My family had a huge milestone a few weekends ago. My sister, Markie's high school sweetheart popped the question! It was a very exciting day for me because Grey, her new fiance, asked me to come a capture their special moment for him. We met a few days beforehand so he could show me exactly where to hide and where he would ask her to be his wife. Here are some pictures from their engagement:

Justin was so excited for me to hide in the woods that he begged me to wear his complete camo outfit. We settled on me taking his jacket to camouflage me.

 After all the tears of joy were wiped away (from all of us) we took some time to take some more pictures of them. It was supposed to rain, but God kept the sun out for the afternoon as we found spots to snap some shots.

 When we were finished at the park, we went to my parents house where Grey organized a surprise engagement party with his family and ours. Markie was shocked! 

This was a day I will never forget and I cannot wait for the wedding day. I am so excited to have another brother! 

CONGRATULATIONS MARKIE AND GREY! I love you both tremendously!

it will all be ok

The news of our pregnancy was a shock to me and Justin. We are just as thrilled as we ever were for our other two pregnancies, but this time it was completely unplanned and we've had to wrap our heads around three kids.  Right when we felt like we were getting life with two kids under control, God threw us this amazing curveball.

I'm not going to lie... when I first saw that bright blue line on the pregnancy test I had a moment of panic.  I couldn't have asked for a better reaction from Justin. He made my nerves calm and made me feel just plain old excited for an addition to our clan!  His reaction was priceless... giant grin with a resounding "YAY!!"

There was one night, not long after we found out that we would become a family of five that I was asking God how we would manage, and if we should buy a bigger house, and every other question you would think about after finding out you were surprisingly expanding your family. God answered all my prayers and calmed all my worries through Justin that night. As I was running through all these overwhelming scenarios in my head, I heard our two year old wake up in tears screaming for someone.  I clicked on our video monitor to decide if I should go calm him down or let him simmer on his own and as I looked at the screen I saw Justin just sitting down on the bed with him. Justin didn’t know it, but I watched the whole thing play out.  In watching Justin hug Ty and rub his head and tell him that he would be ok, God told me that everything would be ok.  That I have this awesome husband and father of my children to help me with our growing family. 

my handsome hubby with ty

and with elena

I had nothing to worry about because when I would grow slim in patience or energy, I had someone there to pick me up.  I have been at peace with the whole idea of having three children ever since that night. I am so grateful that God continually uses Justin to teach me about love, selflessness, and faith. I couldn’t be more excited to welcome our new little one in August with Justin by my side.

Linked up here and here today!

Life Lately: Elena's first Santa visit

Life lately has been pretty busy in the Schneider house. Last week, Justin's grandmother was visiting from NY. It was the first time she's visited since Elena's been alive. We jumped at the opportunity to see her. She knitted all the kids the cutest red Christmas hats. We intend on having them wear them in the family Santa picture this year. SO SPECIAL!
On Thursday night we decided to check out Santa's Wonderland at Bass Pro,  I cannot believe we've always gone to the mall and never done this before! If you have a Bass Pro near you, you must go (and on a weeknight!)  They had an entire section transformed into a wonderland with a talking moose, elves, a cabin for Santa, winter treats like fudge and popcorn, a train set, coloring tables, free goodies, and Santa himself! Not to mention, everyone was given a FREE picture with Santa. And our Bass Pro was so sweet. It was Elena's first visit with Santa so they gave us a few shots of her meeting him. I was also able to take some pictures on my own.  Ty and Elena's cousin Callan met us there so it was such a fun experience.

This girl's facial expressions crack me up.

Elena absolutely loved Santa. She was grinning ear to ear when Justin sat her in his lap. Ty on the otherhand, knew everything he wanted to say, but when it was our turn, he stepped back. It took him a few minutes of watching Elena before he decided that Santa wasn't a monster.  My heart was OVERFLOWING watching my TWO children occupy both of Santa's knees.  Christmas time is magical as a child, but even more so as a parent.

Justin was able to take the day off on Friday. YIPPY!! We decided to go to his parents' house to spend a little bit more time with his Grandma before she had to leave.  My favorite part about our visits to their house is how comfortable it is to be there with the kids and how much his parents love being surrounded by their grandchildren.  We had a great time just being together and, of course, getting spoiled by his grandmother's cooking-- rice and beans and fried plantains!

On Saturday I had two more Christmas sessions with two fantastic families. I am so blessed to have clients who have referred me after their photo sessions. The excitement I have about this new adventure in my life has been overwhelming. I love every minute I have behind the lens capturing snippets of time for some beautiful families.

In my effort to make this holiday season less stressful with running from place to place, we set aside some weekend nights for home with the family. It's far too easy for me to say yes to every fun event that deals with Christmas, but sometimes it's important to say no for the sanity of your family. Saturday night was one of our wonderful nights at home.  After spending the afternoon in the yard, we set up a tent, built a fire, and snuggled in to the pile of pillows and blankets for Christmas movies-- all 5 of us (including Holden).  These are the nights that memories are made of. 

Justin and I are also starting an adventure together this winter. Last year, the Family Life coordinator at our church asked us to be a part of the team for an upcoming marriage retreat that we had been participants in last year. I JUMPED at the chance to do this with Justin, but he was skeptical.

Well, I finally got him to agree to do it with me and we had our first team meeting this weekend. We have so much to look forward to in being a part of this special teams. It's amazing how much can happen when you step outside of your comfort zone!

In the coming week, our Christmas adventure will take us on a pajama- wearing car ride to see all the Christmas lights! I. Can't. Wait.
Linked up here today!