Gary and Courtney's Blog

Back in 2009 we wrote one of our first “Somethin’ Honest, Somethin’ True” blog posts (you can read it here). Life has changed A LOT since then, but we still think it’d be appropriate to do another manifesto-type-blog-post about where we’re at in this journey called life… what thoughts are running through our heads, vocalizing the things that we dream about and the challenges that we are facing today. So, here it goes… this is where our hearts, souls and minds are at today:

• Sleep is precious… if you don’t have kids, we strongly encourage you to sleep like crazy. :) Our kids don’t sleep much so we’re planning on catching up on that in 4 or 5 years.
• Time is flying… it’s moving waaaayyyy faster than we’d like it to right now. (Thank you Julie for the images above and for freeze-framing this moment in our life. We are SO grateful for you and the photography community that surrounds us here in SoCal).
• Our two little girls (Joelle = 2.9 years, Charlotte = 9 months) are growing up so quickly, it boggles the mind to watch them become walking talking little human beings. We kinda don’t want them to grow up and leave :( At every wedding we shoot we both break down in tears during EVERY father daughter dance… what a hard thing that must be to do. We’re praying for the men that our girls will one day fall in love with and marry. I hope their parents value them and teach them how to be good men.
• We’ve lived here in California for 2 years now…that’s crazy! It feels like yesterday when we first met in Maui and got married. It’s hard to believe we’ve already spent several years remodeling this old house… it still has plenty of face-lifting to do, but we’re very pleased with where it’s at today. It’s not fancy and there are little red painted hand prints all over our couches and stickers all over our coffee table, but it’s a good house and it feels like a home – lots of laughter and love. Precious memories are being made within the colorful walls of this place and we hope our girls feel safe, loved and secure here…forever.
• In October we’ll celebrate our 5 year anniversary!!! Marriage is a very beautiful thing. Growing old with someone and raising a family together is the one of the best and also one of the most challenging things in life and we like it that way. We are fortunate to be best friends, business partners and spouses…We are so blessed by our current set-up and the time it allows us to spend together! To celebrate our 5 year together we’re planning on doing a little diving adventure over on Catalina Island to relive our glory days of  dating and diving in Maui.
• Busyness and balance. You know that carnival ride that spins super fast until you’re stuck to the wall and the bottom drops out and you just hope against hope that someday it’ll stop and your feet will land on solid ground again? Life can feel like that sometimes while raising two small children, running our own business (for which we travel a LOT), and starting a new one. Don’t “they” always say that BALANCE is the key to a happy and successful life? Striking that balance feels impossible some days, and other days I think we nailed it (though, admittedly, the “nailed it” days are fewer and far-between). We are also doing our best to take some moments to slow down and enjoy the ride because in the midst of the craziness, these are some sweet, SWEET times. Joelle won’t play pretend forever, and Charlie won’t want to cuddle or think we’re the best parents forever either. Gotta soak those things up.
• Re-discovering goals and priorities: Business is good, but also kinda weird. Our business has grown by leaps and bounds each year we’ve been in business (which we’re super GRATEFUL to the LORD for)… but we’re reevaluating whether or not it’s growing in the way we always SAY we want it to. We’ve never really been money-motivated people, but for the last couple years we’ve kinda lived like money was important. Don’t get us wrong, we need money (can’t pay the mortgage without it), but we’re trying harder and harder to be smart with our money and to pick and choose the type of work that means something to us and that brings value to our life… work shouldn’t BE or RUN our life… we work so that we can live. So what exactly does that look like???? When is ENOUGH WORK enough? What if we decided to make less money this year and live more simply? What if our priorities really were our children and our time together having adventures? And seriously…what does that look like??? (These are not a rhetorical questions people! Input, ideas and advice are being sought here!)
• We are really coming back to our priority of giving back. In all different ways. We want our children to grow up knowing that THEY can make a difference… that they can truly change the world by giving selflessly of themselves. And we want them to know that faith is the thing that gives all life (and good deeds) meaning. The best way to teach them this is by living it, so we’re going out of our way to do it.
• We want to help other entrepreneurs and creative folks develop a business that aligns with their priorities and facilitates their values. Not because we have all the answers (’cause seriously…have you been reading this post??? We clearly do NOT), but because we think that by collaborating and encouraging each other we can make it happen.
• We’ve been learning A LOT about community lately. The last couple years we’ve struggled with being authentic, approachable and helpful to those around us, mostly because we were really trying to find our way in this [photography] industry and were figuring out where we should land. Our sincerest apologies to those who have experienced this from us… we’re trying to get better at being others-focused. So please help us get there… let us know how we can help if you need it. Seriously. Stop by, skype with us, grab coffee with us, slumber party with us :) Anything! Lets just hang out!
• We don’t know it all or have everything in our life under control… we don’t drive fancy cars or buy expensive toys, we live simply and pride ourselves in dreaming big, and having lots-o-adventures with our little family. We hope you will join us on this journey called life and stay in touch. We hope that we can be encouraging towards your goals in life!

