Whaaaa-hoooooo! Thanks to some serious praying over my computer, WEDNESDAY is finally live! I think I was editing pictures from two cameras (thanks to Gabe and Brad, my assistant photographers) at such a quick pace that the friction from spinning computer thingies — a technical term — caused my Mac to crash. It crashed so hard, it actually screeched at me! So I stared at the blank screen, clasped my hands, and prayed, saying, “God willing, there’ll be a slide show.” About that time, Gregory wandered into my studio asking if I would read him a bedtime story. Thank God for Laura Ingalls Wilder because that 20 minutes of cooling off time did wonders for my Mac, and for me!
Don’t worry, if you forgot the username and password for the VBS slide show site, no problem! If you’re a member of my church or a family participating in VBS, send me an email or call the church office for information on how to get to the show.
Our theme from today was “choose to OBEY” and today’s Bible verse is from Psalm 119:60: “I will obey your commands.” Is it just me, or is there something deep about that verse as relates to me staring at a blank computer screen, pushing the “on” button, and nothing happening? In any case, don’t thank me for the Wednesday show, thank God!
Oh yeah, in case you’re wondering, in the photograph above, the children went on a treasure hunt, found the treasure, then had to give it all back! (From the story of the rich man who obeyed every command, except the one about sacrificing his riches in order to follow Jesus.)
See you on Thursday! Don’t forget to wear your bathing suit under your clothes!
Whaaaaaaa-hoooooooooo!
Your ride operator,
Abigail
(aka jules)
posted by Julie Walton Shaver at 12:55 am
Whaaaa-hoooooo! TUESDAY is live! Turn up the sound and check out the looney tune! Don’t worry, if you forgot the username and password for the VBS slide show site, no problem! If you’re a member of my church or a family participating in VBS, send me an email or call the church office for information on how to get to the show.
Our theme from today was “choose FORGIVENESS.” (I’m praying that Gregory, above, and all the other kids forgive me for the super fun timing in today’s slide show! But moms and dads, if it’s causing a problem at home just let me know and I’ll sub in a different picture if you want me to. That’s my Gregory, above. He didn’t even know who “Beavis” was, until I told him the name of that cartoon. He squinted at me like I was crazy for even ASKING if I could use his picture there, but he loves the song so much, he gave in just so I’d get the slide show done already.)
Today’s Bible verse is from 1 John 1:9: “God will forgive our sins.” As a reminder for my 1st grade friends, that’s the memory verse for your class! You never know if Prince William might pop out and ask if you remember the verse!
By the way, the part of Prince William, who is not to be confused with Kermit the Frog, despite evidence to the contrary, is being played by a very special person who is dear to my heart. But sort of like on Home Improvement, we only get to see half of this young man’s face until VBS is over! See you all on Wednesday! Don’t forget to wear your bathing suit under your clothes!
Whaaaaaaa-hoooooooooo!
Your ride operator,
Abigail
(aka jules)
posted by Julie Walton Shaver at 11:39 pm
Whaaaa-hoooooo! Check out the VBS web page for the Monday slide show because IT’S LIVE! Don’t worry, if you forgot the username and password, no problem! If you’re a member of my church or a family participating in VBS, send me an email or call the church office for information on how to get to the show.
This year’s Vacation Bible School is all about CHOICES, and how we can help each other learn to make good ones. The theme for Monday was “choose to BELIEVE.” Each day will be something different, and we’ll enjoy live skits that tell some of our favorite Bible stories. We’ll also learn fun new songs as well as some favorites from long, long ago.
During assembly times, we’ll have a blast watching Micah figure out how to turn Prince William back into a prince. Meanwhile, Miriam and Abigail (played by yours truly!) will be trying to hold things together at the theme park. Enjoy the shows! And be sure to thank your teachers and the leaders of the various sections: crafts, snacks, games, stories and music. Trust me when I tell you they’ve been preparing for MONTHS! Oh, and special thanks to Mr. Ray for letting us borrow the costume for our Monday skit, above! And special thanks to Propman (aka Gabe) for taking pictures during the assembly skits!
