As time went on, I went off to college but couldn't wait to drive the two hours home on the weekend. There were many reasons but in the top of the list were Grams and Papaw. There were many nights I wouldn't get home until 10 or later, but they'd be there with the card table set up ready to get in a few games before bed. I typically had a plate of hot salmon cakes waiting or a plate of fresh homemade candy. 

When 2012 came and I moved to Delaware for ministry, my Papaw hands down had the hardest time. And though the 9 hour trip was sometimes rough alone, I did it often to get to see them. I quickly saw that I talked to my grandparents on the phone as much as many did their parents. In 2014 my Papaw went to be with Jesus. I miss him dearly and would love for him to have got to meet Levi, but watching my Grams and her husband "Papaw Cotton" with him is such a joy. I try to capture moments every time we are down of him with them. There's something so special about the love that connects great-grands and the kiddos. I had that same mystical bond with some of my great-grands.

A few weeks ago we were visiting and one of the evenings we were having the family staple.... Gravy & Biscuits. I know most eat it for breakfast but it's the Cracker Barrel mentality in my family that breakfast is served all day. As she started the process I'd watched her do thousands of times, I suddenly wanted pictures of her. The more I've studied documentary photography, the more I've longed to capture images that match up to the ones etched in my brain. So I did. She thought it was kind of silly that I would take pictures of her making biscuits but I have a feeling it won't be my last time doing it.

Isn't she the cutest? She's the definition of the word grandma y'all.

What I love about this piece of ordinary with my Grams is how much it really represents what I want to take hostage in my photos. Let me try to explain.... Gravy & Biscuits has been an ordinary meal in my family for as long as I can remember. She'll make it on a random morning or any time of the day if that's what your craving. She always has the ingredients on hand. But it's also the meal that's made for many birthday celebrations and also our annual Christmas Eve gathering. It's a staple in the most simplest of gatherings or the grandest of celebrations. That's what I want for A Sweet Aroma Photography.

I want to capture mundane moments that seem so normal they'd usually never be highlighted AND I want to capture the sweetest of adventures and celebrations that we know are high points to remember. It's a privilege to freeze our family moments as a memory and it's also certainly a privilege to get to also share that passion with others.


// See more about my photography adventure here! //

Husband had a 4 day weekend so we kind of celebrated all here and there throughout that. But since Valentine's Day was on Saturday, we decided to do a day date! Last year we went to DC for our 6 month celebration. It was quite the adventure. Even though nothing went as planned, we had a fantastic day. I am an art lover though and we didn't get to explore any of the major galleries. So for Valentine's Day, we decided to go back to DC and hit some places we didn't get to last time. 

We woke got up and got going sooner that when usually do on Saturdays, exchanged gifts (more on those to come), and prepared for the day. We had a Chick-fil-A date on the way (YUM!) and found the Metro! This was our first time taking the Metro (by suggestion of a friend) and I'm so so glad we did! It was nice to ride into the city without having to do much navigation on our own. 

Once in DC, we went straight for National Art Gallery. I studied Art History quite a bit in high school and college so I was of course fascinated. Even though Joel's not into Art as much as I am, there were plenty of exhibits that he liked and also lots of big comfy couches for him to rest on while I wandered. Seeing so many paintings in person from some of my favorite artists was amazing. 

After several hours, we'd had our fill and headed over to Starbucks for Joel to get his mocha fix. The weather was warm enough during the afternoon for us to sit on a park bench without shivering. We ate hot dogs, listened to the street sax performer, admired all the architecture, and fed lots of birds. Joel even got the opportunity to buy a homeless man lunch. It was a perfect afternoon.

Next stop was the Air & Space Museum. This was of course way more fascinating to Joel than to me, but I really enjoyed the space shuttle section. Seeing how people live on there was very interesting. After a couple hours, our feet were tired and we were ready to head back to the Metro. 

We arrived at our car and headed to the nearest Olive Garden! There was no surprise when the hostess told us the wait time was an hour. While standing around inside with more people than seats, we noticed it had started to snow. Huge snowflakes were painting a beautiful scene outside. We decided to leave the crowded lobby and weather the cold on the park bench. It had been such a perfect day and with the snow falling around us, we were reflecting on all the fun we'd had.

The day took a not fun turn though.

