Monday, March 21, 2016

Photographer in Castle Rock, CO

Saturday afternoon, Rod and I headed up north to meet Lynn & Ben and their extended family. 
 I am not going to attempt to remember all the names… it has been too long for this mind to remember!!
But this is Ben's parents and that's Ben & Lynn below with Noah and Levi.  I have  been taking their photos since Levi was just a baby. 
 And here we have all the Grandkids!!  I think they said there were 3 six year olds!
 Above is Ben's brother Nick and his family, oh and Wolfgang (the dog!)
I love taking the "original family"photo.  
And here we have Ben's sister and her sweet family.
 I really loved how Noah wrapped his arms around his mama...

Some sweet baby lovin'
It was certainly I bit colder than we had hoped but for March in Colorado… we did pretty well!
www.3wishesphotography.com
cija@3wishesphotography.com

Monday, March 14, 2016

Children's Photographer in Castle Rock, CO

Just dropping in for a quick sneak peek of Miss Ana, who is celebrating her 1st Birthday!
Isn't she adorable!
So… it turns out she is not really morning person.
Nor was she impressed by her dad's Jig. 
 What a sweet girl, putting up with all of us. 

 She even decided to show off her new walking skills!
 Check out those fancy shoes!

 Time for some CAKE!
 Oh, Ana!  Happy Birthday sweet baby girl!!
www.3wishesphotography.com
cija@3wishesphotography.com

Tuesday, March 8, 2016

Peace

I'm not really a resolution's kinda girl.  Yes, I know it's March and I am talking about resolutions.  But this year, I was a bit more purposeful about taking a look at where I was with God and where I hope to go in 2016.  It didn't take long to figure out that the thing I crave most in my Christian life is… Peace of mind.

I long to know what it feels like to rest in the goodness of my Savior.  Really rest, not just sit poised to jump up and tend to what ever needs tending too. Insert picture of Mary, lounging at the feet of Jesus.  But no, this won't be a "I can't help that I am a Martha" story.   I do have some of Martha's good qualities and bad but at the same time I have some Mary in me too.  What I need is a good healthy does of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego! (Betcha didn't see that one coming!) 

A friend stopped by yesterday, (very berry hibiscus refresher made with lemonade instead of water in hand, thank you, dear friend) and we sat and chatted about life. My mind was spinning, analysing  the current situations in life from every possible view point.  Have I done all I can do, have I dotted every "i" crossed every "t"?  My head knows that God loves me. Period. But the rest of me still operates in the "if you do good" gear.  Can I just say it is exhausting.  Trying to do everything just so.  Trying to make sure that I have preformed my way in the the "Blessing" line of Heaven. TRUTH: There is no blessing line in Heaven.  I am afraid, my friend, got more than she bargained for.  I was like a blender, running at full speed with the lid off. Varying topics spattering all over her.  This is NOT the peace and joy I seek. 

She made the comment "You don't even smell of smoke." Huh? She went on to explain that like Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego, the past 10 years have had Rod and I in the fiery furnace but no one knows because we don't even smell of smoke.  "No one would guess what you have been through" she said.  She was paying me a complement. I agree, there are days, maybe even weeks at a time that I feel like that fine trio of fellas.  In the midst of the fire, but confident in my God and so there isn't even the smell of smoke.  But those days are followed by me hopping around like a crazy person trying to stomp out the flames, the smell of burnt hair, covered in soot and flinging ash in every direction.   In fact, there are some days that I am like that tree, planted by the river drinking in the goodness of God when I suddenly "stop, drop and roll" for no apparent reason.  Just waiting for my world to come crashing in because I recklessly bought a box of cereal that was $.18 per/oz vs. the budgeted $.14 per/oz. Oh no! I haven't been a good steward! Look out! In coming lightening bolts!

I want to be like S.M. & A. (aka: Shadrach, Meshach & Abed-Nego).  Confident in God's love.  Confident in His Grace. Confident in His mercy and confident in his GOODNESS.   I want to know that the God whom I serve is able to deliver me, not because I am earning it by being good but because HE IS GOOD. 
I want to walk through the firery furnaces of my life and the not so fiery furnaces with no smell of smoke! 

Now please understand me, I am not saying  I want to go through life and have everyone around me think that my life is one green pasture after another.  I want people to look at me, see fire all around me and see me and the one that "looks like the Son of God" walking around in the midst of the fire. 

This morning I was looking over my journal notes for the last week and I noticed that on 3 separate occasions the same verse in a couple of different versions made its way into my journal.  Isaiah 26:3.

