(you have the song in your head now, don’t ya)

isn’t it funny how after you have kids, you feel like you need a vacation to recover from the vacation you were just on?  i think we walked a hundred miles in 4 days.  between the parks @ disney, to walking to EVERY meal (we didnt rent a car)…we are exhausted!  at least we can say we worked off the extra calories we took in :)  we had a wonderful time, though - it was worth every blister! 

i won’t officially be back “in the office” until monday, so emails may not get returned until then.   some snapshots from our trip below…we took SO many!  i decided to take our old point&shoot instead of any of my DSLRs.  i just wanted to relax and not be paranoid about my camera.  it was so freeing to literally just point and shoot - no adjusting, no worrying about white balance, exposure, metering, etc.  SO easy!  i loved it!  (don’t worry, i wont show up at your session with my p&s!)  :)  enjoy a couple snaps from our trip!

disney, here we come!  (don’t we look nerdy?)

charlotte’s favorite way to ride - we ended up using the umbrella stroller to carry our stuff most the time

we ate.  a lot.  (some more than others)

there i go again, ruining a perfectly good picture ;) 

fun fact:  we were honeymooners at disney almost 5 years ago!  it was really cool taking charlotte back there and combining so many memories :) 

magic kingom was fun (but very hot!)  we made lots of potty and drink breaks.  (btw, the girl did amazing - not one accident ALL week - even spending all day at parks and airports!  woo hoo!)

sadly, i dont think i have one picture of the 3 of us!  terrible, right?  good thing my mother in law and sis in law took lots of pics…have to go bug them now

i’m off to sleep in my own bed with my own pillow!  yay!

i’ve got a quickie sneak peek to post, but first:

Starting today, Monday September 15th through Sunday, September 21st I will be on vacation.  This means I will be without my laptop/email access.  Any emails sent will not be read or attended to until I return to the office on Monday, September 16th.  If you feel it is urgent that you speak with me (e.g. your gallery isn’t working, the site is down, etc) feel free to call me on my cell: 309.287.0579.  I will return all urgent messages.  Otherwise, you can expect to hear from me when I return next week!  We are heading to Disney with Matt’s fam and we plan on enjoying every minute! 

Now, a quick sneak peek from my newborn session today - even though I told mom I wouldn’t get around to this before we left :)  We shot her rockin’ maternity session just a month or so ago.

I know, I don’t usually do color for my newborns, but she just had the most beautiful skin tone - I couldn’t resist

We did some wrapped belly shots with this fabric at her maternity session, so it was only fitting that we wrap baby once again in it

Hope you ♥ them, Katie!  Allright, off to finish packing!  See you in a week!

…you are going to love the Christmas card designs I’m offering this year!  I can’t wait to show you.  You’ll have your choice between several different designs, which I hope to post in the next week or 2.  If you have booked the Fall/Holiday Special, then be on the lookout for these designs.  I can pretty much guarantee you’ll want more than the 50 cards that are included in your package

With the rainy, messy weather, I thought it would be fun to see what sort of things YOU do to pass the time on days like this.  What have you been doing the last few days while the rain’s been pouring down?

A few things we did: 

 jumped in rain puddles (yes, I have pics - those later)

visited the indoor playland at McDonald’s (and ate nutritous, non-processed foods…riiight)

found a baby slug and praying manits on our storm door - cool!

stayed up with the hubby & watched The Notebook while snuggling on the couch drinking hot tea.  he loved it so much he cried.

oh wait.  that last one didn’t actually happened.  i must have fallen asleep and dreamt that

whatever you do, enjoy the change of seasons that is upon us!  and let me know what YOU did this weekend…you never know, there might be something in it for you

quick post today - now that this lil guy’s gallery is finally complete, i can share this storyboard i designed for his parents as a surprise :)  a storyboard is a compilation of anywhere from 2-8 images that tell a story of your session.  storyboards come as 10×20, 10×30,or 20×30 and are mounted to prevent bending.  they have become really popular for lil one’s bedrooms - i love designing these and making each one unique!

have you ever heard that term?  my mom uses it alot to describe Charlotte…as in “she’s so growny”.  (i think it’s slang for “grown up”) i snuck into her room this morning and was thinking how sweet and baby-ish she looked as she was sleeping…and then she woke up :)  all of a sudden, it was obvious that she is turning into a little girl.  i’m not sure how many of my blog readers out there have 2 year olds, but i am LOVING this age…aren’t you?  she’s a built-in friend, traveler, shopping companion, dancing partner, etc.  oh - and yes she is now officially potty trained.  *sniff*  as the cheesy pull-ups commercial says “i’m a big girl now”.  yes, she is.  she’s SO growny.

