I don’t know the word for a contest with no prize, but I need your help.  Now’s the time if you’re a regular blog reader (even if you’re just a stalker – aka the readers who don’t comment) to help me.  My friend Stacy took the following photos for me today for a support letter that I need to write to raise money for my trip to Ethiopia (in March!!!!).  I can’t decide which one to use.  You vote & I PROMISE I’ll use the one with the most votes.  Simple as that.  Leave a comment & all you need to do is say #1 or #2.  And go give Stacy some love & tell her thank you for me for doing this on such short notice (and for letting my kids play Wii while she did it).

#1

#2

Thanks friends!  And let’s say voting ends…um…Sunday.

I don’t know about you, but for me, as a girl in high school, I definitely did NOT feel beautiful.  I struggled with wearing the right clothes, doing my make-up the correct way, staying thin (I still struggle here), and being friends with popular people.  What I’ve come to discover in my almost 29 years is that in the end, none of these things matter – they are like chasing after the wind…it cannot be caught.  Your clothes will go out of style, your physical beauty will fade, & the friends you crave just because they are popular are probably not your true friends at all.

What does last…and I know this sounds cliche…is inner beauty.  And that’s one of the reasons why I LOVE photographing people, & especially seniors.  It gives me the opportunity to find true, lasting beauty in every person I am blessed to capture, and to in turn, show them that beauty from my point of view.  I ADORE when clients…no, friends, tell me they feel their true personality was conveyed in the images I was able to give them.  It makes my day!  I love letting you see you how I see you!

These two senior girls below are nothing short of beautiful both inside & out!  Carly & Lauren are BFF’s (yeah, I did just use lingo that is way cooler than me) & were such a thrill to work with.  We met this past Sunday at Carroll Creek Promenade in Downtown Frederick to take their senior pictures.  It was a gorgeous day with some gorgeous girls & TONS of outfits & shoes!  There’s not much more I can say about these two that you can’t just see through their session.  They rocked!  And if you’re dying to see more, I’m doing something a little different and putting their entire sessions on photo albums on my Facebook Fan page.  So pop on over and see the absolute beauty I saw in them.  Here’s Carly & Lauren….

(My friends are gonna hate me for posting these photos, but who cares!)

So, what’s with the title of this post?  I didn’t even fully know what Lent was until this past Sunday at church!  I know, I’m 28 years old and still didn’t know!  Anyways, the above statement, “Give it up for Lent,” is something I remember my good friend Gina saying quite often during the lenten season.  Gina was one of the many wonderful friends I was so blessed to be able to hang out with during high school.  We were thick as thieves, always at one another’s houses.  I distinctly remember, and I hope correctly, that when one of us would wish for something, or complain we didn’t have something, Gina would so kindly say, “Ah, give it up for lent!”  All I knew was that Lent was when my other friends would not have chocolate or coffee or something they usually ate for 40 days.

However, this past Sunday, my pastor, Keith Peck, explained Lent in such a way that made its meaning and purpose very clear to me.  He explained Lent as giving up something we rely on, something that makes our heart happy, something that we focus on more than Christ.  And in giving up that thing, we are better able to realize our need for Christ.  Here’s the kicker:  His challenge was to give up gossip for lent!  When you think about it, it sounds pretty easy.  However, when you put it the way Keith did, it’s gonna be tough!  He said, “I challenge you to fast from speaking about another person who is not in your presence with a negative intent, no matter if it is true or not. To only speak of people who are not in your presence in a positive light.”  Ouch!  That hurts because I know I am very guilty of talking about others in my nice sounding way, but with my ill meaning intentions hidden beneath the surface.  I am going to try to take on this challenge.  It’ll be my first observation of Lent.  I’ll let you know how it goes.  (Pray.)

I have to end with one more funny old photo of me and my friends.  Here we all are at the prom.

Consequently, Bryan, the dude in the middle, married Hannah, the girl to your left.  And in case you couldn’t tell, I’m the girl on your far left, in the dark blue dress.

Who doesn’t like a party?  I’m really excited to have my first ever “Bare Bellies Party” this Sunday with my sis-in-law Laura and her good friend Sharon.  They are both currently growing precious little children in their bellies, so I talked them into letting me give them a little photo party to remember this special time.  We’ll start at Sharon’s house, then move to Laura’s (so we can capture both of their nurseries), and hopefully pop in some husband’s and siblings too!  I’ll let you know how it goes after Sunday.  And, if you are expecting a little bun, and want to have a party too, let me know!  I can give you your own session, or make it a fun girls thing with your other prego friends!

Oh, and by the way, that gal in the photo up top is my little sis, Maggie.  She has since given birth, but doesn’t her perfect, non-stretched-marked belly make you a little….sick???  It does to me!  She had such a beautiful pregnant belly, and I am just plain jealous!  Consequently, her little one is pretty darn cute too!

Okay, so if you know me, I have a morning ritual of looking a some favorite blogs:  Heather, Stacy, Bev, Pioneer Woman, Jasmine Star, Jessica Claire, How About Orange, Thimbly Things, & Want What You Have.  These are blogs that belong to friends, people I admire, or just strangers who I like to read about.  Well, as I was reading Jasmine Star’s blog, I noticed she was giving a FREE video chat on PhotographyMentor.com and basically having a Q&A with her readers.  I hoped on (after much time & difficulty) and sat there in awe!  Here she was, in person (sort of), Jasmine Star, photographer extrodinaire, on my home computer, kinda, sorta talking to ME (and the other 300+ people watching).  I got up the guts to ask a little question, and she answered it!  It’s not much, nothing to speak of, but I felt very special having someone so talented at what she does take the time out of her schedule to talk to us blog readers and answer our many questions.  So, thanks Jasmine.  I really enjoyed listening to you share.  Here’s my little clip, with my name, in case you wanted to see!  Hopefully I’m not breaking any copyright laws!  Ask forgiveness, not permission, right? [vimeo http://vimeo.com/3122528]

She said my name! from joshsroka on Vimeo.

And speaking of videos, I thought you might enjoy this one of my littlest girl trying to put her shoes on. Be sure and watch the whole thing because the expressions at the end are worth it!