John and Kate

No, no its not who you think this couple was truly heaven made. I actually found a poem that I think describes there relationship better than my words ever could.





Fathers and Daughters by Heather Joy


The bond between father and daughter happens instantly, starting right at birth,
When a father first lays eyes on his little girl he loves her more than anything on this earth,
When a daughter grows older her father is the first man she will love,
The bond between father and daughter is the most important bond indeed,
A daughter will always have the memories of her father, her best friend
This bond has a beginning, but there is never an end.
The bond between a father and daughter is so profound
The love shared is well renowned,
From the beginning of his daughters life, he is a changed man,
At that moment his life really just began.
From the moment their eyes meet,
two souls instantly become complete.

Look at these two, how perfect are they!

Little Kate working on strengthening those walking legs

Rapid fire photos, got to love all those faces!

I loved this picture of cousin Jonathan, Grandma and Kate they all look like they are having so much fun!

Of course we had to get a shot of Grandpa and Kate!

The entourage trying to get Kate to look at us and not the pretty animals!!

The gator was sooo cute, that I just had to snag an up close and personal shot!

Sometimes the cutest pictures are when you capture that moment when a little one is thinking I am really not sure about sitting on this gator thing!

So the Beardsley zoo actually lets the peacocks run wild and it was so cool that when the peacock looked at it self in a window he got defensive and put up his beautiful feathers and I was so happy to be able to capture it!

Love Kate's cute face here!

Thanks John for letting Jay and I spend some of you most precious of moments with you and your beautiful little girl.


~Maggie

Kylie and Connor's Birthday Bash

This past weekend Jay and I had the privilege of attending my god daughter and cousins birthday party. These parties our some of my most favorite days of the year 1. my whole family gets together and just hangs out and 2. there is always a ton of food to try and 3. its so laid back and fun you just can't beat it.

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The Birthday Girl!

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The Birthday Boy!

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The Fabulously Beautiful Big Sister!

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Kylie and her big sister Kiersten

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Mommy and Kylie

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Connor and his cousin playing baseball

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Kylie borrowing the baseball!

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Kylie and Julia playing house

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Kylie playing in the play house

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The birthday children

Happy Birthday Kylie and Connor!!!! We can not wait to celebrate all over again next year :0)

~Maggie

Ellen Werner

Ellen Werner passed away last year, she was loved by many and was my fiances Grandmother. She meant so much to everyone that was blessed to have known her. In the last years of Ellen’s life, she said to me on several occasions, "Don't ever get old." I thought about this for quite some time, watching her struggle with physical difficulties from which she would never quite recover. I decided that this was one piece of advice she would give me in the short time that I was blessed to have known her that I was going to try to ignore. I don't know about you, but I'd be so much less complete as a person if she followed her own advice.

• If she hadn't gotten old, I wouldn't have seen such a great example of finding new interests and developing new skills. She showed us how we can continue to make a contribution to our families and our communities even through the most trying of time.
• If she hadn't gotten old, I probably wouldn't have realized the power of prayer or the way God can intervene in your life and change your outlook, the way He so obviously did for her.
• If she hadn't gotten old, she wouldn't have been around to talk to me and encourage my fiancé all those times to go shopping at the Christmas tree shop, or just go and have fun at the casino.
• I think all of these qualities were present in her years before I ever met Ellen. But, if she hadn't gotten old, I wouldn't have had the opportunity to see them.

Today we remember her hope, for each of her kids, and her grandkids, and her great-grandchild, her brothers, her nieces and nephews, her friends and her extended family that we would all find happiness in our lives, that we would all continue to grow to be good and loving people. We know that she would not be disappointed in any of us. Ellen would be so proud to see all of us and how much we have grown in only a year. So today please take the time to remember what about Ellen we treasured so much.

In honor of Ellen, on her birthday I would like to dedicate this video to her memory and her family with whom I have come to love and care for deeply.

-J