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been a hard one. Last week we lost one of youth in a tragic car accident.  Although Michael and I didn’t know her really well, this sweet girl was friends with so many in our youth group and it’s so hard to watch them miss their friend. So because the blog reaches so many people, from so many places, please be praying for the Nease family as they try to adjust to life without their beautiful daughter, Amber. The service this morning was beautiful and I’m so thankful that she knew the Lord. There is no doubt in my mind that we will see her again one day.

When something like this happens, it really makes you realize that nothing else matters in life but loving the Lord and drawing more people to Him. Business goals, job promotions, being FEATURED….etc….. they are SO temporary.  They provide temporary joy and temporary fame… nothing eternal. I realized this most when I was featured on Style Me Pretty last week. I was THRILLED, don’t get me wrong! However, I have wanted to be featured on there for so long and yet, seeing my images on that blog didn’t give me this overwhelming satisfaction like I had hoped it would. And to make it even better, those of you that follow SMP know that they post multiple times a day. So my wedding was quickly pushed further and further off the homepage. I’m not complaining at all! I’m actually SO HAPPY that I was featured and that I learned this valuable lesson….. THERE IS MORE TO LIFE THAN THIS. I know this… I preach this…. but I needed to be reminded of it. Tomorrow I shoot a wedding and then Sunday I fly to Novinger, Missouri to meet up with 71 of our teenagers from church for a week long mission trip. We’ll be serving alongside the people of Novinger to help rebuild their town that has been devastated by numerous natural disasters. While we’re there, we’ll also be doing VBS for the kids and rebuilding a basketball court. Since Amber was such an amazing athlete and had a love for sports, we’ve created a program called “Amber’s Team”.  Anyone can donate in honor of Amber and all of the money raised will be put toward providing the town of Novinger with sports equipment in Amber’s honor. If you’re interested, you can read more HERE!

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So anyway, I realize this post is ALL over the place. I think what I’ve experienced this week is a good reminder for anyone. However, I did want to thank those awesome vendors that were so sweet to feature my work recently. I’m always so honored to see my work somewhere other than my blog. So thank you to The Knot, PPA, and all of those awesome blogs!! I really appreciate the feature! Everyone, enjoy your weekend! If you’re going to the beach or the river, get some sun for me… I’m whiter than a sheet!!!

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Thanks to The Knot for featuring Holly and Erik’s wedding from last August in the Norfolk Botanical Gardens!

Professional Photographer magazine featured my office space AGAIN!! What?! So honored! Someone over there must like TEAL too!Thanks to Style Me Pretty Details Details, Uniq Love Blog, Delightfully Engaged, Destination Inspirations, and Wedding Wire!

Thanks for reading!

— Katelyn

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