A Party for Two: Emma and Logan

A first birthday is a milestone. In the first 365 days of life there are a lot of firsts.

First time to roll over. First head lift. First smile. First hand discovery. First tooth. First coo. First clap.

These are among the many exciting firsts parents get to experience. Jay and Cathy however, have the chance to experience it...in double.

Emma and Logan just turned one! They had a rough start...in fact it is nothing short of a miracle that these two are here today, but the Lord had His hand on this family and they have been truly...truly blessed. It was so much fun to be able to capture such in important day and milestone in this family's lives.

And when Cathy and Jay throw a party?...they throw a paaartay!!! From the cupcakes to the cute signs, to the table of baby memorabilia, to the video...everything was so creatively planned and displayed. Just take a look!

So stinkin cute!

Cathy and Jay, thank you both so much for inviting me into your home with open arms! You are both so sweet and made me feel so welcome! It was such a privilege to share in celebrating Emma and Logan's first birthday!

To see more of Emma and Logan's first birthday click HERE for their slideshow!

Must. blog. more. often.

I know I have been lacking in the blogging department lately. I have been busy busy busy. Out of town every weekend, getting ready for Head for the Cure (which will take place right here in Columbia this month), working, spring cleaning, cooking enough ready-made-meals for an entire army (I'll save that story for another blog post) and editing. Whew, I'm exhausted just typing that! However, in an effort to start blogging more often I thought I might give you something to look forward to.

Coming soon....a birthday party for two.

Happy Friday and have a great weekend!!!

We now have.....

SLIDESHOWS!!!

...Another Showit feature I love. For my first slideshow I used my favorite images from Maggie and Danny's maternity session. Check it out here and enjoy.

Thanks to Adam for this awesome birthday present!!!

Baby Bump: Maggie+Danny+Jack

I could have taken Maggie and Danny's photos all day, even in the freezing cold. We walked around forest park, gabbing and laghing the entire way. Maggie told me about what it was like to grow up with Erin (one of my dearest friends, sorority sisters, old room mate, and a bridesmaid in my wedding). She told me about her recent trip to Hogwarts, which I am super jealous of. We laughed about Danny's obsession with Michigan state, and the fact that I thought they were a football team.

Maggie's teaches 4th grade, and I'm certain she makes a class full of students excited to learn with her with her bubbly personality and contagious laugh. Jack is going to be one lucky guy, with two parents who love him dearly.

Maggie, you and your baby bump are GORGEOUS!

Love this one!

And my favorite from the day thanks to Danielle.

Maggie and Danny, thank you for putting up with what probably seemed like a 3 mile hike. I was simply trying to get Jack to make his big debut...so much for that labor inducing theory.

I had so much fun with you two and I can not wait for Jack to get here! See you both very soon!

And thanks again to Danielle for working alongside me!

Check back soon....

For more of this adorable baby bump.

Have a happy Monday!

Happy Birthday Danielle

Today is my little sister's 21st birthday. I'm so confused as to when she reached an age older than 12.There was a long period of time where she remained the baby in my mind. She was the little girl doing somersaults during her floor routine in gymnastics. The little sister that Malorie and I picked on for being the youngest. The little sister who was never going to be old enough for boys, make up, or high heels.

And then she grew up. Somewhere along the line she went from being the baby sister to the high school graduate, with the boyfriend, the make up, and the high heels. Today she turns 21, and that little blonde haired 12 year old is gone.

Oh, and have I mentioned she is engaged? This July she will say I Do to her elementary school sweetheart! Seriously, they were in like 6th grade....and in some districts, that's still considered elementary school.

This photo was taken in an attempt to teach Danielle about back lighting. Kelly did a much better job explaining it to me back in April, but hopefully I made some sort of sense.

To my sister, second shooter, and bride to be. This has been a big year. I love you and hope you have a very Happy 21st Birthday!

