The Roberts Girls | Fort Monroe, Virginia

 

My second shoot on Friday afternoon was the adorable little Roberts girls. We used Fort Monroe as the backdrop and were seriously chasing the light. They girls were too cute for words! They were wearing their fancy little dresses and had on some killer cowboy boots! We ended the evening with some beach shots as the sun set, and it was just an all around fun afternoon/evening walking around with them and Julie! Here are some shots!

 

The Ward Family | Williamsburg, Virginia

 

This past weekend Nick and I went up to Colonial Williamsburg with some friends of ours, Demetrius and LaTina to take some family pictures of them and their children, Gabby, DJ and Jordyn. It was a beautiful afternoon, but due to some scheduling conflicts earlier that day, we weren't left with very  much sunlight. We made the best of it though! And we brought Maggie along, which was not the wisest decision - she wasn't too fond of the cannons! Anyways, I was able to get some great shots of this wonderful family. I'm so thankful that we have them in our lives, they are such a joy to be around! Here are some shots from our afternoon in the Burg. 

 

The Original Franks | Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia

 

I convinced my sister in law to allow me to take their latest family photos. Don't I have some adorable nieces and one very handsome nephew? 

Nick and I ventured up to Colonial Williamsburg to meet Thad, Eliz and the kids, and of course they were dressed in some adorable outfits. It was already after 5pm, but it was still miserably hot, but thankfully, you would never know. Nick has a way with kids, and can make even the most serious of them laugh, which was very helpful on a hot day like that. 

But despite the hot temperatures, the lighting was gorgeous and so is this family! 

 

Oh Hey, I Got Married | Personal

 

I've neglected this poor poor blog. Sorry blog. Well, I had said awhile back that I would write about the wedding and life and how things are going. Yeah. Never did. Guess you get that now. 

So lets start with

August 24th 2012

- the day before the wedding. Recap of my Friday - dropped my car off to get an oil change and transmission service (it was due - you could feel my transmission telling me "service me or I'll die"). I got a manicure and pedicure and went picked my car back up and was told it was running beautifully and it was in great condition. Went to the bank, went to tan, left the tanning salon and was stranded in the middle of Jefferson Avenue with cars rushing around me, my transmission locked up. I managed to turn it on and off and fight it into the left turn lane where it decided to fight me and give me the finger and completely lock up. Some not so nice words were screamed at the top of my lungs (I repented for those), some crying was done and even the occasional beating my head against the steering wheel. Oh - but during all of that I did manage to call my mom, sister and Nick. So then some nice guys who didn't speak English came from across the street and pushed me into the gas station. One tried talking to me as I was crying and I couldn't understand him, asking me what was wrong, telling me to pop the hood (so man I don't know your name but I'm sorry if I was rude!) and luckily out of nowhere a friend from church, John, came out of the sky and saved me! Well - helped me not go insane and kept all the crazy lunatics who like to mosey on towards women with broken down vehicles. My mom arrived, the tow truck arrived and my car was towed. This was August 24th 2012 .... it is October 22nd 2012 .... I still have no car! So I went home, my sister came over with her man-friend, and the whole little gang of kids they call theirs and I put them to work assembling fans for the wedding until the rehearsal. Then we ate tons of Anna's from Smithfield!

Now we will move on to the wedding day - 

August 25th 2012,

the day of .... the day of A LOT! If you want to know how the day started ... I'll give you a look. It started with a bang, no splash! The picture below is of our yard, well my parent's yard now, on a normal day, nice little slope, lots of green grass, pretty flowers, new fertilizer (not pictured) and NO lake. The other two pictures are of the water rising to our deck (about an hour later it went over the deck!). I woke up to a monsoon on my wedding day, took some pictures, called the museum, found out that my original room and court yard was flooded. Yup! But I was informed the wedding was moved to the main entrance - SCORE!! That is the room I originally wanted.  But most importantly, flood, or no flood, I was marrying Nick :) 

the Lion's Bridge right down the road from our venue there is a road and bridge underneath that water!

So I went back to bed, only to be rudely awoken and told I need to get a car. Then begins the hunt to find a rental car. Found one! Got it - then got Chick-Fil-A!  And then went back to bed. (Due know though that the night before the wedding I was up until 3am watching Holly make cake pops). 

After that nap I woke up, got my stuff together and had a meltdown. Yes - a meltdown. Not over marrying Nick, or getting married, that I was EXCITED about, I had been waiting quite a long time for this. 

But it hit me - it hit me like a pound of bricks, no I don't like that expression, it hit me like Dorothy's house hit the Wicked Witch of the East in the Wizard of Oz, my Dad wasn't going to be here. I think I had completely pushed that out of my mind, and the worst part, this was the officially moment where I realized - he is not here. I've had plenty of moments where I've realized he had passed away, but this is the first real big thing that I was so excited to share with them that I wasn't going to get to. And that my friend, stunk! So ... I had about an hour of yelling and talking to his urn. I'm not a crazy person, I swear! But it helped. So I gathered myself, and my best friend Megan came and got me with he step-dad Scott, we used his big bad Bronco to get us to the museum. 

Once stepping inside it was amazing! Everyone was getting everything together, the caterer and her staff were setting everything up (need a caterer - Smokin' Joe's BBQ and Southern Brides on a Budget). The Mariners Museum' event planner rushed Megan and I to the changing area where my hair dresser Caitlin (one of the nicest human beings ever, and a good friend - Style by Design - look her up!) showed up and started making us not look like wet mice! I ventured around the museum some, checked out my cake, made sure the people who needed to stay away from one another were seated AWAY from one another, and then went back to finish getting ready.

