crystal
I had the incredible honor to document baby Clem's birth this Wednesday. April was absolutely amazing. Such a strong and patient woman. And Spencer was so supportive and loving.
I have been having some problems getting the slideshow up online, and it is late now. Sarah and I are leaving first thing in the morning for a wedding, so I need to get in bed. I would love to share all of the details of the birth with you, but I will just let the pictures tell the story. Click the play button to watch the slideshow below or CLICK HERE.
Congratulations, April and Spencer. He is absolutely beautiful!!!! I know you are sooo proud!! Thank you so much for asking me to document such a special day for your family. It was an honor and a pleasure.
God bless,
Crystal
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.....you know the rest.
Lots and lots of things going on around the office. Sarah and I are absolutely swamped, and to top it all off I was writing a few emails this afternoon after church and there it was. It slowly took over my entire 20-inch screen. It was the dreaded "Grey Screen of Death". Having experienced this before with previous Macs and knowing what to expect I had a full on stomach-in-knots-can't-catch-my-breath-because-my-life-is-OVER-how-will-I-make-it-through-the-end-of-the-month meltdown.
Thank goodness Jeremy was here to calm me down. He helped me get through my shaking and my sobs and look at the bright side. "Crystal, it's going to be okay. You will survive. You have everything backed up, and we will figure out what to do. Take a slooooow, deeeeep breath. Everything will work out. I'll help you decide what is best to do. We were thinking about getting a new computer anyways." He rubbed his hands through my hair, kissed my forehead, and gave me the longest tightest hug in the history of the world. Jeremy just has a way of calming me - bringing me back to earth. He always looks at the bright side of any situation that I am convinced is doomed. Where I see a long dark tunnel with no exit he always seems to find the light. That is one of the many reasons I love him so much!
We spent the afternoon solving this problem together and ordering an awesome Mac Pro system with dual monitors to replace my soon-to-be dead as a doornail iMac. He was right. There's the light! :) While the replacement will be awesome and 10 times better than the desktop I have been working off of, we will be delayed with our workload over the next week or two. Sarah's computer is still at Apple getting fixed up (for the third time), and we aren't sure exactly when it will be back. So, for now, we have one computer to work off of. So thank you to my wonderful clients for your patience and understanding as we work through this technology mess. :) We will be back and better than ever with a lightning fast workspace very soon!!! Oh yeah, Mac Pro.... I am psyched!
(I am such a nerd.)
I just have one thing to say about the show tonight - Mia Michaels is a dancing god. That's all there is to it. She's amazing.
Favorite from the night choreographed by Mia and performed by Joshua and Katee:
Next favorite also by Mia and performed by Twitch and Kherington:
Joshua and Katee are definitely still the couple to beat!! Amazing job by both of them tonight!
Joshua and Katee's second dance - West Coast Swing
I can't say it enough. I love this show. It is my weekly guilty pleasure. :)
~ Crystal
Somebody pinch me! I still find it hard to believe the opportunity I had over the weekend. I photographed a beautiful wedding with the one and only David Jay alongside the absolutely amazing Jasmine Star. And what an experience it was! We have been great friends for a few years now, and while DJ and Jas have teamed up on weddings before I have never had the opportunity to join them. I tried to play it cool, but I confess that I was shaking in my comfy new black flats! I just knew I would go "dumb" all day long in the company of two of the industry's finest photographers. I did have a few "duh" moments throughout the day, but I think I did an okay job. And I must admit, the three of us made on heck of a team. DJ is so easy-going on the wedding day, and he let us girls do whatever we wanted all day long. It was great!!
Michael and Megan are friends of DJ's, and they are such an amazing couple! They are both gorgeous people, and they have such a beautiful relationship. It was incredible to witness these two together. And it was equally incredible to see how much their families loved and supported the two of them. The site of their wedding was Eucalyptus Lane in Ventura, California. It is the cutest place with so many unique details. And it even had a lot of Southern charm!! I loved it! I hope you enjoy seeing a few of my favorites from the day.
I love this one of Megan's sister laughing. She's so pretty! And aren't her curls adorable?!
I love this shot of Megan getting her makeup done. She made me think of the actress Brittany Snow all day long. What do you think?!
The rings tied on the pillow...
These boys were a riot! Fun to be around.
Michael made a handsome groom, didn't he?
I like this reflection shot of Megan and her mother...
