Hannah // Senior shoot

                    While in Miami, Florida I had the opportunity to take this gorgeous girls' pictures.
I must of seemed like a kid in the candy shop, giggling, Oooing and ahhing over the jungle/tropical landscape as I was posing her with any piece of nature I didn't have up north. :) I was overjoyed with her pictures and told her I might die from her gorgeousness while editing.;)
Hannah got a full scholarship to school with her music. She is a amazing pianist and a beautiful person from the inside out!! :)
 But no more delaying I reveal my favorite senior session ever!

                                       Couldn't decide on my favorite edit, so here is both. :D

  Which is your favorite? I have a few, but agh, so hard to choose a favorite at least I have a top 5....I think.. :P

 

where the palm trees grow

                        I am not a big tropical exotic island type person,but a change of scenery and a mini adventure is just what the doctor ordered. :)  I started my travels (with my sister) to Orlando for a week at my grandmas, then Vero beach with my Grandma and last, but most definitely not least Miami. Miami I went alone as my sister and grandma drove up to good ole Ohio. :)

             I loved meeting new people, making new friends and visiting my bestest/longest penal ever!
                    God has truly blessed me and I am so grateful for the gift of life and friendship.

My grandma and I.:)

                                                                my beautiful sister and I

 

                                                   there was seaweed EVERY WHERE!

            I was gone for almost 3 weeks, but by the end of the first week I was getting to lazy for my own good. I came home to a lot better weather then what I had left it 3 weeks before and the trees had leaves. Amazing what nature does in a short amount of time. As I'm thrown back into the whirlwind of my life which is consisting of shooting wedding almost every weekend, work and the everyday things I'm planning on posting more and more, but I would love to hear your comments on things that you might like to see me posting.:)

Family Singing Ministry part 2/ Ruth Wissmann

Hey everyone!!! I'm finally back from Florida. Its great to be home. This second interview is from the wissmann family again, but still a good read in my opinion. Loved hearing her thoughts and answers to my questions as well. Enjoy!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


                                   Hello!
            My name is Ruth Wissmann.

   I  am the second-born of 13 children -
                              and love my place in the family! 
What are some of your hobbies?
Some of my hobbies include reading/researching, writing in my journal, gardening with siblings, tackling big projects with my wonderful family, cooking, baking and experimenting in the kitchen! 

What is your role(s) in your families ministry.

In the past I have enjoyed the main role as "cook" for the whole family. More recently, with younger siblings amazing new skills in the kitchen, I enjoy helping with the "loose ends" or any details that need covered. 

What do you find the most helpful and encouraging things churches and the families can do when your visiting for a concert other then prayer? (Kind of a tough question if your not sure you don't have to answer it.)

Many people are so gracious to provide a meal before or after a concert. This has been so helpful to our family over the years. And when they go to the extra effort to find out what menu we enjoy... it is all the more special! We are so grateful for the many people who have been willing to serve our family in this way over the past many years! 

How many instruments do you carry with you on the road?

We presently carry 12 instruments with us!  2 guitars, 2 banjos, mandolin, dobro, bass fiddle, cello, harmonica, hammered dulcimer, 2 violins.

How do you get to enjoy home cooked meals and a good balanced diet while living out of a bus?
 We have a small kitchen in our motor-home with a full sized fridge. This has enabled us to control much of our diet while on the road and has been an incredibly huge blessing! We have learned to be creative with crockpot meals, skillet meals and cold meals. It is possible to have a lot of variety and very balanced diet while traveling! 

Do you have friends along your routes that you visit while on the road or are you always meeting new people all the time?
 Our trips are usually about half and half... new places and old friends to visit. The mixture has been a great blessing to balanced relationships over the years! 

What's the biggest challenge when on the road consistently?
The biggest challenge for us has been to make sure and maintain individual devotions. Without abiding in Christ we know that all our efforts and travel and "good" activities will do no good... it is only Jesus Christ who can bring eternal fruit out of a concert or activity. (John 15) This daily private time with the Lord is hard to get when 12 people are living in a 45 ft bus with constant activity, new people, new places, etc.  

What do you enjoy the most about being on the road/doing concerts in different states?
I enjoy meeting God's people from all over and hearing their stories! It has given me a bigger picture of who God is! He is at work in so very many different places and doing amazing things in the lives of so many different people! And that is the God that I serve!

