HOME | COLUMBUS — “It’s that time of year again”, an email that Isaac sent to his friends, professional peers, and alike. It is that time of year again. For him, he gets to go home, embrace his nurturing Mum (not Mummy- apparently he’s never EVER called her that!), help his Dad pick their favorite pictures of the dogs and family to post on facebook, and to be around his brothers & their wives (or soon to be!). For me it is a little different… Even though the New Year has passed (I spent mine photographing the most beautiful wedding my heart has yet lived), I still haven’t had the chance to really grasp all that has happened the past year.

This year has been filled with moments that have made my heart just ache, and some that I felt my heart would burst from sheer happiness. There are those who know me well, and know exactly what most of these moments are. Yet, there are those that know me best, that still don’t entirely know all the challenges. I have made some mistakes this year. Perhaps overly ambitious. Perhaps just happily enjoying what it feels like to go to bed flat out exhausted, and yet, in the midst of it all, creating beautiful moments against all odds. There is a closeness that you can feel to God, in the exhaustion, in the sweat and tears, where what you see is the beauty that remains in your tiny creation. Those are the moments of good stuff!

Nearly to the eve of our flight, four days out, I sit here listening to “Any Other Name” by Thomas Newman. A perfect song for our 10 day vacation in Sydney before returning to Perth for Family, work, and long walks on the beach. I am so excited to see a side of Australia I’ve not ventured to before. I undoubtedly will be doing some internal traveling this trip, but what’s better is the family and friend’s smiling faces accompanying the journey!

I hope to get the last few missing blog posts from last year done; not sure if they will have pictures, but we shall see. I also want to get a better resolution image for the header image, time permitting. I have really come to love this blog, as a visual, semi articulate memoir to these earlier years of my live and the lives of my growing family. 27 this year, the age I’ll also be when I marry the only man I could ever be with. This year should be all to exciting, and promising for the many new plans I have yet to make a reality.