stenography

New Days

Sat, 3 Mar 2012 11:38:47 -0500

So there’s a reason why it’s been so long on the blog posts...and it’s a good one. With the help and oversite of my brother-in-law, Christopher Jarvis, I am building a new website that is specifically for wedding photography and wedding photography only. I will be keeping this site for all non-wedding related photography and for more personal blog posts.

The new website is:

www.asweetcarolinawedding.com

If it isn’t quite up to your expectations, fear not! It’s still under construction.

If you’re wondering who this sweet girl is, her name is Emmalee. MK used to nanny her when she was just a wee one! Now she’s growing up fast, and a few weeks ago we did a quick little portrait session with her.

Last night MK and I went for our second pre-natal appointment, and we got to hear our baby’s heartbeat for the first time. Truly an experience like no other. MK could not contain her joy-filled laughter, which of course would then come through the doppler crazy loudly. It was another one of those, “oh my gosh, there’s really a baby in there” moments! “I’m really going to be a dad”! It’s most definitely an exciting time for us. A time like none I’ve ever experienced before. Full of the grace and courage of God flowing over our life. I can’t think of any other way to describe this place of dependence.

New Promo

Fri, 3 Feb 2012 13:22:37 -0500

So here’s how it works, if you have a friend or family member who’s planning a wedding and looking for a photographer, tell them about us! If they book us for their wedding, you get $100 cash, simple as that!

Also, check out the new wedding & portraits/art sections of the site!

New Year, New Secrets

Sat, 7 Jan 2012 11:04:36 -0500

Ahhh, the New Year. So much potential, so much to look forward to. We are filled with thoughts that, yes, this is the year that such and such finally happens, or this is the year where I finally breakthrough in that area. Whatever those things are for each of us, we're filled with hope; the feeling that this is the year. We think these optimistic thoughts even as we let go of the disappointments and hardships we faced in the year before. The new year always seems to reinforce and confirm what we are always fighting to believe; God is good. Yes He is good. Yes He is good. It's almost like breath returns to our lungs as the promise of His goodness floods in once again. New Year's weekend these thoughts and more filled my mind as I looked into 2012 with a mix of excitement, anticipation, and, to be honest, a little fear. I was surrounded by old friends but I was harboring a secret. I like to be an open book as far as my closest friends are concerned, so this was hard. This secret added greatly to both my anticipation and apprehension towards the coming year. You see, my wife and I were pretty sure we were pregnant! However, "pretty sure" isn't sure enough to tell people about it. So we waited and we stuffed ourselves at PF Changs (MK politely declining some raw tuna claiming she didn't like it), we shot off fireworks, and raised our glasses to what God's going to do in 2012. We drove home New Year's day, through the wide open cotton fields of eastern North Carolina and finally back to our little house in Archdale. The next week brought confirmation; we're having a BABY! I'm going to be a father. The implications of this have been washing over me almost daily, yet it all is pervaded by such a great joy. In the words of Blake Casteel,

"I don't know why so many people put off having kids, all they're doing is putting off knowing how their heavenly Father really sees them".

Thomas + Mary

Sat, 17 Dec 2011 11:57:35 -0500

This summer Mary Katherine and I had the pleasure of getting to know a girl named Mary from Concord, NC. She had recently been engaged to a young man named Thomas. Their’s was a fast romance; hey when you know you know! They tackled the mountains and the valleys of a relationship with a purpose and fire that comes from having looked into the future and seen its worth. They where ready to commit.

Commitment. Now that takes courage. The memories of my own struggle with it are still quite near to me. Perhaps a few months more than two years ago I was literally on my knees before God begging him for some sign, some definite yes or definite no, yet it was not God's choice, but mine that mattered. I'm sure that for some couples God does give them some sort of sign that they were meant to be, but for MK and I it was clear that the choice was ours, and one way or another we would have to own it. You see, if God had made things clear with writing on the wall or a voice from heaven then when things got tough we would blame him. We would think he had made some mistake, but when you know the choice is yours, you're the one who has to keep making it. You're the one who's responsible. God has never been in the business of making our choices for us, though so often we wish he would. From the garden of Eden 'till today God has always given us freedom to choose. Though the choice is always ours, the strength to walk them out for a lifetime is His. So, on a breezy fall day in early November we had the honor of being at The Dairy Barn to photograph Thomas and Mary as they made the ultimate commitment to each other. So here's to you two and your courageous choice to love selflessly. May you rest in His strength as you love each other!

Run to the Coast!

Fri, 28 Oct 2011 11:18:12 -0400

A couple weeks ago, with a very very busy week staring us in the face, I decided to surprise Mary Katherine with a quick little weekend beach trip. God loves to work out the details we love to stress over. My head was filled with an empty wallet, un-mowed lawn, and other such petty distractions. And yet I could not escape the feeling that this trip that we didn’t have the time or money for was never the less exactly what the Lord wanted us to do. So we did, and as usual, he was right. We relaxed and rested, really rested, for an entire day sandwiched between long drives. But how worth it it was to watch the unceasing waves, the colors of a coastal sunset, and to feel his presence blowing in the ocean breeze. And guess what? The wallet was fine. The lawn got mowed, and our hearts got filled.