GRATITUDES + BREAKTHROUGHS // JANUARY 3, 2017

Happy New Year to you and yours!

The images above are from an amazing holiday dinner that Julie of Beaumont House Designs created. She worked tirelessly to bring her vision to life and it was an amazing site. From the massive hops vines wrapped in fairy lights, to the elegantly dressed table with delicate and rich florals, to a 6ft wreath that hung as the focal point to the room, as well as a 10 ft Christmas tree and a 1950’s Dodge Truck that had a great bar off of the tailgate. Logan from Talewind Visuals came out to record the whole thing. You can watch the video here. I’ll be sharing all of my images from that night later this week! Also the images above were taken on my Nikon F5 with Fuji400 🙂

I realize it’s been quite some time since I shared a Gratituesday post. I was doing so well earlier in the year but as usual fall wedding season smashed into the holidays and I got a little lost. My focus turned to editing and delivering so my end of the season couples could have their images before the holidays. Couple that with Thanksgiving, Christmas and a few personal and family challenges which I plan on touching base on below. So hold tight and refill that cup of coffee.

Gratitudes

I kicked off my 2017 season with a beautiful glam-meets-rustic-charm wedding at Ride-on Ranch in Lovettsville. There is something truly special about saying goodbye to the title of fiance on December 31 and waking up super exited to say your vows on January 1. That’s exactly what Charli + Joe did on Sunday, they started their new year with new titles, husband + wife. Their bridal party was full of family, the gals wearing sparkle dresses and the guys in sharp suits and military attire. Their ceremony was intimate with the most elegant communion cups, and personally engraved unity candle. Their reception was held at Charli’s family farm, in a barn that the family decorated with loads of string lights, romantic tall candle sticks, a massive American flag backlit with lights and hints of shimmer here and there. My favorite part of the night by far was the lip sync battle between the bride and the groom. Charli chose to have back up dancers (her bridesmaids) and a pop-like song, while Joe went for a more romantic ballad and stood along singing directly to Charli. I have to say it was quite an event and it the voting was close but I think Joe, might have had a few more screams and claps coming his way! Congratulations to the newlyweds and to a brand new year together!

In October my family got news again that my younger sister Katlyn would need another surgery to remove a tumor from behind her ear. If you’re a close family friend then you know Katlyn had her first brain tumor at the age of 5. It was successfully removed and the size of a large egg and thankfully benign. Katlyn was tumor free until her early 20s when she grew two more behind her ear close to her skull. So close in fact that it caused damage to the bone and her eardrum needed to be rebuilt. In the last 5 years Katlyn has had this same surgery 3 times, removing multiple tumors. Katlyn’s prosthetic ear drum fell out, which alerted her that there was an issue. A quick scan showed another tumor was present and her 4th surgery was scheduled. This December she went under for 2 hours and removed the original tumor and the doctors discovered another that had in fact burrowed through her skull. Her relatively routine surgery became much more invasive by drilling as well as bone grafting to make sure the tumors were removed and her skull was intact. Each time she goes through a surgery, it immediately puts things into perspective. I’m incredibly grateful that she is doing well with her recovery and that I can continue to be her wiser, more beautiful and athletic older sister 😉

My boyfriend for the last 2 years has been working his butt off to get into veterinary school. When we started dating he was completing pre-req classes and holding down internships with the intention of applying for a Fall 2017 program. This September he submitted his applications and one school in particular reached out asking if he would like to push his application forward to January 2017. He was excited for the opportunity and pushed his application. We got word he was accepted on November 28, and on December 31 I dropped him off at the airport to start his academic career at Ross University in St. Kitts. We had a month to get him organized, packed and set-up with the right paperwork to start school in a different country. While I am sad he won’t be here for long walks with the pups, snuggles in the morning or long Netflix binges… I’m incredible proud of his determination and his sense of adventure.

Kellyn and her husband Ken made an announcement around Thanksgiving that they were expecting their first child. For the Normans it’s the first grandbaby which is a huge deal! On New Years Eve they invited us to their home for a gender reveal brunch and we watched as they opened an ornament with “It’s a girl!” in pink! As you know the Norman genes are strong with females so we weren’t too surprised but I could tell how excited Kellyn was with the tears in her eyes and Ken looked like a proud Dad.

Kensey and her fiancé Jason are closing on their first home together in Gainesville. The pressure from Katlyn, Kellyn and I was too much so Kensey finally broke down and decided to live closer to us! We will be starting a new tradition of Norman Sister Sleepovers one a month at each others house, Kensey will be hosting this weekend!

I haven’t talked about nail polish in a long time, but I wanted to give my Mom/Santa a huge shout out for finding the most awesome nail polish holder for my collection. I’ve struggled with organization and Rubbermaid containers for years, but my Mom really really pulled through. She got these beauties from Amazon. If you have a big or small collection, this is exactly what you need to keep your colors straight!

Breakthroughs

There have been so many small ones since my last post, but when all of these big life adjustments and health scares happen I’m always pushed back to the same thought. Prioritize what is important and let go of the rest. For me, that meant getting my work to my couples as fast and as efficient as possible without sacrificing quality. I then focused on supporting my sister, my family and my boyfriend. At the end of the day the people you surround yourself with and give yourself too are the ones that mean the most, it’s not that the house is perfectly clean, and the laundry pile isn’t as high as my thigh, or that I was able to make three perfect meals a day. It’s spending time listening to their needs, offering support and helping them through their transition.

Thanks all for now. Thanks for reading, xoxo.