Lincoln Brewster Praises God in Alabama - and We Had a Front Row Seat :)

Anyone who knows me, knows how I love the music of praise and worship leader Lincoln Brewster. Whether he is singing Today is The Day, God You Reign, Everlasting God, or Salvation is Here, he is the best. I love the lyrics. His guitar playing is phenomenal.

Kali and I were making plans to be in Alabama for a speech and debate conference when I learned that Lincoln Brewster was going to be in Dothan for a concert the day after our conference ended. Just two short hours away, and it was even on the way home!

I bought two tickets and we looked forward to the concert after an exciting conference. We knew this would be a fun thing to do together on our way back home.

Shortly after we checked into the hotel in Dothan, I was stepping off the elevator and ran right into a fellow, practically knocking him down. I looked at him to say "excuse me" and realized he was Brewster's guitar player. You can see him in this picture. Around the corner we saw the keyboard player. The drummer was sitting on the sofa in the lobby. Cool!

The concert was pretty much sold out before the music started. There were about 300 people in front of Kali and I in line. I have no idea how it happened, but we were able to find two seats together on the very front row :).

The music was wonderful. We ended up standing the entire time, singing, clapping, tapping our feet, praying, singing, praying, listening, enjoying. It was great!

If you have never listened to the songs written and sung by Lincoln Brewster, you can go to youtube.com and find a bunch of them. His ministry is God-blessed, far-reaching, and getting stronger. What a great way to finish our trip!

I ♥ Faces, Week #38, Blue Challenge

The I ♥ Faces challenge this week is Blue. This can include anything blue, predominantly blue, the color blue and it must have a prominent face. While Kali and I were in Alabama this past week, we were fortunate enough to get tickets to a concert by Christian praise and worship leader Lincoln Brewster. We saw Lincoln sing in Atlanta a little over a year ago. I absolutely love his songs. I follow his blog and I've been waiting more than a year for him to do a performance anywhere on the east coast so we could go listen to him again. This concert aligned perfectly with the closure of our speech and debate conference. Yay!!! We got front row seats (that will never happen again - lol!) I loved all the colored lights. When I started looking at my pictures on the computer at the hotel, I knew this blue-lit shot would be my I ♥ Faces entry. To see other pictures from this concert, please click here. If you would like to check out all the other "blue" shots, or add one of your own, head on over to www.iheartfaces.com .

For My Fellow Photographers

I figured my photography friends could really appreciate Garfield today and could also start their day out with a laugh :O). I love Garfield! He's my favorite.

Kali and I are in Montgomery, Alabama, this week at a Communicators For Christ speech and debate conference. Kali is expecting to graduate from one of their leadership programs at this conference. Her hopes is to become an intern with CFC in another year or two. Posts may be sketchy from here. Our internet service at the hotel is terrible. Have a great week!

I ♥ Faces - Completely Candid

This week's I ♥ Faces challenge is Completely Candid, absolutely no posed photos. Here is my entry:

This photo was taken at the Run For Their Lives 5-K Race held a couple weeks ago as a fundraiser for local pregnancy crisis centers. I loved the fact that this lady ran with her three children to support pro-life for unborn babies. What a perfectly visual affirmation of support for life. And, of course, I love their little faces that range from contentment, to happiness, to complete bordom. To see everyone else's entries, or to enter your own entry, head on over to I ♥ Faces.

We Picture This: Love Story

From now through the end of October, We Picture This is hosting a Love Story theme. I immediately thought of this picture I took a couple days ago. Jayden was born a month early. He weighed 4 lbs, 10 oz. and was totally healthy. His mom was on complete bed rest prior to his delivery and had been in the hospital for about a week already. A lot of prayers were lifted up in behalf of this family. And what a blessed result. Just look at that little face. And just look at the complete awe, amazement, and love on the faces of those parents. Just twelve days old, what could say Love Story any more than this shot? To view other Love Stories, visit We Picture This, a Mamarazzi Blog.

