Happy Birthday, Joy! The big 3-Oh!

A few weeks ago we were blessed with the opportunity to be photographed by the amazing Tina Wilson. We stay fairly active in the photography industry so we know more than our fair share of great photographers. And since Campbell was born, we’ve had lots of family photos, each one special to us in it’s own particular way.

But the best part about working with Tina is that three years ago when we first met her at a convention, Joy wrote an email to her telling her how much we liked her work and that once our family was complete we wanted to do a session with her. Ironically enough, she never sent the email and for three years it’s been sitting in her “drafts” folder.

Tina photographed us while she was in town for a few sessions nearby. Late last week, Tina sent us a preview of our portrait session, and obviously, we couldn’t be happier.

So on Joy’s 30th birthday, here we go:











How fun, right! You gotta check out Tina's blog post about it because she gave a thorough explanation and does a great job telling the story.


Today we're celebrating Joy's birthday. I really truly honestly can’t believe that we've known each other for 12 years now. Wow, where has the time gone?!?! It has been an exciting adventure full of the most interesting and unpredictable twists and turns.

I watched Joy battle her way through nursing school and become an RN, only to work for a year before quitting so that she could focus her energies on being the best mother that she could.

Not long afterward, she lent her hand to assist me with my fledgling photography business. And suddenly we had direction, goals, purposes, and all those other things that real businesses are supposed to have. As many of our blog readers know, Joy is the engine behind the Garrett Nudd Photography and Cobblestone Rue names. I may be the person out front capturing the majority of the photographs, but behind every successful art studio is strategic, forward-thinking, hard-working, passionate manager.

But the greatest quality to me is what's illustrated in the images above. Each day I watch Joy “mother” the two most beautiful little girls in the world. When I’m working from home, I usually sit at the kitchen table, where I can look across the living room at see Joy and Graycen and Campbell. Four-year-old Gray is the most outgoing and sanguine child and her favorite thing to say is “okay, guys, what are we going to do next?” Little Campbell, almost 6 months old, smiles and coos and gyrates her body in excitement pretty much on an hourly basis. It’s fantastic!

And while there’s nothing like being a proud papa, if there’s one thing for sure, it’s that the girls absolutely ADORE their mommy. Campbell looks for her any time she’s not being held by her, and Graycen mimics her speech and mannerisms so much so that it’s uncanny.

Today we celebrate Joy’s 30th birthday. It has been my greatest honor in life to stand with her through successes and defeats. Joy, I’m excited for the future and I'm proud to be your husband. May your second 30 years be even more rewarding and gratifying than your first! Happy Birthday.