Joseph & Thuy | San Diego Wedding Photography

It was 2005. Thuy was a senior in high school and plans for the future filled her thoughts. She attended a recruitment program at Washington State University to find out more about the school. What she didn't know was how much of her future would really be effected by that one day.

She was immediately captivated by his eyes. As the day went on her crush grew on this handsome tour guide of hers... and so did her nerves. She admired him from a distance and hoped their paths would one day cross again. One year later, at the same recruitment program, that is exactly what happened. This time Thuy was the one volunteering and again she was too nervous to introduce herself. So, she admired him from a distance. She spent the next few weeks regretting not saying anything. Then one day she received a surprising email that changed everything. As it turns out that same handsome tour guide was doing some admiring from a distance as well! After exchanging emails for about 6 MONTHS they went on their first date!

And the rest.. well, the rest is history. The first chapters of a very long, happy story together. On Sunday afternoon, under a big blue sky, with the smell of ocean in the air, and surrounded by all of their family and friends... Joseph and Thuy vowed to continue that story together, through thick and thin, until their last breaths.

Be You. | Senior Portraits

It's that time again!!!
Finals are getting closer, graduation parties are being planned, and senior portrait sessions are booking up!

Seniors are a ton of fun. Closing one chapter of your life and embarking on another, you are full of passion and excitement. You are dreaming big and ready to conquer the world. You're a little wiser, a little stronger, and know just who you want to be... You!

I am so inspired by graduations. It's such a time of hope, adventure, and dreaming. I am very excited to meet this years seniors!

CHECK OUT OUR SENIOR WEBSITE BY CLICKING HERE

Dylan | San Diego Senior Portraits

Dylan is one seriously cool guy! He was a little hesitant to get his portraits done at first but he loosened up and I had him laughing in no time! I'm kind of funny;) ...especially when I get hit by an unexpected wave. Tip: don't turn your back to the ocean.



Dylan and his brother Daniel have such an awesome friendship! Daniel hung out with us and did an awesome job making Dylan laugh. He was a great assistant.

Cracked and Thankful.

This week has been full of errands and a never ending to do list. I was in a bad mood on Tuesday and did not even want to look at my list. Responsibility won and out the door I went. I got in the car and and let it warm up as I whined and pouted in my head about all the things that were bugging me. Some of them were with reason and some of them were just plain selfish but either way I was digging my self deeper in to my mood.

I got on the road and continued my pity party until I was made aware of how ridiculous I was being. True tragedy has struck our world this last week. People in my own life lost loved ones over the weekend, people in my own life are fighting just to continue living their lives, people in my own life are facing real hardship, and people in own my life are taking some of their last breaths.

My heart hurt and I was filled with thankfulness for my blessings instead of complaints for my minor inconveniences. I continued my errands with new eyes. Everything was so simply beautiful. I passed two sisters shopping and laughing together. I overheard a sweet older lady strike up a conversation with another older man and they joked and laughed as two strangers. I watched an elderly couple grocery shop together arm in arm. I passed a young man sitting outside singing his heart out with his eyes closed. Everything gave me goosebumps. I saw so much beauty in these lives around me. But I also knew that at one time, before today, there was pain. There was brokenness. At some point those two sisters experienced something hard together. At some time something happened in the lives of the joking elderly man and woman that caused them to be at the store alone befriending a stranger. I'm sure the elderly couple had endured struggles in the years of their marriage. And that young man on the curb passionately sang songs of pain and loneliness with his eyes closed.

In all of this beauty there was once brokenness.

I don't know where you are today but I know that we all have troubles. We all have fear. We all have reasons to stress. We all have doubts. We all have heart ache. We are all flawed. We are all human. We all live on this crazy, beautiful, sometimes scary planet earth. Each of us are going through something. Each of us have giants we are facing. Each of us have been wounded. Each of us are imperfect people trying to pull our imperfect pieces together to make something that fits.