You Capture: Up Close

The You Capture Challenge for this week was Up Close. So, here are my photos. I used MCP Actions' Blog It Board action to make these two collages. All the photos were taken just outside of Atlanta. The first was at one of the many fun antique shops. The second was from a fun shop that was totally new to me, Charming Charlie. What I like best about the shop - other than the style was bright and crisp - was that the merchandise was organized by color. There was a blue section, a yellow section, a pink section, you get the idea. Fun shop! And a fun challenge for the week. To check out a lot of other Up Close photos, visit I Should Be Folding Laundry.

Jayden, What a Blessing!

Isn't this a beautiful family? This precious baby boy is Jayden. On this particular day he was twelve days old. I think Ashley told me Jayden weighed 4 pounds, 10 ounces when he was born. He is, without a doubt, the tiniest healthy baby I've seen. What a privilege for me to photograph Ashley, Otis, and Jayden.



No truer words were ever spoken :).

(That's his mama's hand Jayden is curled up next to.)



I love this little foot sticking out over the edge of my basket. Ashley and I set up the basket and placed Jayden inside. He looked so tiny in there, and so comfy! I didn't want to move him - lol!

These pictures were taken in, and around, the wedding chapel at the University of Florida. I love this shot of father and son with the sunlight poring in the east windows of the chapel.


Jayden has a beautiful mom who loves him so much! I noticed on facebook Ashley has been calling him her "lil peanut."


Isn't Jayden gorgeous!


I typically take tons of photos so the parents, like Ashley and Otis, have plenty of shots to enjoy.


(This one is mainly for my sister-in-law Sandy. I bought this elephant when I was visiting her recently. She took me to some great shops!)

I mentioned earlier that we were at the University of Florida taking pictures. Well, Jayden has his very own Gator Build-a-Bear! He just a little young yet to say, "Go, Gators!"









Jayden is such a blessing to his family. I had a great time time spending the morning with Ashley and Otis, and Jayden. So much love there in that family. It was an honor to be able to document Jayden's twelth day and share it here with you!

I ♥ Faces Week #36, Contemplative

The challenge this week at I ♥ Faces is Contemplative. When I read the description for the week, I immediately thought of some photos I took of our daughter at the lake. She really didn't want her photo taken. I had to bribe her with a swim in the lake afterwards - lol! I could tell as I was shooting that I was losing her, that she was drifting in her own little world. You know the look ... the glassed over eyes, the out of focus/out of touch impression the body gives - so funny! Once I was done, she immediately livened up, took off the jacket, and jumped into the lake - lol! I got some great pictures and she had some fun swimming. Win/win!

I ♥ Faces is also hosting Pets photos this week. If you follow my blog, you already know that we recently got a small ranch and have placed a couple horses and a couple miniature donkeys on it. This particular picture is of Rascal, my daughter's horse. Rascal is the most laid-back animal you've ever seen. He will fall asleep as you brush him, as you are saddling him up to ride, as you rub his nose - he is just an extremely docile animal. He loves to have his nose stroked. Isn't he gorgeous? I can almost hear him saying, "is it naptime yet?" - lol!

To check out all the other entries this week, or to enter your own, head on over to I ♥ Faces and get in on the fun!

The "Eyes" Have It!

This is my beautiful niece Kelly. Kali and I spent some time with her family recently and had the opportunity for all the girls to go shopping together. Maybe you saw my Vera Bradley post earlier. Kelly's color - in case you couldn't tell - is purple. Check out these shades :).

I love editing and playing around with actions - searching for different/trendy looks. So, I took this shot of Kelly and ran mcpactions.com's Magic Skin action first, then I ran their Urban Cover Model action. I really like the way it turned out!


Both ladies ended up with new sunglasses. Perfect photo opp-time!

Don't they look great!

And again - I ran the same two actions on this photo. I never know how the picture is going to turn out until the actions run and show me the finished product. Sometimes I like the finished product, sometimes not. This one? I like! A lot!

If you are interested in seeing more about MCP Actions, just visit their site at www.mcpactions.com .