Photography by Katie Rivers

One of my dear friends and clients has passed away. I pray comfort and closeness to God for her family during this difficult time. Jade, you were so strong and joyful despite your struggles and pain. I am so blessed to have met you and your beloved Justin. It seems unfair that you lived such a short life and died before your wedding day. But I thank God for the years you did have and the love you did know. And most of all, that you knew and loved Jesus. That in the end, is all that matters for any of us.

I know people say “rest in peace” but I would like to tell Jade instead to run, dance, laugh and smile in heaven, to hug Jesus tight, to look on the face of God and know she is loved beyond understanding forevermore.

I will be honoring Jade with a day of blog silence for the rest of today instead of posting the previews I had planned.

A year ago, I kissed Libby and Shepard goodbye and subsequently was a nanny no more… my part time photography work was keeping me so busy that I just had to make the leap and take the chance. I sure do miss my kiddos, but I am also so lucky to do what I love and glad I jumped into the job wholeheartedly. I love photographing people and capturing their emotions and feelings for one another. I can’t believe how far a year has taken me. I’ve learned a lot in 363 days and grown a lot as both a photographer and as a person. I want to thank everyone who has hired me as their photographer! I wouldn’t be anywhere without you. Here’s to another wild, crazy, busy, thrilling year…. Carmen and Will tie the knot tomorrow!

The above picture is from a year and two days ago. Happy one year anniversary Nate and Linds! Love you both!

“Springtime is the land awakening….. the March winds are the morning yawn….”

I was going to start this entry by talking about how this is nearly a week late, but then I thought about it. Thanksgiving definitely shouldn’t be one day a year. In fact, I want Thanksgiving to be part of my everyday life. I want to savor the little moments that are easy to pass up. There are so many opportunities to be thankful and to treat yourself to gratitude… and I want to take a moment to express my thanks. My job is to create photographs for my clients {many who have become treasured friends}…. I get to exercise my creativity daily, witness momentous events and share in the joy that comes with them. Words cannot express how humbled I am when I truly take this fact in. I am lucky in love {my husband lights up my world}, blessed in life {given to me by Christ Jesus}. I hope that each and every one of you can find something to be thankful for every day, for in giving thanks you will find your heart is set free…