Christmas morning with the Shadow|Shine's

Christmas, and the holiday season in general, really is one of the most wonderful times of the year. Why is that though? Yes, there is the excitement of special dinners, fun decorations, and even gifts. But that's not why it's the most wonderful time of the year. This time of year is made memorable and fulfilling not by the materialism that can so easily overshadow our way of thinking; it's because of the people we spend our time with during these precious moments.

We hope that for you, our friends, followers, and family, that you remember that it isn't about the extravagance of the gift, or even the gift itself that matters - what matters today, and everyday in all honesty, is that we spend time with those who we love, and whom love us in return.

From our office/living room to you and yours, we are wishing everyone an extraordinarily happy and blessed Merry Christmas today!

Cassie+Josh: Grand Rapids Engagement

Happy Turks-giving!

What's Thanksgiving without some Turkeys?! We couldn't be more thankful for the Turkey's that make up our team, and our family of storytellers.

This is always a special day of the year for us as we begin the process of looking back at the year as a whole, acknowledging the many adventures we have all shared and the stories that we have been blessed to tell together. The year is always filled with highs and lows, but we are thankful for both as every obstacle, every triumph, every moment is an opportunity to learn and grow.  

Today, as we take a moment to slow down from the hustle and bustle of life and spend time with those we love, let us reflect on the idea of true thankfulness even in uncertain times.

We hope that everyone has a blessed thanksgiving today and that you are able to spend the day enjoying time with the turkeys you love too!

Emily + Alex: The Cattley Wedding Trailer

We are forever thankful to the brave and courageous service men and women who dedicate their lives to serving our country. The sacrifice, determination, and selfless devotion that they embody is an incredible blessing and example for all. So when the chance comes along to tell the love story of two such people we get excited from our head to our toes. But seriously guys!

Emily+Alex are exactly two such people for us and we were honored, ecstatic, and so thrilled to share in their wedding day this past October. Both having attended West Point, where they met and fell in love, this was a wedding like something straight out of a fairytale. All the groomsmen in their dress blues and whites, Alex looking like Prince Charming, rivaled only by Emily's breathtaking presence, beauty, and gorgeous dress, this was one for the books!

By the end of their day if we weren't already in love with these two we certainly were then! This was a day of many laughs and new friendships for us, and Emily+Alex, their families, and their bridal party made this one of the best days all year! We love these two to pieces and can't wait to see what is next for this breathtaking couple!   

Fall. Flannel. Friends.

We love this time of year, and not just because we get to dawn our favorite flannel shirts; this time of year is full of so many adventures and exciting experiences that we get to share with one another. From late night bonfires, to apple picking, to even silly group photo shoots, there's something so alluring about the change of pace that Fall brings us. To reflect on the passing of summer and to look ahead to the remaining of the year. Here's to the refreshing change of season and the beauty that is Fall!

Alicia + Kevin: The McKay Wedding Trailer

Be still our hearts! Alicia+Kevin make us so crazy happy every time we think about their gorgeous wedding at the gorgeous Castle Farms in Charlevoix, Michigan. Little did we know that we would fall head over heels for them when they first connected with us last fall, but sure enough, after a couple phone conversations and meetings we were smitten.

Their love story has been long in the making, literally since Alicia and Kevin were in the 5th grade! They have stuck by each other's sides through thick and thin. They have grown up together and grown closer over the years. They know each other so intimately it leaves you speechless.

Their love is overflowing and their commitment to one another is inspiring once you've experienced it. We are so happy for them and are so honored to have been a part of their story! We cannot wait to watch that story continue to unfold! Take a moment and join us in congratulating this amazingly wonderful couple, Mr+Mrs McKay!

Hope in the form of a Bed Net

This past summer I traveled to Zambia, Africa to continue documenting the relief work being done in this predominantly rural farming country against such rampant killers as malaria. Malaria is a disease of the blood that is caused by a parasite, which is transmitted from person to person by mosquito. In Sub-Saharan Africa almost everyone you meet and speak with has personally had, or knows someone who has had malaria in their lifetime. If treated immediately the disease is manageable, but the difference between those who can defend against malaria and those who suffer at it's hands comes down to one simple thing: status.

While poverty in a country such as Zambia is widespread, few realize just how prevalent the class system still is to their culture. While the threshold of wealth may be lower, there is still a definite separation of those who are considered the wealthy, upper class, and those living in poverty and - most often - extreme poverty.

One early morning on our way to Kitwe, Zambia we stopped at a village located several kilometers away to observe and document the preventative effects that bed nets can have on a community - a story I have been following and continuing to document over the last two years. In this village we were brought to the home of one family in particular where we met Jacob, a sweet, beautiful child who had just turned 8-years-old.

His brothers and sisters played around in the open dirt patch just to the side of their home, staying cool in the shade as best they could. And there in the midst of their games, lay their brother, Jacob. Upon first glance Jacob appeared to be just like the rest of the children, resting and staying cool from the hot arid fall sun. But Jacob was not like the other children who surrounded him. 

Since birth Jacob has dealt with occasional cases of epileptic seizures that his family had been able to keep managed. While any seizure can be extremely dangerous, and potentially fatal, Jacob's condition was being well looked after. He began to grow and become strong like all the other children, but due to his family's extreme poverty Jacob's mother was not able to provide a bed net for her family, nor medication (a daily and far more expensive option) to keep her children safe.

About a year ago Jacob was bitten by a mosquito, most likely while he was sleeping, and due to the intense fever brought on by the malaria parasite, his epileptic episodes intensified within a matter of hours. His mother was able to take him the the hospital and get the proper medication to save her son, but alas, it was too late. One of the seizures Jacob suffered damaged his brain so badly that he was left unable to talk, stand up, eat normally, the list goes on. Jacob's once bright and exciting future was taken from him.

This is how Jacob spends his days now, sitting on a mat on the ground floor, outside with his siblings as they run back and forth. This little boy, with all the potential and promise in the world now waits in the dirt, broken and beaten by a disease which is so easily preventable. He is left waiting for nothing short of a miracle.

I'm not sure I've ever experienced as hard a moment in my life as that morning; walking up and hearing this family's story, seeing this little child robbed of his life, seeing the hurt and pain he must be going through, and especially that of his family. And then, to walk away, unsure if I will ever see Jacob again, unsure if somehow that miracle will, in fact, play out, not sure if this story will ever have a happily ever after. But what I do know is this; before leaving our time with his family, we were able to give Jacob's family hope. Hope in the form of a bed net. A bed net that this family now can protect themselves with. A first line in defense against a disease that can be so easily done away with in, and with the help of, first-world nations.

Tonight at 7pm, Night of Nets, a locally grown campaign to help raise money to provide this EXACT same hope, is putting on an event to help bring this preventative solution to thousands more families across parts of Sub-Saharan Africa and beyond. Tonight you can be a part of helping children living in extreme poverty avoid becoming similar stories such as Jacob's. Tonight you can be a part of helping end Malaria and it's crippling hold on thousands of innocent adults and children living with the threat of this deadly disease.

Come out to Cornerstone University's Men's Soccer game at 7pm tonight to learn more about this cause, this disease, and how you can be an active member in helping bring this preventative solutions to countless more Jacobs.

I can't quite say what Jacob was thinking that morning, or if he could make sense of who we were, this group of very obvious American travelers that visited his home. I can't know for certain if he understood what was happening, or if he was relieved. I cannot know for sure, but the faint smile that lit up his face when he saw us makes me believe that just maybe, somehow beyond my own understanding of rationality and sense, that Jacob knew in that moment that he was safe from the thing that almost took his life. But clearly not his spirit. 

-Matthew