A glass of wine and unexpected wedding vows

No. It's a difficult word. Especially when it comes to family. Our weekend staycation began with a fun night spent with Adam's cousin Katie. We just couldn't resist. She lives so close, and we were overdue for a visit to her rather luxurious "college" apartment. We came home late. We slept in. We were young and irresponsible again....ok we are still young, but I like to think for the most part we are somewhat responsible these days.
After a long morning of coffee and a movie we got ready and headed to the Holt Summit Winery. It is a quaint little winery near Jeff City...and it just so happend there was a couple exchanging vows that very day. We watched them set up. We sat through the entire ceremony. We shared wine, spinach dip, and memories of our wedding day.

We ended our weekend with a great sermon and an intense game of Scrabble...don't ask who won....I'm still bitter.

Getaway car for the Mr. And Mrs.....whomever they may be.

Happy Wednesday!

The Glass Box

My stomach lining can’t take it anymore. I am a worrier. I always have been. I have no idea what I am going to do when I actually have children of my own. They will be forced to live in a glass box their entire existence in order to ease my worries. I am ready for my dad and sister to come home from the Philippines. They left last Friday to help get my Lolo (grandpa) transitioned and home from the hospital. I know he needs them. I know they are blessing him right now, in a bigger way then even he can fathom. But selfishly, even though I don’t see them every day, or even every week, I want them home right now, safely.

I miss them.

Since Dan....(yes I call my little sister a boy's name. yes she loves it) has been on here quite a bit lately, I will leave you with a picture of my pops, warming up for the race at Head for the Cure.

I love and miss you both! Take good care of Lolo and have a safe trip home!
Love,
Shell

Jonah and Laura: Engaged

I met Jonah and Laura back in High School. They have been together for as long as I have known them. Their names have just always gone together in my mind, you can't say one without the other. They are best friends.
Jonah and Laura are helpers. Compassionate, loving, genuine, helpers. He helps by caring for an autistic elderly man on the weekends. She helps animals, taking them in and caring for them. Their love for helping others is truely contageous. They are a perfect pair.

I love this picture, mostly because this is the kind of lovey dovey look they had throughout the entire session, and I was lovin' every minute of it!

Jonah and Laura, thank you both so much for being so easy going! You were GREAT to work with! Thanks for making your session a blast and for being so crazy for on another!

Our Weekend StayCation

This weekend Adam and I have decided to say no. No to friends, no to family, no to reality. This summer has been an eventful one, so for the first time in three months we will stay home with no agenda, no plan, and no responsibilities. Ok so I do have some plans, but nothing beyond board games and garage saling...have I mentioned how increadibly cool we are these days?

Don't worry, I might add a little sangria to the mix. Things. could. get. crazy.

So next weekend, it's game on again. More cramming 7,512 things into one weekend, more trying to stay awake until 8:00 on the week nights just so we can fall asleep to a movie together, more family, more friends, more reality. This is our life and we love every minute of it!

Here is a preview of what's to come.

Jonah and Laura:Engaged

More pictures from their engagement session to follow!
Happy Wednesday to all!
Love,
Shell

The Proposal: Erik and Amanda

When my little sister called, asking me if I wanted to take engagement pictures for some friends of hers I was excited. When she said "no, no, these are ENGAGEMENT pictures, like the act of getting engaged, like the proposal," excited quickly became an understatement.
The day of the proposal arrived. I had never met Erik before, but as the moment approached I was seeing glimpses into the kind of person he is, and the kind of husband he will be. My stomach turned as I thought of how nervous he must be, but each little detail turned those nerves into joy. The boquet of flowers with a sign which read Amanda's future name, a map of where the flowers were to be placed, the fountain lights on Art Hill, the careful planning, and the love he poured into this special night all gave me goosebumps.
It was time....the moment was here. And suddenly, we realized we made a bit of a boo boo. We placed the flowers in the wrong location. So after Erik and Amanda passed "their spot" with no flowers in sight, Dominick quickly ran to relocate the boquet to its proper place. Good thing it was 11 o'clock at night...otherwise this would have looked REALLY funny! Round two, everything was set and Erik was ready! They walked up to the flowers and he got down on one knee. It was adorable. Although I could not hear what he was saying I could hear the suprise and delight in Amanda's voice as she screamed and said YES!

The Flowers

The Map

The Proposal

The Celebration

The Love

Erik and Amanda, thank you for being so darn cute and allowing me to share this special moment with you! You are both extremely blessed and I can't wait to see what God has in store for you! I can't thank you enough for the kindness and appreciation you shared toward me. CONGRATULATIONS TO YOU BOTH!!!!

Bubbly

I really love Colbie Caillat. I would even go as far as to claim I am the one who discovered her. I realize what a bold statement this is...but seriously. Adam can testify to the fact that I blared Bubbly from my Myspace page long before anyone knew who she was. Yes I just dated myself by saying the M word.

As cheesy as it may sound, it is impossible to listen to her songs withouth smiling. I know I'm not alone on the Band Wagon de Colbie. I came home from work today to find Adam budgeting....to Colbie....and then he proceeded to tell me how much he loves her music. I'm totally ok with it.

I'll leave you with a couple pictures from this past weekend of my little sister Danielle and her boyfriend Dominick.

Happy Friday Everyone!!
Love,
Shell

Delight in the Little Things

Here are just a few things, specifically about this time of year, that make me happy:

Pumpkin Spice Lattes
Boots
Fall colors
Holiday Season

Walking at the park with my 3 boys
Christmas Music...if you are walking down the street wondering where N*SYNC's Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays could possibly be coming from this time of year, there is a 99% chance, it's my house.
Family

Candles
Trolling various stores, gawking at holiday decor
Waiting patiently for the above mentioned decor to go on sale so I can buy it, guilt free
Cats....ok I lied. I don't like cats. At all. But my sister in law has a cat named Sunny. And if I did like cats, I would be doing jail time...for stealing this ball of furry cuteness.

Happy Wednesday Everyone!
Love,
Shell

Business Stuff: Gift Cards & Business Cards & Copyrights. OH MY!

I am SO very excited about the way everything is coming together! I have some exciting things going on this fall and I can’t wait to blog about all of it! For anyone interested in sending out Christmas cards, now is the time to get your photo sessions in! Yes I realize it is only September, but you have been to hobby lobby lately...you've seen the trees.

Also, I have had a couple of people ask how to go about giving a photo session as a gift, so for those interested, I have gift cards available! Just shoot me an email at MichelleLunnPhotography@gmail.com and I’ll be happy to send you some info!

Good bye chicken scratch filled post its - Helloooooo business cards!

Thank you all, for allowing me to turn my dream into a reality!

Love,

Shell