2014

i have been going back and forth as to whether or not we should post a 2014 recap. since i basically checked out for all of 2014 [my last photo blog was march—MARCH—yikes] this is going to be less of a recap and more of an…update.

social media, blogging, etc. can be a little [a lot] overwhelming for me—what to post? how much to share? why? i struggle with wanting to be authentic [and i am authentically very private :) ] but also wanting to share the beauty of what we are privileged to do full time. weddings. some of our favorite people. beautiful families just loving on each other. our personal photos as our family continues to grow. plus, it’s good for business. people want to see our most recent work. and we want them to see that we are not a joke. or we at least want them to decide for themselves if they think we are a joke based on our most recent work. :)

we don’t have a ton of traditional resolutions for 2015. we are basically just hoping to survive. to be pleasing to the lord as we navigate all the newness set before us. to be faithful with what we are given. this blog is just a tiny tiny piece of that. a step toward being faithful with business, accountability, growth.

so.

what you will see glimpses of below:

a growing belly. the thing we are THE most excited/freaked out about is that we are going to be meeting our little boy on or around march 7th. first baby. quite possibly the first real responsibility either one of us has ever had. :)

a growing family. we had two siblings get married this year. we love love love our family and will be sharing even more of the festivities as time goes on.

a growing business. honored, humbled, and excited. weddings. engagements. families.

and!!!!!

what you will see glimpses of in the future:

a growing belly. haha.

a growing family. baby boy whitlow. and who knows what else?

A growing business. rebranding. more updates, blogs, additions to portfolio. just following where the lord takes us.

2014. what a year. 2015? oh boy.

here are a few highlights...starting with some photos of...me...taken by david. :)

our | first | christmas

our first christmas as a married couple.  

things we expected:

this being so much fun. together. in our own little home. getting to be a family.

that the christmas tree decorating would be up to me [sarah] this year because of our disastrous collaborative effort at it last year. our tree was hideous.

that we were going to attempt our own christmas photos using a tripod...with our giant dog...

christmas feasting.

things we didn't expect:

breaking the hatch on the back of david's car when we got our christmas tree.

the stress of actually having to be adults during christmastime [i.e. buying and wrapping presents more than one day before...which we didn't totally do].

the busyness. good grief where did all the time go?

how hard it is to get a giant dog to cooperate during photos when there are cows and about one million other more interesting things than sitting still and doggy-smiling for a camera.

gaining weight from all the christmas feasting.

just how fun it would be!!!!!! even with the above-listed stressors [along with some unlisted :)] that came into play. we are so so thankful for what 2013 has been for us individually, as a couple, as a business. we are undone and humbled  by how the lord has continually had his hand on us. here's to many more years of the expected and the unexpected....because he is in control...and he's good...and we trust him. :) merry merry christmas, everyone!

apple | picking

well. we did it. we went to sky top orchard, picked our own apples, devoured those doughnuts [no pictures of those...it all happened too fast], and brought home a gallon of cider [mine all mine]. it was our first weekend without a wedding since august so we wanted to do something different. we had fun. it felt like fall. we held hands. ate doughnuts. i don't know what to do with these apples.

israel

david and i got to go to israel for a couple of weeks over the summer. we have both been before, but it was such a gift to be able to go together. david was filming for the joshua fund and i got to assist him. we toured with a huge group, listened to teachings by joel rosenberg, and participated in some humanitarian aid efforts headed up by the joshua fund as well as local churches in israel. here are some shots from the trip...these were hard to narrow down for sure. such a beautiful place so close to our hearts.

Our | Wedding | Video

david and i got married on 3|2|13 and it was the most wonderful day. i wanted to share our wedding video because... it's our wedding video...but also because our friends at 02HDMedia captured it and DAVID edited the footage together for me for my birthday! my husband is a talented man. if you haven't seen his work, check it out here. i am beyond thankful for all the loved ones who made this day perfect. enjoy!