You may or may not know this, but we love animals.  We have several.  They are fun, they make us laugh, and they love us no matter what stupid things we do (we love them too).  We have a lot of pets, 4 big dogs and 3 cats.  In the hierarchy of our ‘animal kingdom’, there is one Alpha….and her name is Macy.

Macy is Kim’s baby, raised from a pup, and coddled like no other.  She is a 9yr. old 75lb Husky/Malamute mix and is more of a cat than a dog.  She is impeccably clean (most of the time), much prefers to hunt her food (our squirrel and lizard population is nearly non-existent), and can do no wrong (in her mother’s eyes).   We love Macy.  She keeps her other ‘subjects’ in line and is clearly the Alpha….just ask her.

About 6 months ago, we noticed that Macy had a little irritation in one of her eyes, and was having trouble opening it all the way.  It is not unusual for the ‘street gang’ to get a bit too rough in the yard and one or more of them comes in injured (think midnight vet emergency room visits).  Nothing new.  SO, when we decided to take her in to our local vet, we didn’t expect anything unusual…maybe just a scratch that got inflamed or something.  Well, this time we weren’t so lucky.

The doctor looked at her eye and his suspicions were aroused very quickly.  He ran some tests, and it was confirmed that Macy had stage 5 Lymphoma. (Dogs apparently have 5 stages, unlike the 4 human stages.)  Lymphoma?  Not 30 days before, we had her in for a tooth extraction and they didn’t see anything.  Well, it was there now.  What does this mean?

We decided to start treatments for her and she is powering through like a champ.  She’s about 4 months into her chemo, and is doing great.   Same attitude, same intense wrestling matches in the yard, same lazy naps on my pillow,  (yes, my pillow) and we love her more than ever.   Here is a bit of eye candy of Miss Macy…

I wonder if it is OK to have as much fun photographing a wedding as the bride and groom have actually BEING in the wedding.  I’m not sure, but this one was a blast!

The day started out a bit on the rainy and cloudy side, but man, that diffused light through the trees was amazing.  It doesn’t hurt to have such a great looking couple!   Ashton and Nick are high school sweethearts that have been together for years, and the time was finally right for them to tie the knot.  The sky threatened rain for most of the day, but it never came, and the day went off without a hitch.

Congratulations Ashton and Nick!  We wish you all our best for many years to come!

You know, there are couples you meet that don’t really work, and there are some that are just…well, right.  Dawn and Charlie are the latter.  They just work.  They speak their own language….literally.

You couldn’t have picked a more beautiful day for a Georgia wedding… 75 degrees and sunny.  A little breeze to keep things light, and an absolutely amazing landscape designer’s home as our setting made an amazing day even more beautiful.  Congratulations Dawn & Charlie!

Stand Up For Kids is a US-based, volunteer orginization that has as it’s mission to “end the cycle of youth homelessness across America”.  The orginazition works to provide desperately needed services for homeless children.  Some of the services provided are GED programs, assistance in mentoring mothers with young children, assistance with job searches, laundry services, showers, health screening, and access to computers.

I had the opportunity to work with the local Atlanta chapter of Stand-Up during their annual ’48 Hours’ program where the center is opened for 48 hours straight for kids in the area to have a place to come and hang-out, and have access to the services provided.  We decided to create an event modeled after Help Portrait where we partner with hair stylists and make-up artists, and bring in studio equipment to create portraits for each of the kids.  Once completed, we print an 8×10 glossy print of the image for the kids to take with them.   The kids are fantastic, and were an absolute riot to photograph.

If you would like to find out more about the good that Stand Up For Kids is doing, visit http://www.standupforkids.org/atlanta/

About a year ago, a fantastic couple, Steve and Suellen Daniels, having seen too much hunger and need in our Forsyth County, founded Meals By Grace, a mission to bring food and necessary items to those without the means to procure them for themselves.  It was envisioned as a service that would initially bring the resources of the members of Grace Chapel church of Christ together to prepare meals once weekly to those without them. Through God’s providing, that mission has broadened, and the Meals By Grace crew is preparing for where God is directing them. Donations have flooded in, and the capacity to serve has grown also.

I had the opportunity to work with the team a month or so ago, and they blew me away. They take donations of fresh food (hot and cold) and sundries, and are able to deliver a week’s worth of food and supplies all over the county. This is made possible from donations and volunteers from the church and the community, and God has not ceased to provide as the needs have grown.

The video is a short interview between Steve and Suellen, and Kurt Picker about the state of the need in Forsyth County.  If you would like to volunteer, donate, or just help in any way you can, go to www.HandsOnForsyth.org to find out more.  Also, visit www.MealsByGrace.org to see what is going on day to day!

[vimeo http://vimeo.com/40423185 w=900&h=510]

Meals By Grace uses the 3 residential ovens to prepare all of their hot meals for their families.  They are working on the procurement of some additional commercial equipment.

They rely on donations of most, if not all, of the food that they are able to deliver.  The bread is from Atlanta Bread Company.