What a dear and precious family!

Much love,

Angie

Oh sweet Valentine’s Day…  The flowers, the hearts, the pink… makes me want to vomit a little tiny bit. (You know me, I am not a fan of pink, or anything girlie.  I like black, white, and grey, yessss, I love grey.)  But, honey, I don’t tell you enough, so here it is…

Our life is not rainbows and butterflies.  It’s real, it’s raw, it’s plain ugly sometimes.  But, we make it beautiful somehow.  We balance each other in the most fitting way.  We don’t have a fancy house, or lots of money, or the newest of cars, but what we have is real.  Love.  Honest and pure.  I love that I still get butterflies when I see you across the room or when you hold my hand as we fall asleep at nite…

Your smile is what got us this far you know. 

Anyone that knows you, knows it’s true.  Your heart…  It’s beautiful.  Your soul…  It’s wise beyond it’s year.

For a moment I was jealous our boys looked so much like you, but now I realize what a great blessing that is too, that I see so much of you in them and them in you.  Two perfect gifts you’ve given me.  I never dreamed I would love being a mom so much.

Never have I ever met a man like you and never will I.  You are one-of-a-kind Mr. Matthews.  You speak with truth and certainty, no gossip or harm comes from your lips.  Your humbleness is soothing.  You don’t pretend to be perfect; you come to Jesus with all your faults and leave them at His feet to perfect.  You shower daily in His grace, a river of His love flows through you unto me.

You took a chance on this messed up girl, and see things in me I still can’t see.  That’s why I love you so, for loving me, all of me, for I never ever would have dreamed that I could know a love such as this.

Isn’t love such a beautiful gift from above?  I feel like a little girl spinning in circles round and round and round… I do not take it for granted, not for one day, but I forget to tell you sometimes just how much you mean to me… so today maybe I just needed that reminder to remind you how much I ADORE you.  ALL of you.  Every perfectly imperfect part of you.

The flowers will die, but not this love, no dear, this love will last…

 I love you sweet Valentine.

As Christmas has just passed, my heart is still FULL of love and joy. I realize how incredibly blessed I am with my family, friends, health, work… with so much love in my life my heart feels like it’s going to explode at times.   I know I prob. get on some of your nerves with my quotes, scriptures, positive outlook, but that’s ok, it is who I am and I’ve realized drama and negativity is what some people would rather talk about, but that’s not me.  The more I work on myself and the more I accept God’s grace in my life, the more love I have to share with others.  You only live ONE life on Earth, so make it COUNT.

I thought it’d be neat to share some of the things that happened this year in my life and some of my favorite things.

What I’ve learned this year:
God often removes people in your life for a reason, think before you chase after them. Pick my battles wisely. To accept my husband exactly how he is. Keep working on me and stop trying to change everyone else. ALWAYS stick up for those you love and what you believe in. Find the GOOD in everyone. Fear is a LIE. Try to not waste energy on things that don’t matter and things I can not control. Jesus came to love and save, not judge. Giving and serving is the key to happiness.  His grace is sufficient for me.

Favorite quotes of the year:
“Life is too short to waste any amount of time on wondering what other people think about you. In the first place, if they had better things going on in their lives, they wouldn’t have the time to sit around and talk about you. What’s important to me is not others’ opinions of me, but what’s important to me is my opinion of myself.”
― C. JoyBell C.

“Focus on what you can control, and don’t waste energy on the things that you cannot.”

“By letting it go it all gets done. The world is won by those who let it go. But when you try and try. The world is beyond the winning.” –Lao Tzu

“People inspire you, or they drain you- pick them wisely.” -Hans F Hansen.

“Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to a better understanding of ourselves.” –Carl Gustav Jung

“When you squeeze an orange, orange juice comes out – because that’s what’s inside. When you are squeezed, what comes out is what is inside.” –Wayne Dyer

“Your life is your message to the world, make sure it’s inspiring!”

Favorite Scriptures:

“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.” Matthew 5:11

I can do all things through him who strengthens me.   Philippians 4:13

I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.  Philippians 3:14

Awesome things about this year:
Ty turned 5.
Ethan turned 6 and started 1st grade.
Moved to Fort Worth.
Celebrated our 6 year anniversary.

