Today he is one. SO. CRAZY. How did that happen so fast??!?
more to come tomorrow hopefully. For now, we’re off to celebrate! Happy birthday Landon boy!
Hey McBloggies!
I realize it’s September. I also realize I’ve been starting every post with some sort of “surprise, it’s been awhile” type statement…so once again, we’re trying to catch this bloggy up!
We hung out with Kevin & Miriam last month for their engagement shoot at Disneyland, but we also seem to hang out with them at almost EVERY wedding we shoot! They’re the two that are usually looking out for us, even when we don’t ask – they have watched our gear, our food, gotten food for us, gotten us drinks, & most recently fetched a real, (yes, real Miriam) Bible for a photo- and not only one, but multiple translations! This year our family spent time with these two up at camp as well, & Landon especially had fun with them.
We were so excited to hear that these two had gotten engaged, but it also really made me feel old. I’ve known Kevin since he was born – his parents have been friends with mine forever. I even remember being his youth advisor when he was in high school, and I talked to him about girls & dating one time when I was driving his team in a van. And Miriam I have known since she was in elementary school…when she was in Jr. High I remember giving her the nickname “chips,” which later became part of her screen name and email, but I doubt she ever told anyone what the chips story was. Kev, has she ever told you??
We started our day at a park nearby THE PARK (aka Disneyland)…
We loved the way Kevin & Miriam make each other laugh…
and the way they wanted to have fun with the leave (notice how ALL the leaves managed to fly into Kev’s face, but not Miriam’s…?)
Then we headed over to Disneyland!
Ok so…Kevin + Miriam are good friends with Mike + Carrie, and many times I overheard Kev + Miriam say “shoot, I think they got that one – but I bet we won’t be like Mike‘s faces!” So these are only here because we love you guys too much not to post them. And because you asked for them!
For reals though, Miriam kept apologizing for being nervous – we thanked Kev for being a professional model and taking time to practice before our shoot – but I really think Miriam did just fine. More than fine, really. I wish I looked like this when I felt “nervous,” seriously Chips!
And we’ll finish it off with some fun favorites of these two…
Kcho + Chips, can’t wait to celebrate with you two next month! I would say “can’t believe how grown up you are” but that would make me feel too old. We’re so excited for how the Lord is going to continue his story in your lives, and we’ve been so blessed by your friendship over the years. Let’s go to Dland & Trader Sam’s again soon – & Joe’s too. Only if you really let us treat this time though! ~the gilmores
by christieg
1 comment
September 21, 2011 - 12:32 pm
I can see the Blessing that you two receive . Knew each other from the very young age , bond together in teenage and may it be everlasting . I have never know or meet Kevin but He is a family now. May The Lord God bless you both with happiness and richly fulfill your desire. Tomorrow is tour Dad birthday , Hoping he will enjoy for many years to come . We are happy for you both and your Mom and Dad and Nathan will be next.
One year ago on August 23rd, I sat in my doctor’s office looking up at the “sky” painted on the ceiling. It is supposed to be calming I think. After she told me everything that was ahead during my pregnancy, she left me to lay there while I waited for the pharmacy to fill my new prescription. I was by myself that day, which was unusual since Micah usually came with me.
And I cried. Uncontrollable sobbing.
I finally picked up my phone to call Micah, wiped away the streams running down my face, and I explained to him everything that I had just been told – “the baby is growing normally, but you are showing signs of premature labor. At 23 weeks along, it is way too early for the baby to possibly come out, and we don’t want to chance anything. If the baby were to be born this week, chances are high that your baby boy would not be able to survive, since his lungs are not developed. If we can make it to next week, the chances improve greatly, and with each week even better. We are asking you to go on BED REST for the REMAINDER of your pregnancy, however long that is.”
BED REST. and baby might not survive.
I finally made it down to my car, after they had asked me to go to the pharmacy, straight to my car, and straight home to lie down more (for months?!) only to get up for the bathroom/showers or doctor’s appointments.
And I cried a lot more.
I was overwhelmed, and scared. My pregnancy had been so normal, & I felt fine. “What if I wasn’t going to be able to meet our baby boy? What was I going to do for the next few months just lying in bed all the time? What about the baby room, or all of the stuff I still wanted to do before he was born?” And then back to “…will our baby be ok?”
In the background playing on cd I heard this song:
I cried the entire drive home, but not just the overwhelmed or scared or disappointed tears. I was crying because I was overwhelmed with how much I knew God loved me. How fiercely He loved me. How He was with me, knew my fear, my pain, how He KNEW MY BOY. and how He loved my boy.
I went home and Micah laid down next to me on our bed, and we cried more together, and talked about what the season of bed rest would look like for us. We prayed together, and even though we cried while we prayed, we both felt an amazing peace even while we also felt the feelings of “not knowing.” It’s hard to explain, but we just knew that the Lord is good, that He is faithful no matter what, that He loves us.
