Today is a multi -tasker of a post! I have a million things to cover in one day, but here are the top few that todays post will touch on: Remembering the victims/ and thanking the heroes of the Boston Bombing, thanking my peers/friends for the insane honor of being chosen to be ‘The Showiteer of the Week”, and thankful for a friendship I found in 2 people whom I had the privilege of capturing this weekend at the Cherry Blossom Festival here in D.C.

1. Boston Strong! I am not from Boston in the slightest, though I am proud to say I do have a visit there under my belt.
You can read all about that and my travels to the site of the first bomb and more here. I will never forget that day. The panic….the tragedy of it all. But a year later, I have nothing but happiness for a city that rose above, overcame the struggles, and today will be rejoicing in their city, life, and love for their community.
I would like to just take a moment to think of those that did lose their lives at the hands of such evil and send a special thank you out to those that ran back TOWARDS the bombs to help others….the first responders, the doctors that worked 48 hours straight, and ANYONE and EVERYONE that had the love, strength and faith to stand strong. God bless you all, you are forever in my heart and prayers.

2. Showiteer of the Week! Where do I even begin with this one! GAH! What an honor. For those of you that do not know what a “Showiteer” is….it is simply a name for the members of the “SHOWIT” community. It is a group of photographers/creatives/artists that all use the same website platform for their business and through that platform, have created a network of supportive, helpful, and inventive souls that are in many ways, a family. We have a group formed on Facebook with over 2,500 members and each and everyday we are helping one another with technical questions, emotional/moral dilemmas, growing pains, constructive criticism, and more.

Well, yesterday it was announced that I was “The Showiteer of the Week” and I couldn’t be more honored. I am still not 100% sure what I did to deserve quite the honor….but I am forever grateful and so so blessed to be a part of such a wonderful community/family of OVERLY talented souls!

3. The Gift of TRUE BLUE Friendship! Interestingly enough…on top of belonging to the “Showit Family”….I also belong to a family of “Coaching Girls” through my mentor Katelyn James. Through this group, I had the insane pleasure of meeting a husband and wife team based in Virginia. Their business is named after the “wife” of the team; Kristi McKreag Photography. Click there to follow them on Facebook. You wont regret it! You know that feeling when you meet someone you feel like you have known your whole life!? Then you cant fathom how you made it this far without having them in your life at every stage?! Thats how I feel about them. I am literally in love with these two….in love with their love…the gorgeous babies….their passion for life….and happiness….I just adore them. I owe Katelyn James a lot in this lifetime, especially in terms of “business”, but when it comes to this friendship…there aren’t enough ways in the world to thank her.

I was beyond thrilled to have the opportunity to take some photos of these two this past weekend. They drove up for the night and we got the spend the evening walking all over DC and then shared a meal after sunset. We left with endless inside jokes such as “the stall”, “restaurant hoping”, “flashing 8th graders”, “Neil/Leo Armstrong” and soooooo many more. But before I lose you completely….ENJOY these images below. I can almost guarantee you will fall in love with them too! : )