Dear 2015, 

We can hardly believe all the joys you brought us! As we grow our business & celebrate each milestone, we are grateful for all the joys, challenges, & growth of this past year. 2015 brought us: 

1. Occasions to Celebrate

Life moves quickly & if you’re not careful, you can miss some really important things! One celebration we were super excited about was the engagement of two of our dear friends, right in our hometown of Greenville, SC! Chris proposed at Paris Mountain on a beautiful April evening & we were thrilled to be the undercover team to capture the proposal. The rest of the evening was filled with friends & food as we celebrated Chris & Beth. 

We celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary in the beautiful town of Lakeside, Ohio where we spent the week photographing families & enjoying the quiet town. It was such a treat to have the opportunity to explore this beautiful town & grow our business at the same time. We spent the evenings out on the pier eating ice cream & watching the sunset. It was while we were there, we learned one of our MOST surprising lessons of the summer. You can read about it here on our Instagram account. 

How can we forget about Scout? Our sweet golden turned 1 in May, making us one proud set of puppy parents. Here’s to many more adventures with you, our fluffy friend! We sure do love you!  

2. Meeting & Setting Goals

This is no small task! If you’ve ever set a large goal that seems scary & almost too challenging – then you can definitely relate. Since this year was our first full year as an official business, we made goals for each of our seasons. The fall season was particularly important to us. As we sat down & intentionally blocked off days for sessions, we said “OK, here are the number of sessions we have & we need to fill a certain number.” We prayed & prayed and asked the Lord to provide. And He did. Above & beyond – our October through December was very full! 

3. Watching Friends Become Parents

What a joy to watch families grow – but when your friends start their own journey of having children – that’s when things get real. We had quite a few friends start families this year & we couldn’t be more excited for them! From baby showers, first birthdays, and baptisms – we are one lucky set of “Aunt & Uncle” to a lot of adorable babes! 

4. Rest

Running a business from your home can make it tricky to put your work down. We spend a lot of our evenings & weekends working on photography & feel like we always have a “creative itch” that we want to explore. 2015 gave us opportunities to learn how to rest. One weekend, we simply left town. We packed up all of our camping gear, put Scout in the car, & hightailed it out of town. When we got to our trail, we walked for about an hour before getting to our site. We hardly talked. Instead, we listened. We soaked it all in – the quiet of the forest, the stillness of the sky, & the fresh mountain air. As we continue to grow, we know that seeking rest will always be an area to grow in – it’s never easy to say no! 

5. World-Wide Travel

This one deserves its own post! We can’t wait to share with you our travels around Thailand. We hope 2016 brings us another International trip!