It was about 2 years ago, we were both teaching full time. My son was still a baby and she was pregnant with her first. I would always go ‘complain’ in her room and she would always come into my room for a breath of fresh air. She was the first person that I ever photographed and they are some of my favorite pictures to date. So, here we are 2 years later, I now have 2 ‘babies’ and she is pregnant with her second. We are now staying at home and enjoying life as it is. Full circle, I tell ya.

Christine, you are an awesome friend and I am so excited for you guys! I can’t wait to meet your new little man and to watch your family grow! And, did I mention that I convinced her to cloth diaper. Come on now, you know you want to do it too!!

He has now(finally) decided that he wants to put his pants on by himself. Backwards or not, I think it’s just perfect by me. He wore them like this to get his haircut and all! Love this guy!

Anyways, I just love this family. Actually, I love all my families but this was one of the first families that I ever photographed. They have a special place in my heart.They are such awesome parents and with 5 kiddos under 3 I am still trying to wrap my brain around how they survive. I get tired just looking at the pictures. Their children are so well behaved. Each has a little budding personality all their own but yet they are all so in tune with each other. I tried hard to capture them individually as I know that is no easy feat!

Hopefully this will give you a little break from a long day!

So, I am officially taking the evening off. No editing, no working, no nothing. I am going to go get some Yogurt R Rock(yummy), put my feet up and continue working on the tutu for my daughters halloween costume. Tomorrow is another busy day!

But, of course, I can’t post without a picture. So, one of my favorites from my session this morning.

Eli spent the weekend with his DG and Papa this weekend. This is the picture that I got in my email yesterday. It was titled “a little bit of what Eli has been doing”. 

And, while big brother was away, Teagen got taken all over town to be my model while I was scouting out new photography locations. I think she did a pretty good job!
Yup, she’s pretty darn cute.

If you’re looking for some fun urban settings for your upcoming photo session…I found a goldmine of new locations this weekend!

It all started with a simple conversation talking about their upcoming family session. A few simple questions. A few not-so-simple answers. Mom really wanted to get some pictures of dad with his baby girl(actually, with both his boys and their sister) but, in particular, with his daughter. Why? Dad has never met his daughter. Excuse me while I swallow the big knot that just landed in the pit of my stomach. Please…say that again. Well, it’s just that. While serving our country, he missed the birth of his daughter and consequently has never met her. As a photographer, I know that some images, particularly those involving raw emotion, can never be recreated. It can be attempted. But, never, recreated. This moment, this memory, this was something that couldn’t be missed. Everyone in their lives have defining moments. Those moments come when you least expect it. This was a defining moment for me. Not actually taking the pictures but when I sat down to edit them. The emotion is so powerful. So meaningful. It’s as if, the lost time was recreated. Those fleeting moments said so much to me. They changed me. They made me want to be a better person. A better photographer. To capture those raw moments everyday.

I have many favorites from that day but these 2 are my favorite.

I love how his father in law has his arms around him and you can see the sincere love and gratitude in his face.

And this one….poor little guy was looking all over for his daddy. He kept throwing his arms up saying, “where is he” and what he didn’t realize is that he was standing right next to him. This is the first moment that he saw him. He was so happy.

“M” family. The sacrifice that you have made for our country leaves me speechless. My heart aches for your lost time. But, I know that in the weeks and months ahead, you will create new time. New memories. Those memories will take you beyond the time that you lost. It was truly an honor for me to be able to capture these moments for you.I hope that in some way, they help make up for lost time. And, from the bottom of my heart, thank you.

Of course, if you leave 20 comments for this family, I will do something for them. I don’t know what yet but I promise, it will be worth your comment.

Anyways, I was driving home from the store the other night and there was some seriously amazing lightning. I called hubby and had him meet me outside with my camera. I had no flash attached so I had to crank up the ISO to get enough light. I mean, how hard could it be? But, really, I must have stood there for an hour shooting my camera like I was a mad women. I took probably 300 shots and you know what I got??? 300 shots and all I got was one(lousy) shot, the rest…black. How irritating! As I’m shooting I am thinking that I’m getting some amazing stuff to maybe frame in the house. But, nope, nothing. It turns out, photographing lighting is a lot harder than I ever thought.