belly bliss

seriously. i have belly bliss.

i have been wanting to do a pregnancy shoot for quite some time. but a woman of my, ahem, age (this does not mean OLD!), doesn’t have a whole lot of young, pregnant women in my social circles. so the opportunity really hasn’t presented itself... that is, until this past Fall.

when this little gal said it was a go, i was ecstatic! and looking back over the images for this post really makes me ecstatic, again. it was so much fun. and seeing the love, the excitement about this new adventure they were sharing, the ease they have with one another was truly a privilege to capture. it makes me remember those days... long, long ago.
well, not THAT long ago!

and, once again, i broke out the tissues.
maybe i should just admit to the fact that i pretty much cry every time i edit my shoots.
i usually can’t believe how much i love what i do. how much i love doing this for others.

it’s food for the soul.

and here’s a link to that web gallery where you can see the entire shoot!

but before you go, here are a few... well, more than a few, of my favorites.

enjoy!

senior sneak peek

i just can’t imagine how her mama felt when she saw these pictures. what a gorgeous young woman her first baby has become! this fall she will be leaving for her first year of college. oh, the heartache of letting your baby go be a grown-up!

my babies are still little, so i have a while before i have to think about it... because when i do, dear heavens, break out the tissue.

when we looked at the pictures together, when i was finally finished editing, mama and i both had tears in our eyes. and, for those of you who know me, this is the ultimate compliment.

these pictures were taken late summer. i know, i’m a procrastinator! hey, i’ve had a lot on my plate. but i’m glad i’m finally getting to it. (by the way, they had the pictures within days of shooting. it’s just my blog that i can’t seem to make time for. sorry.)

it was a gorgeous evening.

perfect light.

like honey.

it makes me so darn happy.

giddy actually.

i’m such a nerd.

and, before I forget... here’s a link to the web gallery where you can see the entire shoot.

it makes such a difference when you are comfortable with yourself. you can see in the photographs that she is enjoying the shoot, she’s comfortable in her own skin and willing to be directed. SO helpful.

 for some photographers, shooting any time of day is acceptable. for me it just isn’t. it never has been. you see, i have a love affair with light. and there’s a time of day that’s perfect. this is when you get what you are looking for, but, more importantly, you get something unexpected.

anyone can shoot a photo. but i hope it’s my love of light that brings something unique and special to the work i do.

and a few more...

kelly’s sneak peek

This Fall, I had the wonderful opportunity to take some photographs for a very long-time friend and her beautiful family. This person has been such a wonderful friend to me over the years, and especially after my diagnosis and throughout my treatment. Always checking in on me and making sure I was OK. Always encouraging me and reminding me that I was kicking a**. She and I go way back. She knew me when I was a spitfire, and it was good to have someone reminding me of that girl. She listened to me complain about having no hair, no eyebrows, no eyelashes. She told me I was awesome anyway.

One day, about half way through my treatment, I received one of her emails asking if I needed anything. I must have been feeling punchy that day (I’m never like that... ha!), and I replied “Yes! I need a manicure, pedicure, a $50 Starbucks card, some red wine, dark chocolates and a weekend in Sun Valley.” She knew I was being sarcastic. But just after I finished up my treatment she showed up in my office with ALL of those things. I had forgotten about that email, because I certainly wasn’t being serious when I wrote it! But she tucked it in her back pocket and surprised me.

I could not believe it.

I could not believe her generosity. 

So, in September, Tim and I went to SV for the weekend and had the most beautiful time. It was perfect. 

I will never forget all that she has done for me. She has one if the biggest hearts of anyone I’ve ever known, and I am so lucky to have her as a friend.

So when she asked if I could take some pictures, I was ecstatic! I just hope they are as pleased (and I think they are!) with the pictures as I am. These two love their boys more than anything in the world. You can see it! And they are some of the best moms I know! What lucky boys, and what an amazing family.

Enjoy this sneak peek. 

And here’s a link to view the web gallery!

roses and rain

ok, so it only took me two months to post about our summer vacation. this is progress!  my goal was to post in order of events... but that meant i had to go back and edit MY photos... which also meant i had to finish editing my clients photos, first. so... two months later, i’m finally getting to it. but i'm thankful for the wonderfully full schedule, busy with family and kids, photography sessions, and some fun projects at work that have been distracting me.

and it’s just so fitting, because it’s november!

i love love love this time of year. we’ve been doing lots of baking and cooking around my house. new recipes and, of course, the tried and true comfort foods we love. lots of cinnamon rolls, caramel apple sticky buns, soups and stews, fresh tomato sauce made with the bounty of roma and lemon boy tomatoes from the garden. it’s been utterly perfect. i cannot contain my happiness and contentment.

