Seven Years of Blessings

I've been working on a project....a new website design, and one of the tasks associated with a photography website is sitting and going through your work...deciding what should be on your website, smiling at some of the memories of weddings gone by, and seeing how you've changed, grown, and how life has changed in the process.And as I've sat at my desk the last few weeks and looked through my first blog, my first wedding, and all that has come since, I really had the peaceful sense of how blessed I am.  How I have been so blessed these last seven years by friends, my family, and clients.So, tonight, as I pack my bags and head out to a wedding tomorrow morning, I want to take a moment and list all those that I am so thankful for in this beautiful journey the last seven years have been.I am so blessed to have friends like my childhood friend Cydil, who, knowing that I had a mild interest in photography, invited me to a photography conference where I had the opportunity to touch albums, chat with printing companies, and listen to some of the most successful photographers in the world discuss their work.  From there, she naively invited me to second shoot with her that summer at her own weddings; so, armed with my Rebel camera and one lens, I began making the trip to Lexington, KY, where, exhausted and six months pregnant, she would let me take quick naps in the car when the receptions ran late at night.I am so blessed to have Jan, Cydil's college friend, who although she lives half the country away, she is an email jockey and makes it feel like she's right next door.  A veteran in the wedding photography industry, she always has sound advice and knows where I need to turn to for anything that comes up.I am so blessed by my sisters and parents, who always build me up with kind words and (mistakenly) tell me exactly what I need to hear when I need to hear it....although that might just be to get cheap pictures in return.  :)I am so blessed by my first couple, Nicole and Eric, who asked me to photography their wedding without even having a sample album to look at...and to all of my couples afterwards, who have become friends to me in the process.  And, I'm excited to see all of their families grow and their relationships deepen.I am so blessed by my partners in the wedding industry.  It's taken me a long time to find them, but my editors, designers, and album printers are the most talented, sophisticated...just the best in the industry, and I am so excited about working with them.I am so blessed by my mother-in-law, who regardless of if it's a Friday night engagement session or all-day Saturday wedding, she'll take care of my children in a pinch, and I know that they're spoiled by her in my absence.And, last, I am so blessed by Nick, who in my seven years of photography...several of which were while working a full-time corporate job with extensive traveling, never once has sighed or complained.  He is the first one to volunteer giving me a few kids-free hours on a Sunday to sort through that Saturday's wedding.  He encouraged me to leave my corporate job and all that was safe and rational in life to pursue what was a hobby into a full-time job.  And if I need help at a wedding, he also makes a darn good second shooter, as well.So, excuse me this maudlin post, but it's really just struck me over the last couple of weeks how life has changed SO much in the last seven years.  I never would have imagined that this is where life would take me, but at the same time, I wouldn't trade it for anything either.Blessings to you!Kelly