noah and hallie.

i had the privilege of photographing a dear old friend's (and old roomie) kiddos today. aren't they beautiful? they were such troopers, in the 40 degree weather with no coats! SO good to see you for awhile melissa! (and we will SOON talk about our sweet daughters with BIG personality. :))

swensons take two.

wanted to post more from this weekend's session, with a sweet little six year old boy who no longer had a fever! had a great time, again. this family is such a blessing. such amazing kiddos and they are that way due to two great parents. thanks for letting me have ANOTHER of your afternoons!!

the swensons.

this family is amazing. they have/are raising SEVEN of the most polite well mannered beautiful children i have come across in a long time. and currently their three youngest are ALL under three! i was so blessed by visiting with them today and watching their oldest kids serve the youngest kids, just a wonderful example of a home that loves the Lord. and this is a plea for prayer for this young family. the precious mom you see in these photos is battling breast cancer. pray with us for healing for her body, peace for her family, strength for her and her husband physically, emotionally and spiritually. this family is suffering well and knows that God is in control and are an inspiration to everyone around them. please lift them up in prayer. and you'll notice there are only six kids in these pics.. the oldest son was sick today, but don't worry, we're gonna go capture him when he feels better!

AND i wanted to explain the chalkboards.. mom took the board and wrote one word to describe that child, and then the kiddo had to guess. it was super cute to watch... and snap... :)

ethan.

though still on maternity leave, i had the privilege to capture this little one a few days ago. nine days old, and just absolutely darling. you should have SEEN his nursery! his very talented grandmother (who MIGHT be one of the sweetest women i have ever met and who makes the best banana bread in the world), made all of his bedding, and i could have SWORN that ethan's mommy must have paid at least a thousand dollars for it at the fanciest baby boutique in town! it was wonderful to meet you ashley and stephen, and this little guy is just beautiful. so fun to hang out with y'all, even though i had to take a few advil and a nap afterwards! (yea, not quite ready to re enter the photo world! well, my body isn't anyway!)

oh and p.s. i seriously cannot believe how amazing ethan's mommy looks nine days after giving birth. i mean, i'm 8 weeks out and am not even CLOSE to looking like her! way to go ashley! i'll try not to be bitter about it...grrr...






um, and just for fun, i like to call this one...

OLE!

wheeler.

oh this little dude. i have no words for his cuteness. and this little face he would make as he would say "oh, oh" over and over.

so. stinking. cute.





it doesn't hurt that his parents are beautiful too. :) and maybe some of the nicest most generous helpful people EVER. thanks for being our friends dave and amy!

violet.

i had the pleasure of photographing the teensiest little early early baby girl, named violet. violet's mommy and i had due dates that were only a couple weeks apart, but this little one decided to come more than 4 weeks early. she is 5 days and 5 pounds in these images. and she is GORgeous. you may remember her STUNNINGLY handsome big brother caleb in this post. these people make ridiculously beautiful children. and i am so lucky to get to capture them. violet is now the owner of the cutest tiniest tutu and headband made by another friend of mine, ruth. her shop is called gracelaced, on etsy. check it out. she is muy talented.

here is sweet violet, in her precious violet headband. i love this family, congratulations guys. TWO beautiful babes in a row. :)

brett.

today.. i got to shoot my first movie star. :) this incredibly handsome young man is also a very talented young actor, with a movie coming out soon! (more on that later). his family are dear old friends of mine whom i adore. it was so good to catch up with them this afternoon as we froze together in the cold! AND i got a cup of hot chai out of it. who can beat that? here's one for now, joneses, because my computer is acting up and clearly does not want me post processing any more images this evening.

little jackson

oh this kid is cute. he's a clone of his beautiful mommy, who is a friend of mine. we did a teensy weensy mini session with this little one during a playdate at her house. is he not darling? more to come...

prose for portraits *WINNER*

man, was this HARD! we got so many great nominations, but when i read this one, i just knew.

i have known this family for awhile, but not nearly as well as i would like. this little boy has been through more trials and tests and surgeries and SCARES than many adults. and if you have kids, you know how hard this is on parents. the testing, the waiting, is it good news? bad news? this has been this family's life since this angel boy was born. and the testing and the surgeries have no end in sight at this point.

i am THRILLED and honored to announce that the winners of the prose for portraits contest, though incredibly difficult to pick just one family, are

THE BOGARTS!



(hope you don't mind, i ganked this from facebook.:))

Scott, Jen and Carter, get your hair ready and your makeup done cuz we're doin' a session!!! I will contact you SOON about timing, which, could very well be AFTER this baby is born!

congratulations, and please check out these other photogs to see who their winners were:
brianna saban
monique duke
pam christison
tammy staley

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

PROSE FOR PORTRAITS- deadline feb 10th

we have been reading and loving each heartfelt nomination from you. there is still time to nominate, through tomorrow, wednesday the 10th. so send them along!

twirl.

every little girl LOVES to twirl. it's just in us. even at 33, i love the feel of a twirly skirt. and every girl, little or big, is continually asking "am i beautiful? am i lovely? do you think so?" it's in our hearts. i did a four year old session with my very own little girl today and couldn't stop telling her how beautiful and lovely she is. these moments are fleeting. trying my best to capture them.




this one is for my mom. she taught her how to wink. ;) and she is VERY proud of her newfound skill.







this image should be titled "i'm cold and i'm done."

jesse.

while it is true that i am taking a break to be super pregnant and have a third baby, i cannot turn down newborns. i love them. this sweet boy is lucky for many reasons: he has some awesome parents, who are friends of ours; his abuela from mexico knitted this BEAUTIFUL blue blanket for him; his ridiculously long eyelashes; and.. look at that hair. i have not had a newborn yet with this much hair. so. fun. if his daddy weren't there i might have just put a bow in it and taken a picture. ;)

thanks luis and amanda for letting me spend the morning with you and this angel bug!

prose for portraits

read up people! we are so excited about this! so start those nominations!