Honduras . More Photos...

The last several weeks have been full of some amazing travels for me. While it has been some of the most hectic and chaotic several weeks of my life, I wouldn't trade them.

The week in Honduras definitely had the most impact. I continue to reflect on my time there and wonder how it will change who I am and the plans the Lord has for me. I'm excited to see what will come for all of us who went. And what an amazing group of individuals - Lauren and Josh Clark, Lauren and Peter Zaffos, Shari Henson, Memoree and Cody Barrett, Lesa our leader, and the hilarious-keeps-you-hoppin' Ginny Corbett also fondly known as "Ginny-cake". We all laughed 'til our stomachs ached, daily. I felt like they were all family by the end of the week and it was sad going our separate ways. To have seen and experienced so much together.

People keep asking about the trip. Honduras is such a beautiful land filled with a high rate of poverty. The poor are pretty much ignored by the wealthy, as if they don't exist. You can see that walking through the village. Adults won't make eye contact with you because they assume you will ignore them. (White = wealthy in their minds). One morning, while walking through the village, I started saying "Ola" to every adult I saw, then making eye contact and smiling. The way they looked at me with surprise and then to see their face warm, was heartwrenching. In a society where we are raised to think so much revolves around us and our "happiness", where people get upset when they aren't acknowledged, as if entitled, I realized I can't even imagine feeling like I didn't exist. But the biggest thing was seeing the joy and love in the faces of the children. Children who have nothing, absolutely nothing, and don't even know if they will have food tomorrow. To think of the children here in America, who have their parents convinced that buying them a certain toy, or watching that movie, will make them happy. Right. Not true happiness. Don't fool yourself. The happiness and joy I saw on that mountain was the kind that more of us need, the kind you only get from love. The love of others, the love of Jesus. What a week!!

Hope for Honduras is an amazing organization, run by Ron and Shelley Jones, true servants. They are truly changing lives up on that mountain. If you feel led to give or serve, there are opportunities for both on their website - www.hope4honduras.org

Here are some pictures...




Jumprope is a favorite pasttime in the streets...








Food that has been handed out to the villagers, provided by a mission team...


The street in front of the Center where children gather daily...




A child eating the food that was handed out on the street...


Barefeet are common in the streets filled with garbage and human waste...


The top of Mogote...

Honduras - Uno Photo

These last several weeks have been a bit crazy and full of travel. After spending a week in Michigan with family and photographing Jill & Nick's wedding, I turned around and left for Honduras. I spent a week with several other talented photographers capturing images hoping to tell the story of Hope for Honduras and all the wonderful things this group does for the local villagers. I have so much to share and many more images to blog from all of my travels. I will be posting more later, but wanted to post one image from Honduras. Be patient with me for a few more weeks of craziness and then stay tuned... so much to come!

Denver, CO ~ 01.09

My wonderful friend Gwen (featured below with her good looking boys) and I had some much needed girlfriend time in her hometown of Denver a few weeks back. Gwen and I roomed together in, and I quote Gwen on this, "a 52 square foot apartment downtown Chicago during our Senior year of college. Well, maybe it was like 152 square feet. But we also shared that elaborate space with roaches the size of a small duck and another roommate. It was the best and most expensive semester of our college lives!". I quote her because I couldn't have said it better. Jay and I flew out to visit and it was the first time we met eachothers boys. Did she ever keep us hoppin! In the few short days (too short) that I was there we managed to up to the mountains twice, to Evergreen and to Red Rock, take in the Rodeo and Stock show, see a local play "Girls Only" (her hubby Tim, aka "Super Dad" offered to watch the boys so we could have a night out), swimming with the boys, hiking, and on... We had SO much fun!!

Here are the pics to prove it...



The boys...


Something you don't see everyday - The Dairy Princesses (with tiaras and all) are on the left waiting for their cows to come in... literally.






Funny Alpaca's




Breathtaking Evergreen...


















There was an older gentleman watching me take this shot who pretty much thought I was nuts. My wonderful friend Gwen stood up for me - "It's ok. She's a professional." :)


















Gwen practiced her photography skills and took some pics me and my J. Thanks friend!!

Love Affair ~ what went on...

I know it has been several weeks since I went to Bald Head Island in North Carolina. The following weekend I traveled to Tallahassee, FL to shoot the wedding of Sondra & Ryan (coming soon). When I got back from that, my pregnant body decided it needed to crash. Now that I've caught up on some much needed rest, I am back to blogging.

Ahh, Love Affair - to have a love affair with your life, with your family, with your God, with your career. That was the focus of this workshop. How to get your life back and still have a love affair with all the important areas of your life. To have that much desired balance that we all strive for. On the airplane ride out to the East Coast, I made a list of those things I wanted to get out of my week at Bald Head Island. My list included...
- Learning how to balance family (husband and baby) and a thriving business
- Time to renew and refresh
- Gain photoshop and photography knowledge (the learning never ends)

I came back having gained SO much! Thanks to all of the amazing ladies in attendance and the fantastic four (Davina, Lauren, Kelly, and Millie) that put on this amazing workshop. I feel I am now better prepared to juggle business owner, wife, motherhood, and all the other roles us women face. I was able to spend some time relaxing as well. Everything was first class - from the super soft robe greeting us on our beds, to the home cooked meals all week long by Millie's phenominal mother (she cooked for 60 of us every meal!), to the finale night that included professional massages for everyone! Here are some images to share my experience...

All of the ladies...


Our home away from home - the house on the right...


Some shots around the island...












This was my wonderful roomie, Meggie...


A few images I took during the shooting sessions...




A few shots Lauren Clark took of me & my belly...




And lastly, the final night the fantastic four gave us a book that they had put together. Everyone was having them sign the book, while I had them sign the baby...