A beautiful family surrounding the newest member with all the love they have.

A new mommy for the second time… nuzzling her first born son.

A brand new mommy whose love was so contagious.  She reminded me what it felt like to hold my first born some 11 years ago.

A long awaited bundle of joy… a dream final realized.

Proof that your love is endless… a fifth child who is loved by so many!

A reminder that a mother’s love can mean everything.

The perfect image of a mother’s calmness and patience.

An early gift… welcomed with love.

A mother of three… a reminder that a mother’s love has no worldly boundaries.
As I took this picture I remember thinking that the strength we have for our children is amazing.
This special mother is a someone who inspires me daily and reminds me to be thankful and enjoy every day!
Her angel baby Jarrett lives forever in our hearts.

A mother of a daughter… a special gift.

The love between mother and son… another special gift.

Happiness… all wrapped up in such a little body.

A second princess to spoil.

A second boy to snuggle.

And lastly I want to say a bit about my mother.  She is special beyond words.  A true caretaker.  Someone who always made me feel safe, loved and special.  She let me be myself, explore the world around me, and supported all my dreams.  I continue to marvel at her caring, kind soul that is always looking to help out in any way.  I am beyond thankful that I had such an amazing mother… no doubt I wasn’t the easiest to parent but she always stood by me no matter what and at the end of the day I think that is the greatest gift you can give your children.  Listen to them, hear them and make sure they know without a shadow of a doubt that you love them no matter what.  Thank you mom for teaching me that valuable lesson.  I hope to do 1/2 the job you did with my own children.  I love you!

Here’s a shot of me and my mom last Mother’s Day.  I plan to make this a tradition.

and this was my favorite Mother’s Day gift last year.  My babies… all together.  I told them that this was all I wanted for Mother’s Day.
Another shot of all three of them.    Let’s see if I get what I ask for.

Happy Mother’s Day to all my friends, family and clients.  I hope you have a wonderful day!

“well what really is it?”
“isn’t it just another social networking site that I have to keep up with?”
“how is it different than Facebook?”

It is a fun, easy and FREE way to share your images.  For us photographers it is awesome because it lets us explore a more creative way to edit images on the phone.  Then in one easy step it is shared and we are done.  I have to say I don’t use it as a social network and I don’t think that is the creator’s intent. Yes I do follow many of my friends and fellow photographers but I don’t check it often.  I use it to have a quick and easy way to edit my images and upload them to Facebook fast.  It really is a like a photo journal for me.  I also like that there are certain applications like  Castagram where you can make a cover for your iPhone out of your instagram images. Pretty cool.  So I thought it would be fun to once a month or so share my favorite Instagram images.  If you follow me on Facebook you will have seen them already but if not… then enjoy.

I love all three of these shots.  I love the first one because you can see her cute little round body and that big wide smile.  The column shows her smallness but does not clutter up the image.  Just a nice clean image of a cute one year old.  The second one lets you zero in on those eyes and all of her adorable face.  I love her cheeks and petite features here.  And the last one shows us that chubby profile.  Even though the image is black and white you can see how bright and clear her eyes are.  They are almost clear looking.  Just gorgeous.  :)

Also please contact me ASAP for Spring and Summer.  I am going to be working on a limited schedule until Fall and will be filling up fast.  Weekend sessions are already full till May.  I have some room during the week but not a lot.  We are planning lots of trips and fun activities for Summer so again I will be working on a limited basis.  I will also be in the Destin area for Memorial Day if anyone is interested in a fun family beach session.

So anyway on to a recent session.  A week or so ago I got to meet a new client who’s little girl had just turned one!  It is definitely at the top of my list for favorite ages.  I just love the newly walking (or even better not yet walking) stage.  They are taking a break from stranger fear usually and are still somewhat interested in me.  I used to dread this age but have definitely learned to love it.  Such an amazing milestone too.  Turning one marks the end of the baby year and beginning of toddlerhood.  It was always bittersweet for me with my three.  So meet Miss Mary.  Precious and funny… and look at her little teeth.  I could die.

Big Brother wanted to get in on the action as well.

Below are some photos I took for our card this year.  Every year we all dress up and do a big family session.  This year I did them myself.  Next year… I will hire someone.   I am thrilled with how the individual ones turned out though.  They are already gracing my walls as a large display in our house.

This one of the three of them is a new favorite.  I love Garrett’s big open mouth laugh and the girls
giggling.  Love love it!

Garrett (10)

Ella (8)

Lydia (5)

And the newest member of my family Grady… our Devon Rex kitten.
We just adore this little guy.