what a beauty!

I did a session recently of a BEAUTIFUL little girl for a pageant she was going to be in. I could not resist posting some pictures...she was adorable! I am officially booked for the whole month of June, I'm pinching myself to make sure this is real lol. I'm amazed at what God is doing and can't wait to see what He is going to take it. I have been able to meet some amazing people with amazing stories! Here are the pictures of sweet Nevaeh.

This little angel has an amazing story, to make a long story short her parents (not biological) are in the process of adopting her, They have been her legal Guardians since she was 4 months old. Keep this sweet family in your prayers, they have alot of hurdels to cross over but we are praying that God works everything out, and we know He will.

That's all for now! Hope you all have a GREAT rest of the week! I have another photoshoot tomorrow and then Saturday is the big wedding I'm doing with Expressions by Brandy! I can NOT wait! So thankful for all her help and guidance, she is amazing!

My little inspirations

So as promised...here are the pictures of my sweet loves! My inspirations.

Now you see why I can't ever put my camera down =)

Hope you all have a fantastic Monday!

How

How do you watch people you love be ripped apart and tore down over and over again....how do you watch them take  the blows that they keep having to take over and over again. How do you watch as they go through emotional highs and lows. How do you comprehend the the heartache that comes at them and from out of no where...when they least expected it to. How do you even begin to find words to comfort when you know nothing you say is going to change things. I ask myself this every day....EVERY day.

This is how.

You hang on to His Word knowing that His power is so very real and that He can make something out of the mess that we think is hopeless. You trust that He is orchestrating something so beautiful and beyond your hopes and dreams. You fall on Him when the things and people of this world push you down and beat you till you think you can't even imagine getting back up, and watch as He gently picks you up dusts you off and gives you the extra push you need to keep moving forward with Him. You cling to him with everything you have in you and allow Him to be what you need....

I need prayers my sista-friends! I have a heavy heart right now and it is going to be a hard night for us. I have to keep reminding myself that God has got this situation and is doing something Great through it. I know He does, but it is so so so hard to watch sometimes. Thanks in advance!

Never a dull moment!

Today we leave to travel to South Georgia for the funeral of Eric's Uncle Buddy. He was a wonderful man and was very special to all of us. From the moment Eric and I started dating his family treated me like I was already apart of them. His family in South Georgia are so very dear to me, they have always made me feel so very loved and Eric's Uncle Buddy always had a hug and smile for me. He will be missed so very much!

I took my kids on their own little photo shoot last night so I could print them off and have some to take to Eric's family in S.GA ...and I'm here to tell ya, photographing your own kids is NOT easy! They are SO over the camera lol. I did manage to get some cute pictures, I will try to post them sometime this weekend.

Reese is such a fireball, full of Sass and attitude and very independent. She did NOT want her "Buba" (Garrett) to touch her at all during the pictures lol. She wanted to do it all without his help. I had to get really creative in order to get her to let Garrett put his arm around her or even sit beside her...In one of the pictures I had Eric lay down and let Garrett sit on his stomach, because that was the only way Reese would sit beside Garrett lol. Hey! whatever works! =) 

I'm finding the more I photograph children the more I LOVE it! They are so much fun to work with and there is NEVER a dull moment. . I do whatever it takes to make them feel comfortable and have fun...even if that means rolling on the ground with them, putting silly objects on my head, skipping along side them or just pretending with them. It is grand! Makes me feel like a kid again =) I never would have thought that photographing kids would be one of my favorites, but it has become one of my favs indeed!

I hope all of you have a most wonderful week! Off to South Georgia we go!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now, Glory be to GOD, who by His mighty power at work within you is
able to do far more than you would ever dare to ask or dream of.
Infinitely beyond your highest prayers, desires, thoughts or hopes.
Ephesians 3:20-21

Privacy

I have some  people reading my blog that are well....have nothing better to do but try to cause drama...and to keep from having drama in my life I'm going to take my blogaroo to something I really didn't want to have to do but now see that I'm going to have to. SOOOO all my lovely blog readers that I love so much, please send me your email address to deannasegars@yahoo.com so I can add you to my list so that you can see my blog. I will be changing my settings on Friday of this week so send it on over by then and I will make sure that you will still have access to my blog! Thanks and sorry that I have to do this. I decided long ago that I wasn't going to give Satan a chance to get his foot in the door so this is something I have to do to keep from allowing people to try to bring me down. =) I know all of you understand and I look forward to getting all your email addresses!
love ya bunches!

