The Thompson Family

One of the most fun parts of my job is reconnecting with friends from years gone by. I was so excited when Ms. Connie contacted me about taking some family portraits! Reconnecting with this family that I knew during my growing up days at St. Mark’s UMC was so special!! I especially remember my season as the interim youth pastor while Kevin and Carter were both in my youth group! They have grown into fine young men with families of their own, and Ms. Connie and Mr. David are proud grandparents of these three beautiful grandkids.

It has been such an honor to not only capture these memories for you, but also to pray over each of you as I edit. And it has been such a pleasure to reconnect and have some time to catch up with each of you! Many blessings, Thompson Family!

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Justin and Kristy McGuffee | Parham Bridges Park | Maternity Session

Pregnancy is such a special time in a woman’s life. It is a season where she has the privilege of partnering with the Creator of all things to bring new life into this world. I am amazed by God’s perfect design that allows a woman’s body to grow and sustain new life.

Justin and Kristy are preparing to welcome their second and third baby boys into their family. That’s right, there are two bouncing baby boys in that beautiful belly! Judah and Reuben will join big brother Asher in making this a family of FIVE!

Justin and Kristy, your love for Jesus is evident in how you love one another and share His love with those around you. Your boys are so blessed to have you as mommy and daddy. As I am editing your images I have prayed for your family. I feel such great anticipation for what Papa God has planned for your family! It is not by chance that your boys are named after the patriarchs of Israel, but they will inherit a spiritual heritage and legacy to match their names. The Lord will use each of them to advance the Kingdom of Heaven in ways we can not imagine, and generations will be blessed through them.

Parenting is a crazy adventure of its own. Keep your eyes on Jesus and focus on Him, and he will lead and guide you through each and every step.

Psalm 139: 13-16

For You formed my innermost parts;
You knit me [together] in my mother’s womb.
I will give thanks and praise to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Wonderful are Your works,
And my soul knows it very well.
My frame was not hidden from You,
When I was being formed in secret,
And intricately and skillfully formed [as if embroidered with many colors] in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes have seen my unformed substance;
And in Your book were all written
The days that were appointed for me,
When as yet there was not one of them [even taking shape].

The Holden Family | Terry, MS Family Portrait Session

This family holds a very special place in my heart. They are a HUGE part of my husband’s testimony of how he met and surrendered to Jesus.

The story begins with Ben, Mr. Gary & Mrs. Jamie’s son. Ben was the first person to invite Lee to a men’s prayer breakfast at Hillcrest Baptist Church. Lee experienced the love of Jesus and began going to church at Hillcrest where he surrendered his life to the Lord. During this season of early faith and growing in the Lord, Mrs. Jamie became what Lee calls his “church mom.” She and Mr. Garry loved him well and showed him what a godly family looks like. They are all a huge part in Lee’s spiritual foundation, and I was so honored when Mrs. Jamie contacted me about taking family portraits for them while everyone was gathered for Thanksgiving!

Three generations including Mrs. Jamie’s mom, their two grown up kids, and six grandkids made this portrait session quite an adventure! We had a lot of fun chasing the littlest of the family and trying to get them to laugh and smile for the camera.

As I have prayed for your family, the Lord reminded me of 1 Peter 4:8-9 “Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.” Mr. Gary & Mrs. Jamie, you love well and show hospitality like no other! I pray that these images are a blessing to you and your family. I also hope that I was able to freeze time and capture the memories of these precious little faces that are growing so fast. I hope these images will be a family treasure for generations to come. 

The Massingill Family | A Fall Family Session | Parham Bridges Park, Jackson, MS

I woke up Friday morning to a torrential downpour. My heart sank as I thought about the family session I had planned with this beautiful family that afternoon. Before I even got out of bed, I checked multiple weather apps. All were in agreement that the rain should move out by lunch. I emailed Allison to share my findings and give her a few options: location change to avoid mud, or reschedule for a latter date. I was overjoyed when she replied choosing to brave the weather and go with my location choice of Parham Bridges Park! The walking trails would keep everyone out of the mud, and there are enough trees for the images to look like we are lost deep in the woods, giving them the outdoors feel they wanted!

I am SO THANKFUL they trusted me! Not only was the location perfect, but the Lord parted the clouds revealing the dreamiest light streaming through the trees!! This beautiful family + the dreamiest golden hour light = I had the hardest time narrowing down over 1,000 images to my favorite 20 for the blog!! Ok, so it was impossible. I finally got it down to 33!

The love this family has for one another is evident in through their joy and laughter! And Emerson, this precious girl!! She was the star of the show!!

