooo going to on this when i get engaged!

3. Edename: i could live on this.

4. Excercise Balls: dont they just look fun? well, they are.

5. Ensenada, Mexico: ok, ok so i haven't actually been here...yet! i will be in 4 days :) and it is going to be amazing! so it gets its own shout out this week!

Tuesday hatin':

1. Tuesdays: despite my unusally happy Tuesday moods, Tuesdays are not fun. Sometimes they make me want to bite my computer, like this cool lady :) Cause' you know thats what we all do when tuesdays roll around!

2. Mice. This is what i woke up to this morning. in my hallway. Sorry little Gus, but that isn't where you belong. gross.

3. Salted Almonds: i hate them! whatever happend to plain, raw almonds? i dont like all of this seasoning & whatnot taking over my taste buds! plus, the extra 56298724 calories aren't appreciated. thanks though.

4. Spider Bites: I got a super gnarly one on my arm this weekend, and it has caused this huge red knot the size of a baby's fist to form on my arm! Suuuuper cute.

5. Google Images: Just because i saw some super frightening & disturbing images when i googled "spider bite" looking for a picture. gross.

Happy Tuesday! :)

Dear Diary

2010-03-29T15:13:00.000-07:00

i feel like i should be saying something like, Dear Diary, i'm sorry i haven't written in so long, but....

haha! I never was good at keeping up with diaries (diarys?) when i was younger! I could say how insanely busy i have been, list all of the school projects, or finals, or all of the hours i was working out at the gym, or at dance rehearsal. But lets be honest. I could have fit some blogging in!

The other day, my lovely friend Lauren {click on her name to check out her awesome blog!) reminded me that i need to do some blogging, because i was getting a tad boring! :) and she was right! sooo here i am again, i promise to try my hardest to blog everyday this week before i leave for mexico {more on that later!}

Recently, i have had some serious cravings for photoshoots, & now that i can drive AND have a car, i have a ton of more freedom to spontaneously go on photoshoots whenever i would like! So on Saturday, my fabulous friend Kathleen and i planned this quickie photoshoot! :) Kathleen, Heather, Katherine, Melissa, Hailey & i met at our local sandwich shop {Panino's...mmm so good!} and then headed over to this nifty secret location. We drank Peace Tea {even better than Arizona....i know, i know. but trust me! so good!} ran from squrrels & spiders, explored, and got itchy legs from all of the tall grass! i will only post a few now, but here is a taste from photoshoot number ONE on saturday :)

{thats right, there was more than one!}

{this whole springy, picnic-y, yummy feel was so fitting!}

So after this oh-so-fabulous day of shooting, i was driving home listening to some Pepper & eating up the yummy late afternoon sunlight, when i get a text from Lauren. Hey! sooo are you in the mood for a photoshoot? today? if not thats ok! i understand! First of all, HOW CUTE is she! second of all, i was soooo excited! two photoshoots in one day? i. am. there.

So i hurried home, uploaded my pictures from my first shoot, & then headed off to meet Lauren & some other of my faaavorite junior high ladies to take some pictures! Now, let me just say something about daylight savings. Ok, so the whole losing an hour of sleep was not fun. Especially for me! I am one girl who loooooves her sleep! But the best thing about it? the yummy lighting. the late sunsets. the yummy lighting. the warm days. the yummy lighting. SOOO the lighting was AMAZING! so fabulous! which means the combination of such lighting, these amazing girls, & an altogether beautiful and fun day, created some of the prettiest pictures ever! I will just show a few for now, too much prettiness at once can get hard to handle ;)

have a {fabulous} & {blessed} & {joyful} monday!

xoxo

2010-03-29T00:40:00.000-07:00





Distraction cast aside, we seek Your face
We offer up our lives to bring you praise
A love the walls cannot contain
You are holy Lord
{hillsong united}



THIS is what is on my mind today. For me, it is very easy to get completely wrapped up in to-do lists (oh boy, how i love them!), schoolwork and craziness. 
My mind is constantly filling with ideas on who i should hang out with, what i should do, when i should do it. What non christians should i invite over to hang out with? Do you think if i hang out with them one on one, we will get the chance to talk about serious stuff?
 I get sooo worked up about the hows & the lagistics of things, or how i should act in order to make my friends think that it isnt that strange to be a christian, that i forget the soul of it. Somehow, that foundation, that drive is lost.
 I dont think that constant worry about what i should do, how i should act, who i should talk to, is what God wants from me. No, i think that all God wants is for me to soley rely on Him. Completely, unquestionably, & with faith like a child. What He wants is for me to cast aside all of my distractions, and seek His face. And he will take care of the rest. 
God tells us that as long as we seek first His kingdom, we don't need to worry about anything. At all. He will take care of everything. 
With a promise like that, everything else seems so miniscule! so irrelevant, so tiny compared to his Glory & greater plans. His love that walls cannot contain. Why do i forget that then? Why do i sometimes worry more about what others think about God, than what God thinks about me? Thats what i'm meditating, working on, & pursuing in my life this week. The Bible says that faith without deeds is nothing. But what about deeds with little faith?




ps, i dont know why there is such a large gap at the top! whoopsies :) have a great day!