i digress.
here are some pictures of a wonderful trip that i had waited patiently for since the first day of my chemotherapy in April. i knew when i was finished, i wanted to reward myself and my family with a trip to one of our favorite places. a place that has always been a salve for my soul. i wanted family time, time away to just enjoy the kids and what was left of the summer. so, we headed to oregon. we walked around downtown, went to St. Honóres for coffee and pastries, pizzicato (yum!), the nike store (of course), the zoo, and then cannon beach. although it was hectic with five kids in tow, and it rained on us at the coast, i loved every minute of it... well, maybe not that minute when my three year old got his hand stuck in the elevator door (in fact, i’m pretty sure i peed my pants)... or when that same child got his head stuck between the posts in a fence at the zoo (i was just annoyed at this point)... are you seeing a trend here?  yes, despite the three year old drama, i think we all had a wonderful, if not memorable, time. and now the children can look back on the quality family time imposed upon them, hours of being trapped in the car with siblings, fighting over the window seat, or who crossed over the imaginary line into their territory. those were always some of my fondest memories as a child, and i’m thankful, as a parent, that i can pass along that disfunction!

here are some out takes....

and here are some of the more serene moments...

there were only three. :)

my jules

this was probably one of the best days of my entire summer. my long time, bestest friend, came to visit with two of her kiddos in august. oh, how i’ve missed that girl! last time she came to visit, she was coming to take care of me. i was in a drug induced fog, at times comatose, after my first big surgery. for at least two weeks after my bilateral mastectomy i couldn't really take care of my boys. couldn’t hold my three year old’s hand going up and down the stairs, couldn’t lift them, couldn’t let them sit on my lap, or even snuggle. that was the worst part. they knew mommy was sick and they just wanted to hold me. but it hurt to even have someone touch me. tim was afraid to even move at night for fear that he’d jostle or bump me. i think he slept on egg shells for quite some time....

anyway, i digress... she came to lend a hand and be a stand-in mommy when i needed her. but it really wasn’t quality girlfriend time. and i certainly wasn’t my perky self. and so she came back! if i had known all i needed to do was get cancer to get her to visit i would have faked it a long time ago!

so last time jules was here, honestly, i don't remember much. or maybe i’ve blocked it out. either way, seeing her in august was like seeing her for the first time in a very long time... too long. tim was out of town with his kiddos, so it was just she and i, and our (5) children! so nice to hang with her, stay up late talking, catching up, helping me sort things out since i’m on this new path, and yet reminding me of the girl i’ve always been. there is such comfort in being with another person that knows you so well... someone you trust enough to show you things about yourself that even you don’t see sometimes.

it’s easy and a lot like comfort food. except better, because it doesn’t make you fat! AND she doesn’t care what my hair (oops! or lack thereof) looks like in the morning as we chat over coffee. it’s the best.

i love her.

these photographs were taken one evening as we played in the park with the kids.

beautiful evening light.
beautiful children.
beautiful friend.

a very late father’s day

so, i’m a little biased about just how beautiful and wonderful these three people are.

love them. all of them.

this is my boyfriend and his two lovely children. i had been planning to take family photos of them as a father’s day gift since our first june together... and yet that father’s day, and another, came and went. we had a turbulent fall, to say the least. and this was pushed to the wayside... not to mention i couldn’t even lift my camera for quite some time. but by the time summer came, it was time to try. it was the first shoot i had done since my surgery and i was so hopeful they would turn out nice. i think they did!  i think he likes them too.

i love the playfulness, and the love the kids have for one another (insert smirk). really, they do!

i love them. the pictures, and the people.

splish splash

mid july, we visited lake cascade and basked in the sun while the kids played on the beach in the sand and swam in the lake. it was a beautiful drive up, one of my favorites anytime of the year. it was just what i needed to recharge for my last chemo treatment. a necessary change in scenery and routine. the kids enjoyed doing something “out of town” and something that didn't involve mom cleaning, doing laundry, or working. it was good family time.

i enjoyed snapping a few photos of my boys as they played and i love the summer-esque quality of the images. i’m struck by just how big they are getting. the photo of the back of sam’s neck is that “mother’s view” type of thing. it makes me just want to hold onto him. my baby... who’s not a baby anymore, but rather a strong little boy who’s taller and leaner than ever before. he’s starting to get the gangly look i had for so many years. and little soy, who’s the only one of us who actually gets a nice tan going. he can thank his father for that. the other two are as freckly and fair as i was. wy didn't get pictured here... he was too busy having the girls on the beach bury him in sand and plant ferns on him. he loved all of the attention.

i hope it’s the days like this that they remember from this summer, and not the more difficult ones we’ve encountered.