Favorite songs:
For King & Country- “The Proof of Your Love”
Kari Jobe- “Steady My Heart”
David Crowder – “Let Me Feel You Shine”

Goals for 2013:

Spend more time with the family.
Eat healthier as a family.
Attend a photography workshop!

Here are some of my favorite pictures from my sessions this year.   (Some of my sessions are still not edited and not added to the list)

And some of my favorite personal pictures:

Yesterday while Christmas shopping (I know, quite early of a start for those who know me), that feeling that has been stirring in my heart, started up again.  Flooded by a  long list of to-do’s, like decorating and what gifts to buy, cleaning my messy house, what to wear for our Christmas pictures, mailing out Christmas cards in time, and editing during the busiest season of the year for us photographers, it’s so easy to get lost in the madness and remember the true meaning of Christmas- Celebrating the birth of Christ.

I had to stop myself and pray- Lord help me to always remember the meaning, take away the pressure to buy more than we need, help me to have a servants heart and give how you want me to give.  I was replaced with such joy & gratitude and this idea came to mind that I have seen several other photographers doing this year and I knew I had to be apart of too.

Everyday I wake up and feel blessed to be given another day with my family.  But sadly, there are so many stories I have read lately of those that are battling cancer or parents that have lost a child or someone close to them and it makes me cling to my family even tighter, knowing that our time together is so so precious.  It’s sad, but I worry sometimes more about my house and the cleanliness of it, or things that need to be done to it, than I do about the people that live and breathe inside of it- that make it a HOME, my home.

Christmas should be a time of joy, truth and hope, but for some of us, it’s a time of sorrow and a time of missing the people that are no longer here with us to share it with.  Some are single parents who are  trying to make it on their own wondering how they will provide gifts for their children.  Some are praying down on their knees and asking God for a miracle.

Our wonderful Pastor Aaron spoke on hope this past Sunday and how people who give are happier than those that don’t.  It is so very true, isn’t it? It confirmed again my desire to give away a session- TWO sessions this Christmas!

I want to give someone else some  HOPE & memories this Christmas in my community.

I would like to give the sessions away to a family whom deserve to be given back to.  Maybe they have gone through something difficult this year or have overcome a great battle and really need a boost this holiday season and a big hug.  Everyone needs pictures, no matter what they are going through.

The plan:

1. Give two FULL family sessions to two deserving families/people that live in the Dallas/Fort Worth area .  Value of $500 each that includes a $100 print credit so they can pick and choose pictures to be printed to hang and cherish in their home forever.

2. I would love to hear your stories or the story of someone you love that really deserves to be surprised with this gift under their tree this year.  You can submit them by emailing me at: angie@poshphotos.net

(I am sure it will be very hard to choose, so my lovely cousin and best friend, Brittany,  agreed to help me go through them while I wipe through tears and read them all. )

3.  Brittany and I will chose on Dec. 19th and will be announcing them on Christmas Day and the story will be shared online with the reason we choose you.  We will contact the submitter before then so they can wrap and give this gift on Christmas Day!

4.  I will contact the family after Christmas and set up a time for their session.  Most likely, when it is warmer!

I truly HOPE that these families will be blessed and felt loved through this gift.  I pray we all remember the meaning of Christmas this year and take lots of pictures of your time together with your family no matter what you look like or what you are going through..

Merry Christmas all my wonderful friends, family & fans!

XOXO,

Angie

They are sweet, inviting, energetic, loving and beautiful!

I’ve been so blessed to get to know them through my church. I’m not sure how I went through life before without my church family- they are encouraging, accepting & real. We are not perfect, we don’t try to be or have to be- It’s quite simple, we are all sinners, saved by grace. GRACE. What a beautiful word.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving all my friends, family & blog-stalkers.

Much love,

Angie

Laid-back, fun, down-to-earth and HIP.

We laughed, played with the horses and chased kiddos around. Thank you Lorren for being so sweet and fun to work with.  You’re family is just beautiful!

♥ There is something some magical and majestic about horses. I wish I had more sessions with them! ♥

xx, Angie

It was such a pleasure to work with you two. Your smiles are so sweet, your laughs contagious, your love exuding… I wish you both ALL the happiness and love in the world.

♥ xx, Angie ♥