Didn’t the decorating team do a fabulous job? Wow!
Today’s Bible verse is from 1 John 4:14: “God sent his son to be the Savior of the world.” As a special helper for my kindergarten friends, that’s the memory verse for your class! So if Abigail asks what your memory verse is, be ready!
See you all on Tuesday! Don’t forget to wear your bathing suit under your clothes!
Whaaaaaaa-hoooooooooo!
Your ride operator,
Abigail
(aka jules)
posted by Julie Walton Shaver at 8:37 pm
If you’re a member of my church, hold on to your hats (and crowns) and check the blog next week for some fun slide shows from Vacation Bible School! We’re running a massive theme park this year and the planning team has just about completed the uphill climb. Starting Monday evening — ZOOM! — we’ll be racing to our computers to see the first batch of pictures! (God willing.) You’ll need the username and password to view the shows, so if your family is participating in vbs or you’re a member of my church, shoot me a message and I’ll be sure to share!
Incidentally, I’m playing the part of “Abigail” this year, a seasoned theme park employee who has some issues!
While we wait for the first slide show to be ready, here’s a sneak peak at Prince William’s latest photo shoot, kids!
Prince William likes to climb things like this fireman’s pole …
… and the dogwood tree.
He likes to pretend he’s driving through the jungle.
And he LOVES to jump!
Look at him GO!
ROCK OUT! That frog-dude catches some AIR!
Oh no, on NO! Watch out for that…
… hydrangea bush.
Ouch!
Sometimes he likes to just hangout.
And just so you know, Prince William throughly enjoys naptime. When he puts up his “do not disturb the prince” sign, it’s probably a good idea to let sleeping frogs sleep.
This is Prince William’s official headshot, and a personal note from the prince himself: “Hi kids! Can’t wait to meet you all next week! It’s FUN being green! Ribbit!”
Peace,
Abigail
(aka: jules!)
P.S. When a new slide show is up, a new blog post will go up letting you know it’s there! So check the blog for updates!
posted by Julie Walton Shaver at 4:45 pm
Click the picture, or click here, for a slide show of Alison and Rob’s wedding in Washington, DC. Read all the way to the bottom for a fun contest that can win Alison and Rob extra print credits!
Alison had asked me if I happened to have any art images in my files of the monuments in Washington. Since I didn’t, I got up with the sun on their wedding day to create custom ones just for them.
The light was absolutely stunning!
Headlines from Alison and Rob’s wedding day. I love it! There are a few more images of famous buildings and monuments in the slide show. Scroll to the bottom for the contest question relating to downtown DC!
Alison and Rob were married at Woodend Sanctuary in the Audubon Naturalist Society. I love how the sun is only shining on Alison and Rob in this picture.
Laura Auer, right, owner of Soiree Special Events, was the wedding day coordinator. She did a great job and was so helpful to me prior to the wedding, answering my emails full of detailed questions! Thanks Laura! I love Alison’s little curtsey with her dad at the rehearsal.
I got Alison and her sisters to do some fun posing for me at the rehearsal dinner, which, by the way, was held at Mrs. K’s Tollhouse Restaurant in Silver Spring. What a great place for a rehearsal! The food was excellent, the service was attentive, and the kids (and we adults too) could simply go out to the backyard to play when they were finished with dinner!
I love this shot of Alison and her mom in a sweet hug after dinner.
Later in the morning (after my sunrise trek to downtown), I met the girls for our “getting ready” marathon. If you squint, you can probably see Alison getting her hair done in the background of my shoe shot.
Hey Rob, I told Alison to imagine she was looking at you looking at her in the mirror. Isn’t she GORGEOUS?
Matt Richman, my photographer friend who hangs out with me at weddings to shoot the men-folk, took this shot of Rob reading a card from Alison. If you watch the slide show carefully, there are pictures of Alison sitting by herself in a corner writing the card. So sweet.
