What in the world have I been up to?

Really....four months since my last post??? Photographers with booming businesses are heavily intertwined with social media. I get it. Blogging, twittering, posting on Facebook - those are all musts!
I am not in that world right now. 
I love where I am in my business in this stage of life. Sure there are times when I want to dive right in. I see an opportunity and want to put 110% on the line.
But the timing is not right.

And
timing
is
crucial
just
like
in
photography.

There is a time when it is exactly right to close the shutter and capture the perfect shot. Too early or a little too late - still can make a good shot - but not necessarily that perfect shot. A good photographer knows how to anticipate - survey the entire scene, study and understand all of the elements that have to come together compose THE SHOT. Anticipation involves patience, knowledge, a little bit of imagination, plenty of vision - and ultimately ~ it involves action.

For now, my family is my number one priority. That is the biggest job God has entrusted to me - right now. There will come a time - too soon I am sure - when I have less trips to the park, less clothes to wash, less mouths to feed, less books to read aloud, and less homework to help with. Then, I will have more freedom to pursue my own personal interests. Until then, my blog posts are going to be as needed. Maybe a few a week - or maybe a few a quarter. For now, I am okay with that.

If you have hired me to do a shoot for your family, a wedding, or a design project, you can be confident that I will give you my full attention. That is why I am selective and choose to do a limited number of any one of these things each year.

With that said, I haven't posted on my blog in these past few winter months, but I have still been quite busy doing various photography and graphic design projects! Many times, these things aren't what I want to share with the Internet world or would feel completely appropriate. For example, I had the marvelous privilege of taking pictures at a birth towards the end of the year and have wanted to respect the privacy and intimacy of that special family. I am excited to do a short post in the next week or two about that experience and to share some of the beautiful images. I also had the privilege of taking pictures at a beautiful event for a dear family friend who is battling brain cancer in which almost 700 people attended. Again, not images I would share on a blog like this. However also during these last few months, I have LOVED a few down weeks of time with my most important priority - my family and beautiful kiddos! Here are just a few pictures of some of the things I have done photography-wise...

Family Reunions...

Precious Baby JD...

One of two tween birthday parties...

A basketball league...

My three favorite kids in the whole world ;)...

Blessings!

Zumba Fitness with Pamela [Business + Fun]

I used to just watch through the glass. Every time I saw them dancing, I would consider stepping in, but would chicken out. This was several years ago. This class was full of men and women who looked like they were having a blast and shaken it. Now mind you, I only watched and maybe wished I could do that.

After 6 months or so of watching, I ventured to actually step inside the glass...where I still just watched. It looked like so much fun, but there was no way I was making a fool of myself out there in front of all those people. I mean, I had never even danced at a wedding! And how in the world would I figure that out?

Once I finally tried it and I realized that no one was actually watching me, I was HOOKED. I had never participated in something that felt so liberating in a good way. I have always struggled with self-confidence and fearing what people think. Doing Zumba over the past few years has had some role in helping me to start to overcome that. AND it is SO FUN!!! If you really work hard, you can easily burn a large amount of calories! When I wear my heart rate monitor, I generally burn between 700 - 900 calories in an hour.

In the past year and a half, I have been dancing with Pamela - who now has her own Zumba studio. She is so gifted and so good and so inspiring. She cares not just about your workout, but also about YOU! (even if you look like Elaine from Seinfeld dancing!) She is a huge blessing and I am so thankful to be able to take her class. In her studio, she also offers Zumbatomic for kids, Hip Hop (taught by the fantastic Michael Nicholson) and Hip Hip for kids. She was invited this week to do a few demos at the Arnold Classic! If you want more information, check our her website HERE.

Check her out in action below.