mouth injuries

Sometime yesterday afternoon, I bit the inside of my cheek.  Don't you hate when that happens?  Then, last night when I was eating dinner, I kept re-biting it.  You know what I'm talking about...ow!  Today, I brought leftovers for lunch and heated them up in the microwave, then burned my tongue on the first bite.  So now, my mouth is handicapped.  Dang it.

My tongue and mouth "injuries" made me think about a few verses I read in Proverbs 18 yesterday:

7.  The mouths of fools are their ruin;
they trap themselves with their lips.
13.  Spouting off before listening to the facts
is both shameful and foolish.
21.  The tongue can bring death or life;
those who love to talk will reap the consequences.

For someone who loves to talk and struggles sometimes with really being a good listener, these verses were a great reminder.  

Are you a talker or a listener?  Do you ever "spout off before listening to the facts"?  Have you burnt your tongue lately?  :)

~abi~ 

that's what she wore ~ rips and tears and gold sparkles

Long story short:  I got this orange sweater at the thrift store while back.  When I washed it after purchasing it, it came out of the dryer with a hole.  Sad day.  But then I decided to just cut a bunch of holes all over it.  The better to show the sequins on a tank top underneath, right??  Happy day! :)  Also, my gold bracelet here was a gift from my friend Kathleen.  It's really a skinny belt.  The shoes I've had forever and ever.  Seriously.  But let me tell you about the jeans.  I was in another town shooting a wedding and had some time to kill, so I went into a store there {cannot for the life of me remember what store it was at the moment}.  Saw these cute ripped jeans on clearance.  Bought 'em without trying 'em on...they didn't fit.  As in, I couldn't even get them past my hips, at all.  So, I lost some weight and wear them all the time now. :)  In fact, they used to have all these little pearl things on the front of them, and now there's only like three left.  Fun stuff. 

So there's the story of the outfit.  {Sorry it wasn't actually short.}  Here's the pix.....

Hope you all have a happy weekend!  Thunder up and Happy St Patrick's Day! :) 

~abi~

a sneaky sneak peek of sorts

This past Sunday evening, I did a Bridal Portrait session for my lovely friend Whitney.  Obviously, I can't show you any of the pix yet, since her wedding isn't until May.  But, oh my, her dress is gorgeous!  And she looks like a dream in it! :) 

I made a sweet little bouquet for her photo shoot.  Because, you know: sometimes I "do flowers".  Here's a cropped-in pic of just the bouquet.  I feel safe showing you all this, since her wedding day bouquet will be different.  {Fun fact: I gathered those tiny branches and spray painted them silver. :)}

I hope your Thursday is filled with pretty things.  Or pretty people.  Or both. :)

~abi~

p.s.  Do you have any "secret" talents??  Whitney was completely surprised when I first told her I could make bouquets.  I showed her some pix of ones I've made to prove my skills! ;)

photo shoot ~ baby esther

This is lovely little Esther.  These are some of my favorites from her portrait session.  How precious is she?? 

 

Happy Tuesday!  With the gorgeous weather outside and these sweet photos to stare at and a Thunder game to look forward to tonight, my spirits this afternoon are impossibly high!  I hope your day is beautiful as well. :)

~abi~

letter-writing and other things

I just feel like sharing a few random tidbits with you all today.  Please don't get too excited.  Or bored.

~  Within the last week, I have handwritten and mailed no less than six letters/cards to real, live people.  And I put an actual stamp on the envelopes and put them in the mailbox and sent them on their merry way.  I'm not bragging, I'm just happy about it.   {Okay, I'm bragging a little.  I think it's impressive to send real mail!}

~ I need a car.  Like, I really need a car.  A decent one that runs and has air conditioning and can be purchased cheaply.  {Just throwing that out there.}

~ Last Saturday evening, I went to a high school play.  The play was Thoroughly Modern Millie, and it was fantastic!  My friend Forrest was the male lead, and he did an awesome job!  I've said it before and I'll say it again: mark my words, that boy will be famous someday! :)  {Also, I feel inspired to see more live performances, whether high school plays or for real theater shows.  I need to go back to NYC and see another show on Broadway!}

Happy Monday, friends!  Let's have a lovely week.  It's a fresh beginning.

~abi~

p.s.  Have you sent or received any snail mail lately?  Do you have a car you want to sell me?? ;)  Have you seen any good plays lately?  What's your favorite theater show you've ever seen?  Tell me stuff!

more favorites of whitney and chancy

Hello, friends.  I hope you are all enjoying this cold, rainy Thursday here in Oklahoma.  And if the weather is different wherever you are reading this today, well, I hope you are enjoying it, too! 

I wanted to share some more of my favorites from Chancy & Whitney's engagement session.  You see, this wasn't just any session.  These photos were photos I took of one of my dearest friends and her soon-to-be husband.  In just over a month, I will have the privilege of standing next to Whitney as she marries Chancy, while my friend Kelly Beane uses her amazing talent to document their wedding day.  I am beyond happy and excited for Whitney & Chancy!  It has been so good for my heart to watch them fall in love and walk toward becoming one in Christ. 