We were all wondering: if it takes six bridesmaids to button the bride into her dress, how will Rob… oh nevermind…
That’s Rob and his brother in their “getting ready” phase, which Matt tells me took all of about 10 minutes, including shower. (Compared with several hours for the girls.)
Waiting for the elevator, Alison requires no special beauty lights, just the light from a window at the end of the hall.
Her friends don’t require special beauty lights either! Wow! They all look like movie stars! And I LOVE the flowers and the bridal colors!
Walking with her dad down the arboretum’s aisle, Alison was trying really hard not to cry.
When Alison first called me about documenting her wedding, she told me the ceremony was going to be at an arboretum and that it was a perfect place for a tree-lover like me! The location was simply beautiful! I can’t thank you enough for inviting me to be your wedding photographer. I had a wonderful time, and it was great to meet your family!
HOT HOT HOT!!!
(That’s the thing about July weddings.)
I love the playfulness of this shot. It really captures how happy they both are!
Love this one too!
What I love about this particular first dance picture is that you can just barely make out the priest in the background holding a little camera up taking pictures of Alison and Rob. He’s Alison’s cousin, and he was a pleasure to be around. Incidentally, that slow song in the slide show was Alison and Rob’s first dance song.
After dinner got started, I went around taking pictures of details. These birds sit atop the wedding cake. I don’t know who made the cake, but it really was SO pretty!
These birds adorn the placecards, and I do believe they’ve formed a colony on this particular table. Ha! One thing I loved about shooting at the Audubon Society was the emphasis on eco-friendly weddings. Most of the guests were brought to the event and taken home in shuttle buses provided by the wedding party. I like the Audubon’s Society’s web page about other ways to make your wedding “green,” like sending invitations that are not only biodegradable, but when buried in the yard, will grow flowers! How cool is that?
There was lots of fun dancing! I love this shot of Alison and Rob!
The DJ, John Weigle, of Creative DeeJays, was fantastic! He and his assistant were so nice, and they played lots of awesome Latin dancing music. Above, that’s Rob’s mom and dad in the background. Everyone seemed to have a fabulous time! Thanks, John! (Oh, and seriously, thanks for not playing the Chicken Dance or the Electric Slide. You guys ROCK!!!)
Somebody said I should bring a photographer along to take pictures of me laying on the floor underneath everybody taking pictures! Love it!
Lots of dancing, and a little sweetie in the corner sound asleep.
Love this ring shot with the bridal flowers in the background.
I took this picture of the hotel where the bridal party stayed at about 5 a.m. on Alison and Rob’s wedding day, and it wasn’t taken with a wide angle lens — the building really is curved like that! Cool! I love the blue sky, first hints at sunrise. What a great time to take pictures!
Here’s today’s contest
Leave a comment below with your answer — the first five people to answer correctly will each win lots of blog praise, AND a $25 gift credit for Alison and Rob to use in my online store! They could win up to $125 in print credits! Have fun!
Here’s the question: How many buildings in the downtown DC mall area are shown in the slide show? And a bonus question: There’s a picture of flowers in a flowerbed by the mall area. What is it that makes that picture significant?
Have fun! I look forward to reading your comments and answers! Don’t forget to wish Alison and Rob mucho happiness in their life together!
Congratulations, Alison and Rob! What a beautiful wedding! You are both fabulous! And I am truly honored to have been a part of the day your new family began!
posted by Julie Walton Shaver at 5:58 pm
This was a day-in-the-life shoot I did for a sweet six-month-old who is participating in my “year in the life” plan. If you know this family, send them an e-mail to see their slide show. It’s beautiful!
The picture above took my breath away when I first downloaded all the pictures! The colors in the sky are beautiful and contrast so nicely with the clothing and natural colors of the harbor, but I especially love how graphic it is. Notice how things on the edges of the picture are pointing at our mom and baby in the center? The clouds, the stroller, the rocks, the distant shore — I love that!
This shot is so cool — the baby’s on his changing table having some sort of discussion with his mom and his uncle.
