This family is precious to me.

They’ve been in front of my camera more often than most, but more importantly they’ve taken up space in our hearts, inhabiting needs for community and friendship in ways that have surprised and blessed us.

These pictures are my effort at gratitude…

LOVE these two images!!

Micah is Livia’s favorite buddy…they get into all sorts of mischief together

This is Caleb. He’s handsome too.

This family has been in front of my camera almost a dozen times in three years, and it only gets sweeter!!

A couple of maternity sessions, newborns sessions, family Christmas pics, smash the cake sessions, birthday parties and just because we need new family photo sessions and I am one HAPPY photographer!!

Seriously, they’re some of my favorites.

Meet the Blackwells again: Joc, Lesley, Cameron, Leyla and Carter.

Um…I LOVE this one!!! Should be on a canvas or large print in my opinion #hint

Leyla has her mama’s fierceness. I almost told her to stop it already but then I realized I didn’t mean it, not one little bit.

Carter is handsome like his Daddy.

{Happy Sigh}

Seven Cousins. Four of whom are under the age of two.

Little superheros, being busy, saving the park and each other from boredom.

THIS family. I adore them. Every time I’m around them I want to drink lemonade and surround myself with little girls for the rest of my life. They are just, that, precious. This is the fourth time that this family has been in front of my camera…the last time I photographed them was a week to the day before I went into labor, and my last shoot before taking some maternity leave You can see those photos here!

This is Jessa. She’s sweet, curious and brave.

This is Brynlee. She’s adventurous, spirited and a real risk taker!!

Meet mom and dad, who also happen to be ridiculously good looking

Images like this one make me so excited for the day that my little Liv is a big sister!!

We found the most gorgeous light at the end of the shoot!!

These images of Jodi and Luke are so romantic and deserve a big print or canvas in their home #hint

This is SO them.

Jodi and Luke…as always, thank you for letting me in again. It truly is a blessing, thank you, thank you.

As I embarked into full-time self-employment as a new mom, I’ve really had to ask myself what kind of life I want…I tend to have wanderlust and a savior complex in that I want adventure and somehow believe I literally can be all things, to all people, at all times. I’ve really been working on deconstructing this and have been seeking a life of more balance…In Bittersweet, Niequist has a chapter that rang home for me–’Things I don’t do’. She references a friend saying, “It’s not hard to decide what you want your life to be about. What’s hard is figuring out what you’re willing to give up in order to do the things you really care about.” She then goes on to define what she does and does not do in her own life in order to make that life happen…

This process of defining what I do and don’t do in this season has added significant clarity and peace to the way that I approach doing life. I’ve adapted some of what Niequist wrote about to define things for myself and came up with this list–I know it will change.

Life ALWAYS changes, but for now I know that this is right, for me.

Things I do:

• I do work that I enjoy. When I first started my career, and first became unemployed, I was willing to do whatever work I could get my hands on to pay the bills. This was a necessary season, however it also hurt my heart and energy to be engaged in work that didn’t motivate or inspire me. I’m grateful to be in a season in my life right now where I can be picky about the work I do away from home, since I need it to add to my life and family rather than me depleting. That means that I work three half days a week right now doing clinical social work with a population I adore, and have 1-2 portrait photo shoots on the weekend. I don’t wish to do either full-time and this works for me.
• I love to cook from scratch and feed people–feeding people is one of my primary acts of service, it feeds me on a deeper level. I don’t host huge dinner parties or bring meals to people who aren’t in my immediate circle. However for my family and close friends, feeding is one of the ways that I nurture.
• I move my body/exercise in ways that feel good. I stop when I’m tired or sore, I don’t push myself too hard, and I don’t take too many breaks from movement throughout the week. Moving my body is becoming another form of worship to my creator because it’s less and less attached to my appearance.
• I thrift. It’s fun.
• I read, a little bit almost everyday.
• I do community with the wealth of girlfriends I have in my life…however I do it in a way that now supports my family. For years I over committed myself and family. Now I do something social (including play dates) just once or twice a week. This structure has let me spend more time investing in my marriage, my home, and my heart. Its important for me to maintain relationships yet not at the cost of my family and time.
• I use cloth diapers. This does not mean I make my own baby food or sew all her clothing. Some moms can do it all, I can’t, I chose which one mattered more to me.
• I do daily maintenance on my house, but I rarely do a deep clean. That means my house is a few steps above dirty but will most likely never sparkle. I’m okay with that. I’d rather spend the time reading with a latte or glass of wine depending on when I can steal twenty minutes.
• I go to therapy. This is a practice of care for my heart and marriage that I will do for the rest of my life. I believe in it, for the healthy, for the sick, and for everyone in between. We all need perspective, validation and a safe place to hear the truth. I’m committed and plan on doing it with my kids when their older.

