As some of you may know, my dad got re-married this weekend to a wonderful woman named Sharon.  My mother is still alive and well, but my parents are divorced.  So, not only do I have a wonderfully fabulous mother, and a great mother-in-law, but now I have a dear step-mother too.  And along with that I have acquired two new siblings (as if my original ones weren’t enough to handle!!  j/k Matt & Maggie!) – Becca & Drew.  While I only got two new siblings, they got three new siblings, a step-dad, one nephew, and five nieces!  Good luck with that you two!

When Dad told me he was getting married, I quickly checked my calendar to make sure I wasn’t already shooting a wedding.  And once that was set, he asked if I could be in the wedding AND photograph it.  Um, no Dad.  That’s kind of impossible since I don’t do fancy dresses & my weird photography poses all at once.  I told him I didn’t mind either way – I would be happy to either wear a dress or wear my camera.  It worked out numbers-wise for me to photograph the wedding & save them some dough so they could take their 2 week Alaskan cruise.  (You didn’t think I’d charge my own father did you?)

Here are some of my favorite photos of the day.  And, this day was all made possible by the following vendors and wonderful people:

Hair: Beverly Miller at Headrush Hair Designs, LLC in Lancaster PA

Make up: Beth Kubinec of Mary Kay

Pastor David Allen of Calvary Church in Lancaster, PA

Jessie & Katie – the wonderful college girls who babysat all the Smith/Sroka grandchildren and got them up and down the aisle

My husband, Josh, who made the wedding reception slideshow & music possible with his laptop & iPad

And all Dad & Sharon’s kids who stood up with them on their special day.

Now on to the photos!

And now for March 9th….

We had just landed in Asossa, a place, when mentioned on our plane ride over from America, native Ethiopians asked, “Why would you want to go there?  It’s hot!”  I wasn’t allowed to take any photographs of this airplane.  But for you airplane enthusiasts it was a Fokker 50 – aka REALLY STINKIN’ SMALL!  Normally I would snap a few photos & apologize later, but the large guns that the “airport” guards were carrying deterred my ambitions.  And I call it an “airport” in quotations because it was just recently paved…as in the runway was just recently paved.  I sure am a lucky girl to come the year that the runway was paved!

So after a whirlwind at the “airport” in Asossa, the loss of half our team’s bags, hugs & hellos between all the team members who went last year and the friends they had missed from Asossa, we loaded into three vans and rode off to our Bamboo Paradaise!  (Yes, I know I’m spelling this wrong, but wait til you see the hotel sign)

Here is another new friend, Sharon, enjoying some relaxation under the mango trees at the Bamboo.  This is where we typically sat to get our “coca” or Coke.  And they have REAL Coke in Ethiopia…the kind that comes in a glass bottle and has to be opened with a bottle opener, or your teeth if you’re really tough.

Here’s a renewed friendship that I was talking about!  This is Kristin & Mary.  Kristin is a Colorado girl with the Touching Africa team and in this photo she’s reuniting with Mary, the daughter of one of our contacts in Asossa.  It was so sweet to witness everyone reconnecting with friends they’d made last year!

This is the view directly outside of my hotel room.  Those trenches are for the rainy season, so things don’t get flooded.  They are precisely why flashlights are recommended at night!

Here we are trying to finish the longest recorded game in Phase 10 history!  It seriously isn’t over yet.  Mainly because all of the participants are now in Texas, California, and Maryland.  Maybe we can finish it in 2011?  What do y’all say?

Here is our hotel guard.  And I completely forgot to ask him his name, but he was there faithfully every day, all day, guarding us and our belongings.  At first, I have to admit,  I thought he was a little harsh with the children on the street who kept coming to the gate to see us.  But after I saw how they reacted when given things, I knew he was wise in handling them.  It’s very difficult to explain unless you see it for yourself.  There are a lot of homeless children begging on the street.  And when they see us, Americans, they come around in droves to see if we will give them something.  However, if you don’t have something to give to each and every one of them, and then to give to all the others that get wind of what’s going on and later show up, you will cause a mini riot.  Imaging having nothing.  Imagine having to beg & scrounge for all that you do have.  Imagine not knowing where your next meal is coming, or even when it is coming.  Imagine, then, your reaction at being given something by someone whose language you don’t understand.  Would you take it nicely and gently and wait in line to possibly be given something?  NO!  You’d fight for it, and probably fight for two of the things, just to know you’d be eating two meals or could get a meal for yourself and your friend.  It’s a tough life.  And these children are precisely the ones that John & Jana & Solomon are trying to get land and resources for.

Okay…enough on that rant…

On to our lovely hotel sign….

And this is how we ended the night…sorting more pills!

You’ve kind of already seen today’s 365 post if you’ve read the blog post just prior to this one.  It was about my dad’s engagement photo shoot I did this morning with his fiance, Sharon.  They asked me if I’d be able to get a photo for their Save The Date card done before I left for Ethiopia (on FRIDAY!!!!) and I said sure! We walked in the somewhat blustery sunshine of Downtown Annapolis to grab some stellar shots.

Now, my dad seems to think he might need to “improve his looks” a little bit, but I know better.  And not just because he’s my dad.  I have realized over my time of shooting couples either on their engagements, or weddings, or just because, that they always look wonderful.  Wanna know my secret?  It’s L-O-V-E!  It’s that simple, and I guess it’s not really MY secret.  So, if you want to look great in your photos, if you want to look phenomenal, have them done with someone you LOVE!  It works every single time…no lie!  I always tell my clients that I don’t photograph ugly people – it’s a rule.  And I follow it strictly.  I strive to make every person look & feel as wonderful as I see them from behind my lens.  And I happen to think it works.  It’s all about being with someone you love.  So, pick someone – your spouse, your boyfriend, your girlfriend, your kids, your dog, your grandmother – whomever.  I guarantee you’ll look awesome if you’re with someone you love.  Look at my dad!

Well, it’s official people.  My dad is engaged!  You heard that right, MY DAD IS ENGAGED!  Aren’t you as excited as I am?  After about a year of dating Sharon, driving back and forth to Pennsylvania, they’ve decided to declare their love for one another & get hitched!  They’ll be getting married this May.  So you’ll be seeing me in a dress at some point, but not now!

I took Dad & Sharon to one of my favorite shooting places – downtown Annapolis.  It’s pretty much one of the only places that you can walk freely without being engulfed in the large snow banks that are still covering our state!  And it’s so colorful & so rich in character.  I just love it!  Here are the rest of my favorites….

I decided to take some of Rob & Sharon’s recent maternity photos and create a mini 5×5 album design.  Hopefully I’ll have something concrete to show you sometime today.  In the meantime, here is their album, set to the lovely music of “Beautiful Day” on the ablum Rockabye Baby!  Lullaby Renditions of U2.

Maternity Album from joshsroka on Vimeo.