Today, I feel short

Going through and editing pictures, getting ready to hopefully scrapbook a few (did I mention I started a project for J's 18th birthday? think i've given myself enough time to get it done?!)

We just had our first ever 10-day family trip. We packed up, boarded a jet and landed in Portland, Oregon. My best friend, Leslie, had a family cabin near the shores in Long Beach, WA and said we could use it for a week. So we took advantage to escape Arizona's summer heat and headed to cooler breezes. I'll blog about the trip later, but when browsing through the photos, I came across one of me and J. I was happy to have a recent picture of me and my "baby", but suddenly feel very short. Which is humorous since I am 5'10.

What's even better—he had x-rays taken last week and the dr said his growth plates are still open. Seriously!?!

Photogenic?

I'm behind the camera-that's where I'm most comfortable. I love being part of making memories for others through photos. Last week I was getting a few pointers from a co-worker, JBL. I have seen his work, and am generally amazed by what he's able to capture through his lens.

I've always been under the impression you are either photogenic, or you are not. I have always believed I belonged to the latter group. JBL snapped a few photos of me, to show me some different settings on this beast of a camera I was going to be using, and the finished product stunned me. Reviewing our 2500 wedding photos from a shoot yesterday, Tyler was like "what do you mean you aren't photogenic-look at this" Which has led to an interesting thought as a photographer - are there truly people that are NOT photogenic, or have they just not met the right photographer? Hmmm...

either way, i'm thankful for one of the few pictures of myself that I actually like :) Thanks JBL!

Oh what fun!

Since it's been nearly 16 years since my boy's 1st birthday, it was so much fun to hang with the gang and experience ONE again. The crazy looks as they explore cake or ice cream. A first real experience with opening gifts - and being more excited about a bag, paper or chair in the room.

Holly's first birthday was celebrated with: Mom and Dad (of course!), sisters Heather and Brianna, her aunties Marion, Ana, Kim, and Sheri, and uncles Rick, Scott, Chris, and new baby friend Olivia. What a blast. The ball popper was the biggest hit. Squeals of glee bubbled out of both girls as they watched little plastic balls fly into the air. A girlie-girl in the making, the new purse with accessories from Auntie Kim was also a favorite. Cupcakes from Sprinkles were a yummy treat for all.

Thanks for sharing this special day with us!

A day of opposites

Yesterday was a day of opposites. A day of sadness and a day of joy. There was death and there was celebration of life. Holly turned one yesterday! It seems surreal that a year has already passed! What a delight this little girl is. It has been a blessing to be part of her life (as well as her mama's :)
Memories of her first year.

Frank Graham 7.17.08

Frank Graham
7/11/1930 —7/17/2008

sad news today

i got an email from our dear friend, ruthie, today. her husband was diagnosed with ALS about a year or so ago. these are wonderful friends to us-like family. every july we get together and celebrate the july birthdays, since there are 3. ruth and frank also celebrate their wedding anniversary. this month was their 30th - something i cant even imagine...30 years. it's wonderful.

we went over for our july celebration last friday since frank is no longer mobile. his ALS has slowly been progressing and he is now bed-bound and on oxygen 100% of the time. it was wonderful to see him as its been several months, but so hard at the same time. hard to see his health deteriorating so, but yet wonderful to see love in action between them. ruthie bought frank a bike horn so he could signal her more easily as he became weaker. he honks away when he needs her and she's not in the room - and she comes running to nurse her man.

the love they share is so evident and so precious. frank was doting on his wife last friday - telling our clan how there was no woman better than his ruthie.

tonight i just received an update from aunt ruthie - frank has slipped into a semi-comatose state. so sudden. last week he was telling his traditional joke, smiling and interacting with us. it's a precious memory now.

Family Vacation

June 26 our family embarked on its first ever ten-day vacation. Crazy, huh? J turns 17 in a matter of weeks and we've never taken a "real" vacation. We've done blasts to California, even a slightly extended long weekend to Colorado, a week in Disney with in-laws (does that really count as a vacation?!?)-but never ten days of not being home, not being in my own bed, and having no access to a computer or the internet!

It was exciting and a little overwhelming. Before we left I had started to battle a cold. It hung on (along with a sore throat) for the first few days of our trip, but by Sunday I was feeling back to normal. We headed out to explore Cape Disappointment, which was incredibly green and beautiful.
We hiked a short trail that led us through enveloped us in greenery, flowers and the roar of the ocean—breathtaking.
The fog was heavy over the ocean that day, emphasizing the need for these life-saving lighthouses. We learned a little history about this area and these lighthouses too:

In 1788, while in search of the Columbia River, English Captain John Meares missed the passage over the river bar and named the nearby headland Cape Disappointment for his failure in finding the river. In 1792, American Captain Robert Gray successfully crossed the river bar and named the river "Columbia" after his ship, the Columbia Rediviva. Only a few years later, in 1805, the Lewis and Clark Expedition arrived at Cape Disappointment.