But in all of this brokenness there is so much potential for beauty.

I have chosen to give up and give my pieces over to the one that saved me. I am still flawed. I still struggle. I still fear. I still have heart ache. I still face giants. And I still break... but I have chosen to let my Savior make beauty from the cracks in my life. It is through my cracks that the light shines. It is through my cracks that I have learned what 'whole' means. It is through my cracks that I have been healed. It is through my cracks that I am humbled. It is my cracks that have given me a heart of thanksgiving. It is because of those very cracks and shattering moments of my soul that I have found life. There is wisdom from mistakes. There is encouragement from discouragement. There is strength from weariness. There is boldness from fear. There is beauty in the cracks.

Although they hurt, I am thankful for my cracks. It is in my cracks that I know my blessings. And I know that I am undeniably blessed. I am so thankful that He has taken my imperfect pieces and reformed them to beauty. I know that in this world I will have trouble but I have taken heart because I know He has already overcome it. I know that in this world I will have weakness but I also know that His power, peace, and love is made perfect in weakness. And I am thankful for that. So. Thankful.

"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." John 16:33

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. " Philippians 4:6-7

"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." 2 Corinthians 12:9

Scott & April | Julian Engagement

Scott and April were one of the couples in our wedding giveaway contest last month. I loved their video and after meeting them in real life I quickly learned that that video was really just a small glimpse of how sweet, funny, and caring they truly are.

Julian is one of our favorite spots and I have been wanting to shoot there for awhile. After a few exchanged emails about a location for their engagement session I felt like they would be down for the adventure and offered it is an idea. Of course they were open to it and a week later we were on our way!

We had so much fun on our little road trip talking, laughing, getting to know each other, and trespassing onto abandoned property. Scott and April totally rocked it and I love the way their portraits came out. Did you see April's smile?! This girl made my job a piece of cake! We finished the evening with dinner and as we chatted over pizza I couldn't have been more thankful for the gift of meeting such a wonderful and beautiful couple.

Scott and April, we love you guys and had a blast spending so much time with you! You are beautiful.

Homemade: Panera Broccoli Cheddar Soup

Wednesday night B and I went over to my family's house and I made Broccoli Cheddar soup. I have to make as much of this as I can before the sunny spring days come! This is not my own top secret recipe. In fact, I found it on google while searching for the closest recipe to Panera's famous Broccoli Cheddar soup. I am Panera's Broccoli Cheddar's number one fan!

I tweaked the recipe a bit and have found the way I like it. Most recipes call for half and half but I just can't bring myself to use it so I use plain ol 2% milk and I haven't noticed any difference. Don't let the wateriness of it scare you. It gets nice and thick by the end:) This size batch will feed four and will STUFF four if you serve it in a sourdough bread bowl... I just drooled. Have fun cooking and enjoy that soup!! Let me know if you make it:)

Cooking with friends is always fun... especially when your friend is hairy, brown, and drools waiting for a scrap to drop! He didn't leave my side the whole time. Love him!
Ingredients:
1/2 cup and 2 tbs of butter
1 chopped onion
1/2 cup of flour
3 cups of milk (normal recipes call for half and half but I use 2% every time)
3 cups of chicken broth
3/4 pound of broccoli chopped
1/2 tsp nutmeg
12 oz of grated SHARP cheddar cheese (got to have the sharp!;))
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Melt the 2 tbs of butter in frying pan and caramelize chopped onions. Set aside.
2. In a big soup pot, cook 1/2 cup of butter and flour over medium heat. Whisking constantly for 3-5 minutes.
3. Stirring constantly, slowly add the milk.
4. Stirring constantly, add the chicken broth. Then simmer for 20 minutes.
5. Add the broccoli and onions and cook over low heat for 20-25 minutes.
6. Add the cheese and nutmeg. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Memory Lane

Today my little brother turns 16!!! How did this happen? I swear I was 16 yesterday. He can't be 16. He can't have his driver's license. He is still 8.... right? right?!
Wrong. Brett and I realized the other day that we are closer to being at our 10 year reunion than we are to having been in high school. Weird.

