second breath photography

SITE HAS MOVED

meredith ward — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 20:27:46 +0000

THIS BLOG HAS MOVED TO A NEW HOME…PLEASE GO THERE NOW INSTEAD.

THANKS!

8 days

meredith ward — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 19:52:02 +0000

really?.. 8 days until Christmas? Time is flying…I did hear on the news that this year there were five less days between Christmas and Thanksgiving, so i guess that’s why it’s sneaking up on everyone.

Jack and I are leaving Sat. night to go to Charleston for a whole week! It’s going to be sooo nice to rest and do Christmas things without rushing around. I am almost finished with the gifts I made for everyone. I’m pretty pleased with them. I’m starting to take after my mother though by thinking I didn’t get someone enough. I have to remember it’s not about the gifts. I would love to be able to afford to give everyone a trip somewhere or tickets to an event b/c I think things like that are more valuable than material things. Experiences last a lifetime…maybe one day I can do that for everyone, but until then, it’s homemade items:)

I have to congratulate my husband for passing the Praxis. He is now a certified teacher:) I am so proud of him and he is so relieved!

*This is for Hannahgray.net: Matthew 6: 25-34. LOVE these verses b/c I’ve been known to worry a lot. Praying for you and hoping Santa brings you that Macbook..more specifically the new MacBookPro..mmm LOVE IT!:)

Homegroups are good. Jack and I found one close to us and were able to go for our first time last week. It was fun getting to meet new people. 3 of the 5 couples that were there were pregnant…i will NOT let that get to me!:) I’m glad we were able to find one. I think we really need other married couples around us who love Jesus and can provide wisdom, community, and accountability.

Benson, our dog is getting big:(. He’s almost 25lbs. I ashamedly struggle to pick him up sometimes. I need to start working out more again.

I used to want to be an architect when I was little. I drew house plans like my life depended on it. I slowly stopped, but not completely. Every now and then I get the urge to draw them. I have started drawing them today.

I decided to attend grad. school again yesterday, and then decided not to by the end of the day. I was going to go back last January to be a guidance counselor. On the day classes started I decided It wasn’t the best decision b/c i wasn’t 100% sure I wanted to do that. I got a job, started working, got married, never regretted not going back. Yesterday I found a program called Youth Leadership Development that interested me b/c i love working with students and miss it incredibly and wouldn’t mind doing something involving youth for a living, so this degree made sense. But taking out a SERIOUSLY high amount loan for something I may or may not use didn’t make a lot of sense. So, I’m not going to grad. school. Clemson is very expensive..I had no idea. Thank you Daddy for providing and allowing me to be debt free right out of college. Talk about a huge blessing.

Things you must do/watch/eat soon:

-Publix brand Garden Jack Cheese…MAN! so good!

-Love Actually. I love this movie..wish there was an edited version.

-Peppermint mocha from Starbucks…one time a year it’s ok to spend an arm and leg on coffee.

-Celebrate Jesus’ birthday.

-Watch Beyonce’s Single Ladies video…The Dancing kills me! for some reason i love it!

-READ Nicholas sparks books…I AM HOOKED.

I have no pictures to post to go with all the randomness above (sorry about that). I’ll leave you with a house I came across and liked…look at that porch.. heaven!

3 in 1

meredith ward — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 18:46:59 +0000

3 posts in 1… Must be done this way during the Holiday season! I’m spending allll next week making Christmas presents. I’ll post some of the gifts if they turn out:).

Last weekend was a blur. It went by incredibly fast and I felt like I was going non-stop. Saturday morning I headed over to my Friend ‘B’s house and got some family pictures as soon as her little girl woke up (B says she’s in the best mood at that time of day). I can’t believe how much she’s grown each time I see her. She’s still not sitting up for long on her own, but she’s getting there. Her are a few of my favorites…

Right after shooting B’s family I headed over to Greenville to take pictures of volunteers working for Hands on the Holidays for an organization in Greenville called Hands on Greenville. This organization basically helps people who want to volunteer find an organization to plug in to. They do great things. Like collect tons of toys for kids who need them…

Saturday night Jack and I had a little Christmas get-together with some friends. I ate way too many sweets! I love seeing my friends! They’re a blessing. I set up a little photo booth b/c i’ve seen some online done at office parties and weddings now-a-days…Looked like fun, so I thought i would try it…

Sunday was an adventurous day. Jack and I left around 12:30 to go cut down a tree at a tree farm in Cashiers, NC. The drive there was estimated to only take about and hour and 15 minutes at the most, so we took our puppy along for ride. Our hour and 15 minute drive to the farm turned into a 3 hour one! We got lost not once, but twice… There were many times where I just wanted to say forget it and drive home, stopping by somewhere to just buy a tree. But we kept going and eventually found the place. It was a lot of fun. The weather was perfect-very cold. We got hot chocolate and they took our picture after we cut our tree to hang on their walls for you to look at next year when you come back. The trees looked so small when we were out on the farm, but once inside a house, they’re surprisingly big! Fun memories made and our first holiday tradition!

Happy Thursday!

Love,

Meredith

It’s Christmas time!

meredith ward — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 00:29:05 +0000

I am finally starting to get into the Christmas spirit. I’m a huge stickler when it comes to celebrating Thanksgiving BEFORE Christmas by not listening to Christmas music, decorating, etc. until Thanksgiving is over. This may be because every few years my birthday falls on Thanksgiving, but still, its own time for celebrating.

I was able to tag along with the Snipes family to cut down their own Christmas tree. I’ve never cut down my own tree-always bought one and then my family eventually went fake. It was pretty fun and I’m excited that Jack and I are going to start a tradion this year by cutting our own down as well.

