Portraits : Summer Orr

Location: Eufaula, AL

Photography Update !!!

Hi there blog visitors,

First off, what do we think of the new look? Since I plan to post A LOT more often next year, I decided it was time to do some housekeeping. I have tried to make the home page a little less overwhelming by changing the view my photography sessions. The website initially shows only one image. Underneath that image, there is a link that says "read more >>." Clicking this link will take you straight to the complete collection of images. Other than that, I changed up a few font colors and the background. Though the website is a bit finicky, I tried my hardest to make it a bit more me, and I hope you like it!

Now, onto the important stuff.

Obviously this isn't the best of websites, but I have decided to make do with what I have for now. However, I would like to make it known that this website lowers the resolution of my images by quite a bit. If you would like high resolution copies of an image, I am more than happy to make that happen, whether it be by prints or digital files. I assume that most people reach TBB through various links on social media, so please feel free to contact me on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.

I hope you all had an amazing Christmas! Here's to the happiest of New Years!

PS : New small session going live in 20 minutes!!

Portraits : Bailey Bennett

Location: Georgetown, GA

Blogging Update !!!

This Christmas, my parents gave me the absolute BEST gift — a Canon EOS Rebel T6 DSLR camera. Not only is this something I will use now, but this is something that I can use for holidays, events, and even my future family. I have always enjoyed taking and editing photos, so I am extremely excited to start working with my new camera. As of now, I have decided to make this my main photography outlet. I will be posting most of my photos and edits on this blog, but I will still be blogging for enjoyment. I am by no means a professional, and I hope to grow my current skills as much as possible while gaining many new ones. With that being said, please contact me if you would like to shoot!

I am so so thrilled to see what 2018 holds for me, my camera, and TBB!

An Auburn Life for Me

I've officially been an Auburn resident for four weeks, and I have loved every minute of it! I set off the fire alarm in the first four days of living here, and maintenance practically knows our names by now... but it's fine really! Tatum settled in well, and she loves having so many people to play with everyday. My house is a home, my roommates are my family, and I wouldn't have it any other way -- well, except maybe all of the stairs.

Starting college has been exciting! I can wear a baggy t-shirt and Nike shorts with no makeup, and no one asks whether or not I just rolled out of bed or not because I did... and so did everyone else. I have a good mixture of small and large classes, and I have made a few friends in each of them. My professors are all fairly interactive and sociable. I've survived assignments, assessments, quizzes, presentations, and the terrible ALEKS -- if you don't know what that is, consider yourself blessed. I've gotten lost in RBD (I know, such a freshman) and drenched in the rain because I forgot my umbrella. I've grown to love coffee already, and I eat Chick-Fil-A at least three times a week, alternating between an egg-and-cheese biscuit, fruit cup, and fries -- no chicken for me!

Sunday has become my favorite day of the week -- yes, even better than gameday -- because I get to go to Auburn Community Church, or "ACC." I can honestly say that I haven't been this excited about church in a long time! I joined one of their community groups, and my small group girls are the sweetest souls I have ever met!

Pssst! You should listen to ACC's podcasts. Here is a link to one of my all-time favorite messages: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/here-now-wrecked-by-grace/id980902555?i=1000374159889&mt=2

All in all, Auburn is a dream, and I wouldn't change my college decision for the world! Now, cheers to Halo Top ice cream, the Miss America pageant, and waiting out the hurricane with my little Auburn family!

To The Girl Who Lost Her Way

You were standing there, right beside Him. You felt as if every step you took was perfectly in line with where God wanted you to be. He truly was at the center of your life, and everyone could see it. But then, something happened.

Something infatuated you. Maybe it was a relationship, or maybe it was a sport. Whatever it might have been, it started out as the least of your priorities, but then it began to move. This thing began to mean more and more to you, and before you knew it, it was threatening your top priority - your relationship with Christ. So, you left. You might not have meant to, but you left God standing by your footprints as you walked away from Him, your own Father. And as you walked away, His heart broke.

With each step you took, He saw a drop of blood falling from the wrists of his only Son, and He wonders why you didn't think of His Son when you took that first step. He watched as his beloved daughter turned her back on Him. You regret it with everything inside of you. You wish that you could go back in time, change your decisions, and stay perfectly in line with Him. But, do you want to know something beautiful? He stayed.

He stayed right beside your footsteps, just waiting for you to come back. He never leaves us, never forsakes us. No matter how bad you think your sin is, He sees them all the same. He is still standing, waiting for the convict, the liar, the alcoholic, and you, His precious daughter. He will always be waiting for you.

"I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me..."
(John 10:28)

Love Yourself

Loving yourself has become such a big deal lately. Every time I get on twitter or Instagram I see the phrase "don't forget to love yourself" plastered across artsy pictures of mountains or in the caption under yet another selfie. 

But, here is the real question. How many of the people who post this everywhere truly love themselves? Do you truly love that pimple in between your eyebrows that just won't go away? Do you truly love your love handles? (PSA: if that extra skin wasn't there, your skin would rip every time you bent sideways, just saying) Do you truly love that brown splotch on the side of your arm? If you were to be completely honest with yourself, I would guess that deep down you really don't. Every girl experiences this same inevitable self-love struggle, but there is one truth that will completely change your thoughts if you let it.

God, the creator of the entire universe, does not make mistakes. 

God didn't mold your body and forget to smooth over that little bit of flesh beside your hip bones. He didn't accidentally drop his red pen in the middle of your eyebrows and decide not to use his white out. He didn't spill some coffee on your arm while he was working on someone else. He took his divine paintbrush and painted a masterpiece on the mold that he formed with his own two hands; and you, that masterpiece, are his pride and joy.

Just think about that for a second. The Creator of the universe, the one who formed the constellations and galaxies, takes pride in the flesh that you would starve yourself to get rid of. He wholeheartedly loves that spot in between your eyebrows that you consider an imperfection. He adores the birthmark that he hand painted on to you, his child. Every imperfection, every blemish, every curve that makes up your physicality is cherished by the Almighty God. 

The only way to truly love yourself is to treasure each and every detail that can be deemed an imperfection because you know that you were "fearfully and wonderfully made" (Psalm 139:14).