Two years ago this week, Randy and I decided that he would start shooting weddings with me as my official second shooter. It was such an easy decision to make, because being around each other just makes us happy. We are that couple who enjoys grocery shopping together, and running the kids to school together, and just driving around together. The key word there? Together. We truly enjoy each other’s company, and being best friends.

Randy’s always shown interest in photography, from the time we bought our baby D40 when we lived in Japan. I taught Randy how to shoot in manual so he could get the shot he wants to get, and he over the last couple of years he has developed his own style and vision, and he’s become such a valuable commodity to our business. From the very first time he shot with me, I just saw this spark of life come into his soul, anytime we’re at a wedding or a shoot – Randy gets so in to what he’s doing. I remember at the first wedding we ever shot together (Cory + Cheryl at Crooked Willow Farms in Colorado), just seeing Randy really happy with what he was doing for the first time in years. He couldn’t stop talking about these great shots he got, how invigorated he felt, how he loved hanging with Cory and the groomsmen – and how much fun it was to be a wedding photographer.

Since then, Randy has shot every single wedding with me in addition to working full-time at what we jokingly referred to as his “day job.” And I’ll be honest – it’s hurt my heart a little bit to see him work so much. During our busy seasons, Randy would go months without a single day off, because he would have every weekend booked with me for weddings and then he’d go to his day job the rest of the week … It left very little time to really LIVE, to take time to BREATHE. He did it all without complaint, he always found time to be with the kids (even if it’s just snuggling on the couch to watch cartoons) and to be with me (even if it was snuggling in bed watching Burn Notice on Netflix).

Last week, we spent a few days on a much-needed family vacation up at Sequoia National Park. I haven’t had time to sit down and go through our photos from that adventure yet (stay tuned next week for those, though!). But, I can tell you … we took four days to fish (or at least attempt to fish), swim, roast marshmallows, feel small under the world’s largest tree, and breathe in all of God’s creations.

I cried when we left.

Tears of sadness because honestly, I miss the forest and the mountains so fiercely that it makes my entire body ache with grief … but tears of joy, because I knew we would be moving our own philosophical mountains when we returned home.

You see, Randy and I had some great life changing talks while we were there. Staring up at the stars at 4 in the morning while we walked the dogs, we talked about our dreams. We talked about how this was the summer that we knew we had to stop being so focused on the day-to-day and start looking at the full span of our lives. How life is too short to wake up each day, wishing for things to be different when we are fully capable of being the change we want to see. How the kids are growing up faster than we could have possibly imagined, and that we shouldn’t waste our precious time away from our babies unless it was for a damn good reason.

And yesterday … we put the shovel in the mountain to make our first move toward living the life we’ve been dreaming of…

Randy quit his day job.

I wish I had taken a picture of him before he left for work. I can honestly tell you I’ve seen that smile only a handful of times in our thirteen years together; namely, when our babies were born and when he came home from Afghanistan. It was the look of pure relief and joy, of anxious excitement. His smile reached all the corners of his face, and made his eyes get those little eye-crinkles that come from overwhelming happiness and gratitude.

This was NOT a snap decision. We talked about it, we prayed about it, we spoke with my parents about it … And if you know anything about me, you know I made a pro/con list. We did research, we met with school counselors and have spent time figuring out how we could realistically live our wildest dreams, while also providing for our family and not living in fear.

I felt like we were both flying.

Now, whether we fall or we soar, it’s up to us. We have a full fall wedding season ahead of us … but there’s a LOT of pressure now for 2016. Right now I feel a mix of exhilaration and terror, in the pit of my stomach I feel that squealy-feeling you get before we take off on an airplane or like we’re on a roller coaster. We are giving everything we’ve got into this business – this is it. This is the moment of sink or swim – and I’ve never felt so ALIVE in my life.

Here’s to soaring over the mountains, friends.

xoxo