Meet the McLeans

This gorgeous bunch is the McLean family.  We were able to capture so many awesome images of them.  ”Why?”, you may ask. Well, it’s simply because they are awesome.  :-) Yup, a big ‘ol bunch of awesome.  Seriously though they are and I am happy to call them friends.  So without further ado…The McLeans.  :-)

Just look at them.  They are just too cute.

And the tween sensation…

And the littlest of the bunch…

Ok, check out the eyelashes on this little one.  She will appreciate them when she’s older.

Thank you McLean family for entrusting me with capturing memories you and your families can enjoy for years to come.  I pray that Christ be gloried through you all and that He shows you much grace as you raise your children in the Him.  Love yous guys.  Grace and Peace.

1, 2, 3…

1, 2, 3.  That’s right count them, I have three babies now and what a blessing they are! Before I became a Christian I never knew how important being a mother is for the growth of your children in the Lord.  And I thank God that although I know He has given GREAT! responsiblilty to me as a mother that I am not fearful.  He has caused me to know Him and I am thankful that I can look to Christ’s righteousness when I fail to hit the mark.  As the song says “I greatly rejoice”!  Thank you Father for Leah, London, and Lathan.

1 Year Already!

It’s been a long time since I left you, without a dope beat to step to, step to, step toooo…Uhhh, sorry I got stuck in music mode.  What I meant to say was It’s been a long time since I’ve updated you with a new blog post.  I can’t believe it’s been a year since my last post!  I’m sorry guys.  A lot of changes in the last year kept me busy.  Lets see…we bought a house, had a baby, had to get a swagger wagon (never thought I would be driving a minivan), homeschooling, wifing, mothering.  Yeah, nuff said.

So yup we were blessed with another little one on August 22, 2011,  Lathan Isaiah Carrillo.  We got us a little boy.  I will post pics later.  It is so different having a little boy.  Shopping for boys is a lot different.  Girls are so much easier to shop for.  Which makes it a lot more fun, a little too much fun.  Perhaps shopping for boys is easier on the pockets.  I have to remind myself I’m not in the store to look at little girl clothes when I’m shopping for him.  Oh well I guess it will get better with time.  :-)

On another note.  Here is an update on Maelynne if you remember she was my first blog post.  Well guess what!  She is 1-year-old now!  Man does time fly.  Here she is at 3, 6, and 12 months.

Aariana 5 Days Old

I had the honor of meeting little Aariana when she was only a few days old. There’s just something about a newborn baby that warms your heart so. Maybe it’s the way they sleep so peacefully without a care in the world, unaware of the world. For a moment a newborn seems to look as if they are not of this world. As a mother all I wanted to do is protect that, although, I know it last for only a short while. Capturing a picture of peacefulness is a great pleasure because of that simple fact. But I rejoice in the Prince of Peace. A peace everlasting.

I hope these photos of Aariana reflect peace and warms your heart the way she warmed mine.

And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:7
I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

Grace and Peace

It Runs in the Family

This is Trae. He’s one handsome kid and he happens to be my little brother. Well ok, he’s not a kid anymore, but he’s still my little brother. It’s hard to believe my pesky little brother that used to go through all my things without permission is all grown up. Before I left home for the Air Force this guy terrorized me. Trae is 10 years younger than me so my sisters and I were automatic babysitters. I don’t know if this is true for everyone, but it seems that if there’s a big age difference between kids parents somehow forget to discipline. Seriously! This guy got away with moida (murder)! LOL! He wants to join the Air Force just like me! I told him he has to finish college first (excellent big sister advice)! So he’s alright with me now. I love him and want the best for him.

He’s a natural. I think it runs in the family.

Oh Baby!

I have a newborn session coming up so I decided to blog about babies.

Babies! Who doesn’t love babies? I mean, what’s not to love? They’re so cute and cuddly. They just make me smile. When I look at a baby I see a new life, a helpless little life that needs love and nurturing and direction. When I was pregnant with my first child I was so nervous thinking about who was going to provide all these things. What if I mess up? What if things don’t go right? What if, what if, what if… Then she arrived and there was no more what if. She’s here, no time for what if. She has to be fed, burped, changed, bathed, sang to, read to, played with, rocked, put to bed and the list goes on. When I didn’t have time to think about it, I just did it. It just sort of happened. Being a parent is a privilege, a blessing, a precious gift and I’ll cherish it. Even when I’m so tired my eyeballs hurt and the last thing on my child’s mind is sleep. Even when they throw a fit in the grocery store and everybody is looking at me like what is wrong with them kids! Even when I have to repeat myself a million times to pick up toys. Even when I’m at my wits’ end and I just want to scream and pull my hair out! My Heavenly Father, the Great Comforter, gives me rest. I could not do it without Him. When I’m having one of those days he’s there to make me do things right. Thank You Lord for Your Son or else I would be a hot mess.

