top ten of 2009 | a grateful photographer

This year was crazy for me. Fantastic and terrible all at the same time. My dreams came true and so have a nightmare or two. But I am a better person because of it. I look back on 2009 as a year of personal growth and I love it. I have always loved to learn and experience life and if there’s one thing I did this year it was learn and experience life.

Thank you to all of my clients of 2009. I can truly say I have enjoyed getting to know each and every one of you and without you, this business would not be. I am so grateful for you! Also, thank you to all of you who leave comments and send encouraging messages - it’s things like those that give me energy to climb up the steep hills of the photography field. Seriously, ya’ll rock… I wouldn’t be here without you. Thank you!!

Without further ado, here’s my top ten for 2009:

1. A year with my family. I spent more time in 2009 with my immediate family than I think I have any year since moving out of my parent’s house in 2003. My relationships with with my mom, my sister and my nieces all grew to new levels this year. I love those women (and girls) so very much and I am so excited to see how life brings us even closer in 2010.

2. The year of birth photography. Baby Reece was born this year and as I welcomed my sister’s first son, I also welcomed a new passion of birth photography. It is not the most popular type of photography, nor is it the most convenient career field to get into (talk about having a flexible schedule), but there is nothing quite like the feeling that envelopes me as I cover the birth of a baby. I know all photography is capturing a moment in time - but there’s just something about that very FIRST moment of life that makes it stand out a little bit more than the rest. You know?

3. The year of the puppies. Ahhhh the puppies. They were precious, too cute for words, full of puppy breath and cuddles and s.t.i.n.k.y. You guys, those dogs smelled up our garage like nobody’s business. And only because we couldn’t handle them (and their stinky rear ends) being in the house anymore. Whew! But, it was SO fun having them and I was thisclose to keeping that last little pup. It was tough to let them go - but we loved sending them off with some of the best dog owners we’re met. All three of the owners keep in touch (okay, one is my mom), and the other two have even run into each other at the dog park! So fun!

4. The year of gratitude. This year I started a new personal challenge: finding 5 things daily to be grateful for. I kept up with it on my personal blog for a while before moving the idea to this blog as the weekly Gratituesday post. It was such a great exercise for me personally and I truly believe without the reminder to focus on the positive, this year would have been much more terrible than fantastic. I am thankful that I was able to keep my perspective during the rough times and I seriously have my Gratituesday posts to thank for that. I’ll be keeping those up in 2010! (If you are an iphone or ipod user, check out this cool Gratitude app!)

5. My trip to Nepal. Seriously, what more can I say about Nepal other than it completely changed my life? I knew I would say that right after my return - but I am grateful to be able to say the same thing to this day and completely mean it. It is crazy what a lasting impact those 16 days had on me and I hope it stays with me forever. The trip was challenging, fun, wild, exciting, sobering and convicting. Ask me about it in person and I will tell you everything.

6. The snowstorm of the decade. If you don’t follow me on twitter, well, be grateful. During the “snowstorm of the decade” about 10ish days ago, I was caught in the storm. And tweeting ALL about it. We were thisclose to  being stranded on the side of the road and I cannot tell you how thankful I am that we were able to make it to a hotel, sleep in a warm bed, AND return to our home the next day (three things a lot of people around us on the highway went without). It was a wild time that I don’t think Tommy or I will ever forget. Actually, I know we won’t because there was an article written in the newspaper about our adventure and Tommy’s grandmother cut it out for us to keep. Awesome.

7. The year of babies. I met so many precious babies this year through my portrait photography business. Between the births, newborn portraits and family portraits, I can’t tell you how many babies I held. And how many precious faces I fell in love with. I always said I would pursue portrait photography after I started my own family - so I could get used to holding babies and nurturing them to sleep. Well, now I can say I am so glad I didn’t wait! I would have missed out on so many moments of peaceful baby time and it would have been a long time before I discovered how much I enjoy those sessions. Love, love them.

8. The year of healthy eating. I spent a lot of time with my nutritionist brother in law and health nut sister and they rubbed off on me a bit. I now have my very own juicer and have been making better diet decisions this year than ever before. With all the talk about eating well, it has kind of turned into a hobby of mine. I am excited about some of my diet and health plans for 2010!

9. The year of solid friendships. There’s nothing like going through a rough time in your life to bring out the best of friends. A lot of my best friends in the world live out of state and we keep in touch mostly because I am good at traveling. Well, that and the amazingness that is Facebook. Facebook always helps. Anyway, this year I had some really wonderful women pull through for me and lift me up with their words and prayers. I love them so much and I am so thankful for their love and kindness, and their encouragement and prayers, and their support and grace. Seriously, I could go on. Would you like me to go on?

10. The year of my dream coming true: becoming a professional photographer. It happened. And I have been loving every moment since.

And let’s top it off with one of my favorite images from 2009:

So I just read through my list and I deleted a lot of smilies. Goodness I smile a lot on the computer! But, that’s a good thing… I think it reflects the smiles in my soul. This year was a good year. A great year. A strong year. I am grateful for so much that happened in 2009 and I am so looking forward to what 2010 will bring!

Happy New Year to you and yours!