March 1st - the girl's devotions.  "You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you."
March 3rd - Women's Bible Study "The steadfast of mind you will keep in perfect peace."
There is it.  I just have to figure out how to have a steadfast mind!  Strong and tenacious.  We decided to dig a little further in our study and one of the girls looked up the original word for "steadfast" and it's meaning.  "To lean, lay, rest, uphold, lean upon."  WHAT?  Those who lean on God will be kept in perfect peace? That seems too easy.  I can lean.  Or can I?
March 7th - Personal quiet time… there it is again.  

Do you think the Lord has a message for me?  S.M. & A. knew what it truly meant to lean on God. Good times and bad.  They had confidence in who God is and confidence in who they were in Him.  

That is my pray for this year!  That the God of hope will fill me with joy and peace as I TRUST in HIM. And so I will remind myself to lean on Him and remind myself that I am his masterpiece, his bride and that He LOVES me. $.18 per/oz cereal and all.
How grateful I am that the Lord has searched me and knows me.  He knows when I sit down and I when I rise up and when I freak out and He understands my every thought!  He gets me! AND… He encloses me behind and before, and has laid his hand upon me.  As David said "Such knowledge is too wonderful for me!"

Family Photographer in Castle Rock, CO

Oh man… I am out of practice!  It's only 11:47 PM and I can hardly think straight!  What kind of "Night Owl" am I?  A couple of months of going to bed at 10:00, can ruin a girl! I actually went to bed at 8:30 on a Friday night, not to long ago!  WHAT!?
But… tonight I had to finish out this awesome family's sneak peek! Ya gotta love shorts and flip flops in the beginning of March in Colorado! Side note: this morning I went for a walk with no jacket, commenting on what a beautiful day it was, and at noon I was freezing at the park with snow and wind! As a Colorado native the weather should not surprise me any more, but it always manages to get me!
 Now… back to this family.  This is J.J. the oldest of the 3 boys, who, for the record is headed to AmeriTowne in a couple of weeks where he will be serving as an accountant for D.U.  
 And this is Ryan. Who later you will see sporting a very stylish hat!
 This little handsome fella is P.J., Anna and Cecil's foster baby, who they hope to adopt. (I will be praying that all things go according to plan!)
 And this little beauty is Adele, J.J. and Ryan's cousin. Gorgeous!
 That is one fine group of good looking kids!
 STOP!!  Oh my goodness, I love this picture of P.J. so much!!!
 It was fun to be out there on a beautiful Colorado day, taking pictures of a beautiful family with my awesome assistant… the hubster, Rod!
 It just goes to prove that any day in Colorado is a GREAT day to have your pictures taken!
 www.3wishesphotography.com
cija@3wishesphotography.com

Saturday, March 5, 2016

#inthemorningwheniriseor...

I flip flop back and forth about this blog.  One minute I am all business, the next I convince myself that is okay to be more personal, I mean, it is my blog.  Right?  So today, we are going personal, just sharing my heart and experiences in hopes that God can use it in some small way to encourage someone else. 

This week, on two separate occasions I heard women talk about their busy schedules and how hard it is to find time have quiet time with the Lord and in his Word. Women desperately wanting time with him, not just making excuses.  One sweet girl is weary from caring for a baby who is determined to be nocturnal! and the other working full time, with one daughter graduating from high school and the other getting married less than a month later. There are things to be  done!  Shopping, planning, crafting, and the list goes on!  

Quite time used to be easy for me.  I would drop my girls off at school, sit in the parking lot for 30 minutes and read a few pages from my current novel, then head home to peace and quiet, where I would grab my Bible, journal and beverage of choice and sit in the oversize chair by the window, orchestrate the perfect instagram photo #meandJesus #quiettime.  I'd have an hour even more to sit and soak in the Word and in prayer before I'd need to think about work or the groceries. Ah… the green pasture days, I like to call them. 

But then, the landscaped changed.  Now the girls were going to be home schooled (teacher not included!). They would never leave! I was back to the toddler years!  "Mom" "Mom" "Mom" "MOM"!!  Their stuff everywhere, never having a clean house! Suddenly, there was no quiet time for anything! What is it about a grocery store that turns other wise relatively well behaved preteens into stark raving mad lunatics! Suddenly, my house of quiet refuge seems more like a Frat House. I needed time with Jesus more than ever and yet it was/is borderline impossible. 

So some thoughts, as much for me, as for you. 