Poor Guinto and Dyster

We are the worst pet parents ever. When it comes to hair cuts...we like to procrastinate. We wait until poor Guinto's hair covers his eyes and he can no longer see. We hold off until Dyster's little beard gets "bed head" when he sits up after waking from his doggy nap. All of the waiting is partly due to our busy schedules, partly due to laziness, and largely because the only person we trust to groom our pups is an hour and a half away.

About a year after we bought Guinto and Dyster we got this bright idea that we were going to attempt to groom them ourselves. We went out and bought what we thought were fancy special dog clippers. We ran them around to tire them out. We gave them each a bath. We dried and brushed them carefully so they were clean and ready to go.

In our tiny bathroom, I attempted to hold Dyster still as Adam started cutting away. About 3 hours, one fight, and a half shaved dog later, we gave up. There are people who go to school to do this job. And from then on, we vowed to leave it up to Adam's cousin Stephanie, who happens to own her own business doing this very thing we failed so miserably at. We drop the dogs off at Studio K9, get our errands done, and pick them up. No trying to hold the dogs still. No hair all over our bathroom. No sad puppies. And no fighting.

It's that time again.

The Fruit of the Spirit is not a Banana

Last year my friend Jim e-mailed me to see if I would be interested doing a project for the youth group he leads at North County Community Church. I was to take and design a picture for a postcard that would promote the upcoming youth group series. It has since then turned into a pretty regular thing, and I absolutely love it. I thoroughly enjoy wedding and portrait photography, but there is something about these projects that forces me to think outside of the normal realm of picture taking. It challenges me to take a theme and be as creative as possible with the limitations set by specific passages or lesson in the Bible.

This one has turned out to be my favore thus far, probably because this series is surrounded by one of my favorite Bible passages.
Galatians 5:22-23
" But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law."

It is such an encouraging verse that clearly depicts attributes we should strive to achieve in our daily lives.

Oh that the title? That's part of a song from the days of youth group. It never failes to get stuck in my head each time I hear "fruit of the spirit." And if you know the song....it's now stuck in your head.

Side note: I took this picture in our backyard. When we moved into our house the previous owners gave us some paperwork on our trees....they are insured. We own insured trees. We are so grown up.

Have a very happy Monday!

Christmas in February

For months I have been begging Adam for this camera. He told me I needed to wait. I needed to work for it. I needed to save for it. I pouted.

Now all I can do is thank him. I am so much more thankful and grateful knowing I earned this camera. I earned it through hours upon hours of hard work, dedication, persistance and kind words. Kind words from clients, family, and friends who have trusted and believed in me, even before my very first session. I have been truly blessed far beyond what I can put into words.

Arriving just in time for wedding season, here it is. My new baby!

A special thanks and shout out to Ray at Schillers for all of your help!

It's been a great weekend for Michelle Lunn Photography.

The World Wide Web

Well it's official! I can check off one exciting item from my New Year's Resolution post. Michelle Lunn Photography is now on the WWW. This blog has been wonderful to me! However, as old as the conversation gets, the phrase "check out my blogspot" never ceases to embarrass me. A blog is not embarrassing when you have a website to back it up (in fact it's benefits are immeasurable), but when a blog is the only thing that bridges the gap between my work and my name, professionalism goes out the window.

I have to admit, I finished my "first" website about 2 weeks ago. I wasn't extremely happy with it so I decided to wait and make a few changes. And by a few changes I mean I changed the entire thing. I built the site through Showit and I can not say enough great things about their team! The software's possibilities are endless, and the customer service at Showit is impeccable. I already have plans for the direction I would like to take this site, but I think that is all going to be put on hold now that winter is coming to an end, that was wishful thinking at it's finest. I have a lot of learning and designing to do, and I expect I will be making changes constantly, but for now, I am completely happy with the way it turned out! Check back often for updates! :)

Ladies and Gents, Enjoy.

MichelleLunnPhotography.com

Your website is your handshake and your blog is your voice.
-Jasmine Star quoting Anonymous

I want a firm handshake and a soft voice.
-Me quoting Jasmine Star