Dear God,

Lord, I love you. I love you with all of my heart and soul. I am blessed for you to be my Father, and for giving me life into the family I am beyond words blessed to have.

God, I have been on an emotional roller coaster. I have given you my troubles, and you have gladly carried them for me. I have pounded my fists in anger, cried in mourning, sang with joy at the triumphs and even through the sorrows. I have been given strength from you that not a person could touch. You have shown me grace in the difficult times and given me mercy when I feel pressure to perform when my mind and body is physically exhausted. You, and only YOU, are who I know will always be there when I need a hand to push me forward, a guide to steer me in the correct direction, and the motivation to go on when I feel like a part of me has died. God, YOU, and YOU ALONE are the only one who could take my pain and bear it for me.

God, I know what you felt when you sacrificed your son, as I am sacrificing my father to disease I hate. I have never been angry with you, and even though you allow me the freedom to be angry with you, how could I be? 29 years of a father who has gone over above and beyond to care for me, love me, and stand by me when at times all I did was push him away. My parents have been my constant all of my life. At times, I wonder how lucky am I to have them as parents. Especially my father. My dad has taught me so much, as well as my mom. They are an inseperable team. They are like Peanut Butter and Jelly. I think that is the hardest part for me other than watching my girls see my dad sick, is watching my mom put to reality "In sickness and health". God, YOU HAVE BLESSED ME! You have truly blessed me.

Lord, tomorrow when we go see Ryan's doctor on the 6th anniversary of his final fight, please allow July 14th to become a miracle day. Please do not allow my little family anymore pain on that day. Please make dad's life the one that turns July 14th into a day of celebration. Please give Dr. Bhiriay wisdom and precision to see between the lines and allow a miracle to happen for my dad. PLEASE.

The tears you have allowed to fall on my cheeks have been of sorrow for a time. Please allow these tears to be ones of joy tomorrow. God, I have never wanted anything more in my entire life than for my dad to experience his wife, his children and most importantly his grandchildren for a longer time on earth.

If this is not your will, I will accept it. I have learned that unanswered prayers are doors opening for a better plan in your timing. I am on board with your timing God. I will accept it, because I am not in control of your will. I am in total service to you, and will do what is asked of me. I trust you with my dad's life. I know you are holding him in your strong hands and that you will not let him suffer. You are a kind God, who loves his children. I love you as my heavenly father, my guidence, my heart.

I love you, Lord. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.

{Kelsi & Luke} | Indiana Engagement and Wedding Photography

I've known Kelsi for a long time. We have become great friends and I am so happy to be the someone she chose to do her wedding images :) PRESSURE! ;) Luke, you are pretty awesome, too. Sorry we beat the crap out of you on this shoot. And for the record, I thik Lyric has a crush. Just sayin.



Kelsi is also a very talented photographer and an even better friend.






How SEXY is this?! GAH!



I cannot wait to go to Chicago to shoot her bridal session. I don't know what I am looking forward to more, cracking up all the way to Chicago or actually taking the pictures ;)





I love ya, Kels! I'd call you honey, but you would probably slap me. But then I would just chase you with a sticker. ;D hahaha!!! In all seriousness, Congratulations, Kelsi & Luke! I hope your lives together are what fairytales are made of :)

{Michael- 3 years old} | Funky Children's Photography

Meet Michael. He just turned 3. He has enough sweetness to give you a toothache!



His mom, Kim, brought him to play with me at the park and we soaked up some Ohio sun. See, Michael is from Colorado and he was here to celebrate turning "The Big 3" with his family :)



I don't know who had more fun! I couldn't stop smiling, and he had me cracking up the whole time.





Thank you, Michael! I hope you and mom had as much fun as I did!!

who are you? Seniors 2012 {Funky Senior Photography}

This has been in the forefront of my thoughts for a long time- Who am I? When I recieved my images from Stephanie Schweller of every.day. photography, I caught a glimpse into how much our photos capture a personality. It's not that I didn't know that before, it's just that it was brought to the forefront when I looked at those images. Do I dress that way everyday? No, but I should! It's who I AM. It's what I see in my mind's eye of who Jamie Temple truly is. It has inspired me to make this next collection of Seniors shine.

This year's subject is:



I want to bring forth all styles, all personalities, all that makes YOU, YOU. I love when I get a bohemian girl or guy, but I also absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE when I can see a persons particular style shine through so much when someone KNOWS it's their OWN. The photog. cliche' saying, "Work it!", yeah, we mean it! We want every part of you to show through.

Without further ado, here is the images from the amazing and ecclectic group of dazzling seniors that represented me for this years Jamie Temple Senior Marketing Campaign.









Connor, with the gorgeous eyes :)


Renee, with the amazing smile :)


Alex, with the million-dollar personality, and crazy awesome hair ;)


Kristen, with legs a mile long and vintage beauty :)


And, best for last, Rebecca (or Becca, to me), the most gorgeous and beautiful girl and friend I have been blessed to know :') I'm going to miss you!!!




