Mike & Brooke | Dallas Wedding Photographers
Posted on June 29, 2012
We headed to the Dallas Post Office for Mike & Brooke’s nuptials last Saturday. It was QUITE warm outside, so it was such a treat to have a beautiful indoor venue for a wedding! When we saw Brooke getting ready in the bride’s room, she was bubbly with excitement and enjoying the time she was spending with her girlfriends and family before becoming a wife. Mike was just as calm, joking with his buddies and soaking in every second of the special day he and Brooke been planning for months. The day went so flawlessly and it was so much fun to capture the emotion of the day for these two. We hope you enjoy the images! Congrats again, Mike & Brooke!
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Gender Reveal Party | Ashley
Posted on June 28, 2012
It’s the new thing these days, apparently… a Gender Reveal Party! No, we didn’t know the gender before everyone else, we found out at the same time! Isn’t that fun?! How, you ask? Well, when we went to get our sonogram done last Thursday, we told the sonographer we did not want to know the gender [yet], but we wanted him to write it on the special piece of paper to put in the special envelope we had brought! After a fun, yet eye straining (I mean, come on, it’s hard for first time moms to see what the heck is on that screen!) sonogram, we had the exciting news tucked into my purse. I was tempted to hold it up to the sun to see the results, but I didn’t want to spoil the surprise. I LOVE surprises!
When we arrived to the party the next day, so many of our friends and family were there to celebrate and find out the gender with us. I had no idea my sweet friends would throw such a lovely party for Eric and me. By the end of the night, I was overflowing with gratitude and joy. I felt so special and loved on by all of our family and friends! Before the official reveal, that had a time of encouragement, wisdom, and blessing for Eric, me, and the baby. I will never forget it. I know this baby is going to be so anointed by the Lord to do many things for His glory! It’s so exciting!
So, PICTURES, of course!! First, the sonogram:
They decorated the party for both boys and girls. When everyone came in, they had to pick whether they thought we were having a boy or a girl and place that color of beads around their necks.
After some mingling, we all went outside for the time of blessing and, of course, the reveal! I was just a little excited! 
The big reveal!! It’s a BOY!!! This picture is so priceless!
We are a tad excited, as you can tell!
Us with the official box and our boy balloons!
I have to say, finding out that we are having a boy has really put everything into perspective for us. On the drive home from the party, Eric said, ” I felt a responsibility before, but now that I know I have to raise a godly man, I feel a huge weight of responsibility.” I thought that was really sweet. He’s been so awesome already… he will come home telling me what different person he talked to that day about being a dad and good ways to teach and raise kids. I never would have thought he would have taken such a quick interest in being a dad, but I know he’s going to be an amazing one.
As for me, I am envisioning what the next… 18… no… what the rest of my life will look like. Someone posted on my Facebook after the party that said “Boys are noise with dirt on it.” If our boy is anything like Eric, I will need to hold loosely to my earthly possessions, because they are all up for grabs to be broken or mysteriously missing. I will need to be silly when I feel like being serious. I will need to play when I feel like I should be working. I will need to snuggle when I feel like being alone. I’m not the same person I was before I married Eric and I’m so grateful for that. I know I will not be the same with a Little Eric around, and that makes me pretty darn excited. I love dirty, noisy hugs and kisses. 
Cote & Clarissa Wedding | Abilene Wedding Photographers
Posted on June 25, 2012
I always love me and Ashley’s conversations after a wedding. These moments speak so much about the bride and groom. We walked away from Cote and Clarissa’s wedding smiling, “What a great night!”
From the moment we walk in the bride’s getting ready location, we can easily determine the mood of the day. Clarissa was relaxed and full of wedding day butterflies, the MOH was busy looking for ways to make Clarissa’s day super special, the flower girls were swirling in their dresses telling the bride how beautiful she is, while mom sat in a chair grinning as the day swiftly passed. It was perfect! Clarissa had nothing but wonderful compliments to speak of her husband-to-be. It’s during these times when Ashley and I look at each other and smile . We felt like part of the family by the end of the night!
A crazy storm stirred up and brought high winds and steady rain towards the evening. You know what they say about rain on your wedding day! Ash and I both know it won’t be luck that keeps this couple together – but pure love and this couple’s faith in Jesus!
