i can honestly say that spending the morning with amanda and ryan at the arboretum was definitely an adventure. an adventure that included an employee of the arboretum yelling at us, strange people making noise near our photo sites, numerous clothing changes and stiff hair.

but in the end, the pictures turned out great and the day was light and fun.

thank you amanda and ryan for giving me the opportunity to photograph your enagement. i wish the both of you many years of happiness.

emily, whom i cannot believe is a senior. she seems so genuine. so happy and being in her presence was just a delight.

and she even brought her dog, ginger.

thank you emily for such a fun afternoon and if you are wondering what to do after high school...you can always model for GAP. they could use a cute girl like you.

honestly, i didn't know what to expect when we drove down to oklahoma to participate in my sister-in-law's wedding. in jeremy and my mind's eye, we still saw anna as a 12-year-old; full of innocence and immaturity. but what we saw when we arrived was this young adult, smitten with her husband to be, full of self-personality and an aire of maturity about her.

for the first time, i actually saw her. her as an adult. her as a wife. her as an equal and as i looked at her through the lens of my camera, i saw her radiant beauty that permeated her being.

it was hard to focus without tearing up.

i mean i had seen anna grow up for the past 13 years. never had i seen her with a boyfriend-or even talk about boys for that matter- and when she called and told us about sean, whom we never met, it was hard for us at first. once we met him and saw them together, however, i knew it would be alright. that GOD would bless them in their marriage and that anna had indeed found her soulmate.so here's to anna. my sister-in-law. the beautiful bride. the great woman and a gem in my heart.

may GOD bless you always.