Here’s a baby I had the honor of photographing. Her name is Dakota. She’s on my Facebook page, but my page isn’t open to everyone. So here she is for the rest of the world to see. This was a hospital session so she was only two days old! She looks like she’s posing in this first one.

I love details, look at her little hand.

Tiny toes…

It was still pretty cold out.  She’s getting some help putting on her little socks.

So peaceful…I got to hold her for a bit and she was awake the whole time.  She didn’t make a peep.  I’m sure her mommy didn’t get that luxury at 3am.

A head full of hair…Have fun mommy!  lol!

Too precious.

All wrapped up just the way they like it.

Matthew 11:28-30 “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.  “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS.  “For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

Grace and Peace

The County Fair and “A Love Story”

I was sitting here wondering, what could I possibly blog about! I got to thinking about some photos I had taken at the spring carnival back in April here in Columbus, GA. Which got me to thinking, the Greater Columbus Fair is a coming next week. Which got me to thinking about the story of my husband and me. Then it dawned on me, that’s what I’ll write about! Me and Rick! Sooooo, I got a story. Wanna hear it? Here it go…
I haven’t been to the Columbus fair since September 1999, then known as the Chattahoochee Valley fair, I think. That was when Rick finally got up some nerves to ask me on a kinda date. A kinda date? Yep, that’s when a person (usually the male) will invite you and your friends to go out somewhere (usually crowded) with him and his friends because he still hasn’t got up the other half of his nerve to ask you on a real date. That way if you say no he’ll only feel half rejected. Before that he stalked me at the Piggly Wiggly where I worked, but that’s a whole other story! Oh, and before that, we dated in the 10th grade. You guessed it, that too is a whole other story. All I can say is young and clueless, young and clueless. Hahaha.

Rick and I rode rides with each other and our friends. He pep talked his friends while I tried to convince my friends to talk to his friends so we all could teenage date and have perfect little relationships and go on perfect dates together and all get married at the same time and have perfect marriages, then have perfect kids and live perfect lives. Whew, that was a mouthful… teenagers huh. One of my friends did end up dating one of Rick’s friends, actually two, but that’s not relevant. Let’s just say they soooo didn’t work out. Rick and I, on the other hand, did… sorta. But first, we ate fooood. Cotton candy, corn dogs, VINEGAR FRIES, candy apples, funnel cakes. Love, the end.

Just kidding. Back to the sorta. See we worked out, but not at first. After the fair we stayed together. We were officially a couple October 1999, the 19th to be exact. Rick joined the Air Force July 2000, then I joined shortly after in October 2000. Rick finished his training and got his first duty station in Dover, Delaware. I thought it was a cruel joke! When I finished training I also by nothing short of a miracle got assigned to Dover, Delaware too. Definitely a cruel joke! Most people end up in Timbuktu, far from where they wanted to be. I got my first pick! It must have been the strong force of our love drawing us to each other like magnets. Sigh…NOT! Thing is we had no idea what love was. Yeah we got married 3 years later and had our first child two years after that, but we still didn’t get it. Whoever said communication is the key, LIED! Well, it was half the truth, but half truth equals a lie. Communication is key, but with whom is the question? They left that part out.

The “Love Story” part– Rick and I fell in love a couple of years after being married and at different times. “How could that be,” you may be asking yourself. Don’t worry, I’ll be happy to explain. See we couldn’t know love until we knew God and what giving “…His only begotten Son really meant.” What greater love is there than that which Christ showed us by dying on the cross. Jesus GAVE His life FREELY to the very people whose sins put Him on the cross. My sins nailed Jesus to the cross, Rick’s sins nailed Jesus to the cross, your sins nailed Jesus to the cross. Then God showed Rick his sins and Rick saw them for the first time. Christ showed him He offered Himself as a sacrifice for those sins and he would be forgiven IF he repented and turned from his sins and trusted in Him. My husband repented and turned to Christ and has been following Him ever since Nov 2007. Rick shared this good news with me. To which I initially impolitely rejected, until Christ took the blinders off and showed me I was in desperate need of a Savior. Then I did the same about a year later in Dec 2008. “Amazing Grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now I’m found, was blind but now I SEE!”

Now I know love isn’t merely meeting a person and staying with them ’til death. What then do you have to look forward to? I know Love and He always was and He always will be. What great hope for those that will spend eternity with Love Himself. And to think it all started at the Chattahoochee Valley Fair. We fell in love with Jesus Christ. Then we fell in love with each other. And the rest is eternity…

Ephesians 2:8-9 “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Grace and peace.