This morning while doing the dishes I reflected back to my own 16th birthday and my own teenage years.
Who was I? What did I think? What did I feel?
The dishes were done so I grabbed the laptop and spent a few minutes finding my old high school blog. I just wanted a little peek into my teenage life.

A few posts in and my empty living room was filled with my shrieks:
- "Are you serious?"
- "No, ohhhh no."
- "what the heeeeck?!"
- "You did not just say that"

Internet, as much as I would like to believe I was the confident, grounded, wise teenager I remember myself being... I was SO not. I was whiny, insecure, emotional, and straight up obnoxious!

I wrote things like:
- "drop it like it's hauuttt"
- "Hopefully the usual drama will be on a low that night (I'm not holding my breath)."
- "Then we all went to BloodFeast. That show was amazing."
- "I want to relax and watch a movie with someone special.. haha too bad there is no one"
I started and ended a post with:
- "I saw a rainbow and thought of you"
- "Love Always Leather Feather Weather Tether HEATHER!!! hehehe"
Obnoxious right!?

My hand had slowly moved from the computer to partially covering my eyes, fearful of what I would read next. In between cringing from the words I wrote I actually found a few things that I loved. Things that were just beginning to develop then but that are some of the biggest parts of my life today.

I started reading things like:
- "I've been having the photography itch lately, I just need to shoot. So on Saturday I'm buying myself flowers, going to the beach, putting my feet in the sand, finding shells, and taking some pictures."
- "then i came home and decided to go to downtown for a little photography session. got some good ones. It was an experience."
- "If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. Col 3:1-3"
And then Brett came on the scene:
- "so... I'm really liking this one boy. The end. "
- "I'm the luckiest girl ever"
- "but when my world is crashing down on me... there's you"
- "gosh he's amazing..."

I read post after post about the drama that I thought was my life.
Song lyrics, piercings, football games, loneliness, dates, dances, prom dresses...

Life is a funny thing. Thank God for grace, maturity, and my hubby who loved me even when I was THAT girl. I wonder what I'll think in 7 years when I come back and re-read these posts here. Blogs are fun.

Happy Birthday Justin!!! Here's to you being much cooler than I was at 16! xoxo

Jena | Senior Portraits

Being in front of the camera is really not an easy thing. Last week Brett and I helped out a fellow photographer by modeling for a shoot of his in Las Vegas. I was reminded of how hard it is to be in front of the camera. It can be awkward, sometimes you don't understand the pose they're asking you to do, and sometimes you end up feeling like an awkward goof the whole time.

When I am shooting I do everything I possibly can to make people feel comfortable in their own skin and in front of my camera. The truth is that they are beautiful. Whether they have realized that or not, they are. My passion is to make them believe that and capture that moment when they do! Sometimes it takes a little coaxing and sometimes it takes making a total fool of myself. Who cares... photography is not about me, it's about them, and I can not rest until they have realized how beautiful they are and believe it!

BUT... sometimes you come across one that makes your job a breeze and that was Jena. Jena is a bright, confident, shining, funny, smiley, radiating, beautiful young woman. She has eyes that pierce you, a smile that sets you at ease, and a steady confidence that is inspiring. If you meet her family you will know why.

We planned in advance to take a few family pictures while we were out shooting Jena's portraits and I am so glad we did. This family is flat out genuine. Genuinely loving, genuinely sweet, considerate, happy, and they genuinely love each other.

At the end of the shoot I was sort of sad our time together was over. In an hour and a half I learned them, I laughed with them, and I cared for them deeply. I got in my car and was so thankful for the opportunity to come in contact with and not only touch but be touched by another beautiful life.

Here are a few shots from the day...