The Cape Disappointment Lighthouse was constructed in 1856 to warn seamen of the treacherous river bar known by then as "the graveyard of the Pacific." This is the oldest functioning lighthouse on the West Coast.

In 1862, Cape Disappointment was armed with smoothbore cannons to protect the mouth of the Columbia River from enemies. The installation was expanded to become Fort Canby in 1875. The fort was named after General Edward Canby, who was killed in the Modoc Indian War. The fort continued to be improved until the end of World War II. Gun batteries still sit uptop the park.

Just a little tidbit of interesting history. And some more photos from this incredible experience.


Cape Disappointment and Cape Disappointment Lighthouse

Let the madness begin...

i've toyed with blogging for a while, but somehow always drift back to a private journal only. it still seems strange to put life out there for all to see. after a day of editing wedding photos, i decided that today would be a good day to try this blogging thing again.

yesterday i spent nearly eleven hours on my first official photo shoot. it was a wedding of a great friend from work and it was a scary privelege to be asked to photograph their daughter's wedding. scary because this is not what i do professionally, but it is something i love to do. i love to catch moments, stopping them in time, and being able to give a gift that adds to a memory for someone. i have always been awed by photography and by photographer's that capture images that stir the soul.

i work with a photographer like this. i am not sure if he sees himself as a great photographer, but i truly believe God has given him an amazing gift. i am moved to my core, connected to God's people and His creation through his photos. you can see some of his work here. he blessed me last week with a few pointers, just days before i was to snap away at the wedding. i was so thankful for his time, his insight, and some tidbits of wisdom he shared (they were several that really saved me!)

saturday's wedding was a huge learning experience for me—and not only on as a photographer. i arrived early and was instantly immersed in college friendships/sisterhood. as with any wedding, stress levels were high. there were lots of contributing factors, including a family medical emergency just days prior, but love, support and friendship filled every room in the house. girls giggling, sipping iced coffees over curling irons and hairspray.

laughter filled the house more often than not as the girls listened to tunes that had them reminiscing as well as planning the day and days ahead. as i watched and interacted with these girls, documenting this journey and their bond, my heart knew that this was the kind of friendship God had in mind for girls of all ages. (my church has created girlfriends with hopes of nurturing these kinds of friendships in women). it is this kind of friendship that we need throughout our lives, and not just as kids, or as young adults.

what rises in us as girls, young adults, or women where we switch from loving each other to competing with and hurting one another? what happens to our spirit of goofiness and giddiness. when do we become too old for fun? or as my nephew so eloquently put to me last night, "why do we buy in to being strapped down?" how so? being wired like his auntie, with a love of travel, of free-spiritedness, and of fun, he sees the 9-5, burdened with mortgage, and never-changing daily routines as stifling. as we talked more, i remember when i felt the same way—probably when i was his age. some very interesting thoughts flooded my head last night, but more on that later.

back to lessons from a photo shoot.

we found ourselves at the church, mid-day in the stifling arizona sun. i think on more than one occasion each member of that wedding party and their families thought to themselves "what were we thinking of when we planned a wedding in july, in arizona?!?!" but you would've never known it. never was a complaint uttered. some good ribbing and fun, but everyone was game for photos in the sun - even at our heat peak around 2pm.
one of the lessons from this moment - shoot fast because it's hot and with four little ones that are literally melting before your eyes you have to get the shot fast. overall everyone involved in posing for pictures was amazing! family and friends alike were loving being a part of this moment of the bride and groom's lives.

and as with any wedding ceremony, sitting through the vows always takes me back to the day of mine and causes me to examine where we are at in living up to those promises. it's been a hard year for the michetti's, and that's probably one of the understatements of the year. but God has been faithful. a divine appointment with my sr. pastor and his words of wisdom, "every day wake up and pray: not my will, but Yours" has allowed me to get through and continues to keep me going. at the reception, the bride's grandparents, together 58 years, were applauded. 58! how that love, commitment and devtion must cause God's heart to swell. Love as He intended it. Commited-through good times and not-so-good; through highs and lows. their words of wisdom to the newly-married couple? "Live it up!" what a riot they were.

i am still processing some of the other lessons and observations from this experience, and maybe they will lead to future blogs. but tonight, as i process through nearly 2500 photos (did I do you proud JBL?), i feel blessed by what I was a part of yesterday. and my favorite part of the day? I got to share this experience with my nephew, tyler. i loved "working" with him...hmmm, maybe we should do it again?!?