I’m just finishing the last of my packing and will be heading out tomorrow morning for a photography convention. I’m so excited!! I just wanted to let you know that I might be a little slow to respond to emails and to all my wonderful clients – we will pick up right where we left off as soon as I’m back next Wednesday. Thank you for your patience!
Last weekend was so much fun! Kianna (my baby sister) came and spent the weekend with me so that we could create some new fun portraits for her. When she showed up with this hat and those glasses I just knew she was going to rock it! And (of course) she totally did so much so that all the ones I want to share just won’t fit into one post! So here is part I…
I love you Kiwi!
Do your kids like charts? Mine LOVE them! You know how they say kids love consistency, well the chart must be one way my kids feel that! I designed this chore chart as an award system to get them excited to help out around our home and it worked! If this might be helpful for you and your kiddos, please enjoy it! It’s just a PDF file you can download and print from your home computer. You may have to change your printer settings to print borderless. Happy Chores!
Has the sun ever mislead you? I looked outside Saturday morning to see a beautiful sunny day greeting me… Jumped in the car, backed out of the garage and gleefully adorned my kate spade sunglasses I’ve had no need for in months! As I basked in the sunlight coming through my windshield, I couldn’t help but feel excited for the day ahead of me. Spring is in the air and it seemed like a perfect day for my session with the ‘D’ family! Got to the location early so I could scout out some possible backdrop opportunities hopped out of the car and realized, ‘oh shnikey’s it’s cold!’ I guess I forgot that this is spring in the great Northwest!
It was still a great way to spend my Saturday morning, even with the very nippy air! I got to meet the very awesome ‘D’ family who were just great about braving the cold with me! We really will have to go back when Kamari is standing and the sun is actually warm so that Miss Ava can splash in the fountain!
I am really LOVING this first shot. It feels like a little window into the everyday happiness of this little family!
Isn't she an absolute beauty!!
Look at those little cheeks, don't you just want to kiss em'! Sister affectionately calls him 'Chub' as in chubby cheeks (so cute!)
“Children will not remember you for the material things you provided but for the feeling that you cherished them.” ~Richard L. Evans
My girls are really into Candy Land right now, it seems like we play the game almost daily. The highlight of the game is when one of the girls gets a character, they don’t even care if it puts them back to the start of the game, they just love imagining that they are Princess Frostine or they’re just arriving to play at Grandma gumdrops. These yummy treats remind me of a delicious forest that my girls just might imagine up in their very own Candy Land! They are delicious and so simple to make (promise), I’m a terrible baker but even I could handle these yum-yum’s!
We made these cake pops for a special dinner we were attending last weekend. After trying one, one of the boys came up to me asking if I could ‘please get a copy of the recipe to his mom’ I asked if he would like me to email it to them and he thought that sounded great. It’s just amazing how our kiddos understand electronics, the need for a recipe and the power of email! I don’t remember any of that registering when I was 6 (okay electonics didn’t mean much back then, but still) kids today are just so stink’n smart!! Max, here is the recipe – hope you have a blast with it! The girls and I are already planning fun green ones for St. Patrick’s Day!
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Cake Pops:
1 box chocolate cake mix (cook as directed on box for 13 X 9 cake)
1 can cream cheese frosting (16 oz.)
wax paper
1 lb pkg. white candy melts (with a few drops of food coloring for desired shade)
Additional: Lollipop sticks / Styrofoam Block (for sticking pops in)
Original recipe from Bakerella
“Animal lovers are a special breed of humans, generous of spirit, full of empathy, perhaps a little prone to sentimentality, and with hearts as big as a cloudless sky” ~ John Grogan (Marley & Me)
That just happens to be an exact description of my amazing sister and this is her dog, Max on his 2nd birthday.
Love can most easily be seen through a child. In their innocence, they are sincere. Children don’t withhold love and when you fail them, they instantly forgive time and time again. They give you all their trust with no strings attached and if you falter, they won’t take it away. It’s in the simple gestures that love is most profoundly felt. Never take for granted sweet little hugs and kisses, never leave their trust misguided and never forget to show them your love… Because they won’t forget to show you theirs. How fitting that the Savior admonishes us to be like little children.
Have you ever stopped to consider how incredible it is that a single feeling or mood can be immortalized in a single image? I have. No words, no gestures only a single frame and yet that can be all you need for a moment to be captured in time. The H. Family set the perfect mood right from the beginning which in turn built the perfect canvas for me to create their family as art! I had so much fun laughing and playing and just soaking up their joyful spirits! Thank you for the great afternoon!
When I’m in shooting mode I’m always trying to be aware of what’s happening around me. Part of the magic of contemporary photography is to capture the genuine. This is a prime example of just such a scenario working exactly as I’d hope! The focus had switched over to little sis and as I’m making silly faces at Evelyn I’m also watching Egan out of the corner of my eye. He’s being a great helper and walking the dog until all of a sudden it’s Quigly who “walking” poor Egan. Don’t worry Egan was not hurt by Quigly’s attempt to find the treats but it did leave me in hysterics for a good several minutes!
I’ve heard them say it. As a result of my own (very loved) hubby I knew it was true; I’m ashamed to admit that I’d even passed judgment on my sweet MIL (sorry mama Marla!). They say that a boy can do things to a mommy’s heart like nothing she’s seen before, I didn’t get what that meant.
Like most with out children, I had plenty of opinions on what should and shouldn’t be done. I’d never been that mother in the grocery store just trying desperately to get through the list and back out to the safety of the car as fast as possible before certain meltdown ensued. I’d never been that mother, sheepishly smiling as her child wails on the airplane and she frantically tries to offer every possible treat, trick and bribe to console her child and appease the threatening looks being darted her direction… And I’d never been that mother who melts into a soppy “yes” puddle when offered little hugs from dimpled hands and sweet, ‘I uv ooooooo!’s from a sticky toothless face. I’d never been that mother until the day I became their mom!
He is the icing on the already fabulous cake! After 2 perfectly precious little princesses, my little knight in shining armor arrived. He is the first motivation ever strong enough for me to want to learn sports lingo, Marvel characters and dinosaur trivia. With the girl’s, I can say no, I reason the consequences of what I’d be teaching them if I always gave in. I can tell when they need more special time and when they are just testing limits. But him. Maybe it’s that I’m from a family of all girls and my mom is from all girls and I had 2 girls and was sure that I was destine to ride the girl only express. Maybe. All I do know is that he’s got this mama wrapped around his chubby little finger.
From before she was even born I was aware (some times quite painfully) of every little part of her. When she made her debut, I experienced love at first sight as it’s truly meant to be. I studied every inch of her not so little body (she was 9.2 pounds at birth) and unequivocally adored every fiber of her beautiful being. It makes me smile to think of when we were still in the hospital and Taylor asked me if I’d noticed her hairy little ears. Of course I had, I’d thought to myself, I’m her mother. I just hadn’t said anything about it out loud because I didn’t want to embarrass her. As she has continued to grow I have found myself on countless occasions just marveling at this incredible little treasure that Heavenly Father has entrusted me with. I know when she’s about to cry despite the brave face. I know when she’s being pushed to hard and when she isn’t being pushed enough. I know each freckle and both dimples. I have been blessed to experience this miracle three times over. I have studied every detail of each of my children and have stood in awe so many times as I’ve watched three little heads lay softly atop three little pillows and thanked God that they are mine. It was with these feelings as well as a deep appreciation and love for the photographs of my ancestors that grace our home that have inspired me to begin the silhouette collection.
The Silhouette collection will be offered by itself or in conjunction with a classic portrait session. I hope you enjoy this first little teaser. I’m excited to share more with you soon!
