The exhaustion is worth it!

So I've been totally MIA this week (and lets be honest, I've kinda sucked at blogging this year in general), but it's for good reason. If you read this post last week, you know we've just had a lot going on! Last weekend we photographed two out of town weddings back to back, and every night after work this week consists of our church's annual Sports Camp. Then tomorrow, we have a half day from work to go shoot our last wedding for a while (we actually get somewhat of a "summer break", woo!)!

I haven't hit the bed before 12:30 any night this week. I've had the same thing for dinner every night. I've consumed more coffee this week than probably all of last month. I've got weird tan lines, a ton of bug bites, and my eyes are hardly staying open.

But you know what? It's been totally worth it.

It's worth it because I see these kiddos learning who Jesus is, some for the first time. It's worth it because of the absolute JOY I see on each of their faces all night long. It's worth it because I get to witness 100+ volunteers work together to pull this event off. It's worth it when you hear some of the kids talk about what's going on in their lives, and we realized we can truly make a difference.

Another perk? Getting to see my adorable husband head coaching basketball. You guys, he has such a way with kids. He's always making them laugh, but he's also tough when he needs to be. It's very cool to watch!

Here are just a few of my favorite moments I've been able to capture this week!

I'm so thankful to be surrounded with people who want to serve others! It's such an encouragement.

I hope you have a great rest of your week friends. Maybe I'll get my act together with regular blogging again someday, or maybe not. For now? It's what works. Happy Thursday!

Sports Camp 2016! AKA the coolest week ever.

I wanted to take today's post to recap my church's Sports Camp as a whole with some of my favorite shots. Basically we did the same thing every night. An insane amount of sweating, worshipping, walking and serving. It's overwhelming to see these kids sing to Jesus. It brought me to tears behind my camera more than a few times!

Sunday night was family night and we welcomed everyone into the park - this was also the night the kids got to meet all their coaches! The sports included flag football, basketball, soccer, cheerleading, backyard games and water wars. So much FUN!!

Monday was night #1 with the kids and we had the BEST time kicking off our week!

Just a few kids from our youth group!

Tuesday was yet another amazing night! Thankfully it was pretty overcast so we got a break from the sweltering heat for a night!

water wars is where its AT!

Sadly Wednesday night there was a huge storm brewing, so they had to cancel that night! But we came back Thursday and we went hard!

and Friday, we had ourselves a blast at family night! All the parents came and watched their children worship, win prizes and eat as much as ice cream as their little bellies could handle!

We gave away a brand new bike, and the boy who won already had one at home...so when no one was watching, he gave it away. I happened to catch it on camera thanks to someone noticing, and man, it really got to me! These kids are amazing, I love their generous hearts!

A huge thank you to everyone!! Every single volunteer (those who danced, those who packed snack bags for 300+ kids, those who sweat for Jesus, etc.), every parent who trusted us, everyone who donated money or gifts or supplies, and especially everyone who prayed for us, etc.! It means the world. We had the best week with these kids. Over 340 kids registered, 100+ volunteers...its always a highlight of our year!

Already looking forward to this event next year! I love my church!