Monthly Archives: September 2008

In Loving Memory

Thursday, September 25, 2008 12:20 pm

Mom Blogging:

Early this morning my grandma (Nonna to the boys) left the pain and sadness of this world behind and joined God in His kingdom.  We are rejoicing for her, but grieving for us left here.

As many of you who follow our blog know, over a year ago she was diagnosed with an aggressive cancer.  It weakened her body but never her spirit.  She was simply an amazing woman.  She was definitely a matriarch, heading her family and her TEN children.  Grandma was fiesty and such a strong woman, stronger than she herself realized at times.  All her stories of life as an Italian girl in New York sound like a movie!

I grew up with my grandma always near by and when she moved to Florida Jason and I drove down every summer to visit.  Even after Jason and I moved to Montana, grandma came up to visit and pretend to hike the mountain trails:)  She was always so much fun to be around.

During her last days, she was looking forward to celebrating Jason’s birthday.  She was weak and knew her time was short, but she told us how much it meant for her to be spend an evening around her family.  She got home and soon it was obvious how short her time with us would be.  But we are grateful that she passed on peacefully and we will treasure our memories and hold onto her spirit.

I love you grandma.  You are an inspiration.  You are already missed.

At mine and Jason’s wedding:

Meeting the boys:

Grandma turns 80:

2 days ago at Jason’s birthday:

We will be taking some time off to be with our family as we mourn our loss and attend the services.  It may take us a while to return phone calls and emails and we apologize for any delay.

Posted in Mom Blogging, Our Family

Nicole and Matthew’s Engagement Session

Tuesday, September 23, 2008 9:41 am

One of the cool things about Florida beaches is that are a variety to visit.  Last Wednesday dad met Nicole and Matt for an engagement session on the beach.  They will be getting married in October of next year and dad is looking forward to their Greek Orthodox ceremony with all the traditions involved.

Nicole and Matt were up for anything, even climbing over a huge, tall bank of sand bags to get to a spot dad thought would be cool.  A beach session doesn’t always have to be sand and ocean!  Dad was happy that they liked the location, and even thought the thousands of tiny crabs making an eerie rustling sound through the grass were cool.  It was a fun session with a really friendly couple and dad had a great time!

Posted in Engagement Tags:

Baby Girl

Monday, September 22, 2008 1:37 pm

Last Tuesday Lindsey and Bernard brought their beautiful baby daughter so dad could photograph her.  She was almost 2 weeks old and looked like a perfect combination of her mom and dad together.  Mom thought her hair was so cute!  We know her mom has been waiting for a few sneak peeks so without further delay here are a few images from the session:

Dad said it was wonderful meeting you and congratulations on your growing family!

Posted in Baby's First Year, Newborn Tags: ,

Wedding at Hollis Gardens and the Peggy Brown Building: Jessica and Del

Monday, September 22, 2008 2:05 am

Last Sunday dad photographed Jessica and Del’s wedding in Lakeland.  He had a terrific time and said the couple was kind, genuine, and smiled the whole day.  They were so into each other and that was obvious to anyone who spent any time with them.

Jessica and Del had a great team of vendors, from the talented Darla Stafford for hair and makeup to the wonderful Rob Sword of Sword Sounds as the DJ.

The couple decided on a first site before the ceremony and dad said it was great to get some of the pictures done and out of the way so the couple could get more bride and groom photos and could get to more of the reception.

The ceremony was held at Hollis Garden and dad saw a few other photographers there with couples as well.  One photographer that dad saw was an older gentleman, dad is guessing in his early 70s, photographing an engagement session.  When dad saw that he thought it was awesome!  What a blessing if mom and dad are able to continue to work and make a living off of their photography at that age!

During pictures after the ceremony, the groomsmen pulled out some authentic swords.  They were real, heavy, sharp swords and dad thought it was really awesome that they wanted the swords in the pictures!  Dad got some fun shots making sure to be safe as well.

The reception at the Peggy Brown Building was decorated in white and black patterns with pink accents.  There were homemade cookies in jars and personalized coloring books for the kids. Everyone was great and dad came home telling mom what a great time the wedding was.  Congratulations Jessica and Del!  Enjoy the preview of your pictures:

Posted in Weddings Tags: , , ,

Bonni and Drew

Saturday, September 20, 2008 2:56 am

When Bonni described her wedding to dad, she used the phrase “super laid back” many times.  She wanted a beach wedding with a relaxed atmosphere and dad said the day was just that. Bonni and Drew had their closest family and friends there to join them as they celebrated their wedding day.

The ceremony was held at The Helmsley Sandcastle Hotel in Sarasota and they smoothed the sand to create an aisle.  Shepherd’s hooks held glass vases with beautiful flowers (put together by Beneva Flowers) in dark purple with green and white, and larger floral arrangements sat on white columns where Bonni and Drew exchanged their vows.

Bonni and Drew told dad that pictures were very important to them, so they planned enough time in their day to let dad be creative and give them a variety which was great!  Drew’s dad is also a professional photographer and dad enjoyed talking with him about lenses and lighting.

The reception took place as The BeachHouse Restaurant where guests enjoyed a candlelit dinner by the beach.  The favors were CDs and both mom and dad loved many of the songs.  Jason Mraz, Alison Kraus, and even mom and dad’s own wedding first dance song was on them.  There was a song by Barry Louis Polisar called “All I Want is You” that dad hadn’t heard before and now loves.  He made mom listen to it saying it was a really sweet love song.  Mom thinks he is giving the song a little too much credit but it is catchy:).

Thanks for a laid back night on the beach, and congratulations Bonni and Drew!

Posted in Weddings Tags: , ,

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