Thankfulness

Because today is the day of giving thanks I wanted to say a big thanks to all of my clients who so generously give me the chance live out my passions and dreams. Without the encouragement you have given me I would not be the person I am today.

Today is also our little Ainsley’s first Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving around our house the past five years has been loaded with family packed into our home. With nearly 15 people I quickly run out of room to stack them so most choose the floor to sleep on. With all of the noise, crowdedness, and lots of dishes I found myself enjoying those few days a year when everyone comes over to my house for food and fun.

This year nobody came over. It was a slow and quiet day with just the three of us. We did spend a few hours over at my brother-in-laws house but most of the day was spent with my new three-person family. It was a welcome change of pace and a day full of thanksgiving for me as I am surrounded by the two people that mean the world to me.

Here are a few shots of my little Thanksgiving.

The day started off by mom doing a little bit of “Pre-Black Friday” shopping. She got up at 4:30 to snag this cool noisemaker of a table for Ainsley at half price. By the time Ainsley woke up we had it set up for her to begin the play of a new toy.








Because this was Ainsley’s first Thanksgiving Sarah and I have been doing a lot of talking about traditions. Today we started our first Thanksgiving tradition of drawing turkeys by tracing our hands on construction paper. It was obviously difficult for a 6 ½ month old to hold her hand still but we made it through it. Once we finished coloring each of us wrote a few things we are thankful for this year. The goal is to do this every year and write down five things we are thankful for. We will move this to small index cards in the future. It will be fun to read through all of them and see how our kids change their priorities over the years.








Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Mark and Kathy's Family

My latest family photo session was one of my most unique family sessions. In what is considered a very rare occasion, Baby Ainsley made a special guest appearance at my photo session. She came along with Sarah and I to capture my brother-in-law and sister-in-laws family and did a fantastic job at entertaining them. She held up great even with the cooler weather in which she hardly complained.

Mark and Kathy are our closest geographically located family. Most of my family is either in St. Louis or the great state of Texas. Having them near by has given us a chance to watch their three children grow up. It was a joy hanging out downtown with them and I look forward to our big Thanksgiving dinner over at their house this year!

Caroline's 6 Months: Part 2

Caroline and her family have become special to Sarah and I. We have been meeting up with them during Caroline’s first year of life to capture her continuous changes. Our sessions are always full of sharing stories and comparing notes as new parents. Being new parents ourselves we completely understand how fast changes occur.

This session we enjoyed the beautiful fall and took Caroline outside. As you can see sweet hats complement little girls like icing on an already perfect cake. I am so excited for Caroline’s parents and continue to be amazed at how fast our children grow.

Jody + Quinn: Newborn

I am so excited that Jody and Quinn have asked us to document Caroline’s first year. Not only do we get to watch this little girl grow and experience the world around her, but we get to watch our relationship with Jody and Quinn grow along with our children. Jody and Quinn have touched our lives and we look forward to our little girl growing up to know them as friends as well.

Congratulations Jody and Quinn!

Sneak Peek: Guy and Linda Engagement

This afternoon we drove up to Fremont Indiana to do an engagement shoot that included a splash of family to it. During the short hour drive from Fort Wayne, Sarah grabbed her stomach and said “oh, that was a weird feeling”. Ha! Let me tell you, I thought that today was going to have a second “splash” of family! No fear it was a honest false alarm that lasted one whole second.

Guy and Linda are bringing their two families together this May and I can see that this is a perfect blend. Before we show you the whole session, we once again want to tease you with a shot from the day. Keep checking back to meet the whole family including their gentle giant of a dog, Nala.

First Glimpse

Introducing Caroline! More to come of this beautiful two week old in the coming days. For now here is a teaser from today’s session. Check later to see more of baby Caroline.

Also tomorrow brings us a chance of rain, but that won’t stop us from doing another photo shoot with one of our May brides. Stay tuned.

Jody + Quinn: Maternity Part 2

As I was going through Jody and Quinn's images this one stood out to me. It is as if we, the world, had a chance to peek into their life and see how joyful they are about their growing family. I am so happy for them!

Have a wonderful St. Patrick's Day!!!

Jody + Quinn: Maternity

What a joy it is to be working with Jody and Quinn during this special time of their lives. We first met Jody and Quinn while volunteering at the Father Daughter Banquet nearly a year ago. Jody is in the final stages of her pregnancy just as Sarah is. We shared many of the same stories and laughed our way through the photo session. This will be the first of many photo shoots with Jody and Quinn. We will have the honor of documenting their baby’s first year of life only to create a beautiful leather bound album this time next year.

Jody and Quinn, we can’t wait to watch your little “peanut” grow in during the next
year. Thanks for inviting us to watch!