His mercies are new every morning! He gives us manna for each day… sometimes we are tempted to look at the "manna gathering" as just one more thing we have to try and squeeze into our day, instead of seeing it for what it is… CHRISTMAS MORNING!!  Each and everyday!  Picture opening the door to your tent (or cabin in my case, tent camping is not for me) and let your eyes feast on the sea of gifts that Lord has laid out before you.  Do you need strength? It's there.  Patience? It's there too.  Rest? Peace? Encouragement? Too feel love? Valued?  How about a purpose? A reason to get up every morning? Forgiveness? Hope? A shoulder to cry on? A place to find refuge? Wisdom? It's all there, everything you need to get through your day wrapped in the pages of His Word.  

Don't try to swim across the English Channel when God is sitting in a boat along side you with a life jacket and a pair of water skis! The Christian life isn't a steady supply of luxury liners, there will be times when we will have to get in the water to get to the other side, but God is laying out all we need to succeed we just need to get up and get it!

Quiet time with the Lord doesn't have to be instagram worthy (don't get me wrong it is precious when it is).  But Jesus understands the seasons in our lives.  There will be times when we are in the midst of the race, grabbing living water as we run through our days and collapse into our beds at night and then their will be times when He will lead us besides still waters to sit and rest by the stream.  

Maybe you are in a "race" period of your life.  Picture Jesus standing on the roadside cheering you on with a cup of refreshing water in His outstretched hand. Now, reach out and take that cup!  
Some practical ideas to help your mind start thinking of ways you can find time with Jesus in the busy seasons of your life. 
- leave your Bible open on our kitchen counter or the seat of your car so that you can read a verse or two as you walk by or before you start driving. Then think on those verses as your prepare a bottle for your baby, pick up toys or drive to your next meeting. 
- Tune your radio to a great christian radio station where you can sing praise music or listen to the Word being taught.
- Are you a tech girl? Download a bible reading app that you can use while waiting for a doctor's appointment etc. 
- Get up 10 minutes early and spend time on your knees talking with your Heavenly Father.
- Let your errands and things to do remind you to pray.  Doing laundry or dishes?  Pray that the Lord would wash you and give you a clean heart will with clean thoughts and right desires. Grocery shopping?  Thank Him for his provision and pray for those in need.  Waiting for the dentist or doctor, filling a perscription? Pray for healing.  Pulling in your garage? Thank Him for the refuge we find in Him. 
- Pick a verse each week to memorize.  Read it every time you _____________.  You fill in the blank.  Try putting emphasis on a different word every time you say it.  For example  THE Lord is my shepherd.  and the next time The LORD is my shepherd. May sound silly but try it… it can be pretty amazing. 
- Choose to read christian literature during this busy time of your life, so even when you want to just "escape" for a few minutes you can be touched by God through the gifts and talents of His gifted authors. (Try Francine Rivers or Lynn Austin to get you started.) 
- Take a Facebook/Instagram or Pinterest vacation. Or… purpose to read scripture before you jump on one of these sites, maybe you will find the scripture more life giving and pass on the other altogether.  
- Make a pledge to pray with your friends, every time you are on the phone, take a moment to ask how can I pray for you today and then do it! Right then and there on the phone.
- Pray and ask the Lord to show you the moments in your day that you could be spending with Him.  He would LOVE that and He will be faithful to show you. 

My favorite verse… Hosea 2:14-16 
14 “Therefore I am now going to allure her;
    I will lead her into the wilderness
    and speak tenderly to her.
15 There I will give her back her vineyards,
    and will make the Valley of Achor[b] a door of hope.
There she will respond[c] as in the days of her youth,
    as in the day she came up out of Egypt.
16 “In that day,” declares the Lord,
    “you will call me ‘my husband’;
    you will no longer call me ‘my master.[d]

Remember Jesus is standing there living water and fresh life giving manna in hand, you just need to reach out and grab it!  I'm gonna be praying for you!

Tuesday, March 1, 2016

Newborn Photographer in Castle Rock, Colorado

Newborn photography is probably one of the hardest kinds of photography I do.  Newborns can range from sleepy to screaming their cute little heads off and there's not really much you can do about it.  BUT… it also one of the most rewarding!
After all the pooped on blankets are cleaned up and the pee'd on clothes are in the laundry, I get to sit down at my computer and pour over a collection of squishable yumminess! 

I think newborn photography should be simple.
- That's why I come to your home and take pictures in a place where you and baby feel the most comfortable.  Plus who wants to go out of the house after just having a baby!
- I bring a handful of simple blankets and baskets but then I take a few minutes to find items in your own home that we can use to make the shoot unique to you and your family.  
- Poses are always simple to highlight all the wonderful things about your new baby… nose, lashes, lips, fingers and toes!

Newborn shoots can also be paired with maternity photos or milestone photos at all the major milestones of your babies first year. 

Newborn packages start at $300.00.
email: cija@3wishesphotography.com to schedule your appointment
www.3wishesphotography.com