Now let's look at some more pretty pix from their morning photo shoot at the Wildlife Refuge in Lawton, Oklahoma...

Whitney & Chancy~
I love you both!  I adored spending the morning with you for this session!  I am happy that we were able to get some bison in the background and eat some ice cream. ;)  I pray for so much happiness and so many blessings in your relationship!  Can't wait for your wedding day!

~abi~

photo shoot ~ a preview of whitney and chancy's engagement session

I don't have the time at the moment to write about this shoot and this couple.  But i just wanted to share a few magical moments from my engagement shoot this past Sunday.  This is Whitney and Chancy.  I will post more about them and our session at the Wildlife Refuge soon.  For now, I just wanted to show you and them a few of my initial favorites.

I promise, more coming soon!

~abi~

p.s.  These photos remind me of this post.  Do you believe in magic??  {I kinda do.} :)

photo shoot ~ nehemiah's one year old birthday party

Here is another fun little one year old birthday party I was able to shoot recently.  I just love this sweet family, and I enjoyed being there for Nehemiah's fun Lego-themed party!  Hope these photos help start your week off right by bringing a smile to your face...

I loved the cute block cakes that Nehemiah's mommy, Jessica, created.

So sweet!  Here's Nehemiah's big brother, Noah, having some fun and getting some love. :)

Always love seeing this little guy, who I've known literally since his birth! :)

This child was obviously a girl after my own heart, with her sparkly shoes and her OKC Thunder shirt! :)

The party ended with a scrub down in the bath tub for Nehemiah.  So cute!

Nehemiah and fam~
I enjoyed being at the party!  You guys are so fun.  Thanks! 

~abi~

p.s.  Look how much Nehemiah has grown in a year: see his newborn photos here. 

are you happy?

The other day, I listened to this podcast by Christine Caine.  In it, she talks about overcoming a really difficult past.  The interviewer, Bianca, asks her if she ever gets sad, and Christine answers that of course she does.  But then she talks about choosing to be happy, just deciding that you will be. 

 

{from here via here}

I know that sometimes terrible things happen.  Things that break your heart and make you sad.  I'm not saying you should never be sad or express grief.  I'm just pleading the case for happiness.

 

{from here}

Maybe it means smiling when you don't feel like it.  Maybe it means doing something for someone else.  Maybe it means a day of thanking God instead of asking Him for anything. 

How do you choose happiness??

~abi~

what calling will you choose??

This is my friend Wendi.  She loves God and is using her talents for Him.  Last night, she delivered a spoken word at a worship night at my church.  Just wanted to share it with you all. 

prayers, please

Today, I'd just like to ask you to stop for a moment and say a prayer for my friend Cassie's family. 

Cassie's uncle, Scooter, was flying to Norman, OK, from Texas last night when his plane crashed.  He and his assistant, Amy, were found in the wreckage today.  Neither of them survived.  He had two teenagers and she had three young boys.  My heart is hurting so much for their friends and families.  I didn't know Amy, but I'd met Scooter several times. Cassie is one of my closest and best friends, so I know her family well.  Please just ask God to surround them with comfort during this difficult time. 

a random week of my life, in photos

I didn't do a single blog post last week, so I thought I'd do a little photo round up of my week from Friday, February 10th through Friday, February 17th.  Except I didn't actually take any photos on the 17th, oops.  But you get the idea...

Friday evening, February 10th, started off with some cool girls at Tucker's Onion Burgers, one of my fave places to eat in OKC. :)

Then we headed over to The Plaza District for a little browsing at Live On The Plaza, where I saw a couple of things that piqued my interest...

{at Collected Thread}

{at DNA Galleries}

Then I met up with my sweet friend Kim and others to celebrate her birthday with some bowling!  So fun!

Saturday night equaled more birthday celebrating, this time with and for my fab friend Meg!

Sunday morning, I had the privilege of photographing some special baptisms at church...

Then it was time for yet another birthday celebration, this time for my awesome nephew Daxon! :)

Monday evening, I enjoyed watching my girl Summer play ball...

Tuesday was Valentine's Day, and it consisted of lunch with these fun girls...

...And chocolate covered strawberries, plus watching the Thunder game at my house with some cool girls.

Wednesday night was Big Switch at church, which is always a crazy fun time.

And in keeping with the theme of the week, we celebrated another birthday, for my lovely Shakari!

Thursday, I went to the eye doctor and left wearing contacts for the first time ever in all my thirty-one years.  Which means I can wear sunglasses again and still be able to see!  {But I'm not planning on retiring my actual glasses anytime soon.  I'm just a glasses-wearing girl.}

Thursday also consisted of an entire workday spent updating the software on my MacBook Pro.  A long process, for sure, but well worth it!  Here's to being current.  For now.  :)

I would also just like to mention the fact that I wore these cool boots {some of my faves}, not once, but twice, last week.  So I thought they deserved to be featured here, too...

And that's about it.  Overall, a really good week.  You might not guess it from these photos, but I learned a few big lessons from God throughout last week.  I am forever thankful to Him for this life He has blessed me with!

What about you guys??  Good week last week?  Bad?  Boring?  Exciting?  Tell me stuff! :)

~abi~