What’s somethin’ honest that’s on your mind right now?

We’d LOVE to hear from you!

Unbelievable. We’re completely shocked and amazed by the compassion and generosity of YOU ALL. Seriously, blown away. We had friends and family contributing from AROUND the globe! From South Africa all the way to the Hawaiian Islands. Together we raised enough money to fund an ENTIRE water project through charity:water (giving over 250 people clean water for 20 years). And we did it all in less than 48 hours!!! You guys seriously changed the world for these people in a developing country. To learn more about the water crisis, and to find more information on how YOU helped: CLICK HERE

With GRATEFUL hearts we say THANK YOU! Together we can truly make a difference!

• Doing this fundraiser honestly stretched us, and asking others to give put us WAY out of our comfort zone . Without a verbal commitment (via our blog) and a push from our community (you all), we would never have done something like this. So thank you for joining us, thank you for pushing us, thank you for dreaming big and for changing the lives of hundreds of people with the money we all raised.
• We’ll keep you posted on specific information regarding the well we all helped build (charity:water’s turnaround time is roughly 18 months – they’ll send us precise GPS coordinates, photos and descriptions of the project we all helped fund – so cool).
• Don’t let this little blog post discourage you from giving towards our goal if you haven’t donated yet. If you have a full heart and a couple of spare bucks to give, PLEASE DO so by clicking here. Our campaign ends Sept 30th (that’s when they’ll start on the project we funded) 100% of anything else we raise will still be used appropriately for this cause! Our friends Bruce & Rebecca in South Africa are also funding another project through charity:water, so please consider helping them out as well by clicking here. Thank you for being world changers!

A challenge to our friends, family, biz owners, photographers, etc:

• We encourage you to do something meaningful with your unique gifts, talent or product.
• Find an organization that’s close to your heart and find a creative way to fundraise for that specific cause (give away something, partner with others, donate a percentage of your profits, etc)
• YES, it will be inconvenient, it will take time (especially if you’re giving away free photoshoots) and it will probably take a lot of your own money. Here’s some wise words from a dear friend and fellow photographer Benjamin Edwards (from the original blog post that inspired us to do this project…):

“Yes, things are rough right now for a lot of us [the economy still sucks].  However, let’s put this in perspective:  You still have water to drink, food to eat and whether you’re renting, buying, or caught up in a short sale, you have a roof over your head.  You haven’t walked 50 miles after just delivering a baby to find food (true story) and if you really needed medical attention, all you have to do is call–and someone answers. People are calling, can we answer?”

The point in ALL of this is to educate, advocate (become a voice for people without a platform), pass on the inspiration we get from those around us, and be held accountable for the use of OUR time, gifts, passion and money.  There’s ALWAYS a reason or an excuse to  just ‘wait’ and NOT do something… so our challenge to you (and to ourselves) is to make this a core value of who we are and how we run our business. Please let us know what you decide to do and how we can help! Thanks again from the bottom of our [very full] hearts.

Gratefully,

Gary & Courtney

One of the things that Gary and I are SUPER passionate about is what we call “giving back”. What we mean by this is that we recognize how MUCH God has blessed us and in return we try to bless others, both financially and thru non-financial means (activities, lifestyle choices, etc…). We also are SUPER passionate about inspiring and empowering others to find a way to give back to whatever cause, organization or issue they feel passionately about.

