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About being engaged

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Kyle and Haley engaged and loving it!

“Engage in the little moments, you never know which of those will actually be the big moments,”

There is no possible way to convey to you the magic that was August 15, 2015. Engage your attention with me for a moment. I thought, lying there looking up at the stars, I was simply opening my graduation present from my Kyle. Little did I know that at the bottom of that much desired, fox cookie jar, there would be an art deco engagement ring picked out specifically for….me!?  I was only expecting cookies! Sneaky boy.

There are very few days that are more important to me than August 15. I woke up, I walked the stage, and I celebrated with family and friends. My folks spoiled me like they do, my brother and sister-in-law came to cheer me on, and my best friends even surprised me by driving all the way from Ft. Worth to celebrate! It was unlike any other day, and that was only the beginning. Moving to Nacogdoches from Houston almost four years ago, I never imagined I’d be marrying a BIN(born-in-Nac, if you will) or building a house on 11 acres of fresh air! I suppose it is still too soon to say, but come April 9, I will be a Compton. I will be a wife!?

This engagement has taught me

This engagement has taught me to “engage.” August 15 Kyle proposed and we found ourselves…engaged in a planning process like no other. Engaged to one another, planning to commit the rest of our forever to being together. It has been an absolute blast. We have engaged in planning our big day, we have engaged in Bible study together, we have engaged in planning not simply a wedding, but a life that will build each of us up and result in two better people. Engagement is much more than a ring and a wedding. Though that may seem obvious, it is easy to make the wedding the big event, and not the life you live after that day.They say the stresses come and go. And sure they have come, but when you have someone so supportive, so silly, and so solid to stand by you, it is a real adventure. To find someone who finds the best in you and cherishes every ounce of your flawed self is something irreplaceable. I never expected to find someone who I adore so much, yet slum around with like a best friend. He is like the 3-in-1 shampoo-conditioner-soap… but obviously better. He makes up the best songs, tells the craziest stories, prays with me and for me, and encourages me on the daily. I am richly blessed.

This season of engagement has taught us a lot about each other, ourselves, and has helped us realize how incredibly blessed we are by a wonderful family, church family and so many supportive friends. The people I have met here have become so special to me and I cannot picture a better group of encouragers to be surrounded by. Engaging in this Nac life has been a small slice of heaven!

…not to mention our incredible photographers! Greg and Cindy hired me almost two years ago. Engaging in their business, their work at SFA, and raising three awesome kids seems to come naturally to them. I know it doesn’t. They work hard and they are two prime examples I have been blessed to know. Our parents have put up with Kyle and myself for, well, our entire lives.. now that is perseverance! If only I can invest myself and engage my best in all I do… I’ll know where and who these great qualities come from!

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Kyle and Haley engaged with having fun!
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Blog Family Portrait Sessions Rambling Weddings

Photographer Needed

When people find out that our oldest, Jessica, is getting married, invariably one of the questions they ask is, “Who’s going to be the photographer?” Her father will be walking her down the aisle, after all. But, before we ever get to that point, Greg’s been able to do for her what he’s done for so many other brides over the past twenty five years. Because, what many brides want nowadays is the whole experience caught on camera, not just the wedding.

Jessica is fortunate to have a wonderful fiancee who recognizes the importance of capturing life’s moments on camera, big and little. So, they have pictures of the moment he proposed atop a mountain in Utah. Since then, we’ve taken many more of their story together. Some for the “Save the Date” cards, some more of their engagement, and a few in between. There will undoubtedly be many taken on the actual wedding day. Most of these Greg will take, but we’re not sure who’ll be taking pictures during the actual ceremony. The album we layout for a newly married couple is very appropriately called a “Storybook.” Here’s a small montage of Jessica and Grant’s story so far. patterson_9822_nocrop 700_9740 700_8927a photo1 photo5photo1