Forever Family. . .

Meet the Chandler family. 

This family blew me away when I began to get to know each of them more personally. They were so passionate and determined to have one picture that captured the love and genuineness of this beautiful family. Words cannot express the feelings that were experienced during this session. In particular, this picture (right below) was the only picture this momma had of her and her two babies. They had never had someone take a family picture for them. This broke my heart at first, but they I realized the incredible opportunity before me. I was able to impact someone's life, and that is why I do what I do. And why I chose to start Simply Smitten as a business last fall. I wanted to be able to have a way to reach into the life of someone else, and impact them in a positive way. Thankful for opportunities like this. So enjoy these pictures, and don't take for granted the fact that we have incredible tools like photography to remember those memories forever. This is all the more reason for YOU to go have your pictures taken, or even to just go grab some captured moments of your kids and loved ones.

Sweet moments like these absolutely melt my heart.

Sweet, sweet family. So amazed that I have been capturing moments for the Chandler family for almost 6 months! Love this couple and little Rome.

Freckles are probably one of my favorite little loves in life. How beautiful.

Smile. . .

On Tuesday, I was feeding the homeless down at the Triune Mercy Center. It is one of the most amazing ministries I've ever been involved in because I get to help feed people and tell them about Jesus. How much better does it get?! As they were going through the food line, I noticed their cheerful "thank you's" and, "God bless you's", and it made my heart so happy. These people have every reason in the world to complain about where they are in life (even though some are where they are because of bad decisions in the past), but they didn't. They chose joy. And that hit me hard. What really hit me was one man came through, especially grateful, and then looked at me and said, "I've got to smile, it's good for the soul." His life is so full of hardship and grief. He doesn't even know where his next meal is coming from. Made me think about all of the times where I choose to soak in bitterness and complaints about life and not smile. And, to be honest, my life is busy, but I'm not searching for my next meal, which is one reason to be thankful. Those moments are full of self-centeredness that I need to surrender to Jesus. Thankful that this man taught me such a huge lesson. So your challenge for the rest of the week is to smile. Smile when times are good, and even try to smile when life gets more than rough. Because let's face it, smiles are good for the soul. It just reminds us to choose joy in Jesus in those moments. Happy Thursday!

"Be A Lady Worth Knowing."

My sketch today of Thoughtful Thursday is all about living a life worth knowing. As I sat in my last speech lecture on Monday, Janice Robinson gave us all a speech commemorating the past 4 months we have been together in class. One of the statements she said in conclusion was, "Be a lady worth knowing." Immediately my mind went right to the Proverbs 31 woman. Things such as, "Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised." Or, "She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue." These are some things that really hit me this week as my semester was coming to an end. I thought back on all of the classes I took in my freshman year and wondered, "Was the teaching of kindness on my tongue?" Or was it more full of anxiety, complaints, selfishness, and gossip? (the list goes on, Praise Jesus for His covering of all my careless words!) I just stopped and had to ask Jesus to make me a woman worth knowing. A woman full of truth, grace, wisdom, kindness, and faithfulness. I want my life to be worth knowing because I am living in reflection of the One who is worthy of all praise, and honor, and glory. Just had to step back and think about the way I was living my life, and wanted to challenge you to do the same! So as you go throughout this brand new Thursday, just think about your choices, words, the way you respond, because we are here to glorify Jesus, and you can't lose sight of that today. So, as Janice would say, "It's the weekend. Make a difference in someone's life." Happy Thursday! 

Oh, sweet love. . .

Just couldn't resist sharing a part of this session with you. This couple is obviously so in love, and it was incredible to capture a couple snapshots of their relationship together. There was just so much joy and sweetness in the way they loved each other, and I was more than excited to get a glimpse into their lives. Oh, sweet love. This is one of the thousands of reasons why I absolutely love doing what I do as a photographer. This session is actually a part of a huge family reunion, and you will get to see that sometime before the end of next week! So excited to share all of life's joys with you.

"Whatever lies before me. . ."

"Whatever may pass, and whatever lies before me. . .

Bless the Lord, oh my soul."

These words to "10,000 Reasons" by Matt Redman have been echoing in my heart this entire week. As exams are looming off into the distance of next week, I am tempted to become overwhelmed and anxious about the outcome of this semester. But these words are a constant reminder of my Savior. That's what inspired me to draw this quotage for today. No matter what the outcome is of next week, I know for sure that there are more than 10,000 reasons for my heart to be filled with joy. All I have to do is look at the constant characteristics of Jesus. He is my faithful, constant, everlasting, all-knowing, forgiving Father. Hearing this song this week gave me such a peace. As I look into the next few months, I don't have to know all of the answers as to where I will be in life. I can rest in peace in my Father, and just let go, and let Him be in control. Can't wait to see what He has in store for me!

Thoughtful Thursdays. . .

 

Thoughtful Thursdays.

A place for thoughts, encouragement, and more than just words. I am SO excited to be starting this weekly post, and I encourage you to check them all out. I hope they can be of encouragement to you in the middle of your busy week. I've been throwing around this idea for a while, and finally had enough time to start.Can't wait to see where our Thursday journeys take us. Be sure to comment and share these posts, I want to hear about how they have impacted you! 

 Happy Thursday everyone!

Anthropologie. . .

          My dear followers. How I have missed you!!!!!! Thank you for your patience with me through the last 2 months. I am here to catch you up on all that life has brought. God has been so incredibly gracious, and I cannot wait to share all of the wonderful things He has provided in the months of March and April.
          I had so many things planned for the spring, especially for Simply Smitten. But God has a really cool way of always showing me how much greater His plan is. If you don't know, Anthropologie is my absolute, hands down, favorite retail store EVER. And, we just got a branch in Greenville. I've always thrown around the idea of working there, and Jason finally pushed me to just send in an application. I didn't think anything would happen. . . But I am so glad that Jason believed in me more than I believed in myself. I got a call one night from one of the managers at Anthropologie, and my entire world changed. I had an interview, set up the store, and ended up getting a job offer!!!!!! I was beside myself, I couldn't believe it!!!!!! And with this amazing job also came some changes. Time became oh so precious, as i juggled school, family time, a new amazing job, photography, Etsy shop, and ministry opportunities. This left very little time for blogging, and it broke my heart! As school is coming to a close, I am FINALLY able to get back into a routine schedule. And that includes time for my favorite, you!
        So thank you, thank you, thank you for being patient as I have turned a new chapter in my life. I cannot wait to see how God unfolds His plan for me through this! And I am even more overjoyed as I get to include you in this.
        Hope your lives have been lovely and beautiful. I have SO so many new surprises to reveal to you, and am going to be changing the blog around a little bit. I hope you are as excited as I am about these amazing times ahead as summer gets closer and closer every single day.