Hey long time no see! Sorry 'bout that. Life came at me fast as soon as I came home from my trip and I've had a hard time catching up.

But I still wanted to post about my last stop on my trip: Gilbert, Arizona. :) Gilbert is home to one of my lovely friends Andrea and her family. I spent four relaxing days at her house, eating at yummy restaurants, watching movies and plays, and laughing a whole lot. While I LOVED my time in California, it was quite the adventure (losing my suitcase every other day, etc) so I definitely enjoyed finally kicking my feet up... quite literally.

Gilbert was just about the sweetest little place I've ever been. So family friendly and I think "Joe" owns the whole place. Or at least every restaurant I went to was a Joe's something! Haha.

Andrea, Luz, and I at lunch on my second day.

Another thing I didn't realize before coming to Arizona is that the whole place is one big grid. It's ridiculously easy to navigate compared to D.C. So when Andrea let me borrow her car Friday I enjoyed heading out in one direction and actually finding my way back sans maps or GPS. (And yes, I did just use the word "sans" in a sentence. Score.)

Andrea's house was so lovely. It felt like home to me. Except it was also 90 degrees and there were palm trees visible from the backyard hammock. Yeah, we don't have any of those things back home. :P

The last day there I photographed Andrea's family. :) They made me laugh so hard squinting through the bright sun to smile for the camera. Thankfully, I found some shade so they could actually see me and we could get a few shots. And don't they look good together?

But this post wouldn't be rightfully finished without a HUGE thank you to Andrea herself. Andrea is my more organized, administrative, savvy self. :)

She always has a plan and a way of accomplishing that plan, but it's never all about her. She is so selfless. Andrea flew me out to AZ from LA and would have paid for every meal and bit of entertainment had I not stopped her! She had a full week of work, but wanted to make sure I felt rested and had fun so she went over and beyond what was necessary.

I love this girl so much. I love that she's smart and mature and yet ridiculously silly. I'm not sure I could keep a straight face around her if I tried because she is so full of joy.

So, I'm ESPECIALLY happy when God blesses people like her. And that He did! Just one week after I left Gilbert, Andrea got engaged!!!

(photo credit: zach & andrea)
I wish I could say my wedding photography spirit brings couples together...but, haha, no. Thankfully it's even better than that! Andrea and her boyfriend Zach had been together for a while and liked each other for even longer. We all knew it was coming soon, but this was a real happy surprise! Check out her blog for the full storyyyy.

Miss Andrea, I love you and can't wait to Lord-willing photograph your WEDDING!! AHH! Much, much love.

Wow! So I just got back from New Attitude in Louisville, KY and it was amazing! It was my second time going and it only got better this year. God met me so powerfully in worship and especially in John Piper's second message. Check it out and go next year! You won't regret it!

So there's a lot I could say about the conference here, but there's something in particular I wanted to blog about this time. Early Sunday morning I had the AMAZING opportunity of witnessing the engagement of two dear friends of mine. Jason and Julianna are two friends of our family and we see them often whether at the Lost parties at our house every Thursday night or at church sitting in front of us each Sunday. :) About a week ago I ran into Jason and told him how I'd love to shoot his wedding "whenever that was....hint hint" and he immediately broke into a smile telling me that he was hoping to get engaged soon and that he'd be sure to get back to me on that. But being the nosy person that I am I prodded him further with "when and how" etc. He then told me he was thinking New Attitude and I was like "HOW fun would it be if I secretly took picture of you proposing to Julianna?" At first I thought he was going to shoot down my idea, but actually he seemed to like it and told me he'd get me the details.

So 6:30am Sunday morning, Jason drove me to The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and left me amongst the birds, squirrels and COLD to pick Julianna up and take her to coffee. It was actually quite peaceful and incredibly beautiful, but I couldn't stop thinking about how cold I was and spent most of my time trying to find a inch of sun to warm myself by. Haha. Anyways, Jason arrived soon enough and I got down in the mulch and found a spot between the bushes to shoot them.

And here starts the happiness! And oooh my gosh was it happy. I would have been balling if it wasn't for the fact that my eyes tearing up kept me from being able to see them through the view finder.

Ok, and my favorite...every time I look at this my heart hurts with sweetness. After hugging for like 5 minutes they just had to take a break to wipe their tears. Wow.

I love also just love how they capture each others attention so completely in this next shot. If this photo isn't example enough just ask me about how Jason forgot about me for 10 or 15 minute after the proposal. Haha he literally was like "Oh! Yeah, Lyd, you can come out now! Sorry!"

Ok, and for all the girls :)

Jason and Julianna, thanks for letting me tag along and get a real special glimpse of your love for each other! I can't wait for your wedding :D