Shades Of Green Photography LLC

30/09/2018

Rain rain go away ☔️

25/03/2018

21/03/2018

Natural light photoshoots are my favorite 💕.

28/11/2017

27/11/2017

Sneak peak, there will be more photos to come!
This session was super fun! Alex has been saying she wished it snowed in November for her photos. Well low and behold as soon as we started walking to the hill it started snowing!! I'm so glad you got what you asked for, and thank you for choosing me to take your photos!

11/10/2017

“How can you do it?”, “I couldn’t keep my kids away from family like that”, or the best one yet “Your so lucky to be married to someone in the military.” These are just a few of the many questions/statements I hear quite often.

“How can you do it?”
To this my answer is love him. I love him with all of my heart and soul. He gives us security and safety with what he does in his every day life. No I did not marry him for the “health care” or “benefits”. I’m not sure how so many people assume that’s why people marry into the military. Those things just came with the package. Do you think I enjoy having my husband leave for years of our marriage to places he can’t even tell me about? No way! It’s takes a lot of love to accept your spouse coming and going out of your life and being accepting of it every time. The military men and women risk their lives for everyone, so that we go to sleep at night knowing we are safe from the people who want to destroy us. We should do more than love them, we should stand by them for doing such great things for this world!

“I couldn’t keep my kids away from family like that.”
Really?
Do you think I enjoy having Christmas over FaceTime every year, or explaining to my kids who family is because they haven’t met them? Not at all. Those are the seasons where emotions/loneliness can start to set in.

This is one of the many tough things we have to encounter when it comes to the military life. We might not be with our families from where we grew up, or get to celebrate all the events that happen back home, but we definitely have family here. The Military family is your home away from home. We will gather for holiday meals and enjoy each other’s company to keep the holidays alive. Though it might be tough, it is only temporary, remember we move more than we have time to settle! So we will eventually be close to family and can make up for all of the time missed!

“Your so lucky to be married to someone in the military.”

Ladies(or gentleman) listen up, it’s not what you think it is AT ALL. When I was a little girl I envisioned marrying someone from my hometown, then growing old in our little house where everyone knew everyone! But God had other plans for me, and it was so hard to accept in the beginning. Saying goodbye to everything I knew as safe or home to me was scary. Honestly, I sat many days thinking “this is definitely not what I thought military life was.” I had no friends, and all the acronyms people were using made me feel so out of place. Truth be honest, Just like you, I thought being a military was “a fairytale” that anyone would be lucky to live!

You never really have a place to call your forever home, because your moving every 3-4 years. Home is wherever you are at that moment, and we make the best of it and love all the ups and down of each. You have to say goodbye to close friends, ones that you can consider family! This is especially hard when your kids have to go through this with the friends they’ve made also. Yes there might be healthcare, and we never have to worry about not having a place to live. There are more pros than cons when it comes to this lifestyle, but the cons can be very significant. It’s not “cute homecoming videos” or “pictures of them in uniform”, this is OUR life. We have went months without our significant other, and it just so happened to be filmed/photographed. That is our other half back in our lives, and we honestly are just happy to know they are back in this country safe and sound, to catch up on our lives from where we left off. I promise from the outside it might look like “a fairytale” or “perfect life”, but from the inside we’re all just taking it day by day. We choose to make this life perfect to us, because everyone’s story is different! This involves spending every second that we can with our other half before it’s time to say goodbye again.

If there is anything I’ve learned so far in this journey it’s how to be patient, flexible, and always have a sense of humor! It really does take a special person to live this lifestyle, and I’m blessed every day that God chose me for it!

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9

29/09/2017

Every morning my husband wakes up and gets his uniform on, kisses us all, then he is off to work. Some days he comes home in time for dinner, while other days he walks in after I have put the kids down for the night, and his plate is sitting cold in the microwave. Then there are times when he will be gone for weeks, even months at a time.

Did I choose the lonely nights? No. Did I choose the distance we have had to endure? No. Truthfully, he misses so much of what happens during the days when he’s gone. But one thing is for certain, these kids love him and cherish him more than he will ever know. Just because he can’t be there for our babies first steps, kids first heartbreak, multiple holidays, or simply to kiss the pain away from boo boos every second of the day, doesn’t make him any less important in our marriage. Our relationship from the outside probably looks like a Facetime Ad most of the time, but it’s all worth it!

He is our provider, a strong devotional man, and most of all a great husband and father! When it’s time to pack up and move every few years, he is staying strong for me, because he knows it’s hurting me inside tearing down all of the memories that I’ve made in that home.

Despite all the ups and downs of everyday life, I still choose him every time! You know why? Because I love this chaotic life God has given me. I will always be here with arms wide open to love and lift him up when he comes home stressed from the things he encountered. So stay strong women, even if that means having to share him at times, because at the end of the day he does it ALL for you!

“Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up. Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.” Ecclesiastes 4: 9-12

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28/09/2017

I'm challenging myself to take one photo a day of what is happening in my life and sharing it with you to challenge my photography! Thank you in advance for any feedback during this time.

25/09/2017

Day 4: A Moment

Todays subject was "a moment." I sat forever trying to think of what I could do to show just one "moment" in a photo. Soon, everything started running through my head of stuff I needed to finish before the day ended. I just sat in my kitchen floor pondering over it all, before I know it I started to get overwhelmed and emotional. Not even two seconds later I heard the pitter patter of little feet running my way. Expecting to be asked for "more milk" or "food please", they both just sat on my lap and gave me the biggest hug. I sat there holding them and smiled as I sighed away all of my worries. This was that "moment" I was searching for, so I grabbed my camera and captured it! God has blessed me so much, that sometimes we forget to be thankful for the blessings right in front of us. Instead we worry about what’s to come, or how we are going to overcome it. Today I will make it a point to smile when things feel impossible, and live in my “moment”.

Please do not remove my watermark or edit the photo in any way. The photos will be altered due to Facebook's new settings. Feel free to tag or share with friends and family, and message me for details on pricing on these photos. Don't forget to "Like" my page to see more!

24/09/2017

Day 3: Helpful

If this isn’t a perfect example of helpful, than I don’t know what is! He is always wanting to help when it comes to laundry.

Please do not remove my watermark or edit the photo in any way. The photos will be altered due to Facebooks new settings. Feel free to tag or share with friends and family, and message me for details on pricing on these photos. Don't forget to "Like" my page to see more!

23/09/2017

Day 2: Forever

When I was given the topic “Forever”, the first person that came to mind was my husband. Thank goodness for a self timer and beautiful porch view!

Please do not remove my watermark or edit the photo in any way. The photos will be altered due to Facebooks new settings. Feel free to tag or share with friends and family, and message me for details on pricing on these photos. Don't forget to "Like" my page to see more!