A Thankful Heart

GOOOD MORNING Friends! (With a big emphasis on the good!!)

I hope everyone had a wonderful (dry) weekend!  If you live near me in Virginia Beach, we had a wonderful Saturday but our Sunday was a bit of a wash out (a cold one too!)

Our little family of three spent the weekend feeling rather lazy!  We ran a few errands here and there, but mostly we just snuggled up together watching movies and building towers just to knock them down with our favorite dinosaurs.

I had two Holiday sessions and then I had a homecoming which truly rocked my heart to the core!

This is the season of thankfulness and good will towards men.  Somewhere along the way though, I feel like this notion gets a little lost…does anyone else feel that way?

Yesterday as I stood with my camera out in the rain and watched these incredible families who have sacrificed so much of themselves wait on their loved ones; I truly began to remember what a thankful heart feels like and what it means!

We are blessed with so many wonderful things.  These days now there are so many incredible inventions and technologies that it absolutely blows my mind.  It makes life so much easier, yet in some ways it also makes life more complicated and less “connected”.

We come in contact with so many amazing people every single day and often we don’t even take the time to see them!

Life is truly about connecting with people and sharing our stories.

This time of year when we truly embrace the spirit of these two months it allows us to come back together and remember this!  It helps warm our hearts and remind us that truly life is about kindness and human connection!

We all crave it and it’s powerful friends!

I have an extremely grateful heart today for my own family and for my friends that are so dear to me.  I have a grateful heart for all those that are reunited with their loved ones again and that they are able to share quality time with them, hopefully in the quiet!

I am grateful and in awe of all those that serve our country and for the sacrifices they (and their loved ones) make every single day.

I met an amazingly strong woman yesterday that is truly a hero that I will never ever forget!  She left a lasting imprint on my heart after she told me nonchalantly about this past deployment for her family.  She has a 3 year old just like me, she gave birth to a new son (whom her husband has yet to meet!).  She also moved her entire family to their next location and unpacked their house only to drive back for this homecoming welcome her husband home and then all drive back to a new house together where they could relax in peace!  If that’s not one strong, incredible woman who should be motivational speaking to other women, then I don’t know what is!

I am grateful for mother’s like her who have an incredible unconditional love for this country, for her family, and for her husband that keeps her going and thankful in the midst of everything!

I am thankful this morning for all of the incredible individuals that photography has brought into my life!  I have learned from them and I continue to grow as a person with each of their stories and lessons that have brought me!

I am thankful for all of you who take time out of your day and out of your lives to spend just a few moments reading this blog!  It means more to me than you could ever possibly imagine.

I am just so thankful that the opportunity is still there to connect with people one on one!  That we can drop our masks and that there is still a place where people are willing to be open, vulnerable and share their true selves!

Who are you thankful for today friends?  Who has left a lasting impression on your heart?

I challenge you today to reach out to ONE person!  To connect with someone that you are thankful for and share with them one TRUTH about yourself that maybe you have never shared before!  Drop your mask and really let down your guard!

Tis the seasons friends and the most valuable gift you could ever give someone… is the gift of true and real unconditional love and acceptance!