May the Lord be praised! Day after day He bears our burdens...

Psalm 68:19

♪♫Oh Look what the Lord has done.♫♪

 Haaaaaaaaapy Friday!!

My photography business has really taken off. I'm booked for the entire month of May and almost fully booked for June and even have some July dates already booked!

I feel so unworthy and so very thankful for the way God is blessing this.I'm LOVING meeting all the new people and making new friendships!  I have had the best mentor through all this and I'm so thankful God put her in my life. I couldn't have gotten this far without her advice, tips, & help. I have my first wedding in July eeek! I'm kind of nervous but extremely excited! I'm going to be going as an assistant shooter with Brandy (my mentor) to give myself an idea of how things will go. It is at the end of May and 'm super stoked about it! Can't wait!

  Check out some of her amazing pictures @ her blog

Expressions by Brandy

Here are some of my most fav. shoots I have done so far.

If you want to see more you can visit my FB page Beyond the lens Photography

I'm currently getting a new website up and running, as soon as it is ready I will let all of you know! 

 If you are not a FAN/LIKER of my FB you need to be =) I'm almost to 1,000 fans and when I get there I will be giving away FREE session! SOOOO spread the word and you may be the lucky winner =) 

I'm spending the weekend with my sweet family and I can not wait! Got a fun and busy weekend ahead!

Hope all of you have a most WONDERFUL weekend!!

p.s Go over to Laura Rada 's
Blog to check out a awesome tutorial on home-made washing detergent!

It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect. He enables me to stand...He trains my hands...Your right hand sustains me; You broaden the path beneath me...

Psalm 18:32-36

Back in the groooove

Hello Strangers! =)

I know you all have missed me. (ha)

I took a break for a bit to focus on some other things and now that I have gotten in the grove I'm going to attempt to add blogging back to my list.

So what do I write about with my first blog in what...3 months I think?

I have learned alot these past 3 months...alot has been going on in my life and in the lives of my family members. Some tough stuff and some new and amazing stuff.

-I have learned what it means to truly get down on your knees and cry out to God and stay in constant prayer.

-I have learned how precious it is to have that open communication at all times with God.

-I have learned that no matter what goes on in my life, if I keep God fist and do EVERY thing to bring him glory everything else will fall into place and He will pour out his blessings! Nothing compares to the overflowing love of God!

- I have learned that I'm not as naive as some people think I am. Lets face it, some people are just plan CrAzY and thrive on stirring up drama..I have since learned to ignore it and keep on a going and decide to not feed into their joy of  living a drama filled life! I now realize some things never change, and there is a reason why drama seems to follow them. (I'm sure all of us have someone like that in our lives lol)Can I get an AMEN!

-I have learned what it truly means to be there for someone in their darkest moments and seek God for every single word that I say to them.

-I have also learned how angry, mad, revengeful I can and want to be at times. And it is still a constant battle for me to keep my focus on the fact that God sees the bigger picture and WILL uphold the righteous and those that Love him and truly seek him. It is never an easy thing to see someone you love go through something so raw and devastating.

-I have learned to give all my hurts, fears, cares, worries, emotions over to God...it has been a slow process, but one that I strive to do daily.

-I have learned that with GOD all things are possible.... I have learned to not just say that phrase but believe it with all my being.

-I have learned how important my church family is to my family and how amazing they are, they have came together and truly uplifted my family in this time of hurt and heartache. I can NEVER thank them enough for what they are doing!

- I have learned that seeking God is an awesome thing...especially if you allow Him to teach you and change your perspective on things that you thought you couldn't get past. It's amazing what He can do to our lives if we just surrender everything to Him.

-I am blessed beyond measure to have such a loving and supportive Husband. He never ceases to amaze me.