Mom, baby and I went for a walk in the beautiful evening light.
But long before that, the baby’s grandmother, and some friends, came over for a dip in the baby pool and some watermelon. First, some sunscreen, above. I love the look on his face, like “Ooooh! That feels GOOD!”
That’s grandma and a sweet little friend!
Isn’t she adorable? Hint to all my clients reading this: how did I get this great shot of this cute little girl? Her mom sat back, ignoring the photo session, and let me and her daughter just play. THAT’S the secret!
This is one of my all-time favorite pictures.
I love day-in-the-life sessions! Capturing these special, fleeting, moments is really so important. Before you know it, that little boy will be taller than her and asking to go to the Lego Store for the billionth time. (Oh, that’s MY son, sorry.)
For now, we’ll just hang out together at the park.
Another fave. I’m so happy we got such beautiful light that evening!
This one was taken only a few minutes later, from a different angle. I just love the colors!
Here’s my friend again. She’s such a sweetie!
We shot for a few posed portraits with mom and her sister. What a gorgeous family! You may remember them from the baby’s baptism pictures. I love how the clothing is coordinated, but doesn’t match. Good job on the wardrobe planning! Your baby book is going to look like pages right out of a catalog for sure!
Love it!
Just after bathtime. What a great expression!
I knew mom would be heading out the door, and I was anticipating her walking away as being a way to end the slide show, but I thought for once it would add a sense of drama if the picture was blurry, like a dream. I love how it came out! LOVE LOVE LOVE IT!!!
I hope the family enjoyed the slide show. It’s one of my favorites for sure!
posted by Julie Walton Shaver at 1:29 pm
All my wedding packages include thank you cards, so I thought I’d put one of my designs up to give you an idea. Above, the front of this 5×7 card design. The design was printed on art linen paper, easy to write on and it has a rich texture that I love!
The inside design spreads the entire inside of the card — 10 inches wide — with lots of space for Jenn to write personal notes.
The back is a subtle design with a texture overlay and a white-washed look so as not to overpower the front and inside. And yet, the back is SO special! This thank you card will never be thrown away! Don’t you love it?
The design of the thank you card matches the design of the guest book, all crafted to coordinate with Jenn’s colors of robin’s egg blue and brown. Click the cover below to see the complete guest book design.
While I totally loved the design of the book, I decided to change my guest books to a much larger 10×10 size starting for my fall weddings. Still, guest books at any size using photos from your engagement session are a great keepsake!
posted by Julie Walton Shaver at 12:08 pm
As focused as I am on creating artsy photographs, Brad is focused on creating Lego masterpieces. Today, we collaborated and put our arts together! Above, my favorite picture of Bradley’s “Lego Warthog.” I like the dramatic effect of the backlight completely washed out!
Below, Brad’s favorite - - - ->
posted by Julie Walton Shaver at 3:49 pm
Click the picture, or click here, for a slide show from Jack’s first birthday party.
It was one of those hazy, humid summer days. All Jack had on his mind was walking.
As long as he was up and walking, or rather, being walked around by a helping hand or two, he was a happy birthday boy.
He was very interested in anything he could hang on to. He was a walking machine!
And so our dreams of a happy Jack with happy smiles behind his 1st birthday candle were dashed. He wasn’t very interested in eating cake. Ahhh, there’s always next year, Jack!
But hanging out on the floor with a cousin and a new toy: not bad at all.
Posing for a family picture was the last thing on Jack’s mind. But we tried anyway. We always take Jack’s picture from this spot.
Above, that’s Jack from his newborn shoot! So cute!
He’s got such beautiful eyes.
Ok, truth: I’m sad. I love this family. They were given a “year in the life” package as Jack’s newborn gift, and this would be their last official shoot in that package. Here’s hoping their extended family takes advantage of my gift credit program so they can do lots more shoots with me! I’m head over heels for Jack’s eyes!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JACK!
posted by Julie Walton Shaver at 6:00 pm
posted by Julie Walton Shaver at 11:26 am
