I have always told my kids that life is a matter of making choices. We make them every day, hundreds of them; big ones and little ones, what to wear, what to eat; to smile, to frown, to praise, to grumble; to love to hate, to accept responsibility or make excuses. Life is about choices and the choices we make will effect our lives immeasurably.

Recently my daughter Lindsey and her husband Neil have been faced with some major decisions that could change their lives dramatically. Neil is a very talented young man. It seems when you have a lot of talent you also have a lot of options and you want to make sure you choose the right things in order to use your gifts to the max. The answers are not always black & white, easy or clear but I believe, with much prayer, that God will lead you in the right direction.

I am reminded of a story I heard a long time ago about a group of hunters in Africa. They went into the jungle and found a tree where there were many monkeys. They took hot coals and burned a small hollow place in the tree and in the hollow they placed a piece of fruit. A monkey would reach into the hole to grab the fruit. With his fist wrapped tightly around the fruit he was unable to get his hand back out of the hole.

The hunters easily captured the monkey because he simply would not let go. He gave up his freedom for a piece of fruit. Sometimes our life is just like that. The things we love, our dreams and hopes, are not so easy to let go; however, our plans and desires are not always the plans and desires that God has in store for us. Sometimes we have to let go in order to experience the freedom that comes in knowing we are doing God's will in our life.

God continues to bless us so much and we are so thankful for what he is doing in our lives. We have had an awesome week and would like to share a few photos from a wedding and a family/maternity session we had this week. God bless you all.

 

The first pics are from a wedding we did in High Point, NC. Lizzy and Allan were so in to each other and the families and friends were so awesome to be around. My daughter Lindsey was my second shooter. She did such a good job! I hope  she will join me again; she is so talented. The next two images are from a session with Tiffany, Brandon and Nikolas with a new baby on the way! We wish you the best and look forward to meeting the new little Hargett boy.

Life is good! Have I ever mentioned this before that I love to run? I like running for no particular reason other than it soothes my soul and helps me keep things in perspective. To me, running long distances is a lot like life. It is better to take it one step at a time, not thinking too far ahead, and make short-term goals that eventually lead to bigger goals. There are up hills and down hills and just like life you grow stronger on the hills.

My daughter started running several months ago and has decided to run a marathon. Since I have ran a few marathons myself she asked me to help her get ready for her first. We have been training for a while now doing our long runs on Saturday mornings and have worked our long run up to 20 miles. She is doing great! I think she has the potential to qualify for the Boston Marathon.

I know I have said this before but you should check out her blog La Belle Vie. She has a really good blog and I think you will enjoy it if you have or are thinking of having kids and also if you like to run. She has some really interesting links to her blog as well.

One thing for sure, I love my kids and am so proud of both of them! I played golf with Nick this morning. He is a really good golfer and I always enjoy our time and fellowship on the golf course. He is doing well with the company he works for and I have said this to others before about Nick, he is the kind of guy you can count on for anything. If I am every in a bind or need help he is the go-to guy; he is that way with his friends too.

Here is what has been happening with our photography this past week; we had a wedding at Childress Vineyards, senior sessions and bridal sessions (of which we can't post until after their wedding). Karen and I love our jobs, love capturing timeless photos and love developing relationships with the people we meet. How blessed we are!

Here are some photos from the week.

Lori & Chad's Wedding

The weather was on their side and the wedding was beautiful & fun to photograph!

Sydney's Senior Session

Sydney was really good in front of the camera, we had a great time! Thanks Teresa (Sydney's mom) and Sydney for choosing Autumn Song.

Thanks for checking out our blog. We welcome your comments.

We are so excited about our Family Portrait Month coming up in October! One BIG reason is that we will be donating a portion from each session to Operation Smile. Another reason is that we love photographing families and children!

For those of you who are not familiar with Operation Smile let me share a little info with you. Operation Smile is a worldwide medical charity of volunteer medical professionals dedicated to treating children and young adults suffering from facial deformities. Their efforts have brought smiles to thousands of children around the world. Here are a few photos of children who have benefited from Operation Smile.

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Isn't what Operation Smile doing amazing! In as little as 45 minutes, one cleft lip surgery can change a child's life forever. Each year more than 100,000 children are born with a facial deformity in Operation Smile's 26 partner countries. Last year medical volunteers provided free surgeries to over 9,000 children throughout international and local, in-country medical missions.

Rod and I have always valued the importance of giving back as individuals and through our business. We volunteer in our community and donate portrait sessions for various local fundraisers to churches, schools, non-profits and civic groups. We are really excited to support this worldwide organization, Operation Smile! To learn more about this charity go to: Operation Smile

Through our fundraising campaign with Operation Smile we can give back and make a difference to benefit children worldwide. Our goal is to raise $5000.00. Wouldn't you like to help?

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From each portrait session we will also have available "Smile Cards" which is a pack of 10 note cards with an image from the session on the front of the card and blank on the inside. 100% of the proceeds from "Smile Cards" will go to benefit Operation Smile.

A smile is universal in meaning...and pretty contagious! But what about children who cannot smile? Those who find it difficult to even speak or eat? Now is your chance to give them a smile. Participate with Autumn Song in Family Portrait Month and make a difference!

Give us a call or e-mail to schedule your session 336-475-6457 or kslate@autumnsongphotography.com

We look forward to hearing from you soon! Hey, post a comment. We would like to hear what you have to share or say about this charity or other charities.