There are exceptions to every rule….

I photographed this sweet baby at three weeks old. That is usually unheard of since most photographers will only shoot newborns under 10 days old. Maybe 14 days old if they are pushing it.  Waiting that long for newborn photos is not something I usually do, nor do I suggest it.  I was a ball of nerves going into this session, hoping to get something good out of it and wow…she was ANGELIC!

She is just precious. I can’t STAND IT!

Nyla, you are a doll, but honey, let your mama sleep!

Meet the Vassos family, again. I met them a FEW years ago…Anita and I met in a playgroup when our girls were babies. I have had the pleasure of photographing this family since then and have been so lucky to watch these children grow. Now my daughter and this gorgeous little girl are in the same class which allows me to see her wonderful parents almost every morning.

Thank you to Pete and Anita for letting me capture these moments for you. I love your laughter and the joy that is so apparent in your family. Your children are so fun and enthusiastic which makes my job so much easier. You guys are amazing. XO

This is my dear friend Amy and her lovely family. I can’t tell you enough how much I adore this woman. She has taught me so much about being true and honest to myself. She has also taught me a great deal about being a faithful person and how to pray. I am so thankful that our lives have crossed paths and for her friendship.

Oh I have waited to meet this little man for so long! Welcome to the world, Nicholas…you have awesome parents who will love you for eternity.

XO

This sweet boy is the fifth born, yes, you read that right, fifth. He has four older siblings ranging from 18 to 8 but now he’s the baby and stealing all of the attention. Rightly so, since he’s adorable!

I met this beautiful woman, Annette, through the St. Margaret Mary MOMS program. She joined a group that I facilitated and we have been friends ever since.  She is the type of person that you adore wholeheartedly: she’s fun, full of enthusiasm, so encouraging and an all around fantastic friend. She’s married to Robert and together they have their son, Roman.  Roman and my children attend the same school but are in different grades.  I love being able to see them in the morning at drop off though.  I don’t get to see Robert very much, but when I do he is so wonderfully nice.  It’s no surprise these two have the love that they do!

Annette, my friend, thank you for allowing me to capture these moments for you. During this week of celebrating Thanksgiving, I want you to know that I am truly thankful for your presence in my life. XO

I have had the privilege of shooing engagement shots for Allison and Arno.  Allison is a relative of my husband, Nathan, and she lives here in Orlando.  She met this fantastic guy, Arno, who has the most amazing accent…he’s from South Africa! These two were fun to work with, we giggled quite a bit when I asked them to be all lovey-dovey.

Best wishes to you two and we will see you soon! XO

Meet the Cochran family.  I adore them. The boys are all so adorable and all so different.

Jamie is a friend of mine from the Methodist School, where all of our children have attended preschool.  I didn’t know Jamie much besides just seeing her around school, but when we became “friends” on Facebook, I found out that she and I had a ton in common.  PLUS, James (my son) and her son Josh had become really great friends.  We had play dates for the boys and then found our boys on the same tee ball team last spring.  Jamie and I hit it off and have been friends ever since.  Most of our conversations revolve around pets, food we love and our crazy children.

I remember seeing her at the preschool when she pregnant with her fourth and thinking, “I’m so exhausted with ONLY two, how does she DO IT?”  That’s just Jamie. She’s such an amazing mother and she absolutely loves her job as a mom.  Her job title on Facebook is right on the money and makes me giggle every time: CEO at Josh, Matt, Nate and Jake, Inc.

Another reason I adore her is for her huge heart.  When I asked for nominations for a family to be gifted a portrait session a few months back, she jumped at the chance to nominate her friends Michele and Jeff Van Son, who I picked to receive the session. Thank you so much for that, Jamie.

Daniel grew up in Kenya, which I think is totally amazing.  We had a great conversation one time about what it was like for him to grow up there, if he got to see tons of animals, etc. While of course I’d never really understand what it was like, it’s fun that since I’ve been there I can sort of picture what it might have been like for him.

I’m so excited to show off these images of such an amazing family. Hope you enjoy them.

We met this awesome couple last year at a friend’s Halloween party.  They are originally from Iowa, where my husband is from and where I spent 7 years of my life.  We love to chit chat about Iowa and how great it is to not live there anymore…just teasing. Leah and Brad won my portrait session at last year’s auction to benefit the school that our kids attend. We knew it would be a holiday time shoot for them, but I was excited to finally work with them. The girls are adorable twins full of spunk and humor.  Their son is a ball of energy, full of life and humor too!

Definitely watch this to get the whole take on the shoot, there are hilarious video clips….

My words are difficult to pull together right now, there are so many thoughts that I want to put down and they are all racing through my head in an unorganized manner.  I’m supposed to be working on my client’s images but instead, I’m trying to rush through this blog post so I can share these images of my own family. I’m so in love with them!

There have been a few events in my life this year that have made me wake up and realize that I need to practice what I preach; a kick in the head so-to-speak. I have never hired another professional photographer to take photographs of my own family.  I decided this summer to contact Deb Schwedhelm, an amazing photographer and artist who lives in Tampa. I have been following her work on Facebook for some time now, had been following her blog (read this post) and I’m absolutely in love with her style.  I knew she was the right photographer to capture exactly what I wanted of me and my family, together, happy, healthy, loving and having fun.

Family sessions are really popular at this time of year, getting ready for the holidays and such.  If you have not made the decision to have your photographs taken, do it now. NOW. I don’t care who you hire as long as it’s someone whose style you LOVE, not like, LOVE.  Hire someone who you know will give you the results you desire, who will show generations to come who your family is and how you felt at that exact moment. Search for that person- it’s so worth the investment to have those treasured memories!

I have thanked Deb about a thousand times by now, but I’ll do it again and think it every time I see my photographs.  I am so completely thrilled with them and hope you will enjoy getting to know me as ME, not a photographer, but a wife, mother and individual.

Find Deb here: Facebook, blog