2010-03-07T15:56:00.000-08:00

This is probably my favorite photoshoot of all time.

Not only because the outcome was beautiful photos, but because it was a day spent with two of my favorite girls.

Taylor is one of those people that you just want to be around. She can make anything fun, and she is such a wonderful example of how to live for Jesus. She is hilarious, gorgeous, fun, sooo nice, and has the best mexican accent ever ;)

Sam is just one of those girls that everybody loves. Seriously, I cant think of anyone that doesnt like her! She has the best laugh ever, is super crazy & loud, beautiful, and genuinely loves everyone she encounters.

Time spent with these girls is always memorable-whether it is boogie boarding down the local river, sneaking out of our cabin at Hume, singing loud in the bathrooms at paradigm, having intense truth times, or going along with me when i tell them to lay in the freeeeezing cold water & have their picture taken ;)

The gorgeous Sam. She swears that she isn't photogenic. oh puh-lease.

The beautiful Taylor

When we first got down to the river, it was sprinkling. We all prayed for it to stop raining & it did! It stayed completely clear until we got to the part of the photoshoot where we wanted it to be wet & rainy! WOO! way to go J-man! :)

2010-03-02T16:23:00.000-08:00

As the thunder rolls

I barely hear You whisper through the rain

“I’m with you”

And as Your mercy falls

I raise my hands and praise the God who gives

And takes away

I’ll praise You in this storm

And I will lift my hands

For You are who You are

No matter where I am

Every tear I’ve cried

You hold in Your hand

You never left my side

And though my heart is torn

I will praise You in this storm

These song lyrics by Casting Crowns speak so true. In the Bible, rain was a gift from God, a sign of his mercy and plentifulness. Nowadays, however, rain only seems to be a sign of sorrow & a yearning for spring, life. Today I am praising God for the rain, as a reminder that He is the one who gives and takes away. Sometimes we all need a little rain to remind us of the sun.

"As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD."

- Ezekiel 1:28

2010-02-27T17:20:00.000-08:00

it is POURING rain here, & i am thoroughly sick of it!! i am sooo ready for spring!!

Tahoe 2010

2010-02-23T16:42:00.000-08:00

Last year, when i was a sophmore in highschool, i was able to go on my youth group's annual Tahoe snowboarding trip. The four day experience changed my life for the better-it was a crazy and amazing time to truly witness God work in & through people.

When this year rolled around, our youth group was a tad nervous about the trip. There were 75 students signed up, and an overwhelming majority of them were not followers of Christ. We anticipated the trip for weeks and weeks and weeks.

Sooooo, on the first night i was running up the stairs and ended up twisting my foot, and spraining it :( SUPER lame = me. So i was sitting in the lodge for the majority of the trip, and i was super bummed. I did not like to seee everybody else coming in & out of the lodge, talking about their FUN.

But. On the first night, we talked about ways in which Satan attacks us. That is when it hit me. I knew that Satan was trying to change my outlook and mindset on the situation i was in. It was sooo easy for me to make excuses not to go over & talk to that girl, help out with things around the cabin, or participate wholeheartedly because i was hurt. That first night, everything just clicked in my mind, & it became sooo clear as to how this foot injury could be a huge opportunity to realy minister to people regardless of how i felt; OR it could completely get in the way of making the most of this trip. So from that point on, i stopped feeling sorry for myself, & used my time of sitting around to be not distracted by friends & comfort zone, and to begin to become more aware of people i were not as close with.

There are so many times in my life where i know i have a choice to go talk to the girl in the corner, or to stick with my friends. And much more often than not, i choose the latter. The guilt that follows that choice sticks with me for days. But, no matter how uncomfortable/awkward/self-conscious i feel, choosing to go befriend somebody new turns out to be so much more rewarding. The Tahoe trip was a time where i was able to meet new people, and just become friends with a huge group of people i usually don't talk to. So many people expressed how happy and loved they felt on the trip, because everybody there was a family. I was sooo extatic about how everyone bonded & how loving everyone was.

The last night of the trip is the time that is truly indescribable for every person on the trip. The room is just filled with God. You can feel it all around you. We always have a time where we let people go to the microphone and express their feelings/commitments/ experiences. It was amazing to see, one by one, all cof the people we had been praying so desperately for, going up and talking about how they now accept Christ. The night was filled with alot of tears, alot of prayer, alot of hugs, and alot of the overwhelming feeling of Jesus' love.

Guynn Family Portraits

2010-02-18T16:18:00.000-08:00

now, without further adeau, here are some of the Guynn's family pictures :) i looooove their farm...what a pretty place to take pictures!! i love the colors & sunny feeling that these pictures have! doesn't anne have gorgeous eyes??

thank you guys for being so open to my ideas & choosing me to take your pictures!! i had a BLAST!

