My blog has been filling up with Ahuja people lately, and I don't hate it!  Here's another one of my sweet UH sisters and her love bugs Andrew and Izzy (I will let you guess which is which).  We met up at Horseshoe Pond in CVNP to take some late fall photos for Christmas Cards! Yay!

If there was a more perfect fall evening to shoot some couples portraits for Bryanna and Jake, I haven't seen it.  Gosh, it was So. Beautiful. (Ohio, sometimes people give you a hard time for your weather, and sometimes you deserve it.  But other times?? You nail it. -Chef's kiss motion- )  And this autumn evening was made even more beautiful by the cutie patootie couple in front of my lens!  Bryanna is a fellow member of the Ahuja fam, and I love her spunk.  Her major request was "cute fall pictures with pumpkins", so of course we had to hit up Szalay's Farm & Market, Cuyahoga Valley's favorite market and pumpkin central this time of year.  Literally, Bryanna and Jake killed the game, everyone.  Look at how stinkin' cute they are!!  This shoot made my heart happy, and I hope it made your heart's happy too, Bryanna and Jake.

P.S. Scroll to the last half of this blog post for my new favorite trick.  I present to you, GIFs!!! SO FUN!!!  Get ready for a whole lot more of these.  And thanks to Bry and Jake for being my guinea pigs and for obliging when I ask you to shake your butts in a random field.  Much love.

In their few short years of marriage, Kim and Jake have been through more hardship than any young couple in love would ever anticipate.  The most crushing of blows was the loss of their precious angel Edison just a few weeks after her birth. Yet, despite the heartbreak, Kim and Jake have trusted the Lord with their grief and questions and made the conscious choice to love each other through the pain and confusion rather than let it pull them apart.  Early in December, Jake surprised Kim with a session for their yearly Christmas card, so we headed to downtown Kent (a significant place for Kim and Jake as Jake popped the question underneath the bridge). Though the day was chilly, Tree City Coffee kept them warm as we traipsed around the city and recalled some of the significant moments of their relationship that had happened in their beloved college town.

On their first anniversary, Heather and Colin took a picture holding a framed portrait from their wedding day.  On their second anniversary, they then took a picture of them holding that image from their first anniversary.  This November, they celebrated their third anniversary, and it was time for another installment of the ever-growing portrait.  It was so neat to be a part of this yearly tradition, and we got to take advantage of an unseasonably warm December day.  Heather wanted something with Christmas lights, and after thinking about possible locations, we decided Cleveland's Public Square would be the perfect place.  I have had the pleasure of getting to know Heather (and Colin, of course) through small group, and this girl is the best! I love her sass and her spunk, the bright-colored patterned leggings she wears, and the way she loves people really well.  She is a fantastic teacher and a fantastic friend, and I can just see her and Colin 50 years from now taking their 53rd anniversary picture, maybe a bit more gray and worse for the wear but still so much in love.

The funniest thing happened the last time I was at Brigette and Eric’s house.  We were saying our goodbyes, preparing to leave, when a puppy bursts in through the front door.  A PUPPY!  It ran around the room greeting everyone like we were its long lost friends and throwing the entire house into wonderful chaos.  Amidst this chaos, the funniest part was seeing Eric frozen with his mouth open and hands out in complete shock. We ended up corralling the puppy into the fenced-in backyard and feeding her baby carrots because that’s all we had.  Long story short, the puppy was reunited with its owner, but this is still a memory that makes me laugh each time I think about it.  Oh and did I mention that both Brigette and Eric are very allergic to dogs. 

Nonetheless, they are the kind of friends that save your dog the bones when they eat ribs.  The kind that have a closet full of post-it notes with your prayer requests on them. The kind that grab a guitar and a cajon (you know, one of those box drum things, Eric’s a pro) and play right along.  And the kind that when you say, “Let’s take photos in a cemetery!”, say “Why not?!”.  Cheers to your marriage, you two, and thank you for your friendship.