beach vacation

First of all, I can't think of a better weekend than the one I just had. I guess it's bitter-sweet, considering the fact that I am back to studying. It was wonderful, though. I take my BIG exam next Tuesday and am hoping that will be the END to the madness!! Wouldn't it be nuts if I was actually a registered nurse? I believe it would be.

I have the neatest story from my vacation... It all started with me and some of my closest friends laying out on the beach. We were literally just lying there: resting, reading, playing frisbee, etc. I turned around from being in the water and saw a family wandering out to the sand in white tops and khaki bottoms. My friend Aubrie and I laughed because everyone else on the beach was in a bathing suit; it was obvious they were going to take pictures!!

Well, as I watched, it seemed apparent to me that the family was just going for some fun-loving family photos on the beach, but the poses they were choosing just made me cringe. I guess it's the photographer in me that was just dying. I know, I know... Ridiculous. Either way, I kept thinking that I wanted to walk up to them and help. I just didn't know how. I was trying to decide if I just wanted to showcase my poor posing skills or if I actually had a desire to help this family. With a complete feeling of awkwardness and some pig-tails, I decided to walk on over there...

I don't remember what I said as I stood next to the couple but ended up running back to the hotel room and grabbing Aubrie's camera. I was afraid to take mine because I'm shooting a wedding this Saturday... Aubrie was kind enough to let me borrow her's, so I did. I grabbed it and ran back out to the beach. I felt like such a fraud frantically trying to manually get the settings fixed, so the pictures would be decent. I was really scared... When I got out there and re-met the family, everything changed. The boys were so precious, and their parents were so appreciative. They reminded me of my dear friend, Christi, and her 3 boys... practically the same ages!! I really enjoyed those 15 minutes of shooting.

When I felt like I got some good shots, I gave them my information and said we would be in contact. The sweet mom then shared the neatest thing with me. When I asked if they were going to be at the hotel longer, she said that they had to leave. They were supposed to have left hours ago, but she was looking for her camera. See, she had lost it the night before (I believe she said she lost it at the movie theater). She had been very upset, even to the point of crying, that she wouldn't have photos of her boys and of their entire family at the beach.

I get chill bumps each time I think back to that story. What an incredible God we serve. I think that, with that experience, I realized how small I think my God is, and I think that's pathetic. He is in control of each aspect of my life and aligns it perfectly. Oh, how I wish that I would trust that more often. Oh, how I also wish that I would be willing to give of my talents more often, as opposed to just when is convenient.

With that said, I am proud to showcase these photos. I have just started the editing process but am hoping to have more to post soon... These boys are so cute!!