[we've posted this video on facebook...but wanted to share it here as well. so if by chance you've already seen it, thanks for watching it!! and we don't mind if you watch it again ]

as many of you might know, mindy’s mother was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer last christmas. the news was devastating. but she beat breast cancer 25 years ago, and if cancer wanted to pick another fight, dede was ready to fight it. and fight she has!!! this christmas may have been the most meaningful of all as mindy’s whole side of the family got together on the 23rd, and then we all spent christmas day with dede and papa at their house.

time together has been…and always will be…the best gift of all!!

and speaking of gifts, this year, we DIDN’T do a photo shoot for christmas! we went to the dark side and made a video!! (haha, just kidding. we love video and have a crush on cool videographers!!) we brought in ben mahoney (and crew), one of our favorite videographers in the whole world, to spend a day shooting pape, dede and the grandkids, and we couldn’t be more happy…the kind of happy discovered in boxes of kleenex and giggling kids who’ve been watching the video over and over. this gift was for papa and dede. but it was also for the kids who will have this forever.

sometimes, tears make smiles even bigger. such was the case for christmas this year!

so if you haven’t seen our video yet…and especially if you’ve never met DEDE…

PLEASE CLICK HERE

keegan, carter, and langley agree…this was our best family day EVER!!!
better than busch gardens, great america, saturday morning cartoons…and even seeing “winter” the dolphin from the movie dolphin tale…SKILLET ROCKS OUR FACES OFF!!!

we have some great friends who put on the “Big Ticket Festival” every year (june 14-16 next year in allegan, michigan) and they asked if we’d bring our cameras with us as we spent the day there with our family. (actually…this year, we were there on june 23, our 11th anniversary. nothing says romance like headbanging!!) being in june, it’s smack dab in the middle of one the busiest months of our wedding season and we were worried if we had the time to go. but after going, we realized that while we probably didn’t have the time, we needed to make the time…every year. we worshipped with our kids! we ran around and did nothing (which is one of the most fun things you can do as a family!!) and we watched our favorite artists on stage (with skillet at the top of that list!). we made memories that will last forever and we walked away closer as a family.

if you’re looking for a great way to spend time with your family next summer…check out the “Big Ticket Festival”. and speaking of things to check out…watch the first 15 seconds of the video below. peterson family…front row at the skillet concert…right in front of the security guy banging his head. awesome!

we were floored when we were contacted by PDN (one of our favorite photography magazines) a couple months back. but when they told us they had selected us as one of twenty “rising stars of wedding photography” along with some of our absolute favorite wedding photographers…we were flush in the cheeks humbled and honored. and speechless.

the december issue is hitting the stands now (yes, we’re buying bunches of them!), but the feature is also online where there’s an overview of each of the photographers, including slideshows of their work, and we wanted to share it with you.

so if you have a sec…click on the link below and check it out. congrats to all of the amazing photographers on the list who have inspired us in so many ways. and thanks to you for celebrating with us!!

PDN’s Rising Stars of Wedding Photography