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….

Eric Smith has been on staff at Irvine Presbyterian Church for a while now. I never got to have him as a high school youth pastor, but I’ve heard good things. I first had the chance to get to know him a little better when  we documented Daniel and Heather Orduna’s wedding in March 2009… and progressively I’ve had more opportunities to spend time with him, his wife Jeanine, and their kids Zoe and Wilson. Wilson was born earlier this year and has been a super cute addition to the Smith family! When Eric and Jeanine asked me to document this short and fun time in their lives, I jumped at the opportunity to spend more time with them.

It had been a while since I’ve played at the park. I’ve forgotten what a different world that place can be… hills of grass… sand… playgrounds… so fun! When Jeanine suggested their neighborhood park as the place they wanted to do the shoot, I thought, “How fun! :)” I arrived and we immediately got the family shot out of the way so we could get to the important part… play time.

Wilson is one cute baby! Eric and Jeanine were right to want to document this super cute time in his life…

Proud Father and Son moment…

Um… can anyone say Gerber Baby?

Jeanine is one proud Mama…

While Zoe was off chasing butterflies and Wilson chomped on his stuffed pig, we took a moment with the big kids…

What a beautiful woman… I love that smile!

After hanging with Wilson and the parents for a little…I finally caught up with Zoe. I snapped this right before she tossed me the ball…

Even though she’s a little camera shy… the camera loves her!

And she’s such a good big sister…

These are my absolute favorites of the whole afternoon…

Happy Holidays you guys!

(Warning: Before I was a photographer, I was a Pre-Medical student majoring in Biology. I loved every second of it and yes, I’m a geek in real life. If science freaks you out, don’t read this post.)

The Oxford American Dictionary states that Entropy is: “A thermodynamic quantity representing the unavailability of a system’s thermal energy for conversion into mechanical work, often interpreted as the degree of disorder or randomness of the system. Also defined as a lack of order or predictability.” In other words…. Entropy = Change.

Something that never fails to freak me out a little bit is the concept of change. Not only is change constant, but it’s something that, if you allow it to happen, can overwhelm and inhibit your life. You’d think that we’d figure it out and adapt since it’s a constant. I guess some people are better at adapting to change than others.

Interesting fact though… Entropy = Fire. The heat lost in fire dissipates and therefore cannot be retrieved or put back into a compact object for further use. I think it’s funny how, of all the outdoor activities, the place all the worries and stresses dissipate most is around the campfire. As I sit around the epitome of change with friends, talking about how much change trips me up in life and recounting all the good times that have since changed, I stare into the fire (change) and it mesmerizes me… it calms me… and all my cares seem to burn up in the dancing flames. (Hopefully you followed that…)

There you have it… I love hate change. I love it because it gives me the chance to become who I want to be. I hate it because change FORCES action whether I’m ready for it or not. So this Thanksgiving season (post-Thanksgiving season) I’m thankful for Entropy… on more than one level. I’m thankful that change has happened this year and I’ve grown so much because of it. The beginning of this year started me off with a bang… I was drop-kicked into being self-employed when the coffee shop I worked at closed for economic reasons. Things changed. My business has changed so much since I first started in August 2008… and I’ve had more opportunities this year than I had ever dreamed. Things changed. I am not who I was last November. Things changed.

I hope this holiday season, you have the chance to take inventory of all the entropy you’ve encountered this year. Remember who you were last November… what your biggest worry was… who the most important person in your life was and why… what your dreams were… and compare it to where you are now. Did your biggest worry get resolved? Who was the most important person in your life and are they still? What changed? What were your dreams last year? Did you take action to make those dreams come true or did you push them off as “unattainable” and let them fade away? What made you choose what you did? And… how can you learn from the change that occurred last year? Are you going to let another whole year pass without pursuing your dreams? I would hope not…. because I’m definitely not going to let that happen in my own life. This year has been HUGE… and I only anticipate that 2010 will only make life even more crazy awesome.

Lastly, for your enjoyment, and since I’ve come to realize a blog post is waaay better with pictures, a little family mini shoot for you: Meet The Urbina family… Jamie and Rachel, and their ridiculously awesome son Wesly.