dreaming...

i am not that girl who had a camera in her hand since she was 5.
i mean, i do remember getting a little camera when i was younger but i have not been passionate about it since then...dreaming of one day becoming a professional photographer.

my best friend in college was lindsay. lindsay's dad is an a.maz.ing photographer.
i mean for real.
his work still blows my mind. check out his work here
that was the first time i had ever really thought about photography as a profession.

so when my kids were little i started doing my own version of photo shoots
just because they were the cutest little chums ever and i didn't want to miss a single stage.

when i decided to get a "nice" camera, i asked lindsay's dad.
i pretty much did whatever he said.
he shot with canon.
so i shoot with canon
he used photoshop.
so i use photoshop.

and that is pretty much it. i started shooting for my friends kids for fun.
and then started realizing how much i loved it.
how much joy i got from capturing these moments, and even the editing part was fun for me.
i just loved it all.

i built a little portfolio and off i went.
about a year and a half ago i found this amazing group of christian women photographers called pursuit 31...whose goal is to keep the focus on things of eternal value - raising godly children, being a godly wife and serving others.
it has allowed me to meet some of the most amazing people.
women who are literally my very best friends.
the friends i can turn to when i need prayer, encouragement, and even exhortation!
i just adore all of them and am so thankful that God brought them into my life.

they have encouraged me to push myself with my business and my walk with God.
i couldn't ever name all of them because there are so many.
(karen, ang, tiff, stace, deb, alicia, joni, christin, mollie, jenn jenn, shara, brandy...just to name a few!)

so that brings me to today.
i have been dreaming.
sometimes dreaming comes naturally, sometimes my common sense tries to kick in.
but then i throw it out.
i wanted a studio.
bad.

i was so sick and tired of lugging a MILLION props, blankets, and everything else out to a newborn shoot. and i was also sick of having pretty much no option for shooting in the painfully long cold months.

part of me didn't think it would ever happen. part of me was convincing myself that it would.

and here i am.
ready to start planning and redoing a real. live. studio.

ok ok...it needs a tiny bit of work.
well. maybe a lot a bit of work.
but it is going to be my very own studio.
a place that will help me push my business even further.

i want to at least double my senior sessions this year.
i want more newborns and families and children's shoots.
i want more lifestyle shoots.
i want more weddings.

and this studio is helping me fulfill my dreams in a pretty amazing way.

what are your big dreams? what is holding you back from getting them?
i love these quotes i heard from jody gray

if you want it enough, you'll do it. if you don't, you'll make an excuse.

God will direct your steps, but He won't pick your feet up off the floor.

don't let anything get in the way of what your big dreams are!
let's stop making excuses and keep on dreaming...who knows what God will do through us!