Smiles, hugs, and memories were abundant at Seth and Sydney’s wedding! It was an intimate wedding that had all the feels of a family reunion, plus Thanksgiving. (Okay, the actual Thanksgiving feast and strawberry cake were icing on the cake!)
I was so honored to document my cousin’s special day!
Meeting Craig in the parking lot, Matthew said, “Christy’s only been waiting ten years for this session!”
Craig probably thought Matthew was kidding, but it was true. He photographed our family when Ruthie was a baby, so it was TIME for us to have another session with one of my all-time FAVORITE photographers!
These were taken last year before Ross left for his internship at KLRC in Arkansas. Oddly enough, I can share frog dissections and deer hanging out in my backyard, but when something is REALLY special in my heart, sometimes I have a harder time sharing it publicly. In a strange way, Ross’ graduation, an incredible trip with Matthew and THIS session almost seem ‘too special’ to blog about. (Okay, I’m also kind-of nervous about reducing the image size and quality for my blog since a really AMAZING photographer took them.)
But these photos make my heart too happy NOT to post!
(And soon, I WILL also share about one of the best days of my life AND a trip to one of the most beautiful places on earth!)
There have been years when we’ve splurged a little; but there’s been other years, like this one, where we kept our Christmas trip affordable by driving somewhere local, only spending a few days, and cooking most meals.
Our hotel rooms were significantly cheaper because Matthew and I sat through a 90-minute timeshare presentation. (Great travel hack IF you can say no!) Matthew and the kids also used 27 YEAR OLD Disney park-hopper tickets to go to the Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios for FREE! (When Grandmama died, we found “no expiration date” tickets with remaining days left on them. I contacted Disney and they honored them.)
When you add Parker going with us and a pit stop at Matthew’s brother and sister-in-law’s house, it was a sweet trip to mark ten years of MEMORIES > gifts!
You know you’re a WEIRD family when even the KIDS don’t want to go to Disney. Although my crew would much rather be by the pool, ocean, fishing or playing pickle-ball, using the tickets was a reminder of just how SWEET Grandmama always was to intentionally create MEMORIES for everyone. (On a side-note, when we arrived and traded the old tickets in, it was very emotional when I realized it was the EXACT DATE 27 years ago!)
Personally, I couldn’t have been any HAPPIER to stay at the resort! I had one sweet day with Ruthie. The following day I got to make memories with Rayna.
My trip highlight was going out in the wild ocean in Matthew’s brother’s boat! (Dawn’s brownies and watching them all collect COCONUTS for Ruthie were close seconds!)
The waves! The breeze! The music! The sun! The DOLPHINS!
Here’s the other memories we’ve made over the years!
Back when Arkansas was home, a lot of my time on those country roads was spent also catching-up on the phone with my sister who was over 700 miles away. Driving past beautiful cow fields, I would listen to entertaining stories about a great family from her church. The story line usually always involved unmatched hospitality, incredible food, Russian traditions, a house full of kids and, of course, sauna followed by a polar plunge into their ice-cold pool. Regardless of the details, I always ended-up thinking to myself- “I’d love to meet them one day!”
It wasn’t long after we moved back to Georgia that we all found ourselves at my parent’s house for my nephew’s birthday party. Sitting at their long wooden table were four new faces that I’d only ever heard about on phone calls with my sister. In between Nerf war battles and swimming, Matthew, Ross and I enjoyed getting to know those brothers better. And by the end of that summer, even greater than my wish of simply meeting the whole family, we soon called them all friends!
Somewhere between family cook-outs, birthday parties, volleyball tournaments, Bible studies, summer camps, fish fries and church events, Rayna and Mark started a friendship of their own. Soon after, Rayna began intentionally praying for Mark and their future together.
Meeting young and both being quiet allowed their three year friendship to blossom slowly. But, soon enough, they both knew they wanted to spend the rest of their lives together. So on a foggy, late summer’s day, Mark surprised Rayna in front of a waterfall and asked if she would marry him!
I am proud of their love and commitment to one another and the Lord! I pray He will use their marriage to glorify Him in all they do.
Oh, and I was VERY excited to do their ENGAGEMENT photos as well!
Beautiful story and pictures. Congratulations to the couple and the families.
AnonymousDecember 28, 2024 - 10:50 am
Oh my god! What? Congratulations
Debra HarrisonDecember 28, 2024 - 8:13 pm
Christy: These pictures are amazing and I know you and Matthew have to be so proud. Rayna is so beautiful and Mark so handsome too! I pray God will bless them with year’s of love. Congratulations to each of you.
AnonymousDecember 28, 2024 - 8:48 pm
This last photo says it all. Love ❤️
Lorraine StaffordDecember 28, 2024 - 9:33 pm
Their smiles say it all. They look totally and utterly in love. God bless them and I love your engagement photos.
You may see a pretty young lady, but I can’t help but still see Elyse as an adorable, sweet and quiet lil’ 4-year old girl who I got to hug and teach each week in Sunday school class.
When I planned to hang with Jennifer at the beach several years ago, Matthew said, “Have fun!”
When I planned to hang with Jennifer in the mountains a few years later, Matthew said, “Have fun!”
When I planned to hang with Jennifer in Arizona a few months ago, Matthew said, “You can’t go to Arizona without ME!”
And I’m SO glad Matthew came along!
We stayed with Jennifer, my childhood friend from kindergarten. They could NOT have been more hospitable! We ate delicious food. We talked about Jesus. We enjoyed the PERFECT (fall) Arizona weather. We took family photos. Oh, and we celebrated Matthew’s birthday!