-I have learned we only get one shot in this life to make a difference, so now is the time to start making a difference in peoples lives and showing the love of JESUS! Who know when your last breath could be!

-I have learned to Purpose in my heart EVERY day to keep my focus on God and nothing else, to wake up each morning and ask myself...What can I do to bring God glory today and share His love with someone else?

I could go on in on about What God has been teaching me lately...what is He teaching you? Are you letting the cares and the worries of this life or even just the business of life to overtake you and blur the purpose God has for you?

What joy for those whose strength comes from the LORD,

when they walk through the Valley of Weeping,

it will become a place of refreshing springs.

The autumn rains will clothe it with blessings,

they will continue to grow stronger!

Psalm 84:5 - 7

What a week.

Quick post....

Some things going on in my life at the moment:

-I no longer have a website for my photography so if you want to check out my pictures go to the

Beyond the lens photograpy Fan page  on Facebook=o) Loooooooooong story short...I'm back to doing the photography on my on...I don't plan on doing it full time ANYtime soon. Right now I'm just enjoying doing it for other people on the side and for an affordable price so they can have memories to last forever without breaking the bank =o)

-I soooo enjoy keeping up with all of your blogs...and I appreciate the wonderful comments...I'm hoping that I will now be able to have time to comment on all of y'alls blogaroos. (all of my 4 or 5 readers =o)....that I Love dearly)

-Reese kept a bow in her hair for all of 2 minutes!!! Pics to come soon.  I also got to paint her finger nails and toe nails...she LOVED them...she went around showing her fingers to everyone going OOOOOOOoooooo Priceless!

-We have finnaly got everything moved back in the house...we had to squeeze all our new furniture into our itty bitty living room...but it worked and looks really good. Hubs got his new huge flat screen up...so as you can imagine he is very happy....once again, pics to come soon.

-Garrett informed me  one afternoon this week that he "knows evwey thing" wish I could zap some of his knowledge to me...like how come he has to draw on his carpet with a blue marker after we told him he only uses markers for the marker board and then joyfully proceeds to tell us "come look what I did!"...once again...pictures to come.

-all the mess with house we were going to buy straightened itself out...all thanks to God! Thank you so much for all that prayed for us and with us.

-aaaaaaand Congrats to one of my blogger friends from   Good Golly Miss Molly  on becoming a first time mommy!!!! Makayla is Beautiful!!! And also a big Congrats to another blogger friend from Rada Rythm and Rhyme on becoming an aunt!!!!

well, I think thats about all for now! Hope you all are having a GRAND week! The weekend is almost here!!! Get happy!!!

Now the GOD of all grace...will personally restore, establish, strengthen, and support you after you have suffered...

1 Peter 5:10

So much to say...so little time.

 

( The Hubs and Me enjoying our time away)  

Quick update:

Our weekend get-away was soooooooo amazingly wonderful! We had a blast!

Some of our activites included:

-2 mile run down Pigeon Forge Strip (it was awesome!)

-Bowling

-Roller Skating

-Lots of laughing!

-go-cart racing

-Shopping

-......yeah, I wont go there. ;)

Hopefully I will have some pics up soon of our bowling and skating adventures....

It was a FAB weekend and I can't wait for next years marriage retreat!

Since we have been back I have been super busy, things have picked up where I work so I'm slammed with orders to get done. I also have lots of photo sessions booked up that I'm getting ready for.

We now have a website so when you get a free chance go to

Beyond the lens photography

and check it out!

I will leave you with a cute pic....This picture was taken last week, Garrett was brushing his teeth and I walked out of the room to do something and when I came back this is what I found...Reese LOVES doing whatever her "Buba" (thats what she calls him) does. So sweet.

Hope everyone has a GREAT week!!!

P.S. 

Say a little prayer for us, we still have alot of mess to workout with that house we were going to buy...to make a long story short the lady is trying to run us through the mud after all the work we put into making the house look good on the inside. ( I wish I had a before and after picture It looks sooooooo good.) We have now gotten a lawyer, and it could get messy...Just be praying that it doesn't and it all works out smoothly. Thanks in advance!