Insert melt down #2. The week before the wedding two dear friends of ours found out they lost their baby girl. Lauren still had to deliver this precious little girl, and she arrived at 5:30 am the morning of the wedding. Well, when melt down #2 kicked in Lauren had just texted me to wish me a good and happy day and that she was sorry they couldn't be there (me too), and then we started talking about her precious Kendall. 

Talk about experiencing joy and sorrow at the same time, it is not easy. You tend to linger in the sorrow longer and it is easier to get trapped there. My heart ached and still aches for Lauren, and not getting to meet baby Kendall, and not being able to be there for her during that time. But at the same time I still had to pull myself together and be happy, because this was a happy time for me. I think that week and that day was a test for the both of us and our friendship, and I'm thankful for her. 

But after that meltdown passed, the wedding time was getting closer. I'm so glad the people that were there were there before the wedding. I'm so thankful that I had Megan and Caitlin in the dressing area with me, keeping me sane and pumping coffee through my veins. I'm so glad that Christie was there to keep me from yelling at Nick's mom when she showed up late and not dressed or ready (and for keeping the wedding in complete order), and my Mom! I love my Mom. 

Well ... after some flooding, some meltdowns, a rental car, and whatever else came my way - I got to marry Nick. Best day ever!! And we got married under the USS Lancaster Eagle! Yeah!

So after the wedding ... Nick and I went and enjoyed some time on the Eastern Shore, ate really good seafood and have come back and been enjoying married life! But I think I've written enough for now! So here is to finishing this up with a couple more pics!

 

Doug and Zatha Say I Do | Personal

 

2012 is a good year for the Franks' family! Nick and I get married in August, Thad and Eliz's third child is due in November, and Aunt Zatha just married Dougy Doug! It was a great day! Friends and family gathered at Amy's house in Williamsburg where Doug and Zatha said their "I Do's". Zatha had asked if I would capture some pictures of the day, so of course I said yes! We're all excited for Zatha. This is a woman who has dealt with quite a few health blows in the past and recently, and since Doug has came into her life, she has been a new woman. One full of love and life and they have just been having the time of their lives! (The only downside, Doug has now converted her into a Yankees fan - BOO!)

Here are some pictures from their big day!

 

Richmond Science Museum | Personal

For a Christmas gift, Nick and I took his two nephews Ethan and Ashton to the Richmond Science Museum this past weekend . . . thankfully we survived! We survived the "I have to go to the bathroom" five minutes after getting on the road, the "are we there yet?" ten minutes after getting on the road and the giant Plaza bill Ashton racked up! That kid can chow down . . . not sure where it goes! But I think they enjoyed the museum and by the time we finished settling in for the space show, they were knocked out! Successful day for all!

Christmas Season Round Up | Personal

Catching up on life and trying to stay positive. So how about a recap of the holiday season in pictures . . .

Grand Illumination in Colonial Williamsburg with Some Good Friends

The Annual Franks' Family Christmas Party (At Amy's This Year)

Chris and Melissa Got Married

Small Group Christmas PJ Party

Quality Time With My Sister, Nieces and Nephew

Christmas Town

Christmas Morning

THE END!

Grieving | Personal

Apparently I'm not grieving properly . . . not too certain what that is suppose to mean. 

I don't know how to take that. So I'm not out wrecking my life by drinking too much or doing too many drugs, or I'm not shutting the world off and letting no one in, I'm simply not allowing myself to fall to pieces and pretend that my life is over too. My Dad wouldn't want me to. 

The fact that the statement was made by people close to me and persons I respect, irritates the hell out of me. Not everyone has a mental breakdown when a parent or loved one dies. That doesn't mean that I didn't love my Dad, or love my Dad. It simply means I'm not letting this interfere with the life that he was proud of. 

I'm not a highly emotional person. I like to keep things to myself and handle them within or with poor, sick humor. Last Sunday, the day after, I lost it in church. That was the first moment I really was able to grasp what happened. They don't give you time to grieve when you are responsible for everything. And I'm not too sure I want to sit and think about it to be honest. It scares me knowing that I am never going to see my Dad again, have a conversation with him, share overly sarcastic jokes and comments or watch a baseball game with him. I thought I made peace with it all last week by finally telling myself HE IS DYING. I think it helped, but it didn't help. I know he was in so much pain and I have to remind myself that he isn't anymore and that is important. 

My prayer this whole time has been for God to just help him, not heal him, not rid him of his pain. Healing him would only mean that the cancer could eventually come back and ridding him of his pain could mean that it's only temporary. I've been through the nasty cancer thing before, the second time around you have to make peace and accept the truth. But now there is no pain, only in my heart, but he's in a better place and with my Grandpa, his best friend! 

So . . . I don't really have a nice response to the ones who said I'm not grieving properly. Because I am grieving. I'm just not letting grief define me. I have my moments. Everyday when I go to call him or email him, when I start thinking of when I'm going to head up to D.C. to see him, when I have a question that I know he can answer. I'll never hear him call me "bug" anymore and hear him tell me "no really, I found you under a rock, your my bug!". I'll never have him there for a lifetime of firsts and big moments that haven't occurred yet. 

But it is a day by day process, I'm holding tight to what I believe in and just reminding myself that there is good in this and a reason and he is now in a healthy and healed body and out of pain.