As you might can guess, the park bench wonder didn't last long before our fingers started getting tingly. We decided to head back in to the packed full entry and wait our turn. After 3-4 minutes I went to grab something out of my purse and realized it wasn't on my shoulder. I had left it on the bench outside. During those few minutes someone had grabbed it and decided to keep for their own. I spent the next 45 minutes calling to cancel all cards in my wallet. 

So even though we had a somewhat stressful start to dinner, the evening was still good. We had a wonderful dinner with a perfect window view of the perfectly falling snow. There was only one problem with that beautiful snow...... we were still about an hour and a half from home. 

We left to find that the roads were slick and the state was not prepared. That hour and a half turned into three and a half as we poked home in my Chevy Cruze. We were so thankful to finally arrive home and rest on the couch next to the fire. 

It was not uncommon for me to take my seat at the Baby Grand on the left side of the altar to play/sing a song. (I pulled this picture from the church's Facebook page to give you a visual.)  What you can't tell from this picture is that the piano used to sit on ground level. A few years before the church had done a remodel, stripping out the orange carpet, taking out the old pews, and fixing up the altar. One of those touch ups was to bring the piano and organ (on the right) up to the level of the pulpit. In the design there were stairs cut out of the platform up against the wall so we could get to our seats.

My lovely performance (I'm not talking about the song) happened the Sunday before Christmas.... you know the one where EVERYONE who might possibly attend shows up? Yeah that one. The seats were full, the poinsettias perfectly in place, and as the ushers made their way to the front so did I. The music minister would often ask me to do a song while the offering was collected, just as he had that particular Sunday. 

See the way it worked at my sweet Southern Baptist church is that after the ushers came forward one of the deacons would read the prayer list aloud, pray and then offering would begin. So there would be no gap in between I would always take my seat as the deacon walked to microphone. Except this time..... well that didn't go so well.

The room was silent as people waited to hear the names needing prayer but the silence didn't last long. See the bench was too close to the wall... you know the place where I mentioned where those stairs were built in? Yeah... one of the legs of my bench was over the stairs instead of the platform. So when I sat down, the bench flipped backwards... and so did I.... not just off the bench.... off the platform. Feet in the air doing a complete backflip right off the altar. 

As you can kind of see in the picture there's a white partition out front so my view from the ground was obstructed. I could only see "Uncle" Harold & "Aunt" Sarah. (We're not really related but it always felt like we were.)

I can still remember Uncle Harold coming out of his seat (along with many others) and everyone gasping. I'm sure they thought I had broken a bone somewhere in that mess. Though it did knock the breath out of me and bruise my derriere, my main concern was getting out of the floor and salvaging what little bit of dignity I had left. The silence returned and quickly turned to laughter as I threw my hand in the air and shouted "I'm okay!" 

I chuckle as I think about it. I'm not sure how the deacon proceeded with the prayer list, but I'm sure I was a last minute add. That Sunday wasn't a moment I want to repeat but I sure to wish someone could have got that on tape... I might have finally won my $10,000 from 

America's Funniest Home Videos.

Were any of you readers there that Sunday (or maybe wish you were)? 

What's your most embarrassing moment?

Monday:

We really took Monday in just to enjoy being back on the ship. We relaxed by the pool, had a lovely dinner, and soaked in having the week ahead of us. 

Tuesday:

Tuesday morning we got up early and were on the first small boat over to Coco Cay! Last year we were exhausted and slept in and missed out on a lot of island time. This time Joel requested we be on the first boat over... we made it happen!

Coco Cay is Royal Caribbean's private island. It's full of beautiful views, fun activities and lots of clear water to play in. To top it off, it's set up just for the people on your ship so lunch is free and there are RC beach chairs for your leisure everywhere! It's one of our favorite places to be!

 We spent our day playing in the water, swimming with the fishies, taking in the beauty, drinking Coco Locos and napping in a hammock. We also shared a picnic table with a couple celebrating 50 years. They were so encouraging and gave some great advice... a blog to come later on that. Oh yeah.. I can't forget to mention, right before we left we saw a 3ft shark. I'm glad it made it's appearance at the end of the day.

 Coco Loco's are the island special. We love these smoothies... they're the perfect blend of pineapple, mango, and strawberry. Refreshing and delicious!

Wednesday:

 Thursday:

This day was spent at SEA! It was such a perfect day having the view of just the water all day! We relaxed by the pool and watched a movie in the theatre. We watched a belly flop competition, had shrimp jumbalaya at the pool deck BBQ, and watched a beautiful sunset that I'll be blogging about later this week. We tried to soak up every moment of our last day on the ship.

 Friday: