England Part 1...

England!!! Yes....I was very privileged to visit that beautiful country at the beginning of May! I went with my sister to Birmingham, England for a week's stay. (My sister goes to MaryValle Institute there in Birmingham as a long distance student...and just needed to be there for a weekend for a conference at this time) It was a wonderful trip to England--my first time out of the country (unless driving into Canada side of Niagara Falls counts!). It was a long , very tiring trip to England...but we made it safely! Praise the Lord!

We stayed at MaryValle most of the time, but on our last day there we were able to travel around a bit to Disley. Most people in England don't know where this town is because is so small...but to us Stephens' girls it is a town that we all love.....because.... In the small town of Disley is a beautiful house with beautiful gardens. This house is most commonly known to most people as "Pemberly" as seen in Pride and Prejudice 1995. (The real name of the house is Lyme Hall.) It was an amazing and very peaceful experience walking in the beautiful gardens at "Pemberly"! Yes...I felt like Miss Lizzy Bennett! ;-)

People who know that I went on this trip ask if I took pictures. I laugh and say...well actually I took 600 pictures! :-o Yes, I know that is quite a lot. However this country is so beautiful and unique that I just had to try and capture this beautiful land!

I know this blog post is different from most, but I hope that you enjoy it!

I am going to share with you some of the photos that I took! :) These were taken at Maryvalle Institute in Birmingham, England. I am going to be posting more later, so stay tuned! ;-)


Enjoy!

This is the Sacred Heart Chapel in Maryvalle. This is the first Chapel dedicated to the Sacred heart in England.  This was  a very special experience for me as I have a deep devotion to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus! <3

Along the path at Maryvalle

Lamp post in England....made me think of Narnia of course!

The gate to the entrance

Statue of the Sacred Heart at Maryvalle

The Way of the Cross

Sacred Heart of Jesus....the most beautiful statue!! 

The Keys that were in the room that we stayed in at Maryvalle. The still use keys like this, which was really cool! 

The door handle/key hole to our bedroom door

This tree was growing on the house of Maryvalle

Shrine to our Lady

For some reason I thought this garage was really cool! 

Staircase at Maryvalle

There is a community of Religious Sisters at Maryvalle...and this is their convent

A candle in the chaple

The most beautiful clock! 

My sister and I really thought it clock was to beautiful !

Even their windows are beautiful!

In the Library...have to honor St. Thomas! 

On This Memorial day...

Happy Memorial day! May God bless all of our soldiers who have fought for our Freedom! God bless the USA!! On this day I got together with my grandma, aunts, uncle and cousins for a time of prayer, fun and relaxation! 

I was asked to take the senior portraits of my cousin! It was a beautiful day and we were able to get some good portraits! Thanks for asking me! :)

Here is a preview of today's photo shoot! Enjoy!

These Photos are copyrighted. Please do not download or use without permission!

Horsing around!

This weather has been so perfect these past few days...warm during the day and cool in the evenings!  This evening I had a photo shoot with a highschool senior and her horse! It was so much fun walking out in the pastures. Then of course there was all that wonderful grass...and you know how horses love grass!! The second portrait (below) is of the horse grazing! I love this pose...very creative H! I have learned so much about photography through these photo sessions...thank you to H for all your creativity, it has been great working with you! Thank you to H's younger sister who tagged along to help out...you were great! :-)

I wish you, H, all the best in your future as you follow the path that God has for you! 

Here are some portraits from tonight! Enjoy!

These Photos are copyrighted. Please do not download or use without permission!

Studio Photo Shoot!

This afternoon was so much fun! I had a wonderful studio photo shoot with a wonderful high school senior. This was my first official studio photo session. I have done a few with my family, but not officially. Even though we were taking these portraits in our garage we were able to capture the natural light, which I was so excited about.  I am really happy with the outcome! I hope that you like them too, A!  It has been such a joy working with you, A! I wish you all the best as you travel along new paths of life!

Here is a sneak peek of the portraits from this afternoon! Enjoy!

(click on the pic to enlarge)

These Photos are copyrighted. Please do not download or use without permission!