Guynn Family Preview

2010-02-17T15:07:00.000-08:00

Last week i had the wonderful opportunity of taking pictures for the Guynn family. i have known the Guynns for my entire life....i remember going to their huge New Years parties every year! My mom still has pictures of their oldest son Tyler, and my brother Sean playing together. Needless to say, we go way back :) They live on a huuuuuuuge walnut tree farm, so we found tons of places to take pictures! I will be posting the entire group of them tomorrow, after i drop Anne's pictures to her :) so here is a sneak peak of Anne & Mike!

Happy Hump day! its almost the weekend :)

I'm BACK!

2010-02-16T23:40:00.000-08:00

i got home from an amaaaazing snowboarding trip last night! Tahoe trips are always amazing & i have a ton of stories & of course, pictures :) i am working off of FOUR hours of sleep!!! i am not too good at sleeping on busses! I have a busy week ahead, but i have tons of new pictures to post & quite a few sessions coming up that i am SO excited for!!! yee!! life is gooooood :)

i will be gone....but all for good reason!

2010-02-10T19:50:00.000-08:00

sorry i have not been blogging, but i have WONDERFUL reason for it!!!
i will be on a SNOWBOARDING trip in tahoe with my youth group paradigm shift!!
i leave friday morning with 75 other highschoolers, and we will return on monday!
i am sooo BEYOND excited to see what God does this weekend, and to try out all of my pro boarding skills ;)
hopefully i still remember how to strap my boots in! and stand.....and stop.
when i get back i will have plenty of pictures to put up!
happy almost valentines day! <3

This is what i will be doing this weekend!!!! but it will probably look even more impressive ;)

{miss gracie & miss chloe}

2010-02-08T16:29:00.001-08:00

A couple of months ago, i had borrowed an UH MAZING lens from my school, for another shoot i was doing. My sister & her friend kept trying to convince me to take pictures of them, but i was not in the mood. After much persistence, i reluctantly agreed to have a quickie photoshoot. Well, it turned out to be some of my favorite pictures ever. You can bet i was eating my words right up!! So here are a handful of them....my sister & her friend, and proof that i should take every single opportunity thrown my way! :)

I Had this Idea....

2010-02-07T02:01:00.001-08:00

last year around christmas time. i suggested to my friend, melissa, that we should bake cookies for some of our friends. This obviously wouldnt get out of hand or be too difficult! it would actually save us time and money, because we wouldnt have to go out and shop/ponder/choose/buy TONS of presents for all of our dear friends!!! Baking a simple batch of my famous sugar cookies was surely a perfect alternative, right?

So last year (i'm talking 08....i'm still in denial that it is 2010! craziness!) melissa, my friend kendra, and i planned on baking a batch of cookies for each of our friends/their families. WELL....that turned into THEEE HUGEST project we could have ever imagined! the entire time it was happening, we were just thinking to ourselves "why are we doing this? who came up with this idea??!". It's safe to say we did NOT want to see another cookie for the rest of our life. Our project ended up taking two days with a product of about 400 cookies!

in.sane.

So when December rolled around this year {2009}, i guess we completely forgot the sleepless nights, sugary hands and sudden hatred for icing. Because we decided to do it AGAIN. except for this year it was bigger....much bigger. After two days of baking, then frosting, then sprinkling, then BAGGING, then tying little ribbons on said bags, then handwriting christmas cards and attatching them to said bags, & then delivering said bags to over 90 families houses, we. were. exhausted.

the total? over 950 freaking cookies.

no big deal.

So to say that i NEVER want to see a cookie again is an understatement! But it is also a safe bet that we will be doing the exact same thing this christmas :) It just isnt the real christmas season without that stress!!!!!! { just kidding-it actually is kinda fun :) }

Here is a picture of our huge fat pile of unfrosted cookies.....about 1/4 of them!

* that pile is as deep as it is wide!

...today i am heading out for a family shoot! i am so proud of myself for how good i am at blogging!! two days in a row? impressive. so glad i treated myself to that sugary donut at church today!

happy sunday :)

Preemptive Love

2010-02-06T10:35:00.000-08:00

hi! so, i am officially a blog neglector :( but i am going to try super hard to change that!! starting...now. Here are some photos i did a couple of months ago for the nonprofit organization Preemptive Love Coalition. They are an amaaaazing organization that fund heart surgeries for children in Iraq. I did these pictures for their new tshirts. i am SO lucky to be friends with Cody ( co-founder of the organization) and Michelle, his new wifey :)

one of our "models"-my friend bobby :)

Our other "model".....one of my best friends taylor :)

These scarves are also for sale :)

The BEAUTIFUL michelle

....and her hubby cody!

xoxo!

Kendra Bethany

2009-10-26T16:14:00.000-07:00

The other day I was able to talk my wonderful friend Kendra into coming with me to an old shack to have her pictures taken! i have known this girl my ENTIRE life and i just love her to death! She claims she is not photogenic, but thats what they all say.....

aaaaaaaaand my favorite of the day:

Happy Monday! :)