// brookside biblestudy update //

i have a small (or maybe it will end up being big!) goal of pulling out my camera a lot more when i'm with my heart change/brookside/biblestudy community this spring & summer. this area of my life is so poorly documented… and on one side i don't mind because i get to spend so much time with them that i don't notice it. but i realized that i'll definitely want to have pictures of them all once i've moved so i want to be better about snapping images here and there! 

here's a few quick snapshots of our used-to-be-little biblestudy! tuesday nights are my favorite night of the week because i get to see all of these dear faces! we've had a consistent 20-25 girls recently so as you can see, lately we've been shoulder to shoulder all the way around m+k's living room and then 4-5 girls sit in the middle.  so thankful mandy & cassie joined our leadership team last fall because i don't know what we would do with out them! 

please keep praying for us as having this many girls obviously presents a lot of dynamics & challenges to work through. both on tuesday nights and in our relationships with them outside of biblestudy. 

it is such a gift to love on these girls though and it humbles us that they keep coming back. definitely all the Lord's doing! as with any group of individuals, there is a lot of hurt & brokenness represented here so please pray that God's grace, redemption & healing continues to wash over their lives… little by little breaking down the walls & hardness. 

when i think about moving away in a few months, these girls come to mind immediately and my heart breaks a little more at the thought of leaving them. but i know the Lord is leading me where i need to be next and i know the girls will continue to thrive under the love & care of m, k, c & m:) so thankful he can be everywhere at once!

benj is sixteen!!!

this mister was my birthday present 16 years ago and i remember being so excited to have another little brother! those were the days when the boys outnumbered the girls 3-2. these days, we have them beat at 6-4 but they make sure we play basketball, run around the house with nerf guns & get into wrestling matches from time to time.

benj is rich in friends (which speaks of his goofy & friendly personality) and it's always fun having them around! ellyn asked a bunch of them to come over one afternoon to surprise him and several rounds of knockout ensued. 

then it took him 24 tries to blow his candles out! i don't think he'll be living that down anytime soon:)

it's been such a fun month of celebrations! mama & elisabeth's birthdays were this week so those images will be coming soon! 

frozen all the way:)

y'allllll!!! i finally have a new camera body!!

you know how all the images on this blog from the past 3 months or so have just looked like crap? (oh you did but you didn't say anything? you're too kind:)) well basically, my camera of 5 years was dyyyyyyiiiing. but i was just waiting to save the last few pennies before i made the jump. then, right before my birthday, i hit the $3.5 mark and pushed the order button for the canon 5Dmarkiii !! 

they say the equipment doesn't make a photographer… and i'd totally agree. but having good equipment sure does make a difference:) now i'm even more excited for all of the coming weddings & portrait sessions!

anyway!! these two sweet girls, maddie & sara, are the daughters of two moms/women who i look up to immensely. i remember when i was maddie & sara's age, there was this awesome girl named becca who was in college and would periodically do sleepovers with me or take me out to do something fun. (she also played a huge early role in me pursuing photography!) those times with her were so great because she was like the older sis i never had and it gave me a break away from oldest girl responsibilities. 

that's stuck with me so well throughout the years so now, along with taking my little sisters out now & then, i want to take time to pour into other girls who may not have a big sis!

one windy evening, the three of us went and saw frozen and then got a sugar rush at menchie's afterwards:) SO much fun!!