These are things I don’t do–they are valuable to me, and I’ve spent a lot of time trying to make them work, but they just don’t in this season in my life.

Accepting I can’t have/do it all has decreased my stress and disappointment immensely!

Things I don’t do:

• Garden. I love gardening. It brings amazing satisfaction to eat something that you’re brought out of the earth, however it’s a narrow window of planting and most Februarys sneak by me, and it hasn’t happened and I am learning to accept that. I don’t do it.
• I don’t shop at farmers markets or the specialty grocery stores because they’re not conveniently located for me. I used to drive out of the way to hit up a whole foods or trader joes, and at one point was part of a really great food co-op. The timing and stress however was too much, and do now I don’t.
• I don’t iron.
• I don’t attend exercise classes–I love the Revelation Wellness community and find it to be a great place to work my body and spirituality. However the timing with attending classes never works out. In fact, attending any classes, anywhere, at any gym, does not work out. So instead I move my body in ways and with a schedule that does. I miss it, but I don’t do it.
• I don’t volunteer. I spent most of my twenties volunteering on the side in some capacity. It’s been a hard thing to give up, but I can’t do it in this season of my life without it eating away at something else that’s important.
• I don’t attend church. Church is a tricky thing for my husband and I; We believe that it can be good, that finding community to do life with is meaningful and necessary, yet haven’t found a church in which we both wish to practice that within. Some Sundays I miss it, some Sundays I feel guilty for not going since it was a practice I grew up with. Yet it doesn’t work for us now, maybe someday, maybe never. We don’t do it.
• I don’t meditate. I’ve tried so many different methods. It makes me anxious. I used to analyze why and now I simply accept that it’s okay that I don’t do it right now as long as I still learn how to quiet my head and heart. This is usually happens while I’m reading, running or cooking.
• I don’t host garage sales. I know that I could make money, but it’s energy and time I can’t, so instead I make monthly trips to the Goodwill with things we don’t need.
• I don’t craft much. I love throwing parties and creating pretty things, but I’ve had to let go of doing everything myself. That means I buy things online or hire someone else to help. I recently made some burlap curtains for my backyard and the whole time found myself swearing under my breath–while I saved us money, I wasted so much time and energy. I’m not doing that anymore.

I love Nieqist’s approach and would encourage you, wherever you’re at in your life, to create some space to focus on whatever is important, perhaps letting go of much. It’s working for me, find what works for you. Let there be grace and freedom to expand and retreat and to live the life that truly protects your heart and family.

Some families are just blessed with creativity…and this is one of them.

Seems like everyone plays an instrument, illustrates books or paints a master piece!!

They’re all that talented and it was an absolute pleasure to shoot this session in the Martinez family home, surrounded by Victor Martinez’s amazing work!

You may recognize these kiddos from Miss Eva’s recent newborn session…these big brothers are still smitten!

I absolutely LOVE this one of Juana and her little Eva!! They’re both so stunning!!

Melt my heart.

Love how tender Victor is with his daughter and granddaughter…

Eva was so comfortable in her Grandma Gladys’ arms.

Blessed indeed.

Well, it’s only taken forever, but Livia’s nursery is finally finished and I finally took some pictures of it!! This room is not at all how I originally envisioned it, however by the time we started I just didn’t have it any me to paint the walls (it was originally our home recording studio). So, I changed from a feminine whimsical room to something bolder and more modern. One of my favorite color combos is pink and orange, and more recently grey and gold, so I decided to throw it all together!

My grandmother passed away a year ago and I was passed down an AMAZING gold trunk which has since been converted to Livia’s toy trunk.

I absolutely love how it adds character to the room and reminds me of my Grandma Lona on a regular basis!!

My sweet friend Leah made me these fabric hoops for me when I was pregnant, I was soooo excited to finally hang them!!