remember these shots?  yes, i know, she looks SO different already…don’t remind me

my favorite:

now go hug your kids

I finally took my own advice and hired a photographer for our family…and I’m so glad we finally did! (the self portraits of the 3 of us at arms length weren’t exactly display worthy!) I wanted to find someone with a similar style as my own, as well as someone who also had lil ones at home and could relate well to Charlotte.  I was fortunate to get in with Jenny Lein for our family session, and she posted a sneak peek on her blog for us here.  I gasped out loud when I saw the first one of Charlotte.  As a photographapher’s child, Charlotte just does not give me those smiles anymore!  She sees the camera and instantly all she gives me is a serious face…which makes for those nice moody portraits that I love…but not 99% of the time!  :)  So I was thrilled to see a giant grin on her face!  and the ones of her with Matt & I…sigh.  Total tearjerkers.  Guess I’ll need to get the kleenex ready for when the full gallery is unveiled!  Now to go hide the pocketbook…

Enjoy a lil glimpse into our family - from behind someone else’s camera for a change!

Last night, I had the amazing privilege of photographing a dear friend’s birth. Even as I type this, it’s hard to put into words how I feel.    I have been in awe since last night.  I was amazed by the human body and what it can endure for the sake of another.  I’m overwhelmed with emotion with I see a baby, minutes old, quiet and settle the moment she is placed on her mother’s chest.  I’m proud of the father as he holds his wife’s hand, telling her how much he loves her…pride burstng forth for her.  I’m proud of all women as I watch a doula gently support and guide this laboring mother.  This mother, who gave birth her way.  How she wanted, where she wanted.  Who showed so much strength that I could only wish to have at such a time.  There’s so many more thoughts running through my head that I can’t even collect them.  I think I’ll let the images speak for themselves.  Here’s just a tiny sampling of the day.

For more information on birth photography, including pricing, please email me. 

she is my hero.

because she makes me see things in a different light.

because she makes me laugh so hard it hurts.

because she is a free spirit.

because she is innocent.

because she is unabashedly silly.

because she loves life.

because she greets each day with joy.

because she has never experienced grief.

because she’s tiny, but strong.

because she’s the best of me and the man i married.

because she gives me a reason to hope.

because she never holds a grudge.

because she is kind.

because she is everything i want to be when i grow up.

because she’s…her.

(taken at the Labor Day parade - where she got her fair share of candy)

I want to give a quick update for those of you that have asked regarding my follow up appt today. 

The biopsy samples that were taken all came back free of cancerous cells.  There was a short sigh of relief, followed by a “but”. Because of the size of the largest nodule (golf ball-sized), the tiny sample taken is not a 100% accurate indication of benign vs malignant.   We knew this was a possibility going in.  The dr said if all the nodules were very small, he would most likely recommend just watching them.  However, since one of them is large, with a smaller one attached to it, he recommends removal and sending them off for testing.  Removal of the 2 nodules would also involve removing half of the thyroid…which would result in being on lifelong thyroid medicine to supplement.   Without going into too many details…we are seriously considering surgery.  Doing so would give us definite answers regarding malignancy that we just don’t have right now.  In order to really “move on”, we need those answers.  There are many variables to consider depending on the results after surgery, but we are trying not to get ahead of ourselves. 

We need to spend some time in prayer considering what God would have us to do.  Right now we are looking at doing the surgery in early October.  I hate the thought of having it done, but it seems to be a necessary evil at this point.  It’s stressful knowing that there is something there that could be harmless, benign…or could be cancerous. The future for our family is very uncertain right now, and many dreams and plans are being placed in God’s hands.  We don’t understand why this is happening, if only to glorify Christ in our lives even more.  We have no choice but to trust Him and allow Him to take our dreams for our family and mold them into His. 

Thank you for your prayers & encouragement.  We ask for your continued prayers, and that as do, you would pray that this verse would be manifested in our lives.  It’s our heart’s desire and yet it doesn’t come easily. 

1 Peter 1:6-7  “In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.”

Whew.  I think that’s enough personal/heavy stuff for awhile.  Some more lighthearted posts to come very soon…thanks everyone for hanging in there!

This little girl stole my heart (only for the session, no worries to Charlotte) :)  Her parents made a long drive to see me early Saturday morning -and little M was so laid back and sweet.  She just celebrated her 1st birthday, and I think we captured this milestone very well

J & L- It was so nice to finally hang out with you!  I hope you enjoyed your day in Bloomington!  Enjoy this little peak

 I just love this one of her & her daddy…just think J, someday you’ll look at this picture on her wedding day, and wonder where the time went.  i bet even then, as she stands before you as a bride and not a little girl, that you’ll still remember how her neck smelled that day.  some things you never forget :)