If you asked me what I envision our life to be like in five years, I could give you an answer with a fairly decent amount of confidence. Maybe living here, probably doing this... But if you asked me what I envision life to be like in twenty years, I can tell you with absolute certainty one thing - we will be surrounded with love. Or rather, we will have surrounded ourselves with love. Jeff and I have always kept close friendships around us - people that love us, care for us, and know us better than we know ourselves - but I don't think we ever really realized the full impact that this can and will have on our lives in the long term. Not until we met the Villas.
We met the Villa family last spring when the ultra fabulous Stephanie and Sean invited us up to her family's place in Montrose a few weeks before their wedding. We had amazing food, even better wine, and deep conversation with a family that deeply and dearly loves another. But it wasn't until their wedding reception that we realized how truly phenomenal this family is. When Kim and Richard Villa moved to Pasadena twenty years ago, they quickly surrounded themselves with deeply caring and loving people, and during the reception festivities we were introduced to the extended Villa family - the friends that had loved and cared for them and their kids over the past twenty years, and will probably still be loving and caring for them until the day they die.
I get scared pretty easily when it comes to getting emotionally intimate with other people, even my friends. I get scared of letting them see my junk, my dark corners, my secrets and inner pains. Hiding the darkness is so much easier and less painful than letting someone else shed their light and love through it all. But during the reception I saw a distinct picture of how amazing the future could be if I just begin to open up now - deeply, intimately - with those that love me.
One of these lifelong friends of the Villas is the Collins family, and you may recognize Jim Collins, the new CEO of Pictage, in the pictures below. Both of these families have become dear role models and friends to us over these past couple of months, and having a role model like Jim in the photography industry has been such a huge blessing. As Jeff and I grow deeper in our love for each other and our love for our business, we know that this is the kind of life we want to have in twenty years.
Jim is an avid photographer and we noticed that in most of their pictures, Jim is missing behind the camera. When we got the chance to hang out with both families, we brought along a camera to get Jim in some of the family goodness!
I think this is my favorite one. This is seriously what its like pretty much all the time with these guys around! We had the Collins family all set up and Richard came running over saying "Hey, I'm supposed to be in this one, right??!?" Love it!
What a fantastic family
The beautiful Villa family.
We had to get in some of the action too...
We love these two. Period.
Richard, Kim, Jim, and Angela: Thank you so much for allowing Jeff and I to hang around! You are such an inspiration to us and we are blessed by you guys more than you know!
Hugs,
Erin
15 comments
Jenna Rowe - wow. how did i miss this blog post!?? LOVE it. love these guys. i want to be there too!!!! what a blast.
Sundays « StephVillaDavis - [...] Youngrens ‘Twenty Years from now…’ [...]
2009 Holiday Portrait Sessions Are Available! | The Youngrens - [...] And because posts are always cooler with pictures, here’s a shot of two of my favorite families: The Collins & Villas [...]
Stephen Knuth - Great images & great blog post!!!! As I get to know Jim a little more and more, I too am really enjoying the guy too!! I LOVE this portrait session.
Laurie - Wonderful photos! What a great time you had! It shined in everyone’s faces!
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Allison Rainboth - I’m Jim’s sister and have been hearing raves about the amazing people he is working with. If this is a sample, I can see exactly what he is talking about! Of course it doesn’t hurt that you’ve got a bunch of my very favorite people, Collinses and Villas, looking like movie stars. The one of Steph and Shawn is so beautiful I got teary. THANKS for taking the pics, and thanks for sharing…you made my day!
Leila - Really great images!! So awesome to “meet” the rest of Jim’s family!!
The Youngren’s rock!!
Angela Collins - Wow. There isn’t much more that I can say. Erin, thank you so much for your honesty and openness. I hope you know how privileged we felt to have you and and Jeff with us on that Sunday and to have you shoot our family. Never have all of us looked so good all at the same time
! Jeff, both you and Erin have such amazing gifts and are so willing to share them with us all. I know we all are lucky to have you in our lives and know you are stuck with us for at least the next 20 years! love you guys.
ps. not many people can make my husband weepy but i love it when they do!!
Pictures are worth… Priceless « lizzyrae[dot]com - [...] The family gets a beach house for the week in Newport every summer. We were so priviileged to have Jeff and Erin Youngren as our guests the first Sunday night and they even took some amazing family pictures of us. Check them out on their blog here. [...]
lizzy rae - Okay. I just love you guys. These are amazing. I want prints. I want a canvas! An album! We love hanging out with you guys, just like when my dad said “Get in the picture with our kids” you really do fit with the fam. Thanks for everything you do. PS Emily I miss you too!
Emily - Beautiful post! The best thing about our job as photographers is meeting life-long friends. ps. I miss Elizabeth!
Stacy Cross - What a sweet story, Erin! These are fantastic and ooooh, I miss the beach.
Maybe when this baby becomes more independent-er, we can come back to SD! Or . . . . can 8 month preggies fly?!
Kim Villa - Erin, Did I mention that I love the way you write? You are able to express in words the feelings behind the photographs you take. You and Jeff bring something very special to the table and anyone who is fortunate enough to have you photograph anything is in for an experience that is hard to describe. Thank you so much for being real people and loving what you do and letting us be a part of it.
Jim Collins - This moved me Erin … In the middle of it all, sometimes it’s easy to loose track of the blessings we share. I tell people all the time that when I look around the table at my friends I wonder how I could possibly have been so lucky.
Richard and Kim’s story could so easily have been so different. Their character, their faith, and the unbelievably massive hearts are the fuel that got them through. I am inspired in their presence. When you’ve known someone for nearly 20 years and you can still say that it’s meaningful.
My sons have grown up with two fathers and two mothers and two wonderful sisters. I am infinitely blessed …
Going to go wipe my eyes now and get back to work … I don’t know who the Jim Collins is you keep talking about, but if it’s me I’ve got some big shoes to fill…
Onward,
JC
Sara France - That is so awesome! Great pictures of truely great people! Jim has quickly become one of my favorite people and you, Youngrens, we consider to be some of our closest friends. Great post!