Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Fearfully and Wonderfully

"For you created my inmost being; 
you knit me together in my mother's womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; 
your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. 
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,
your eyes saw my unformed body. 
All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.
How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! 
How vast is the sum of them" 
Psalm 139: 13-17

Just a short time ago I had the opportunity to take maternity photos for my sweet friends Tabitha and Todd.
Tab and her husband Todd have been in my life for about 6 years now,
and I can sincerely say that they are some of my favorite people.
So much fun and love in one powerful couple.
I am so excited for them as they get to share in the beautiful miracle of new life.
Below are some of the maternity shots that I took before their little Brody was born.
This past weekend I took his newborn pictures, what a treat.
This little man is special and already so loved.
I cannot wait to see what little Brody will do in this world.
God has big plans for him.








World, meet Brody....

(More pics to come)



Hope that you feel the joy of life today, and the specialness of knowing that God gently and perfectly designed you for a purpose.

Much Love,
C

Monday, October 29, 2012

No Plans Saturday



We Love No Plans Saturday

Every once in a Blue Moon, we both have a completely unplanned Saturday.
We make Pancakes, and then do whatever we want. 
It's bliss.

We like to start our Saturdays in our own quiet time with God. 
There's nothing like sitting down after a long work week in the quietness of God's presence.
In reflecting we are reminded of an old song we used to sing at church that goes like this:
"In the secret in the quiet place. 
In the stillness You are there.
In the secret in the quiet hour I wait, only for you
I want to know you more."
Those early Saturday morning devotions are where we find who God is in our daily lives.
He is real, He is present, and He loves spending time with us.
 
 
This particular Saturday Shannon was on a mission to find boots.
After devotions, and pancakes,
we headed to the legendary  Last Chance.
For those of you who may not know, this is the Outlet to Nordstroms.
Discontinued and returned items all end up at this lovely little hole in the wall store.
 This means lots of good deals if you are willing to fight through the crowds of clawing women, 
and dig to find your perfect prize. 
Unfortunately, this means that some trips are a bust and you walk home empty handed.
Such was our fate this trip. 
None the less, we had blast and made our way to Nordstroms to sip on coffee 
and gawk and clothes we cannot buy.
It was a perfectly perfect day of window shopping.

Here is what we wore:

 Shannon:

This is a prime example of "Fall" in Phoenix. 
It really wasn't cool enough for a scarf, but my stubborn self is done with this heat.
(We tend to ignore the blistering temperatures and pretend to be cold in pics...thus the hot coffee scarves and boots that are all completely unnecessary)


Camo Skirt:  Thrifted (Old Navy)    Scarf: Old Navy (One of my favorite pieces ever)
 Sandals: Target     Purse: Thrifted Old School Coach ($20!!)


Courtney:

 This is what I love about the current messy, easy fashionable world right now....
maxi skirts and messy hair are totally in. 
I take full advantage. :)
Heart Top: Ross     Red Maxi: Thrifted    Purse: Thrifted (Kenneth Cole for $10)     Sandals: Forever21




That's a Saturday for the books. Many more to come.

Stay lovely,
Court and Shan



Friday, October 5, 2012

Pondering Heart

Oh life, sometimes you are just...

Ever feel like life is a blur? That's me...right now.
Every night I fall asleep saying "I don't know what you're doing God, or why, or how. But I trust you."
I feel that I am on the brink of change.
God is moving, and I am ready.
Life will be very different in just a few short months, (but then again, isn't that always true??)

I am a picture taker, photographer, memory saver?...whatever, however.
I take pictures because they mean something to me...something more than a colorful snapshot.
Each photo is a moment in time that God created, beautiful and purposeful.
I love to capture the moments, or the details that others pass by without notice.

I was looking through a few pictures from my recent trip to Wisconsin and found one that I relate to right now.
This photograph was taken while driving through the most beautiful, lush forest.
The colors in the leaves were at their brightest.
That shade they turn where they are the most vibrant green.
When they are this color, you know what is coming.
Any day now something will happen that will cause that green to become yellow.
Fall is almost here.

The picture, although it looks messy and chaotic, it was purposefully taken.
I focused on one tree out of the bunch and tried to match the movement as we drove by causing everything else to blur, but the one tree to stand out.

How is that my life? I'll tell ya!

Like I said, brink of change...fall is coming.
And while this is a difficult time for me now, I know that the most beautiful season is on its way. :)
When you look at the photograph, it looks messy.
It is blurred, and difficult to determine what is important about it.
Yet at the same time, there is something beautiful there.
Something that captures your attention and makes you keep looking.
We, fleshy humans tend to hide our messes.
We don't like to admit that we are messy.
But God has purpose in the details of my life.
God's grace changes my mess.
He says, "You are messy, but I am good. When you invite me into your mess, I make it good."
:)
So, just like this blurry picture...there is something absolutely beautiful and purposeful about my messy life....and that is God in it.





And while I took this picture, this is what I wore: :)
Skinnies - Ross        Boots - Last Chance (Steve Madden)      Poncho - Walmart      Head Scarf - Gifted

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Oh, the Places You'll Go!

The past month has been full of adventure for both Courtney and I. Courtney, as you read in the last post had the opportunity to visit her lovely parents up in Wisconsin. She got to soak in so many amazing memories with her mom and dad and take in the beautiful countryside :)

About the time she got home, I was packing and ready for an adventure of my own! Like I said, its been a busy month for the Loverly girls :)

1st Stop: Colorado Springs, CO 
I spent a few days in this beautiful mountain town with my parents just enjoying the views. Lots of beautiful landscape and new memories! One of the adventures we had was driving over to the Royal Gorge. Its this extremely breath-taking canyon and there is a bridge you can walk on from one side to the other. My mother declared right away that she would not cross the bridge; it was just too far down! She would wait for us to come back instead. So, my dad and I took off on our adventure across the canyon, and not two minutes later, there my mother was right beside us. She couldn't stand not to be a part of the adventure with us. What a sight it was too! Here are a couple pics of our adventures in Colorado!                      


                              The leaves were turning :)                                The view from Pike's Peak!
                                       My beautiful Mother on the Royal Gorge Bridge...Don't look down!!                                                                    
2nd Stop: New York, NY
Well, after a few days in the mountains, I headed for the city! My best friend from high school, Christina, has been living in the Big Apple ever since college. So I had the opportunity to spend a few days with her as well. We walked around, ate tons of amazing food, walked around some more and then ate dessert :) It was grand! Here are some highlights!

                          My first sight of the Big City!                  The Evening view from the city of Brooklyn :)
                                Gotta have my coffee!                         Such a lovely visit with a life-long friend :)

I had such an amazing time with all of my adventures. It is just so amazing to travel and see how diverse our world really is. From the breath-taking views of the mountains of Colorado all the way to skyline of the Big City. What an amazingly creative world we live in :)


-Shan