Matt, Allison & Emerson, I have prayed for each of you as I have edited your images. The verse the Lord has given me for your family is Psalm 126:2 “Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy. It was said among the nations, ‘The LORD has done great things for them.'” The Lord has indeed done great things for you, and  greater is yet to come! He has such big plans for your family! May the Lord continue to fill you with JOY and LAUGHTER all the days of your life!

The Spann Family | Natchez Trace Overlook

I first met Jonathan & Ashton Spann when they came to We Will Go with a volunteer team from Pinelake Church. They were working with another We Will Go missionary and sharing about a mission trip they had recently returned from. That mission trip was to the same Middle Eastern country that I was planning to move to at that time! We connected and shared our hearts for this beautiful country and people that Jesus loves so much! That was now about six years ago and Jesus has taken all of us on crazy adventures with him!

Since then, the Lord has moved the Spann family into Midtown Jackson to share the love of Jesus! As a missionary, I am so excited to reconnect with like-hearted friends who are advancing the Kingdom in our city! And I am expectant to see how Jesus is going to use our friendship to encourage one another as we raise our littles on the mission field and live out the two greatest commandments to love God and love our neighbors on a daily basis.

Jonathan, Ashton & Sadie, the Lord sees you. He sees your heart. He sees your sacrifice. And He loves your willingness to obey no matter what. Keep your eyes on Jesus. Focus on Him! Do not take your eyes off Him to even notice the storm going on around you. He has called you out onto the water. He has called you to walk on the water with Him. As I pray for you now, I hear the chorus to the song Oceans by Hillsong United.

Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders
Let me walk upon the waters
Wherever You would call me
Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander
And my faith will be made stronger
In the presence of my Savior

His plans for your family are better than you can ever imagine!

R54 Block Party!

The month of July brought exciting increase and momentum to Redeemer 54 Ministries!! We have been living in the Broadmoor neighborhood for a little over a year, focusing on building relationships with the kids and families on our street… and now was the time to take these relationships a step further!

Several months ago we began attending Grace City Church as a family. They have moved into the old Broadmoor Baptist Church building this year and have a heart and vision for reaching our neighborhood. As we have shared our experience and vision with the leaders of the church and our community group, we have all felt led to partner together to see the Kingdom come in Broadmoor as it is in Heaven!

Our first partnership outreach was to host a Manila Drive Block Party on July 22, bringing all the neighbors together to cook out, have fun, pray for our community and invite all the kids to the Grace City VBS! We had such an amazing turn out from both the church and the neighborhood! Lee and I walked around like kids on Christmas morning, so full of excitement seeing the vision the Lord has given us being fulfilled in this moment!!

We had a space jump, food truck, and our friend Keith from Sow, Reap, Feed showed up to grill corn and had over 250 lbs of vegetables to pass out to our neighbors! We are so excited to partner with both Grace City Church and Sew, Reap, Feed to share the love of Jesus with our neighbors, and see the Light of Christ shine brightly in this part of Jackson!!

Not only did we have a fantastic crowd, but we had 14 of our kids sign up VBS!!! Be sure to catch our next blog post with more on that fun adventure!!!

Enjoy the photos below from our block party, and please pray for these relationships to continue to grow and go deep!!

Bursting Barns Ministries | Missionary Nurture | Lynnville, TN

 

Meet the Perry Family, my dear friends and the heart behind Bursting Barns Ministries in Lynnville, TN. A couple of weeks ago we had the honor of being guests at Bursting Barns for Jill Perry’s Jubilee Birthday Celebration & Ministry Launch!! And come to find out, we were their very first missionary guests!!

Eddy and Jill Perry were in Missionary Nurture Ministry way before they had a name for it. In fact, the vision for this ministry grew from  the many missionaries who stayed in their home over the years.

I first connected with the Perry family while I was attending the Iris Harvest School of Missions in Mozambique, Africa in the summer of 2011. Eddy & Jill’s daughter Brooke, then only 17, was part of a mission team from We Will Go Ministries. Holy Spirit did so much in Brooke and I during that week in the dirt, and our hearts are forever knit together! During the fall of that same year, Brooke traveled from her home in Franklin, TN to We Will Go to visit and serve with us in Jackson, and then she returned with her family and church family for a spring break mission trip! This spring break trip is when I met Jill,  the two younger Perry sons Brent & Blake as well as several from The Nest Church family. Little did I know, this church family would sew spiritual and financial seeds into my heart, vision, and ministry for years to come!