Do you have any short stories/adventures that happened while out on the road that you'll never forget?

Lots of them!! So many stories of God's faithfulness and goodness! Check out our blog: www.WissmannFamily.com

How many hours do you practice alone and how many with your family?
Most of us try to practice about an hour every day alone... and usually family practice is very sporadic depending on the work schedule. But we like to get a several hours in each week. 

What's one of your favorite place you've visited?
I don't know if I have a favorite. So many places we've visited are special for a variety of reasons! Some places are special because of the people. Some places are special because of the miracles God did. Some places are special because of the beauty of creation! 

What's you favorite verses or book in the bible?
Psalm 37:4 "Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart." This is a promise, but looking closely - it, like many of the promises in the BIble, has a condition that must be met before the promise will ring true in our life.  It could read... "IF you delight yourself in the Lord... He will give you the desires of your heart." It is a constant challenge to find my delight in Him... but when I walk with Him, delighting in Him -- I have found the promise true over and over again! 

Do your siblings ever got on your nerves being coped together?
I have always heard that people or things will only annoy you if you let them. So annoyances are really just a signal that I need to "consider others better than myself", and "look out not only for your own interests, but also for the interests of others!" 

Do you think you be as close to your siblings if you didn't travel some of the year?
Living, working, praying, struggling and serving together has an incredible benefit of deepening relationships. We were very close as a family before ever traveling, but the years we traveled have definitely deepen our relationships! 

How many months out of the year do you travel?

In years past we traveled about 9-10 months out of the year. Presently that has been cut back to about 4 months out of the year. 

What are your views on dressing modestly?

This is a very big topic to cover in a short couple paragraphs! :) Biblically, dressing modestly is very important. (1 Tim 2:9) It is not a suggestion, but a command for us women. The Levitical priests were given a description & purpose of clothing... to "cover nakedness" and for "glory & beauty". (Ex 28:2, Ex 28:40, Ex 28:42, Ex 20:26) Uncovering certain parts of the body are always referred to as a negative: shameful or for judgement. (Nahum 3:5, Deut 28:48, Rev 3:18)

Do have any advice on girls who are striving to dress modestly,but having a rough dressing for that when it doesn't seem attractive to the world?

To start with, it comes back to who we are looking to for approval. Are we wanting to be attractive to the world?! Or pleasing to our Savior?! It really is a heart issue. Who are we going to choose to please?! 

Secondly, I like to focus on dressing for "glory & beauty". That is, my Savior's glory - reflecting His beauty! Which is very different from dressing to "attract". We do not need to wear drab, shapeless clothing in order to be modest! There are so many wonderful options out there to layer clothing or accent in a feminine way. I have enjoyed this comment when it comes to thinking about modesty...  "modesty isn't about covering up what's bad, but about revealing dignity." 

Dignity is defined as "true honor, nobleness, high sense of propriety, abhorrence of mean or sinful actions." I have enjoyed the situations over the years of striving to dress with dignity, glory & beauty the blessing of seeing others change their actions & words in my presence... and in the end thank me for dressing as I did! 

I love to get the opinion of my father or brothers. They are often willing to give an honest recommendation. Especially if you make the changes suggested without questioning or offering excuses! Get an older, trusted, godly person's opinion if you question an outfits "glory" or "beauty". 

Here is a great link for more on this topic! 

Style & Modesty

 

 

 

Thank you to both Ruth and Hannah Wissmann for doing this interview with me. I have a another interview in the works from a different family band,so stay tuned for that.

check out their store and maybe buy a cd or two. They are a talented family!!

Gone to relaxation

     Hello everyone, I'm posting from the beautiful long state of Florida!!!!
         A little of vacation,visiting my grandma and a very good friend!:)
I'm still Lord willing going to posting my 2nd interview ASAP,but I wasn't able to bring along my laptop,so it's going to be a little more challenging.  As it is I have a shoot when I get back,plus to share my flordia pictures(which might be a ridiculous amount) and I'm shooting my very first wedding by myself june14th and I started a wedding photography internship,so I will be shooting my first wedding with that at the end of May. So busy busy busy and lost of editing and posting. Probably editing and posting will fill the days I don't work!:)