My blogging may become slack during December. I am trying to make Christmas presents and it’s a little more time consuming than I thought, and I just started so I may eventually become frustrated and buy giftcards (or cash, it’s better for the economy , right?).

I leave you with a few pictures…

Snow Way!

meredith ward — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 20:59:27 +0000

I just saw snow falling while walking downtown. It made me smile:). Maybe we’ll have a big snow this year??

i’m in love

meredith ward — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 21:34:25 +0000

I am now the mother of a beautiful lab pup. I am head over hills in love with this dog already. He has my heart:) My awesome husband, Jack surprised me with him Saturday for my birthday which was Sunday..the BIG 24! I spent the rest of the weekend playing with him and cleaning up his messes:( I must say I am not proud of the fact that i teared up when i had to leave him Monday morning for work. I’m a sucker. We named him Benson after Jack’s grandfather who passed away this summer. It’s not exactly the same as naming your baby after a relative, but It just seemed to fit and the name meant a lot to us.

Here’s a pic from Jack’s birthday a couple of weeks ago. Instead of a cake I got him his favorite cookies from the Chocolate Shoppe. Chipwiches! They’re arranged in the shape of a J:) Pray that i will get to celebrate many more birthdays with this incredible man who i love more and more each day!

Suzanne + Charlie are engaged!

meredith ward — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 17:50:06 +0000

Suzanne and Charlie have one of those engagement stories that you love hearing. They met their freshman year at USC (not a fan:). They let their friendship develop into a relationship. Two weeks after they began dating, they were walking through the park, and Charlie got down on one knee and asked her to marry him..jokingly ofcourse because they had just begun dating! Charlie was a smart man for not forgetting this moment. Four years later, they went for a walk at the same park, Charlie got down on one knee and asked Suzanne to marry him for real!! Such a sweet story..I don’t do it justice by telling it.

Charlie and Suzanne traveled up to Greenville from Columbia on a perfect Saturday (thanks for driving up!) They worked the camera..knew what they wanted…and I had so much fun with them! Charlie is also doing photography. You should check out his work at CharlesDavenportPhotography.com.

Here are a few of my favorites. I must apologize for some of the pictures in the slideshow being fuzzy..i let the uploader do it’s thing…and it’s not a good thing:).

*Charlie used to work at the USC newspaper…that’s where the news/newspaper pictures come into play. I like to incorporate hobbies, interests, etc. into sessions.

I loved these purple flowers but we couldn’t figure out how to incorporate them in the shot,..thought it wouldn’t turn out, but it’s actually one of my favorites.

I love their silhouette on this one and the expression on her face that you can barely make out.

*I was just having some fun with this one…maybe good idea for a save the date, ofcourse with better design..

" target="_blank">SLIDESHOW HERE

it’s sooooo cold

meredith ward — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 16:05:30 +0000

i hate cold weather. I hate how it makes me not want to do anything but lie in bed. I usually look forward to this season because for some strange reason I usually lose a couple of pounds. I’m guessing it’s from not eating as much ice cream as i do in the summer. It’s not looking too good so far for those extra pounds to come off this year. I’m now at work during the warmth of the day, when in the past I was able to go out for a run during the day with no hesitation of how cold it was going to be. I’ll just have to try harder and PRAY for motivation and resistance to this cold stuff! Speaking of cold stuff, me and some friends booked our flight to New York last night!! I’m so excited. I’ve never been there before. I’m really bummed though that MTV’s TRL was canceled b/c i was really looking forward to going . Anyways, any suggestions for a good show to see? Heard the Lion King was amazing..

Below is a peek at an engagement shoot with Suzanne and Charlie. More to come hopefully by the end of the week!

looking back now

meredith ward — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 17:46:48 +0000

It’s homecoming this weekend at Clemson. Two years ago, this weekend would be filled with excitement and things to do. It would mean helping out with the FCA float, voting for a homecoming queen I’d never met, and taking pictures in front of all the floats before the game and being jealous of all the floats that were better than ours. Since graduating, homecoming has come to be a sad time. A time where I’m reminded of how fast time is going by, how many friends I’ve lost touch with, and how much more responsibility I have (boo-hoo, right?) It’s also become a time of thankfulness. Thankfulness for the time I had at Clemson and for the quality education I received while I was there. At the time, I didn’t appreciate the long hours in labs required for my Graphic Comm major or the fact that we had to be able to print our designs by our self on a huge Heidelberg printing press. I mean what is there to learn by doing that? I knew I wasn’t going to run a printing press when I graduated. I had a bad attitude when it came to my major by the time I was a senior. I knew I was NOT going to use my major. I was so ready to split and never wanted to hear the word ‘printing’, ‘imposing’, ‘exposing’, ‘printing plates’, ‘pre-flighting’ ‘RESEARCH’, etc. etc. My major was demanding, required long hours, literally required roll-your-shirt-sleeves-up-hard-work. I was frustrated that I hadn’t chosen a different major, one that required less time. I was naive. I have come to find things I learned in my major show up daily. They prepared me for the long hours and demanding work that come AFTER college. Whether it be in a job, caring for your family and keeping up the home, or whatever you do. Hard work goes a long way. Colossians 3:23 says “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.” I didn’t take advantage of opportunities that were presented to me. I didn’t reach my full potential while in school. I studied, I made good grades, but I was prideful and lazy. And i’m sorry for it. But I am thankful for what I did learn and the challenges I was put through. They’ve made me who I am today, and go figure, they taught me everything technical I know about photography and taught me some web knowledge which I use in my 9-5 job, so I guess I am using my major. So here’s a shout out to the GC faculty at Clemson University. Thanks for making the program at Clemson one to want to come home to and be proud of.

Here’s a recent article of what they’re doing.

Go Tigers!!!

In case you weren’t able to make it…

meredith ward — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 18:53:54 +0000

W & S Wedding Slideshow