We are particularly moved by the plight of those living in the developing world and we strive to contribute to long-term and sustainable solutions that help people improve their quality of life. There are many organizations that are doing this well, but one of our favorites is charity:water. There are so many things to love about this organization…like the fact that 100% of your donation goes to water projects (AMAZING!!!!), and the fact that clean water solves SO MANY other problems faced by people in developing countries, or even the fact that 18 months after you donate they give you precise GPS coordinates that show where the water project you financed was completed, pictures of the well being drilled and people in the community utilizing it, and a breakdown of exactly how your money was utilized. Seriously… so cool.

Several months ago we decided to start supporting the work of charity:water. Then we recently decided that it would be WAY better if we combined our two passions to figure out a way to empower, inspire and collaborate with those around us to do a project in the developing world LARGER than we could ever do by ourselves. We hope that you will join us! SO HERE’S THE PLAN:

Lets fund an entire water project through charity:water TOGETHER! Once the project is finished we would LOVE to (have those that are interested) take a trip together and see our water project in action and provide further support to that specific community it is helping…wherever it may be!

SO HERE’S HOW IT’S GONNA WORK:

Every donation you make we will match 100% (up to $2,500 – which is a scary amount, but we’re really trying to practice what we preach and live out God’s request of us to ‘give until it hurts’) with the goal of raising a grand total of $5,000 to fund an entire water project. How awesome would that be???!!! We’ve set up a Charity water page where you can pitch in towards the goal… it’s super duper easy to do and after your donation is in we will go on and make a matching donation. So it’s like you are donating TWICE. Even if you donate 10 or 20 bucks (which will actually end up being 20 to 40 bucks), it can go a VERY long way with this organization! Lets rally together and make a HUGE difference for a community in a developing country ==> Click here to visit our page <== We have a really cool video on our page to help explain more about charity:water.

*ADDED BONUS: A FREE PHOTOSHOOT FOR YOU:

The first two people to donate $250 or more will receive a FREE portrait photoshoot by us (a $500 value). And ANYONE (unlimited) who donates $500 or more will also receive a completely FREE photoshoot. So go to our page, click on the blue button that says “Donate to my campaign”, enter all your info, (instantly receive your tax deductible receipt) and your name will automatically appear at the bottom of our page with the amount you contributed (or you can choose to donate anonymously – if so, you’ll need to email us your name/receipt so we can set up your free photoshoot), either way we’ll match your donation and you’re all set to COMPLETELY change someone’s world in a developing country. Thank you all for joining us, any amount will go a long way with this cause. We’re so excited to do this with you!!!

TOGETHER WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE

*UPDATE: Aug 22, 2011 | 6:30pm

We’re OVER half way there! We’re seriously blown away by everyone’s generosity. What we thought would take weeks to do has taken less than 12 hours. Grateful. Lets keep going strong folks!!! Our absolute deadline is Sept 30th, but we’re confident we can get there sooner. The two photoshoots (for a $250 donation or more) have been filled, but ANYONE who donates $500 or more will still get a free shoot by us. ‘Thank you’ to all who have donated so far, and we humbly ask you who haven’t donated to help us finish this fundraiser. We can’t do this without you. We have so much to be thankful for – when we want a glass of water, we just pull out a clean glass and get purified water straight from the fridge or faucet. This, although comfortable and normal to us, is extremely abnormal in a global sense. Lets help others have access to clean water, and lots of it. “The average American uses 150 gallons of water a day. The average person in a developing nation STRUGGLES to find 5″ Together, with our small fundraiser, we can bring clean water to over 250 people (an entire village): Visit our fundraising page

*UPDATE: Aug 23, 2011 | 3:01pm

WE DID IT friends!!! We did it!!! Full report on this project HERE.

This is pretty much our life & business mantra:

More info on this project can be found here at the Holstee Website (which is RAD by the way). Tell us you loved this as much as we did??? We feel inspired (even though our whole family is mostly down-n-out with a cold and we’re running on zero sleep (teething + sick baby = a party)). Tired or not, go… change, live your life… it’s the only one you’re given… make it count. – Love G&C