It was on a day where I really needed the perfect weather, the perfect light, and the perfect family to cheer me up. And that is exactly what I got!

I left for this session straight from my friend Kathi’s house, after saying goodbye to her as she was moving to Texas. As one of my dearest friends for over 10 years, this was heartbreaking for me. I cried most of the way there, and got out of the car hoping I didn’t look like a total disaster. But oh… this light… this family… they made me feel so much better.

This little girl is the luckiest girl ever. To be so loved is such a wonderful thing…

I captured these images nearly a year ago. In the meantime, Matthew has grown a bunch and gotten braces. Franklin has lost his two front teeth and grew in the beaver teeth that are so popular with kids his age.

This session almost didn’t happen. In a burst of inspiration, I planned/bought the outfits. Then, it rained. Then, I lost motivation. I stayed in that place for a few weeks. Then, one day, the sun was out, the kids were home, I had a rare burst of energy, and I decided we should just do it. Now. I yelled at them to get dressed, did some things to Sophia’s hair, and we left as the sun was getting low.

I had visions of how this would go… I’m good at this. People connect with me, and we have fun during sessions. It’s just a great playtime that ends up looking really pretty and everyone looks so happy. I’ve learned by watching stressed-out moms, that stressing does nothing for the session but drag it down. No disciplining during sessions, that’s my rule. Yeah.

I found myself being that mom. THIS HAS TO WORK. You’re going to smile if it kills you. Stop complaining. Just stand over there and SMILE!! Stop whining. Stop bickering. Oh man… this was hard to be the relaxed, fun mom when it’s MY pictures I want to turn out well! And my kids who are acting like punks! The fun-photographer-me was watching the stressed-mom-me and just shaking her head and telling herself to chill out and do what I do for my clients. I don’t yell at their kids. I make up fun games! But the stressed-mom-me kept taking over. I bet it was hilarious to watch me, like one of those movies with people multiple personalities fighting to get out. Yell at the kids to do something, then act like everything is so fun.

But the cool thing about professional photography… you throw out the crappy shots, and just keep the good ones. I shouldn’t have stressed. I’ve done this long enough to trust the process (for other people), that it ALWAYS TURNS OUT. Somehow. I always get treasures from every session, even the disastrous ones. I don’t even pretend to think it’s because of me.

I was just talking about this last weekend with a client… God cares about good pictures.

I swear, He does. There have just been too many times when the clouds parted and the perfect ray of light would shine on that screaming toddler as they took a breath, and they actually looked happy and beautiful. Or the time when I crossed the country to shoot a wedding, and it poured. POURED. Poured really isn’t a good enough word… the entire day. The entire state was a mud bog. I was feeling so bad that she wouldn’t get pretty pictures after all the effort to get me there. Then God heard the I Do’s, called a cease-fire on the rain, and gave us 30 minutes to get the shots we wanted before starting back up. And it’s not just me… I’ve heard other photographers recount the same things, time and time again.

God-the universe-nature-Allah-energy-the force CARES about pictures.

It’s probably because He knows how much they’ll mean to us. Of course we want beautiful images of the people we love. But it goes deeper than that. Seeing them in this ideal state (quiet, happy, perfect) moves us. Allows us to appreciate them more fully. Reminds us of what is important. Captures the moment, and lets us revisit it again and again. And captures those people who change so constantly and lets us hold on to them a little tighter, to keep them a little longer.

Watching my kids grow creates a tiny bit of an ache in my heart. As much as I love who they are and who they’re becoming, as much joy I feel in the present, I loved the former versions (who I only can visit in pictures) just as much. Photography is a gift, really. A gift from God. He parted the clouds of my laziness and then stress and grumpiness and allowed these to happen. Treasures.

I love these people. I love the energy they bring to my life. I’m not talking energy- do things, I’m talking energy- vibe. They are the most amazing group of people I know, and I feel badly sometimes that I’m not more for them. But I am what I am, and they are gracious and accepting of that. I feel the same way about them. They’re not perfect either, but that doesn’t change how I feel about them one bit. I’m just enjoying (as much as and as often as I can) the ride we’re on together.

He is one lucky little guy, with parents who love and adore him and each other. Total love-fest.

Love make me really happy.

Not an easy feat, considering they had three kids under 2! But they take it all in stride. It was so much fun for me to watch how much they cherished these children.

I’m pretty sure if he had the verbal skills, he’d be saying: Mom… he’s touching me!

You know I love me a good slice-of-life shot that shows how things REALLY are:

Are these the yummiest-looking little piggies ever?

The pink princess:

I’m finally caught up on sleep after sleeping for nearly a whole weekend. I highly recommend returning from a big trip on a Friday morning so you can spend the rest of the weekend recovering before you’ve got to actually get back into your schedule. (and, if you’re lucky like me, you might want to sleep a bit on Monday and Tuesday and why not… Wednesday as well!)

Tonight Shelby and and I went to one of our favorite bookstores, Hicklebee’s to meet a favorite author, Suzanne Collins, author of the Hunger Games series. We’ve met some of the most amazing authors there… we feel like it’s such a treasure to have a real old-fashioned independent bookstore where every employee is absolutely passionate about children’s books. Anyway, we saw Sophia’s teacher from last year. She said she still checks my blog all the time, so I decided I better make sure that next time she looks, there should be something new! (Hi Mrs. H!)

So… in the spirit of international travel, here’s a session from an international family! They are currently living in Ethiopia… mom is a diplomat. SO cool, huh?

So… in some kind of record time for me between session and blogging it… here goes!

This sweet little missy was so happy and smiley, I really didn’t have to do anything to make her smile. I didn’t even have to work. Easy Peasy.

I really love this shot, how it shows that she’s in the adorable crawling stage, and how mom is cheering her on in the background.

This smile… we saw it a lot. So happy that smile takes up her whole face! Dad made her so happy, I loved their connection.

This shot… she’s actually on her dad’s back, upside down, and I’m shooting up at her. I think it’s funny that you can’t tell.

Dad is an avid gardener. I like that his human crop and his veggie crop are both represented in this shot.

In this shot, dad is holding her upside down and you can’t even tell. Oh, you can? Oh… yeah…

Happy happy family. Love it.

I still have a few spots available for next Saturday’s mini’s. Downtown Campbell is so much fun because of the variety of looks in such a small area.

I really love the variety of footwear in this family.

Anyway… We had lots of fun.

This cutie just makes me smile.

This shot… I just adore it. In the image right before this one, she was a little sad. But then she got the pacifier… look at the bliss!

Their kitchen is so warm and cozy and cute… I had to get a shot of them being together at the table.

It’s so much fun for me to capture all these little accomplishments. They change and grow and learn so much in one year, it’s amazing.

I love the sky and water in this…

I love this multi-generational shot with the maternal grandparents. You can just see how adored this boy is!

Dad’s face melts me here. Total contentment.

This shot… anyone who has a toddler, tell me you don’t do this about 20 times a day!