Recently, it dawned on me that we no longer have babies. Our oldest is 13 and our younger two are 10 and 8. They’re definitely “big kids” now, and we are officially in a different stage of parenting. When we see parents with strollers, we can’t believe that it seems like that season was so long ago for us. We no longer have to worry about diapers and packing so many little things everywhere we go. We don’t have sleep deprivation or have to deal with unpredictable toddler tantrums. Food and drink messes don’t occur as much either, but we do have other challenges. Every older parent has always told us that new challenges come and they were right. For us now, our number one focus is manners, common courtesy and politeness. Yes, school academics, activities, vacations, and all things that come with our modern day parenting is important, but the more I live my life, the more I realize that teaching our kids what respect and honor is has never been so important to me. My view is… who cares what you accomplish if you don’t know how to be kind? Who cares how much money you make if you don’t know how to humbly say, “thank you”? Who cares how good you’re in sports and ‘smart’ if you can’t offer a helping hand and know how to treat others with respect? I have seen way too many ill-mannered people that I can’t allow another adult to enter this world that way. As parents, I’m convicted that that is our responsibility more than anything. Decency and common courtesy sadly just isn’t so ‘common’ anymore, but I am hopeful that it can still change. With God, all things are possible and we can still turn our society for good. All that to say… Alyssa + Tito were the BEST examples of kindness. Seriously, they just couldn’t be nicer human beings. So considerate, so well-mannered, so polite with every word that they spoke. WOW! They’re the type of influence that our children need; that the entire next generation needs. Spending just an evening with them was refreshing for me. It gave me so much hope for the future of our world. If I felt like this after just a few hours with them, I can’t imagine how impacted one would feel after a day or a week or a month with them. It was such a pleasure working with them that it didn’t even feel like work at all to us. It all seemed way too easy… and on top of it all, they were so good looking! OMG! Alyssa had three different hair styles and she looked good in all of them! Geez! Wish it was like that for me! They both looked so good together and was literally picture perfect in every pose we put them in. Tito accidentally left his suit for the dressy part of the shoot, but can you even tell? We were all so bummed, but seriously… he still looked so good and I think it actually worked out for the better, don’t you agree? In my opinion, less is more with our couple because of their natural good looks and their inner beauty shining right through them. Their genuine, bright, joyful smiles were priceless. We truly had the most pleasant time that I seriously can’t wait for their wedding day in May of next year. Alyssa + Tito, you guys were the best! Thank you for being who you are and being some awesome people! We appreciated you so much and we hope that you love your photos. You guys look pretty amazing in these… we can’t wait to see how your wedding portraits turn out already! Until then… take care and we will see you before we know it to celebrate your BIG day!
With much love,
Craig + Unchong