May Your faithful love rest on us, for we put our hope in You.

Psalm 33:22

Garrett's Bed-time Prayer

One of my most favorite things to do with my kids is pray. My son Garrett (who is 3) always has the funniest prayers, it's usually  the same thing "Thank you God for Nanny & Pop, Myma & Daddy Dean, Nana, Anna -and on through a list of family members-"Easter bunny and eggs" (don't know why he is so hung up on the Easter bunny but he has always thanked God for him.) "Grandma B, Mommy, Daddy and my sister Reesie & thank you for my many Bwessings AMEN!" Every now and then he will throw something different in. Hubs and I always share glances of pure joy and sometimes laughter during Garrett's bedtime prayers. Like most kids his age, you NEVER know what's going to come out of his sweet little mouth.

Yesterday after Garrett's class was done at church I went to get him and his teacher hands me his paper from the nights lesson...I noticed she had a smirk on her face and she told me I needed to read what Garrett told her his bedtime prayer was...Below is what he told her to write.

I read through it and was ...thinking He is just precious....then it hit me, waaaaaaaait a minute!

I backed up and saw BROTHER chaWhat?!?! He must know something I don't know lol

I asked him on the car ride home why he thanked God for his brother. His response: " I just wanted to, and and and  I want one....*pause* and and and that's what God Do's, He makes boys."

Hubs and I laughed and laughed.

My heart is for adoption, so maybe one day Garrett will have a little brother =o) or who knows...maybe we will have another little one down the road.

If you ask my Hubs he will totally disagree with the above sentence =o) I do have him praying about adoption though....I know that if God lays it on my heart He will do the same for Hubs...we shall see =o)

Today we head off  to TN for a marriage retreat!!! whoo hoo! We have been soooooooo looking forward to this. We have a blast every year! I'm also doing  a session for a couple while we are there...so excited about that!  It is AMAZING to be able to have fun and goof off with great friends and spend some great time of reconnecting and learning how to make our marriage stronger. I treasure my marriage and don't take it lightly that I have been blessed with a wonderful Godly husband. It is not every day you find one like him, especially in this day and time.

Hope everyone has a GREAT weekend! I know I will ;)

No wonder my heart is filled with joy!

ACTS 2:26

Men...Uggh!

SO, as you all know me and the Hubs are competing in our small town version of  The biggest Loser (GCSU).

It began this Past Friday 3/5. 

I began Running on my tread mill, drinking only water, fixing healthy meals and I started the painful wonderful workout class yesterday and FYI today was lower body and I KNOW that tomorrow it is going to be excruciatingly painful. Like, its totally going to take an extra 5 mins for me to sit on the toilet and then try to get back up...

Weigh-in is every Wednesday but being the impatient person I am I just had to sneak a peak today after my work out and I lost 5 lbs!!! 

 Eric has done nothing but drink water and today he did his first session with his personal trainer. He also took a sneak peak today and he had lost 6lbs!!! Don't get me wrong I'm super proud for him, BUT It makes me sick =o) lol Here I am working my Bootay off and all he does is drink water and one day with the personal trainer. 
Oh well, I'm just glad we are both losing weight!  Hopefully I can squeeze in another 3 lb loss before tomorrow...Pssh. Eric will probably lose 5 more lbs just by lifting the remote.

Look out GCSU here we come!

I LOVE getting mail and today I got my new camera strap. It looks just like the one below, super cute! I also got a new lens hood yesterday.  Now off to order a 580EXII Flash and I should be good for a while...at least that's what the hubs says. =o)

And we know that in all things GOD works for the good of those who love Him...

Romans 8:28

 

Merging and Hell.

I  know you all have seen some of my post about my cousin Stephanie (her and her husband did the kids murals in the house that the "the bugs ate the floor and wind blew away ;) ) She is super talented and she is also having a give-away on her popular blog. so check it out and enter...I think today is the last day to enter to win a super cute bag.

You can clink on the link below:

edit: hmmmmmmm link didn't work...try this one: Made by Stephie

Not only is she a talented eh,crafty person....but she is also a super talented photographer. She went to SCAD and studied photography for years. Weeeeeeeeell, We have decided to come together and join our mad photography skillz. She has had a photography business for a while now but we will be merging together and now become Beyond the Lens photography together =o)  We will be working together for weddings and big events and if she is overloaded I will take some of her clients and she will do the same for me. 

I have been blown away at all the emails I have gotten over the last 2 weeks from people wanting to book a session with me. I never in a million years thought I would be able to be doing this and I'm so thankful for the people God has put in my path to encourage me to do it, especially my Hubs He has been by biggest cheerleader and HUGE supporter to go for it... aaaaaand I am so thankful  that I get to now do what I love and what a bonus to be able to do it for others and see the joy on their faces. I still am like, are you suuuuuuuuuure you are looking at the right person's photos?!?! It seems like a dream really. But I'm loving it! (...sorry, felt like I was at the Oscars for a second there lol)

I had 2 sessions this weekend and I must say I had a blast! 

Here are some from the first shoot I did. I cannot show any of the other shoot because I haven't shown them to the client yet =o) 

 

 

 

I am constantly updating my Facebook fan page with sessions so here is the link so you can check back there for all the new photos. Beyond the Lens Photography 

Well I'm off to an hour of hell  Great work out fun =o) I haven't been in months but if I want to kick some boootay in the GCSU  I gotta get to doing something! 

Happy Monday!

For My thoughts are not your thoughts, and your ways are not My ways. For as Heaven is higher than earth, so My ways are higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.

Isaiah 55:8 - 9

Double Trouble

I know you all have just been sitting at your computer checking my blog constantly for an update on whats going on in my life.

*cricket, cricket*

yeah.

any who,  busy-ness has set in once again and so I will just let you in on some of the things happening.

-We backed out of the house we were buying due to some termite damage that we were not willing to put a bunch a money in. (I will save the details for another post.) I'm bummed but life goes on!

-I'm now left unpacking things that I have packed up and attempting to get my house house back in order.

-We have decided to build (yay! so excited) so now we are trying to decide what kind of house plan we like and yada yada...lots of decisions! I hate being an indecisive person.

-I have 3 photo sessions booked this month and lots more that are deciding when they want to plan a session. Yay God! (pics to come soon!)

-I am really trying to focus more on my relationship with my Savior...I want to yearn for Him more, desire Him more and love Him more than ever.

-Hubs and leave for a marriage retreat next weekend!!! We are so excited to get away with our church family couples and have a blast.

-We have also Joined GCSU as -Double Trouble-....allow me to explain:

GCSU (Granite City Shape Up) is a weight loss competition our small town does every year. Last year I was on a team of 4 and well, I was really the only one who took it serious. I lost 15 lbs. ( I gained most of it back when the holidays rolled around.... such a bummer ) This year they are doing it in pairs and Me and the Hubs are teaming up as "Double Trouble" to kick some boootay! Hopefully this time I will keep it off for good.

As always the kids keep us going  and laughing non-stop... Garrett has been telling everyone that the "bugs ate our floor up (speaking about the house we were going to purchase) and the wind blew it away." ahhhh the things kids say. lol I love my life. I am blessed indeed!

So that's the update from me....hopefully the next time time I write I will have a more interesting post...

ya know for all my millions of readers that keep up with me ;)

...seasons of refreshing may come from the presence of the LORD.

Acts 3:19

My Best Friends Wedding to My Best Friends baby...

I am absolutely beside myself excited right now. My Best friend is expecting her first child! I got this sweet picture today from her.

.

I'm in love with him/her already! I am almost, if not just as much as excited as I was when I was pregnant with my two sweethearts. MiMi and I have been best friends since diapers and our mothers are also best friends. She was with me through both my pregnancy's and births of both my children. And I can NOT wait to do the same for her! Oh the fun of planning  baby shower's and decorating baby rooms! 

Oh the stories I could tell of the memories I have of our friendship. From  digging up worms as little girls (yes we were def. tom boys!) to dressing up our kittens in babydoll clothes in 100* weather (those poor kitties) to our wedding days to her sneaking me a Reese's cup when I was on strict orders from the Doc.and Hubs not to eat anything during labor (and yes,  I threw it up when it came time to push) ...but it was worth it, to enjoy that one minute of chocolate bliss . I could go on and on. I treasure our friendship so,  It is a true blessing to have a friend for such a long time. She is a Gem.

Oh the best is yet to come! I can not wait to meet her little Miracle.

 

~

...there is no other GOD who is able to deliver like this.

Daniel 3:29

Beyond the Lens

I finally decided on a name for my Photography....
 ~Beyond the Lens~
I absolutely LOVE it. Trying to come up with a name was a lot harder that I thought it would be!

so far I have:

-maternity session in March

- 2 year old session (not sure the exact date yet)

- maternity session in June

-maternity session in August

- wedding in October.

-and possibly a wedding in July

So far I have learned A LOT from the photography class that I'm taking, most importantly I am learning tons of things about my camera. Getting a great picture  isn't just about going out buying a nice SLR camera and going out and pressing the shutter button. It is truly about knowing your camera and then using your creativity to capture moments that make you go WOW!

hopefully, when we get moved into the house and settled in I will be able to start up a blog for my photography. We have 2 weeks to get rooms painted and all our things moved into the new house AND get the house we are currently in cleaned up. I have been ready to do all this for 3 weeks now BUT the lady that is selling us the house had a huge indoor yard sale 2 weeks ago and is still trying to get it all cleaned out so we can begin working on getting rooms painted and all that jazz. The weather put a damper on her getting the rest of the stuff out this past weekend. I'm trying to be patient, I really am! It's looking like we will be having to rush to get everything done. But I guess it will all be worth it when the day comes that we are all moved into our own house. WOW that sounds weird  =o)

The good thing is she has to have everything out this week because the Hubs is supposed to be picking up our new furniture this weekend and moving it in.

On another note ♪♫

We got 4'' of snow in our small town, so I will leave you a few pictures =o)

Hope you all are having a most lovely week!

Reese was taking it all in...She LOVED the snow.

Garrett Loved the snow too...He loved eating it...especially eating the snowman lol ( don't hate on the snowman lol...Garrett and his Nanny worked hard on their worm snowman :) )

~

And we know that in all things GOD works for the good of those who love Him...

Romans 8:28

LoOoOoOove is in the air...

Sunday is Valentines day! We have no big plans for it, so we will most likely just be spending time together as a family. We will be heading to Winter Jam Saturday (Tons of Christian bands playing at the same place and it's only $10!!! )  and one of my FAV bands, Fireflight is going to be there woop woop! Can't wait!! our date night will have to wait a while since this weekend is jam packed.

I went and picked up my Sweets (what I call my hubs) Valentine gift at lunch and I just know I wont be able to wait till Sunday to give it to him. I'm TERRIBLE at surprises, especially when it comes to gifts for the hubs.

You remember the tattoo gift card I so greatly kept a secret for 3 weeks....yea, it only lasted 3 weeks. I ended up giving my hubs his birthday present for Christmas lol. BTW here is a pick of what he got done with that gift card

 

He got the first little bit of music from the song we danced to on our wedding day on

his upper arm. He is working on getting a full sleeve. He only has a little bit to go.

aaaaaaaaaaaanyways....back to the gift, I got him an awesome pair of silver-ish colored drum sticks. Similar to these:

 

I hope you all have a GREAT Valentines day and spend it with the ones you love! I will leave you with a picture of  the very first Valentines gift I ever got from the Hubs when we were dating....It was so so sweet and thoughtful.

I LOVE  I mean really LOVE sugar cookies! He made this sweet homemade heart sugar cookie flower arrangement for me =o) with a homemade card (the picture is not good quality...The picture was saved on my photo bucket from a loooooong time ago and had gotten re sized  really small so I couldn't blow it up without it being fuzzy. But you get the jist of it =o)

Place me like a seal over your heart, like a seal on your arm; for love is as strong as death, its jealousy unyielding as the grave. It burns like blazing fire, like a mighty flame. 
Song of Solomon 8:6