Zacharias Family Portraits

Yay! ...for posting pictures I promised back in October :)

I wasn't procrastinating either; Juliane wanted to be able to send out her Christmas cards first. :)

So now Christmas is over. I'm happily on the way up to West Virginia to be with my newly married sister and to spend a little time on Snowshoe Mountain {hopefully skiing and tubing?? Please!!! :D}

But, back to the pictures... this is Stetson and his mommy and daddy.

At the beginning it was just Stetson and his mommy so I chased him around as he ran circles, just caught up in his own world of play. ;)

I think this is one of my personal favorites (I'm talking about the previous picture... I hope you have caught on by now that I write about the picture AFTER the picture) :)

These were taken at the Sorrell's annual hayride in the hills of Missouri. I always love to go, just to be with people. But this year, when I knew that I was going to take their family pictures, I got sooo nervous and I wasn't nearly as excited about the whole day just because of the nagging anxiousness going on inside. 

But as soon as it was done I was happy with the way it went. And even though I still know that I wasn't perfect at being on top of posing them and keeping the session flowing (as much as I would like), I have to tell myself that I'm still obviously learning! :P

And now these pictures are making me miss green grass :/  ...and editing golden hour pictures. (I must say it was a very happy editing process as I began to really see for myself what is so special about the golden hour!)

-MarLeahJoy

A Bit of Christmas Eve

This Christmas we were reveling in the fact that we weren't going to decorate. (Only after convincing ourselves that it wasn't really necessary and feeling slightly guilty for being so lazy.) But when it was decided that we would be "hosting" the Adams at our house this year Momma thought she had to decorate a little bit. So out come the pinecones and some lights and other winter things. Nothing big... but I must say that I started to feel the warm, fuzzy Christmas feelings all over again when I saw our house decorated a little bit. Now, obviously that isn't the true meaning of Christmas, though. In fact I just heard a really, really good message about Christmas -- "The Real Meaning" It's worth listening to in my opinion.

We tend to always celebrate with the Adams on Christmas Eve and then have our own family time on Christmas morning. We just do the typical... stuff-yourself-with-tons-of-food, exchange a present and play games together.

And ever since little Lacey was born, our Holiday gatherings are filled with so much more laughter and smiles! We all adore her so much!

We played Mad Gab :)

Here's one that I had today: "Easel Aid Ease Man"  >  "He's a lady's man"
It's so funny to watch someone saying all these stupid syllables over and over until something clicks. Then their face lights up and they shout out the exact same thing they've been saying all along -- just with a new meaning. Ha! 

Merry Christmas!

-MarLeahJoy

Alyssa {Bridal Portraits}

It's really hard for me to even think of anything "happy" to write on this post. My sister got married on the 2nd of this month, and I must say I have already cried a good 4 or 5 times for her. The night before the wedding it felt like she had died or something. It was horrible. Most of those feelings were because I was at the end of a very long day and sleep was long overdue, but nonetheless I was still hurting at the thought of her moving so far away.

Recently, my dad made the comment, "Yeah, we will only see her a handful of times each year..." And the whole harsh reality hit again (as if it hasn't hit enough times!) "You mean to tell me that I will be lucky to see her a twice a year!?" This person I've spent nearly everyday of the last 18 years with... How sad! But people have already been giving me so much encouragement to help me through this though, and that has really helped. :)

 

Oh, how she loved her poor cat. Sadly, she wasn't able to take it with her, though. I mean, who really wants to travel on their honeymoon with a bawling cat. :P

"Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue, A Sixpence in your Shoe"

I guess the handkerchief counts as Something Old and Something Blue... maybe? :)

I think this is my favorite of her. I love how her eyes match the chair!

Home. I'm glad someone suggested for us to take a picture in front of our house. Yes, I'm being very, extremely sentimental, but of all the beautiful backgrounds, I like this one with our house the best! ;)

Her engagement watch and flowers Marty brought her when he came out for the wedding.

Um, excuse me while I go cry some more. JK! ;)

-MarLeahJoy

A Wedding Shower

Wow, we are getting super-ooper-dopper close to my sister's wedding {less than a month now}.

Thank goodness I actually have my bridesmaid dress mostly complete because I really didn't foresee it sneaking up on us like this. {Especially when you have your sister and bride-to-be constantly sharing the countdown, by the second, to the time of her wedding... it seemed to drag on with her "nagging"} But I can't wait for the big day {Nov. 2} :D

The bride-to-be and her momma :)

I spent my whole day off from college on Tuesday cleaning and getting the decor ready for the shower. Then, it was time to relax and enjoy our friends. {Does anyone else find it difficult to transition from the frantic I'm-rushing-around-getting-the-house-ready to the calm and collected Hi!Welcome-to-our-home.I'm-trying-to-be-hospitable-now?}

Anyway, and time to eat Butterfingers! Yeah, you might spot them in a picture below ;)

Sweet little bit of "happy-baby" drool :P

And then of course, after the lovely evening was over, and all the guest had left... time to bring out the books and get my homework done and a little bit of sleep before going to school the next day.

And, yes. I have updated my blog and I will be making some more changes to it. :)

It was really a last minute thing I decided to do last night after being inspired by a blog I liked to try to make my little bloodspot look as less-blogspot-ish as possible! :P

I must get on my accounting homework now. Goodbye, while I hole up for the next 4 hours with my nose in my accounting book and my fingers flying with numbers. :)

-MarLeahJoy

Sparks

Okay, we'll see if we have better luck tomorrow at finishing the post I 
promised here.





Eh... I think these pictures show less of their glorious grain when you view them on Flickr.  :P    Or just slouch down and look at the pictures from a lower angle :DI hate having to lower the quality of the picture I post online.
-MarLeahJoy