Graftefulness and Gorgeousness

I recognize more and more the impact of people in my life who heap love on me without fail and see who God made me to be and encourage me to live that to the fullest. You know, the people who catch you off guard because they love you in spite of...and believe there is greatness in you even after you...and so on. I am becoming more and more aware and grateful that these people have been plentiful throughout my life. The ones who know me best and (even still) love me best are my mom, my dad and Ryan. Of course I reap the reward of their deep impact in my life daily but sometimes I reflect on it more than others. Like when I was attending the 8th grade graduation of my sister-in-law, AJ. As I watched all those 8th grade graduates at their somewhat (or very) awkward and high pressure stage in life I was thinking--"Who is in THEIR life who is loving them, cheering for them, believing in them, showing them the way, etc?" It caused me to want to very much more accurately reflect to each individual person I encounter the value that God places on them. And understand them in a way so that I can detect something about the specific greatness He put in them. I am so grateful for the strength, confidence, mindset and understanding this has built into my life and I so much want to pass this on.

That may seem like a heavy introduction to the next part of this post, but that is usually how my mind works--constantly (over)thinking or (over)analyzing things:) Anyway, I am about to unveil a sneak peak at some gorgeousness from my sister, Destiny and her photo shoot from 2 weeks ago. Thanks to my husband's very generous Mothers Day gift, I am now equipped to further explore an interest/talent/hobby of mine-photography. He loves that I am creative and he encourages me and reminds me that I am. He challenges my focus when I don't feel confident because I am fixed on how much I still don't know and how much I need to learn, and, if you ask him, in regards to photography, I should be charging like the pros:) (so don't ask him) Anyway, on to the pictures. If anyone is in my position---wanting to become exceptional at capturing artistic, real life photos--- I recommend you borrow my sister and head to the beach at sunset. The beauty of both will shine bright in even a beginners photography:)

And, of course, there are many, many more to come:)