Over the years I have had many opportunities to stay in the Perry home, which we loving called the Perry B&B! This family does hospitality like nobody else! I have so many stories I could share, and many will appear on this blog in the future as I share my own Jesus story… but as I write this blog post about Eddy & Jill and Bursting Barns Ministries, the first thing that comes to my mind is the word FAITHFUL. What started as kind of a joke about the Perry B&B, became a vision. The vision grew through prayer and prophecy. And now, the vision has become a reality! Check out the full story on the Bursting Barns Blog!

Eddy & Jill, we love y’all so much! We believe your ministry of missionary nurture is VITAL to advancing the Kingdom!! We are so thankful for you and your example of faithfulness to keep pressing forward in order to see all that God has promises come into existence!! Praying for ABUNDANT PROVISION for you ministry so you can continue to nurture, refresh and equip missionaries who desperately need it!

 

Muffuletto Family | Portraits | Flowood Nature Trails

Have you ever prayed and asked Jesus to send you a friend? I have. And my friendship with Naomi Muffuletto is the blessing I received as the fruit of that very prayer and cry of my heart!! What a joy it was to photograph her amazing family surrounded by the beauty of golden hour at the Flowood Nature Trails!

Naomi and I met last fall in a Tuesday morning ladies’ Bible Study class going through the book of Revelation at Pinelake Church. During our first conversation I saw in Naomi a deep hunger to go deeper with Jesus. Over the months our friendship has grown as we have shared our hearts openly with daring vulnerability. God created us to live within open community, and I am so thankful to have this girl as part of my tribe!

Revelation 1:3 says “Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near.” (NKJV) Naomi, dear friend, YOU are one of the biggest blessings I have received from this promise!! 

Beau & Naomi were married on May 1, 2012 in a destination wedding getaway on the island of Antiqua. Two and a half years ago the Lord blessed them with bouncing baby boy Russo who add so much joy to their family. They currently call Madison, MS not only home but also their mission field. This family loves Jesus and is always ready for an adventure!

Pittman & Danielson Families | Family Portraits | Pelahatchie, MS

Oh how I LOVED my time with the Pittman and Danielson families for their family photo shoot in Pelahatchie, MS!

I first met Alex and her mom Chris in January of 2013 when they contacted me about shooting Alex’s wedding to Ty Danielson at the Cornerstone Club House! Alex was the first bride to hire me because she loved my work, which was a HUGE confidence boost for me as I was just starting my business! Before I had only shot a few weddings for friends willing to take a chance on me. I felt like this was my big break!!

Alex & Ty’s wedding was a perfect day full of JOY!! It was so obvious that this beautiful bride and groom were truly in love with one another, and with Jesus! And as an added bonus, their families were so much fun to be around! The flowers were amazing, and so much thought and work went into each detail of the decorations.

Getting to photograph beautiful, Jesus centered weddings with joyful families are my dream job!

It still remains one of my favorite weddings ever. Images from their wedding were quickly added to my Facebook cover photo and used for marketing to future brides! It was a day I will never forget!

Five years have passed and I was OVERJOYED when Alex and I first started talking about taking family portraits! It took a little time, but we finally nailed down a date that worked for everyone… and this session was well worth the wait!

The Pittman and Danielson families have grown since I saw them last. Alex & Ty now have little 17 month old Phillip who is all boy, full of energy, and a little ball of fun!! The Pittman’s have also recently added a new daughter-in-law to the family. Alan & Madison, the family newlyweds, were recently married in Jamaica! I love destination weddings!

Without further ado, I introduce to you Chris, Chris, Adrienne & Jack Pittman; Ty, Alex & Philip Danielson; and Alan & Madison Pittman!

The Schauers Family

In late 2013 I had the honor of meeting the Schauers Family shortly after moving to the Mediterranean Region. They had moved to the country just a few months before me, and their hearts for hospitality welcomed this single girl far from home into their lives and treated me like family.

During the year that we lived in the same city, we took language lessons together, enjoyed many Friday night Game Nights at their home with other Americans living in the same city, prayed together, cried together, and supported one another through heart break and disappointment. They became my family and I will forever be thankful for the year we spent together.

In December of 2014 they moved to another city and I moved into their house about a week before I returned to Mississippi to marry Lee. I miss my dear friends and hope one day we will be able to visit them in their new home city where I will be able to capture new photos not only of their family, but of our kids playing together!

Our location for this shoot was an olive grove just a short hike in the hills (or mountains to this Mississippi girl!) from our neighborhood. It was a cool December day between Christmas and New Years. We timed our photo shoot perfectly to get the soft dreamy light as the sun lowered towards the horizon. Oh how I love to shoot during golden hour!

Even all these years later, this is still one of my favorite photo shoots and I just couldn’t help but share it!