She was so cute trying to catch a quick glimpse of Michael out the window.
And it was an extra cute moment when her mother joined her!
Such a beauty...
These three little ring bearers stole my heart!!
Michael laughing as they came down the aisle...
Megan's father choked back the tears as he walked her down the aisle.
And when he gave her away I witnessed two of the most genuine embraces I may have ever seen at a wedding. It brought tears to my eyes...
I love this shot of the bridesmaids looking on while Michael and Megan share in communion.
Before they were pronounced husband and wife the entire bridal party stepped up to pray for them. It was such an intimate moment. And I cried. Again.
The kiss...
....followed by celebration and bubbles!
After the wedding we spent some time getting some amazing pictures of the two of them. I am in love with this one....
They even jumped on a trampoline!! Have I mentioned how wonderful these two were?!!! Aren't they fun?!
Another favorite! I love "almost kisses"!
So cute!
A couple of shots from inside the barn....
It was beautiful!
A sweet moment just before their grand entrance....
A few from the first dance....
A prayer before dinner.
A funny moment during her sister's toast....
And then a tender moment....
After dinner the party got started, and this group was a blast!!!
There was so much amazing dancing going on that I couldn't help but shake my thang a little bit every now and then! :) And I was floored by this guy. He did the most incredible Michael Jackson style dancing I believe I have ever seen. For real! He was amazing, and these pictures don't even do him justice, but I had to give him props!! So here he is workin' it....
It was such an amazing day, and (just for kicks) here are a few fun shots of Jasmine, DJ, and I working it out...
I heart Jasmine.
The rockstars I was working with - Jasmine, DJ, and Paul (DJ's videographer)
Deej grabbed my camera and took this hilarious shot of me. It shows my true dorky side. Hilariously embarrassing, but I couldn't help but share it. Mom and Dad, aren't ya proud?! ;)
At some point DJ became a caddy. :) hehe!
ummm.... LOL!
Me, Jas, Allie, and Deej. I'm pretty sure I'm backing it up on Jasmine in this one. Classic.
And DJ signing off with his little wedding buddy. The end of an era.
Wow - that was one long post! :) I am off to bed now!
~ Crystal
So, this past week has been a little crazy to say the least. I will share more later, but I can say that I AM SO EXCITED about an upcoming wedding! ;) Here are my SYTYCD faves this week for those who are addicted to the show like me!
I missed the first few dances on "So You Think You Can Dance" tonight while I was finalizing some plans for the wedding with the bride, but I have no doubt that had I seen them all this dance would still be my favorite from the night! It happens, but it is rare that a performance brings me to tears. I will openly admit that this dance had me crying by the end. It was very emotional and touched something within me - perhaps because I, like so many people these days, can relate to having a spouse who has to travel away a lot with work. I think that anything that can emotionally move you that much is an amazing piece of art. And what is so shocking about this dance performed by Chelsie and Mark (one of my favorite couples on the show) is that it is a hip-hop(ish) performance! Wow! Beautiful choreography!
That was my favorite from the night, but Katee and Joshua had an awesome Samba. I think they are the couple to beat in the competition right now. They BRING IT every week. They are my favorite! :)
Enjoy!
Now, I must finish packing. I leave out first thing in the AM for California again. Poor me, right?! I know.....I know.....I have to endure this amazing view from DJ's house for a few days. It's going to be rough. ;)
Who else thinks it's a brilliant idea that my family and I just pitch a tent in his backyard and move out there?! LOL! Here are a few more of our pictures from our vacation a month ago. My dear friend Regis snapped the ones of Brayson, Jeremy and I together with my point and shoot. Thanks, Regis!!
Brayson didn't like the waves too much...
I like to smother my kid with kisses - even when he's mad at the world!
Laguna beach...
This huge rabbit came right up to us! I could have pet it, but Jer encouraged me not too. Something about rabies..... LOL!
Brayson picking me flowers while we waited for dinner one night.
Me and my sweet boy! My goodness, I am going to miss him over the next few days!
This is random, but this is a picture of me waaaaaay back in the day when I was a cute 16 months old. Here I am in my pink and my dad's hat and boots. :) Brayson could never deny me as his mother, could he?! I can't believe the resemblance!
Alright, so NOW I'm going to finish packing and get to bed!! Hope you enjoyed my random post! Everyone have a great day!
Crystal