(Don’t they have the cutest button push pins?!!)

I had all these extra frames in the house that I spray painted gold and framed a few of my favorite black and white images of Liv’s first year.

The gallery is hands down my favorite detail of her room along with that custom name decal!!

See below for a more detailed listing of where I purchased some of the accessories!

A little someone came in halfway through taking photos and insisted on reading a story on her couch~

Also…I love her.

List of products:

• Bedding, curtains & pink pillows: Land of Nod
• Name Decal: Janey Mac on Etsy
• Heart Garland: Michael’s Crafts
• Tissue Garland: The Paper Jar
• Couch & Dresser: Ikea
• Dresser Knobs: Hobby Lobby
• Polka dot pillow & orange/grey ruffled pillow: Urban Outfitters
• Metal Tray: Thrifted from Savers
• Fabric hoops & Gold frames: DIY

These two are getting married…I just love when covenant happens.

Kristen is a therapist who specialized in eating disorders. Chris is an engineer. They like nature and stuff and met on match.

I think the word I’m looking for to describe their connection is right. Enjoy them, and their love:

I just love, love, LOVE this one!!

Oh Kristen…go on with your bad self.

Ending with my FAVORITE!!!

This last week on my facebook page I posed a question regarding what people generally do with their products after their photo shoot. The majority of my clients opt to purchase a CD of digital negatives rather than buying individual prints. I don’t blame them, as its much more economic in the end and offers a lot more variety than just having to choose the favorites from the session (plus it affords you the opportunity to update your facebook profile pics!) That being said, I often think that the CD is overvalued and often hear that it ends up in a box or drawer where it collects dust without use.

Personally I feel that it’s extremely important to professional print your images–why invest up front with a professional photographer just to have a large glossy print from Walgreens on your wall? Because I believe it’s important I recently started including a professional 11X14 and 8X10 with every session.

Here are a few additional tips when it comes to products:

1. If you purchase the CD, PRINT some of your images for your home, put them in an album and/or get a canvas. Don’t let your CD collect dust or simply get burried in a drawer prior to putting some of your lovely images up in your home.
2. If your photographer doesn’t include prints, invest in a professional enlargement or canvas so that every time you walk by your hallway or living room you can linger and enjoy the memory of your family in that season in your life. It matters where you have it printed, go matte or luster with your finishes!
3. BACK it up!!! Another thing I frequently hear from people is that they want the CD so that they can have the photos archived however CDs are easily damaged and/or lost. Technology is CONSTANTLY changing (umm…we used floppy disks when I was in college ten years ago) and so having a CD is not a sure fire way of saving photos for your kids. CDs might not even be compatible with technology in the next decade or may break. As such, please do yourself a favor and back your images up on another hard drive, cloud, etc. to ensure safe keeping.

I hope these tips are helpful!! Because I love giveaways so much, I’ve decided to give a credit of $175 to a randomly selected commenter from this week’s facebook discussion! This credit covers the purchase of a CD of negatives or can be applied towards a session commission.

Congratulations to Jenna Goetzenberger for being the random.org lucky draw!! Jenna you may redeem this credit or give it away, must be redeemed by December 2013.

This couple is the real deal.

In fact, I don’t know that there’s much I can add to those words. They’re just that real. I’m grateful for them.

Jes is a friend and an amazing life coach!! I recently had her coach me as I prepared for my first 5k.

I wanted to share a few thoughts about my experience with life coaching, completely unsolicited

When I first asked Jes to do some coaching with me, I had a more simplistic view of what the experience would be like–as someone with a mental health education I wasn’t sure how similar/different the experience would be from therapy.

I SO appreciate Jes’s approach. She integrates a soulful experience within the context of measurable achievable steps towards a personal goal.

Not only did I achieve my running goal, I learned a lot about myself and achieved clarity about what I want to continue now that my race is done. For those of you interested in learning more about life coaching, check out Jes’s business Ignite Life Coaching! She works with clients all over the country~

For those of you interested in making a life change (health, education, wellness) I’d highly recommend Jes as a coach!!

She’s a great person to practice accountability with and provides a safe environment to pursue change…

Jes and Luke…I love that you have fun together!!

These two tied for my favorites from their shoot!! Even now I can’t choose which one I like better