Justin

Sweater Vests & Justin's Birthday

This is one of my favorite baby pictures of Justin. Mostly because he looks like a cute little potato head in a sweater vest and I think potatoes are pretty darn cool.


Today is his birthday and I'm pretty sure his Facebook page is covered in a sea of red tags of well wishes and greetings from family and friends.

Just last night, we were chatting about years that have gone by, our pasts as individuals and as a couple.  And as is true with most of us, life had it's ups and downs for him growing up. The good memories, the not- so-good memories, and the in-between memories. But what has remained constant has been God's loving hand on him, writing his story, so to speak. And as we celebrate and remember this day as the first day of his life 32 years ago, I am filled with gratitude for the man he is and the fact that I am blessed to call him my husband and friend.

My dear bubby, today we celebrate you. How you continue to be a strong leader to your friends and family because of your ability to follow and serve first. How you have that uncanny ability to remind others, especially me, by your actions to be generous and genuine with our time, money, and heart. How you somehow find something to laugh at in every situation with that nerdy sense of humor of yours. How your integrity shows in both your work life and personal life. How you love God and let it show without shame or hesitation. And yes, we can even to celebrate your love for cool sweater vests and the color brown today. 

This blog post isn't enough to say how much I love you and am thankful to be celebrating another year of your life today, but I hope it gives you some idea on how much your life means a lot to others and to me.

Happy, happy birthday, my Bubby!

Meatloaf Mondays and Musicians


Every person is made up of stuff. A mix of stuff that make you, well, you. On the Heartbox Photography website, this “stuff” is referred to as “heartprints.” (I made that term up, but isn’t it cool?) Like finger prints, but funner! It took a while for me to come up with a philosophy, vision, and name for my photography business. Something reflective of my voice, me as a person, and my love for photography. And that’s when I realized that the only way I can come up with a name was to look at what exactly made up my own heartprints and share that with the world.

What or who makes up some of my own heartprints? Lots and lots of people and experiences…so much to name. I’ll talk about them throughout my blog in many future posts, but for now, I’ll start with my husband, Justin.

He is part of my own heartprint as a person, in life, and of course, in photography. He has seen me through and supported me through a lot since we have been together. He’s seen me hiccup and cry (yes, the ugly cry) my way through a lot of challenges. He joins me in the nerdiness of laughing a little too loudly at things in public. He’ll do the dorky dance in the kitchen with me when our favorite songs blast through Pandora. He has the uncanny ability to say exactly what I’m thinking right when I’m thinking it. (it’s THE FORCE people!)

He loves me through morning breath, bad hair days, and becoming emotionally unglued (hello, PMS!). He prays with me, for me, and for us. He gave me my very first Canon SLR camera, knows all about my dreams to become a full-time photographer, and supports me every step of the way. He’s very a talented musician himself and he “gets it” when I talk and talk and talk about all things artsy and creative. Even if it involves me wearing hula hoop-sized earrings and wearing 5 different colors all at once. In public.

This past Monday was just another example of my husband’s thoughtfulness. As I fought my way through traffic to get home, he was making a yummy meatloaf dinner and simultaneously working to wrap things up with work.

I’m thankful to have my husband be a part of my own “heartprint”.

Let’s hear it for Meatloaf Mondays and the loving musicians who make them.