Um, HOT.


I love these...


So festie...


AND THEEEE PICTURE.. just for you boys!


Thank you guys and ladies for being such good sports about the mud :) You guys know how to "Work it". lol!! ANNNNNND SCENE. ;D

Facebook contest for 2012 Seniors

Have you scheduled your 2012 Senior portraits yet? Do you want a chance to win a free Ultimate session valued at $350?

Head on over to our facebook fan page and write YOUR name on the wall. Then ask your friends to first "like" our fanpage and then "like" your wall posting. The person with the most posted "likes" wins! Contest ends June 1st. Votes will only be eligible if they "like" your posting, not if they write your name on the wall and like it!

We will be doing our annual Senior marketing at Van Wert High School next Tuesday! I'll see you guys at lunch! :)

And I still have openings available for YOUR Senior portrait session! Get it booked soon to get the spot you prefer!

Senior Marketing Sneaky Peeky!

Here is a taste of what is coming to your high school from jamie temple photography! Thank you Becca, Renee, Connor, Alex, and Kristen :)

More.

It's been raining alot lately. Typical spring weather. Rainy days make me agitated, especially in spring. But when I think deeper, I think of how God is working this season thing out and how it runs a course. We should compare it to our lives.

No one is happy all of the time. I can accept that I will have bad days. I can accept that things will be roadblocks, because I know that there is sunshine soon to come after the rain. Even if the forecast says rain everyday, there's usually a sunny day in there somewhere. It's been hard to accept this concept lately.

I have so many blessings to reflect on. I have a husband who loves me unconditionally. He's seen me at my worst, and loved me stronger during those times. I have two beautiful little girls who are my daily joy. They bring me laughter, smiles and have taught me selflessness. I have a family that I am extremely grateful for. They have been there for everything, and even when I get in my "moods" they still love me and accept me for who I am. So when I am told from above to do something that I am not gung-ho for, I have all the people listed above as my safety net.

Today is the day that I need that net.

For a while now, God has been speaking to my heart. I have put Him off because I didn't like His words. For awhile I thought "This cannot be right! What is He doing to me, leading me in this direction?!" But now, as usual, I have come to the realization he is doing this to HELP me, not HINDER me. I need to take this step.

Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

I will begin working from home,starting in June. I trust that He knows that I will continue to prosper. I am scared, don't get me wrong. But many factors are pointing to this when I look at the big picture. Here are some of the changes I will be changing to make this transistion smooth.

I have wanted to go Eco-Friendlier for some time. About 30% of my business is Eco-friendly at this time. 30% isn't really good enough, in my opinion. Working from home I will be implementing that all ordering will be done online and direct shipped to you. This takes a step out of our carbon footprint, not completely, but reduces it. I will not be driving my gigantic tank of a SUV to and from the studio everyday, and you will not be driving your car to the studio to do something that can be done from the comfort of your own home. You will not have to drive to the studio to pick up prints, because they will be delievered to your door. I'm looking into other ways to reduce our carbon footprint, and though this may not matter you, it does considerably to me. God only gave us ONE EARTH. Just as He only gave us one chance to keep it beautiful while we live here.

Gas. We all have to deal with this factor. By not having to use my resources to pay for a studio, I can keep costs down considerably to you by not having to raise my session fees/print prices to pay for the gas I use to be a natural light photographer. Again, this goes in with the eco-friendly part. Also, Troy's work takes him all over Ohio, and out of town alot. Right now, we spend $200 to get him to work and back home every week. We, just like most of you, are on a budget, saving for emergencies, future college, car, wedding times two, bills, our own student loans, etc. A fellow colleague told me once to never talk about your money, but guess what, I am a wife, mother and human being. We have bills too. I don't like that $200 goes to gas for Troy only. That isn't counting what I spend on gas. To put it in perspective for you, $55 at $4.15/gallon gets me a half-tank of gas. Yeah, I KNOW.

Responsibility to my parents is another factor. I want to know that I can do my part as their child to take care of things they need from me during this time. I need to honor them because they are great people who sacrificed alot to raise me. I love them very much and appreciate them more than I could ever express.

I have tried to dodge this for a while. But, God shoots straight. I have been prayerful and discerning in what my heart tells me. Some of the things I have tried to cushion this have not been fruitful and so now it's just time.

Thank you to all my friends and family who I have let in on this and for your prayers and advice. I'm sure God will give me, as he did when I took the leap of faith to even do this profession, the wisdom and grace to do this right.

Thank you to the clients in advance for bearing with me while I make this change. There will be bugs to work out, and I understand there will be frustrations, but I promise to make it up to you in hugs and chocolate.. okay and some awesome sales :)

Here is a song that has been playing in my heart as I go through this transistion process. Reminding me that even if I make mistakes in this process, God is there to send the rain to wash me clean and give me another shot. Isn't God AWESOME?



Love you all and thanks for all of your support during this time!