Kimberly and Zach's {engagements and bridals}

Kimberly and Zach are getting married today!  So I thought...why not post their adorable engagement and bridal sessions in honor of their big day!  And who knows...maybe we'll add a little sneak peek from the wedding when I get home tonight.  What do you say? :)

PS....aren't they soooooooooooo adorable?

And their bridals....such a pretty day!...

 Kinda in love with this one:

Up, Up, and Away...the Ellsworth Family's Sneak Peek

It was a very beautiful day today...fresh air, sun, and hot air balloons.  :)  This family is so cute!  I grew up in the same neighborhood as Janica, so it is extra fun to see her all grown up with two gorgeous little boys of her own.

In fact, it would have been the perfect day, were it not for this:

I had been taking a few shots of the boys sitting in the grass, and when I stood up and turned around Eric (the dad) said calmly "Hold very still," and he proceeded to swipe something off my back with a blanket.  It took a couple seconds and I asked, "Do I want to know what it is?" to which he responded, "NO."

It was a ginorous disgusting spider. (see above).  A  HUGE spider.  On my back.  I still have the heebeejeebees.  He squished it before I got to see it (which probably helped us avoid my having a full-on freak out) but yeah, I have been feeling creepy-crawly all day long.

So thanks for a great shoot guys, and thanks for saving me from what is obviously a carnivorous, man-eating spider. :)

Where Love Can Lead You.

I've been thinking a lot about when and how to post about the newest addition to my little family.  You wouldn't think it would be very hard--take pictures, post pictures, say a few things about how cute he is, DONE!  But I've had such a lot on my mind since his birth, every time I've sat down at the computer to do just that, it hasn't felt like enough to do justice to how much it all means.

I mean, I'm a wedding photographer by trade.  I do almost any type of photography, but weddings are definitely my specialty.  I'm drawn to romance.  I savor every sweet moment shared between two newlyweds as I chronicle that day for them.  But the wedding day--however iconic in a person's lifelong love story--is just one day.  Its the life that happens after that is the most important.

As I rocked my baby to sleep last night I thought a lot about how hard it had been on me to bring him here.  We'd tried for a second baby for quite a while with no luck, and when we did get pregnant, his due date landed right smack in the middle of my wedding season.  It pretty much cut out my two most profitable months--last year they accounted for at least a third of my entire years profit.  Last year I did eight weddings in the same time period where this year I did one (and that was only after a long consideration as to whether or not I would be up to it.)  Besides the logistical nightmare of trying to figure out how to make that work, my body slowed down to a point I hadn't experienced with my first baby.  Every ache and pain was enhanced, the fatigue became consuming.  It was hard to imagine what it would be like when the pregnancy was over while I was in the middle of it.

And then I had him.  And he was perfect.  He was ours.

Another part of our family that we didn't even know we had been missing.

And it strikes me every time I look at him, and at his sweet big brother, that this is what it is all about.  These two little boys...they are our legacy.  They are our love story made real.

When we married six years ago, I never could have imagined this future.  I have always dreamed big, so sometimes I get lost in the day to day comings and goings, the new crises, the stresses and challenges.  The little things.

Jamison yesterday.  Food coloring is not finger paint.

But it is perfect in its imperfection.

So here he is...

And I think...this is where our love has lead us.  And it is beautiful.