Cote & Clarissa, you are amazing. Thank you for letting us tag along and witness your beautiful day !
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No Regrets | Micah
Posted on June 20, 2012
I find myself often telling God I don’t want to have regrets when it comes to being a business owner who works from home, mommy and wife. People often make the observation, “You’re so lucky you get to work from home.” I politely smile with a realization until someone walks in these shoes they don’t understand how much of challenge it really is. I’m so thankful for a job that allows me to be home with my precious baby girl, however I daily wrestle with learning to balance the two. I don’t want to look back and wish I would have managed my time differently.
I decided to ask a mom whom I adore for wisdom. I told her I want nothing more than to always appreciate the mommy-hood moments that matter the most and asked for her help. She sent me nuggets I will treasure forever. She was concerned she might be sounding corny, but I assured her these are the moments I want to treasure as a new mommy. So thank you special friend for allowing me to glean from your wisdom!
* Hold and rock your baby every chance you get. It won’t be long before she won’t want to be .
* Turn off everything (TV, phones, etc) and spend at least 30 minutes of “quiet” time with her each week.
* Watch her sleep when you get a chance and use that time to pray, wish, and dream about her future!
* When you have a rough night or week (like teething pains or when she’s not feeling well) know that being mommy is more comfort than medicine. Hold her, talk to her, sing to her. She will feel better just because you are there with her.
*sigh*
Embracing the Mom-Bod | Ashley
Posted on June 4, 2012
This summer has already started out being so much fun! Last summer, Micah & I decided that for this summer we would write a business mission statement and keep it in mind when booking all of our weddings. Included in the statement is making our families a top priority, so with Micah & David’s baby, Reille, almost being SEVEN months old (ahh!!) and growing quickly, we are both glad that this summer has been the exact pace we were hoping for! It really makes us appreciate the clients we book even more… seriously, we have such sweet sweet SWEET brides and grooms!
My summer has been full of trying to figure out what to do with myself. LOL. I’m 20 weeks along now (HALFWAY!!) with Baby Wilkins, who I think will be ready for the Olympics in Summer 2032 with all of these flips going on in my belly. I have felt so great throughout this whole pregnancy and I’m so grateful for each day I’m able to do just about everything that I could do before the mom-bod. Honestly, I didn’t really know what to think about the growing belly at first. Anyone who’s been pregnant before understands the first couple months of pregnancy, and how you really don’t look pregnant – more like you’ve been feasting on rib-eyes every meal for a while now. But this month, it’s pretty obvious there is a baby in there!
Yes, I can do most everything I could before… except… there was the camp-out….
My hubby, Eric, and I decided to join our church Lifegroup for a campout in Mineral Wells last week! I was getting so pumped about it… I love camping! Until, it hit me. Honestly, I think it was God saving me from a really REALLY long night. He gave me this picture…
Imagine laying down to go to sleep under the beautiful stars with the locusts humming and a soft breeze blowing. The fire is slowly dying and your tummy is full of hot dogs and s’mores. You just got snug in your sleeping bag and said your last “I love you” to the hubby for the night. You have only been laying there for a couple of minutes until… BAM. You have to go potty. AND NOW. So, you quietly grab the flashlight and unzip the tent as slowly as you can, trying not to wake anyone. You tip-toe in the dark, dodging spider webs and yucky bugs to find a “safe place” to drop your drawers, praying snakes and chiggers don’t find their way to you. You finally make your way back to the tent, lay back down, get all situated, ALMOST fall asleep… until.. uh oh – you have to go again. Not only would that routine repeat a few times, but I’m talking about a dozen times, people. Yeah, no. That doesn’t sound pleasant at all does it?
I agree. Which is why we hung out with our friends until late and then drove home that night so I could have my nice little ceramic throne only a few feet away from my craziness. We had SUCH a blast though and I was till a bit bummed we couldn’t stay with our friends. We have such an awesome group of buddies! So, this week I get to try the camping experience again, but in a 5th wheel with my parents. Yay!! I’ve decided that there really is no fighting this new mom-bod. I just have to embrace the changes, and remember to keep a potty handy.
