Sneak Peek.

Lacey.
Phenom. She's a Barrel Horse Racer. She's so awesome she was a NBHA National Finalist.
Brave and Bold. When I asked if we could take her horse Remey to a field, she replied, "Sure, I'll just hop on and ride him down there." She intended to ride him bareback.
For those of you that don't know me very well, I'm terrified of horses. I was in awe.
Smart. She plans on majoring in Engineering next fall at GVSU.
Funny. Great sense of humor, and after watching her with her mom, I know where she gets it from.

I had a great session last night. About a month ago I had a big wedding to shoot and I needed help, I needed help on the cheap. I enlisted my neighbor to help me out, in turn, she got a sweet deal on a family session. If you have looked at my work, these faces will look familiar to you. While they may look familiar to you, they mean so much more to me. I get to see these faces every other day. They play with my daughters, they make me say "Ok now, it's getting a little loud in here, why don't you head on outside." They make my heart melt at their kindness. They make me laugh. They make me laugh a lot. They bring me goodies their mama baked. They sing their hearts out. They love to dance. They love to put on a show. They love to plan and debate the plans. They have amazing tender hearts. One loves to read and teach. One loves to dazzle you. One loves to seek solitude when it all gets to be too much with the neighborhood kids. One loves to be so silly that even she cracks herself up.
Most of all these two are sisters. They love and care for each other deeply. I love to watch how one leads and the other follows. I love to watch how that changes and they innately know who needs to be in charge of what.

So I've been very blessed this summer to be busy. It's been a month since my last post. I've shot some weddings, well let's be honest here, I've shot a lot of weddings. Families have invited me to share in their proudest moments and milestones. Whether it was their kids first steps, first birthday, anticipation of senior year or the big "I do." I am so very thankful for these experiences.
I have also been working on the website. A lot of hard work and effort has gone into this. It is now finished and I'm ready to celebrate. I want to give away one family session. A value of $150.
The rules are simple...
1. You must live in Grand Rapids or the surrounding area (25 mile radius) or be willing to travel to me.
2. To enter, contact me through my website contact page.
3. I will put all of the names in a hat and my son Byron will pick one winner.
4. Be willing to have a fun evening.
Please visit http://sarablossomphotography.com to enter.
I am so thankful for all of you!
Sara

I was a lucky enough girl to start out my busy wedding season with a great one. I have been looking forward to M and K's wedding since their engagement photo session in January. First of all they are a great couple, easygoing and you can see a quiet encouragement of each other. Secondly the wedding took place very near my hometown. Thirdly it was a German wedding. What made it a German wedding will be explained to you... Every so often I get to shoot a wedding that during the reception, Sie Leben Hoch is performed. Sie Leben Hoch roughly means "Long may you live". I always thought this was a tradition brought from Germany. I thought wrong. This tradition was created in the Frankenmuth, Frankentrost and German Lutheran areas in the Saginaw Valley located in the Thumb region of Michigan. This was all explained by the official Sie Leben Hoch caller at the reception. He also spoke of the raising up of the couple in the chairs and in the hearts of everyone who participates. When he explained that by participating, you are lifting the couple up to great heights in their marriage. After what I had witnessed that day, by their friends and family, nothing could have been more true. I have shot my share of weddings and I was amazed not only by the love for M and K but by the support their friends, family and pastor are willing to give for the rest of their life.Blessings to you M and K. Thank you for letting me be a part of your day.

I have known Charlie since she was a week old. I have had the pleasure to watch her grow into this spunky, brave and silly little girl. I had so much fun today.

I had big plans to spring clean today. I had a message from my friend Shan to check out Amy Wenzel's blog. Amy is giving away a spot in one of her amazing workshops.http://www.bit.ly/95o58E So here I am not cleaning. Don't worry though,cleaning is something I try to avoid everyday. The rules are this, you have to write about your journey in photography and how, along the way you have shown love, inspired and served others.

(Crickets chirping) 45 minutes later and I have a raging case of writers block. Tooting my own horn is a bit difficult. (More crickets chirping).

I just got off the phone with Shan, my neighbor who got me in this predicament. She yelled at me. She's a great kick in the pants if you ever need one....

Inspiring of Others.

My son Byron was diagnosed with multiple learning disabilities, one being Dyslexia. He is ten years old and in the 4th grade. This amazing, redheaded, freckled, creative boy has struggled since the 1st grade. Each year has brought new frustrations and lower self esteem. A year ago, I took him on a walk with my camera, and loaned him one. We had a particularly tough afternoon as it was Parent/Teacher conferences. At one point during the conference, the teacher said "If we could just get him printing so he can make out a grocery list when he's older, I would be happy with that". So the two of us were out letting our cameras find little pieces of beauty. Halfway through our walk, I saw in my son something fire up. It was one of those moments where as a parent, you know everything is going to be just fine.

Two days later, it was raining. Byron looks at me and says "Mom, I need to take the camera out, I have an idea". I wasn't impressed. A 9 year old , rain and a camera made me feel uneasy. After several reassurances from him, I let him go. He came back awhile later. Triumph was all over his flushed face. "Mom, I got the shot". He sure did. 4 months later he won our town's photography contest. To see triumph and pride on his face that day is something that I will carry with me forever. I know I have inspired my son to carve out his little piece of this world.

How do I love/ serve ( I think these go hand in hand, you can't do one without the other)

I love to capture the moment of wonder in a child. And have a mother say to me "I don't know how you did it, but you got it"

I love to share with people that need a boost or a break. One of the best moments in the past year was to help out a Senior in foster care have the best Senior photo shoot and not have to worry about the cost.

I love to share my talents with kids that are in foster care and haven't even had the cheapest of photos taken. I know you all remember going to get your picture taken at a studio or even school pictures. You felt important. You felt special. You would be surprised to find out how many kids do not get to feel that way.

I want to win this spot. Attending a workshop is not in my budget right now. I want to climb higher and serve others with my best foot forward and attending an Amy Wenzel workshop is like putting on the best sneakers to win the race.

After a few tears and lots of cheering from his big sister, Bennett turned out to be a little ham. I love 9 month olds. Everything is either exciting or scary. After Bennett decided I was not scary the session flew by.