Mango Street Photography

yesterday i…

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::went to visit my sister who is a college SENIOR

::visited her beautifully diverse church in the inner city

::sang worship in another language

::was reminded God is not american

::delivered thanksgiving baskets to hungry people

::was thankful that when i go to the grocery store i don’t think about whether or not i have money in the bank to pay for it

::ate mongolian food for the first time

::and liked it!

::saw my sister’s last college dorm room

::watched her interact with the girls on her hall who love her being their ra

::was proud of her heart and love for sharing Jesus’s heart and love with everyone around her

::painted with my sister in her art building

::accidentally mixed a cool grey color that i will probably never be able to replicate. alas.

::only had to say goodbye until tomorrow!

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proof that we were there…

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the fact that kate is an art major comes out in such fun ways on her hall. check out this calendar she made for her hall from paint samples she got at the local hardware store.

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seriously? how fun and artsy is she?

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true confessions: those were the only 2 photos i took, but andrew grabbed a few of kate and i as dusk was approaching~

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it was getting pretty dark at this point, but i still had to put in a sisters pic by the “art barn” where most of kate’s art classes are held.

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kate and i painting in her 2d painting classroom.

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those of you with pets know that a family photo is not complete without ALL members of the family–dogs included! after we finished the family photos, alayna asked if i could do some of her and her mom with their dog. i had such a fun time with these, i thought they should have their own post. here are the results~

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can anyone say canvas print??

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seriously, such a sweet dog!

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these next two are so fun in color and b&w i couldn’t choose which one to post.

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thanks fortier family! i hope you enjoyed these~

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there are so many pics to choose from that i am dividing this post into two parts. at the beginning of november i got together with the fortier family. not only are they members of my church, but i also have their son andrew in class. when they suggested doing their session at their home, i was thrilled to do the shoot in their own setting. the fortiers were a pleasure to work with…i’ll let the pictures speak for themselves~

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i awarded them the prize for coolest backyard ever. you will see why in the pictures below.

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did i mention coolest backyard? this would be the top of their tree house that you access through a trap door.

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.they said they wanted a “fall” feel to their photos–i think the colorful trees provided just that!

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.andrew is so fun to have in class because he is one of those students that just makes you smile (in a good way)…you never know what he’s going to come up with, but it is guaranteed to make you laugh. i love 8th graders!

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there were so many i liked in this next series…here are a couple of favs.

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i love seeing people who have been married for a while that still look at each other this way.

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look for part 2 tomorrow!

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today i was driving home from school and listening to npr. wait, back up. npr? yes. it’s what i turn to during the commercial breaks on cindy and ray. anyways, i was listening to the world news and as the reporter signed off with the usual, “this is (insert name here), for the world,” all i could think was how cool it would be to get to say, “this is mary beth thomas, for the world.” and then it dawned on me…

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God. is for the world. can i say that one more time? God is for the world. He is for you.

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sometimes we (i) just need to be reminded.

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so this is a bit late, so thanks for your patience! we met up with madelyn and her mom for the last time slot on our busy saturday. andrew and i were both so impressed with madelyn and how she carried herself–super sweet girl with a confidence that i know i didn’t have at that age. and fun fact? she is a competitive gymnast! she definitely struck me as one of those people who is well-rounded and can do anything she sets her mind to. and as you’ll see in the photos below, she has a great smile! enjoy the photos~

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workin’ the camera!

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this officially ends the saturday craziness. was it busy? yes. was it worth it? definitely. i know i keep saying this, but we really had a wonderful time meeting each family and getting to document a portion of their life together. thanks to everyone who participated!

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