Hollen Home

I went far more off the grid this year for Thanksgiving than I have in years past. I purposely didn't lug my big DSLR over to the Hollen's house. I tried to keep my phone in my bag during the meal. The photo above is the only one I took all morning while we were at home, looking at the snow and getting ready to eat donuts. I wanted to soak it all in without the distraction of getting the shot of the table settings, even though it was beautiful as always, and the smorgasbord of delicious food covering all open counter space in the kitchen.

I wanted to rest, to recharge. To soak it all in.

We made cranberry brie bites. I made homemade cranberry sauce from our Bountiful Baskets haul. (Which, sidetone, I love BB and I am pretty obsessed with them.) We made the cliche but always needed green bean casserole. We consumed turkey, veggies, corn casserole, potatoes, carrots, rolls, lefse, the list goes on and on.

Marin didn't nap all day. We tried in the morning before we headed over for festivities: nothing. We tried after the meal...nothing. Needless to say, our tired little girl was zonked out in bed by 6:30pm Thanksgiving night.

We ate too much. The turkey coma commenced. It snowed all day.

I couldn't help but be thankful for everything in our lives. We are healthy. We have a warm home that is filled with things, some of which we probably don't need. Our fridge and cupboards have food to nourish our bodies. Our bank account isn't in the red. We are able to pay are bills on time. We get to spend every day raising up an amazing little girl that surprises us all of the time with the knowledge that she already has. We have good jobs. I can actually say that I love my job. I am thankful for good coffee and quiet mornings. We have an awesome church community that has been hit hard in the past week due to the death of a young boy. I am thankful for people that are willing and able to band together to live through the tough times, the hard times, the devastating times.

I am thankful that we were able to slow down, even for a day. May I be ever aware of the pace of our lives.

Katie and I have been in each other's lives for a very long time. We met at a youth group event many years ago and have been in each other's lives in some capacity ever since. We ended living together in Washington and experienced some of the best and hardest moments of our lives. I photographed much of that journey. I photographed her engagement. I photographed her wedding. We worked together in healthcare. Now, I was able to photograph their baby. I was getting super emotional as I edited these photos the other day. We have all come so far. We have been through so many things in the past 15 years of our lives together. They hoped for little Natalie for so long and now she is here. We may not see each other nearly as often as we once did because life has gotten in the way, but I count myself blessed to know these good people.

We are now at the point in our lives where our friends are getting married and having kids. It's been a quick shift to that season in our lives and I have enjoyed being able to capture it along the way. I haven't done a ton of newborn photography so this was a fun adventure. Little Natalie is so adorable and makes me have baby fever big time. Someday heart, someday sooner rather than later.