Thankful.

I think it’s only fitting that my first blog post for my little corner of the photography/online world would be to say thank you. You see, this website wouldn’t be here without the encouragement and help of quite a few truly wonderful people I get the honor of calling my friends. I heard once that if you have one or two people in life that you can call true friends you’re really lucky. If that is true, then I won the friendship lottery.

I haven’t always been this lucky, though. I grew up moving about a million times (I’m only exaggerating a little bit – ask my parents) and I was never the “popular” one. Hardly. I was the perpetual new girl. It wasn’t until high school that I even attended the same school with the same people for four years in a row. Crazy? It was. But if I learned anything during those lonely years, it was the value of friendship. The value of home. The value of having the extreme privilege of sharing a “remember when…” with people who really know you. It’s a wonderful thing, friendship. A precious thing.

So, it is not without acknowledgment of the magnitude of those friendships – both old and new, online and “in real life” – that I say THANK YOU. Thank you for believing in me. Thank you for helping me, teaching me, and guiding me. Thank you for making me a priority and putting up with all my quirks. Thank you for letting me call you friend. I would never be here without you.

Mom and Dad – thanks for always being there and telling me my obsession with drawing and photos could be a legitimate “thing.” Sarah, Chayah, Chrissy, and Staci – thanks for being my models (even if I had to bribe you sometimes).

To my wonderful husband – wow. Words can’t express how grateful I am you took a chance on your silly wife. You’re my best friend. I love our life and our little crazy girl. Let’s keep having adventures side by side forever.

And almost last but never least, Aria. Little bunny, you are my world. You’ll never know the depth of what you mean to me or just how much you have to do with making even this dream a reality. You have mama’s heart forever. (In exchange, could you sit still for the camera for just five minutes?)

In conclusion, there’s just one more person to thank. You. Whoever you are, reading this blog and browsing through my photos – thanks. Thanks for taking a few minutes to check out my little corner of the cyber universe. If you’re looking for a photographer, I just might be your girl.