This whole year there have been moments in worshipping when we’ll sing this song. And the tears rush again, partly from the memories of that day last year. But mostly because we were graciously blessed with Landon’s life. It has been a long year, a complicated one, an extremely emotional one – because the season of bed rest, the hospital for me, the NICU for landon, the bills, and then the adjustment to parenthood have been like a huge wave. But even in all of those things & trials, we are still so overwhelmed with how He loves us.
This morning when Landon woke up, he gave me an extra long hug – it was as if he knew that today was a different kind of day. I held him tight, and I told him the story of one year ago, and I told him how amazing it is that this year I get to hold & hug him, instead of just hoping for him.
Tonight before I put him to bed, he gave me an extra long hug again. We took a few fun pictures on the iphone, just to commemorate today. I’m sure next week I’ll have more memories (since that would be the anniversary of the hospital stay). I know that God is good & faithful, and that He still would be even if I was not able to hold, hug, and take silly pictures with my baby today. But I’m so thankful that I can hold, hug, & take silly pictures with him – I am so thankful for the gift of Landon’s life. And most of all, I am thankful for the way that He loves.
by christieg
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Hi McBloggies! So many blog posts coming up – we’ve been away a lot more than expected this summer, but we’ve also had the privilege of shooting a ton of awesome couples (engagements & weddings!) that will make their appearance on the bloggy soon. AND I did not forget, there will be a ‘pictures of june/july’ too, and yes, I realize we’re already well into August. (WHERE did summer go so fast?!)
Up today we have a super sweet engagement shoot of Terry & Amy. We love them not only for their organization & attention to all detail, amazingness on gmail, Tuesday meetings, or their awesome taste in food – but for the calm & peace they bring with them. I’ve actually known Terry’s family for a long time, & we had the pleasure of meeting Amy after they got engaged. We loved exploring a new area of LA, “hiking” together, laughing at random places we stopped, & enjoying super yummy mochi & curry udon at the nameless noodle house! And of course it’s always fun to meet other couples who share in the same height difference as we do =)
Terry + Amy, we can’t wait to celebrate with you on your wedding day – we hope that we captured a piece of your story & that you enjoy the images! We’ll let the pictures do the rest of the talking today…Enjoy!
by christieg
3 comments
August 9, 2011 - 11:36 am
You guys look great!
August 5, 2011 - 3:55 pm
Thanks Micah & Christie for the fun shoot! You guys are awesome 
August 5, 2011 - 3:37 pm
These are SO SO sweet.
Hi McBloggies!
Sorry for disappearing for a bit – we spent a few weeks away from home at 2 different youth camps & also house/dog-sitting over the past few weeks. BUT we’ll have plenty of posts coming to make up for our disappearing act!
First up we have Joel & Kacy’s fun filled day – and if you remember their engagement shoot, they carried a lot of their same themes through their wedding day as well: sharks, toms, personal & caring details, & of course, lots of laughs!
Kacy’s favorite animal has always been the shark. She told me that she’d always choose to write reports on sharks in elementary school, would read books on sharks, want to visit sharks, and loves shark week on tv. So she made sure that the “flower girls” and “ring bearers” had sharks to carry down the aisle – and brought her own shark purse like she did for the engagement shoot!
Joel & Kacy were both SUPER relaxed on their day, but to make it even more relaxed, they chose to do a first look too, and in doing so double blessed their photographers! =)
Kacy. WOW.
Joel has such a caring look that he gives to Kacy often, & since I had to stay put during the ceremony, I got to see his looks to her a lot. I remember thinking that it was a very tender look, whether she was about to cry or about to laugh, it would show up!
Some pieces of the ceremony that I really loved were the time of worship, their heartfelt letters to their parents, & also the pastors asking Kacy to take a day to enjoy for herself instead of worrying about how everyone else was feeling! We wrote about it for their engagement post, but these two are always thinking of other people & how they can encourage them, even when things are crazy for them too.
Upon entering the reception, they had this amazing dessert display, complete with shark cookies (made by a friend), fresh mini donuts, shark gummi cupcakes, a wedding cake with a heart inside, sugar free desserts for any diabetics (again, Joel & Kacy with their thoughtfulness1), & of course cute little shark signs.
Their awesome emcee’s had plenty of fun challenges whenever glasses were clinked…
And Joel’s dad taught us how to “bansai!” correctly (& with humor!)
Big thanks to their amazing coordinators, Charissa & Lilly for helping things to run so smoothly! We all joined in on the TOMS trend too
Joel & Kacy, you two are amazing. Again, planning both your wedding & a youth camp – amazing. =) Thank you so much for inviting us to share in your lives & the warmth of your loved ones, & for allowing us to capture the story of your wedding day. Looking forward to catching up soon! ~the gilmores
by christieg
no comments
by christieg
no comments