Lions & Tigers & Bears

Yesterday, my mom, two brothers {Seth & Jesse}, two sister-in-laws {Stacey & Lydia} and two nephews {Ryder & Carson} took advantage of the gorgeous weather and went to the zoo. My mom hadn't been since I was in preschool, Jesse & Lydia hadn't been with Ryder, and Seth, Stacey, & Carson hadn't been since...the last time they went.

I've been crazy blessed with having such a close-knit family and I'm so thankful for them. They make a day at the zoo way more fun.

Jesse Ryder got all sweaty at the zoo, so that gave the perfect excuse for an afternoon bath. His favorite!

I just love all of those baby curls.

Look at how LONG his hair actually is! 

Long enough for an oh-so-dramatic alfalfa. ;)

The comb over.

Most people don't post so many pictures on blogs, or even take that many pictures in general, but it's these every day moments that make up great big memories.

And I don't want to miss a thing.

Meet Zoey!

First of all, I want to point out that I haven't blogged since September 14th. Whaaaaa?! I feel like I should wear the cone of shame, and in my mind, I totally am. I have so much to blog about, but what better starter post than one introducing the newest Amos fur baby?

And with that, meet Zoey.

Ever since Jesse and Lydia started dating, they've gone to a pet store on most date nights just to look at all the cute puppies. Not looking to buy, just looking with googly eyes. Last week on their three year anniversary, they did their own tradition and headed into Lynnhaven Mall. But instead of walking in, ooh-ing & awe-ing at the little animals, and leaving, they fell in love with the cute wheaten tarrier that seemed to have "take me home" written all over her face. :)

So, after going back to the same pet store multiple times, and praying over whether they should or shouldn't get a puppy, they made the move to give this little girl a family.

Today, Jesse, Lydia, Ryder, my mom, and I went to pick her up. She already had a name, a bed, toys, food, and an adorable big brother. I think it's a win-win for everyone. :)

{{Side Note : Don't you just love my brother in his glasses?! Me too.}}

Zoey is so sweet and has the best disposition. She love to cuddle, play, and sleep. Such a cutie pie.

Ryder said he needed a snack before he would give that dog a shot. ;)

She loooves him! And he likes her pretty good, too. :)

"Oh, hey. Just chillin' on my dad while he does some push-ups."

Our family now consists of two parents, six kids, two grandkids, and four dogs. Keep on growing. :)

Hannah Grace Photography

The weather is finally getting to that sweater wearing, pumpkin carving, boyfriend snuggling crispness, causing me to reconsider my favorite season once again.

And with that, I've finally decided what I want to do with my life.

Since I was a little girl, I wanted to be a mommy. I wanted to have a a big family and homeschool my kids, be the best wife I can be and take care of making our family's house always be a home. My last years in highschool, I thought maybe I'd rather be an interior designer, nurse, or even a psychologist. After all, have you ever researched how much a psychologist makes in a year? Putting money on the back burner, I knew I didn't want to have babies just to send them off to Grandma's while I worked all day. I knew there was no amount of money that would cause me to want to miss out on being the mommy I always dreamed of being. So with that, I crossed every full-time work-place career off of the list of where I would go next.

For awhile, I decided on cosmetology. I could go to school, get my license, work in a salon for a few years, then convert a room into an in-home salon when I started having kids. Unfortunately {but fortunately}, the car accident Sebastian and I were in a couple years ago has caused a chronic neck & shoulder injury. When the doctor told me that pursuing cosmetology would be setting myself up for a lifetime of torture {which my mom had already shared with me her same concern...she's wise}, I was disappointed, but I was thankful. Because when I think about it, cosmetology isn't something I'm passionate about. I think it would be fun to learn and convenient to know, but there's absolutely no passion behind my wanting to learn how to chop people's hair off. Consider door closed.

And that brings me to where I am now. Always enjoying taking pictures everywhere I go and constantly having that burning desire to do something both rewarding and fun, I've finally decided on photography. Surprise, surprise, right?

So now, I'm building my portfolio and searching for what I'm good at. I'm learning lighting & posing & editing and I'm trying to soak things in as much as I can.

And here's where you come in! :) I'm fully aware that I'm not at the point of getting a business licence and charging people to take their pictures, but I am needing some guinea pigs to let me photograph them for the sake of me building a portfolio & finding my "specialty". Basically, we'll do a session for free then I'll edit the photos and give you a CD will all of the images on it for you to do whatever you want with. I'm going to ask for $5 just for the cost of the CD, but that's about it! If you like the pictures so much that you want to give anything more, I won't turn it away. :) There will be a lot of investing going into this with equipment and schooling and everything else, but I'm certainly not comfortable charging anyone right now! So if you want to donate toward that, you can, but there's definitely no obligation. :)

That brings me to my last little bit of information. I've heard a few successful {read snobby} photographers say that you shouldn't call yourself a photographer until you've done x, y, and z, and you shouldn't create a facebook page or do any kind of marketing until you're a real-life, business license- owning, money-charging photographer. Personally, I feel like you have to start somewhere and this is where I'm choosing to start.

SO, here's the link to my facebook page {{Hannah Grace Photography}} and if you have any interest in what I'll be doing, you can go ahead and 'like' that page! And I would absolutely love for you to pray for me as I start this journey! And if you have any words of encouragement, I'll take that too. :) I'm basically super duper crazy excited! :)