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Some of you may follow us on snapchat or maybe you remember me mentioning this in a past blog post…. but this year has been full of a lot of NEW THINGS for our families. One of the new things that has come into our family isn’t very NEW… it’s just new to US! Our family now has a little place on Lake Gaston. Little being the key word. When people hear “Lake House”, I feel like you think of MASSIVE walls of windows and a perfect patio and boathouse. Our place is a work in progress… but let me tell you something…
… This little place has brought SO MUCH JOY to our family over the last 8 months. We’ve been working on renovating it and fixing it up. We still have nasty carpet in the basement that is straight out of the 70’s and a few of the make-shift bedrooms in the basement don’t have ceilings in yet but hey! You can still sleep in them!!! It’s a little house but it has made a big impact on us. There is limited cell service and we decided NOT to pay $100/month for snail speed internet because really, that’s not why you go to the lake! We even took the TV out of the living room so that we would TALK to one another instead of just grab the remote.
This place has taught me some very powerful things about my life and my time. I don’t need to work as much as I’ve worked in the past. I’ll be honest, I’ve been shooting 30+ weddings a year while speaking at conferences, hosting workshops, doing one-on-one coaching twice a month, launching courses and growing an online shop. It’s a lot. It’s basically 5 jobs in one and that resulted in 80+ hours of work a week. I have a whole other post that I want to write about that part of my life but I will just leave you with this for now…. this lake house project has taught me that I DO know how to slow down. I have workaholic tendencies but I can go to this place and not even think about work because I can’t even get my emails to load most of the time. It’s such a gift! And isn’t it fitting that I started learning how to RELAX just months before finding out that we are pregnant?! God’s timing is amazing. I’m so thankful for our little cottage from the 70’s. Shag carpet and all.
Over the years, our family vacations have shifted. I got married, Emy got married, now COREY is getting married and we have two grand babies coming soon. Planning big trips in the motorhome isn’t as easy anymore. So having a FAMILY PLACE at the lake that is always FREE and always AVAILABLE has allowed ALL of us to get together WAY more this summer than we ever have before! We also decided to do our BIG GROUP vacation that we did last year on a HOUSE BOAT at the lake! And we were nervous! Because this little house had to house over 20 people at some parts of the week! 20!!!!! Well, we did it and we all still love one another too!!! It’s a miracle!
So I wanted to share a few pictures of our little vacation for a couple of reasons 1. Because I always blog about our vacations and I have been doing this for YEARS on this blog and 2. because this is how I document and save memories! I sure hope my blog never crashes!! ah! (I do back it up, don’t worry!) So here are some of my favorite memories…….
– Shuba having the time of his life and jumping in the lake
– Eating dinner on the deck under the twinkle lights that are left over from OUR WEDDING and actually still work!
– Seeing people use the space that we’ve worked so hard on the last 6 months!
– Seeing our WHOLE YARD filled with cars and watching the neighbors wonder if we’ve lost our minds (Especially since we’re the smallest house on the STREET!! ha!)
– Watching the boys TUBE! They can’t get enough of it!
– Michael’s mom making our “We’re Pregnant” sign and my momma helping to color it in! Team effort!
– Seeing family and friends come together and just enjoy being together!
– Helping Morgan do wedding planning!! Southern Wedding magazines were EVERYWHERE!
– Seeing Corey enjoy his little boat (It’s called the Miss Minnie and it was passed down to Daddy and Corey from the sweetest elderly couple in our home church. They passed away this past year and left the Miss Minnie to Corey and he proposed on it! I have a feeling we’ll ALWAYS have that boat in the family! Even if it breaks!!!)
– Packing people on the dock and just sitting in the sun for hours! (I was in the shade of course…. red head problems)
– Sunset cruises with Josh and Mandy on Pawpaw’s pontoon!
– Seeing Bokeh and Biscuit play together!
– Sharing fears and joys during dinner
– Having both of our families there together at the same time PLUS so many dear friends!! It was just the best week!
Ummm… Look at our front yard!
The boys had to sleep in the camper!!
Sunset cruise!
BISCUIT!!!! (Bokeh’s Girlfriend!)
Packed house!
Watermelon in the water… classy!
Bokeh and his Grammy! 
He was in heaven! 
The Miss Minnie! 
Our pregnancy announcement being made! 
Really Katelyn?! My phone!? Oh gosh…
It’s not a fancy dock but it’s a happy dock! 
Craft night!
Yikes! 
haha His happy place! 
Shuba… that isn’t your bed!
Thanks for reading!
— Katelyn
MORE RECENT POSTS
If you’re a photographer that despises Off-Camera-Flash (OCF), this blog post is for you! Ugh. I feel you. I used to hate it too… and it honestly still isn’t my favorite but it’s necessary in order to rise in your professionalism on wedding days after dark!! Off camera flash seems intimidating when you’re trying it for the first time.
This is such a fun post for me to share because it’s what I consider my “hobby”! Sure, it’s still photo-related so maybe it’s not a true hobby for me since my career is consumed in the photography world… but it is most definitely what I love to do for fun!
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There has never been a year quite like 2020. It started off so normal, so simple and so carefree. Then, March/April hit and it felt like everything was turned upside down!
Another month. I had forgotten just how fast it goes when they are this tiny. One minute they are in 0-3 month clothes and the next you’re unpacking 6month options!
How is it MARCH already in 2021?! This year is flying by and we’re getting closer and closer to the beginning of wedding season! At least we are here in Virginia! It’s my honor to get to introduce you to some of our KJ Students who are doing the hard work of educating themselves and growing their businesses! My hope is that their stories and advice will be an encouragement to anyone wanting to grow and feel confident before wedding season picks up!
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