Last week, I photographed Century High School’s Holiday choir concert. I’ve been present at most concerts with my camera ready for the past 3 years or so…. to help document the evolution of Century’s choir program and to show support for my dad. It’s really cool watching the students grow up and gain confidence with their voices as they move through the program.

This past year, my dad had the opportunity to write the Alma Mater for the high school…. and it’s been exciting for him to hear it sung at football games and pep rallies. How cool is that?! He wrote the song that will tie all alumni to each other throughout their lives…. the song that promotes unity and pride for a school. What an amazing tradition to be a part of…

I thought these few shots were really amazing from the concert… shots of my dad leading the choirs and the audience in the alma mater…. and students actually getting into the spirit of it…. I’m proud of you, Dad!

Aside from the mountain of work and the broken foot escapades, these past 5 months of married life have been pretty cool. Getting to know each other’s sleeping patterns, cleaning habits, and scheduling preferences has been a challenge, but a fun one because we get to do it together as husband and wife. I’ve always hoped and dreamed my first holiday season as a wife would include things like hearty laughs by a crackling fire with hot chocolate and gingerbread, decorating the perfect tree together, making Martha Stewart-worthy cookies for our family and friends, and staying up late at night watching the Christmas lights on our tree dance on the ceiling. I’m excited to make our own traditions and memories this year…. our first Christmas. And while I know nothing ends up going as planned, and nobodys’ holidays are perfect, I still can’t help but be giddy and smiley as we near the holidays.

We started off our holiday traditions with our annual Christmas tree hunting…. but this year, we got to hunt for our own tree! While the rest of my family ran off to find their tree, Christopher and I got to traipse around the farm looking for a tree for two. We found our tree and took some photos….

This happens to be Christopher’s reaction to my incessant documentation of our “firsts”…. we’re working on it….

And the happy couple with our tree…

Then we met up with my family and took some more photos. This is what I like to call a “perspective of the Christmas tree” photo…. If the Christmas trees had eyes, this is what we think they might see…

And… on another note… I’ve successfully fulfilled one of my “good wife” duties… making my first homemade holiday wreath! What do you think? I’m pretty excited about it and I’m sure I’ll continue to share as more holiday adventures unfold.

I thought the day would never come…. But it did. My parents finally let me take their pictures for real! For a while there all I would get from them is dirty looks and excuses like “I look like an old lady!” and “It’s Sunday.” Well, they caved… and asked me to take some portraits of them to celebrate their 30th birthdays. (That’s not really how old they are, but I think it wise to pretend they’re younger…. for my own protection ) They chose my dad’s favorite place on earth, Laguna Beach, to take them… Here’s my favorites from they evening…

This one was my absolute favorite…. I love their smiles.

This was their absolute favorite…. because you couldn’t see their faces.

They thought they were soooo funny…. too bad they didn’t notice all the tourists looking at them funny…

Dear Mom and Dad,

Thanks for being so supportive and generous people. Thanks for loving me and Melissa the way you do. I hope one day you’ll love these pictures as much as I do…. and, despite what you think, they don’t make you look old.

Love,

Kate

Lately I’ve been pounded with the word “gratitude.” Not in the “you should be more grateful” kind of way, but in the still small voice that says, ” I love you; you’re my desire.” Living in a part of the world that screams “I want more” in every aspect of its lifestyle, it’s really difficult centering yourself on a different road than the one most traveled. But gratitude is worth the fight, I think…. and it’s only in that thankfulness and willingness to have a loose grip on the things I’ve been given that I find the peace and fullness I need. In the past few weeks my eyes have been opened to how He loves me… and in seeing his blessings unfold before me, I can’t help but feel overwhelmingly grateful. Those blessings have taken the form of some roses Chris picked and surprised me with in the middle of his work day, some Tulips that were given to him randomly… which he, in turn, gave to me. It’s also taken the form of abnormally spectacular Socal sunsets this January, and even in the “cozy hot chocolate and blankets while it’s pouring outside” kind of weather we’ve been having here the past week. They haven’t been monetary things, they’ve been simply beautiful…. it’s the simple things that get me sometimes. Just wanted to share my thoughts…

Here’s a sneak peek at a mini shoot I did for my parents recently in Laguna….