**Sneak Peek: Carter, One Year Old** **Baby Portraits**

You might recognize this little man from a previous post (here). He's back for his second appearance. Six months have flown by and now he's one year old! It's amazing to see how quickly babies change.

He's now quite the crawler. He loves to explore every thing around him (including large pots of dirt!). Last time I saw him he was barely sitting up so this is quite a change.
I hope you enjoy my favorite images from Saturday's shoot.

Sneak Peek: Skyler

It didn't take long for the ideas to start flowing at this photo shoot. Skyler's eyes kept me in awe--they were shining in every picture! I was thankful for the beautiful pool at our location and the perfectly green grass. They helped her eyes to stand out incredibly well!

Skyler, it was a joy to photograph you. I can tell you're just as lovely on the inside as you are on the outside. Thank you for being patient and letting me "boss" you around. I hope I wasn't too bossy!

Which one is your favorite? It was very hard to pick only a few for this sneak peek!

Sneak Peek: Bennett **Newborn Portraits**

What sweet, sweet friends Ashley and Caden are to me and my husband. We are so thankful to have them in our lives...and now little bitty Bennett as well! These three have had an eventful last 2 months to say the least. Bennett was born 5 weeks early by c-section. After going to the ER for an entirely different reason they discovered that Ashley had a blood disorder that would harm her and the baby if he stayed inside of her any longer. After he was born he was in the NICU for a couple of weeks before they finally got to take him home. Of course--there's a lot more to the story and it sounds far less complicated in those few sentences! God sovereignly ordained Bennett's birth story and He has also sovereignly provided the grace Ashley and Caden needed to get through it.

Ashley and Caden, thank you for blessing me with the opportunity to take these sweet pictures for you! Enjoy your sneak peek :).

Mabel **Maternity**

I left this photo shoot smiling! Mabel and Rafael are one of the sweetest couples I have ever photographed. And I absolutely mean that! Their love for each other and their baby was all over their faces. It really did make my day and I went home in such a good mood. I'm never in a bad mood after a photo shoot but sometimes I leave exhausted. This time I left feeling energized and happy for this couple.

Thank you Mabel and Rafael for making my Saturday! It was such a joy to meet you and get to photograph this wonderful season of your life. I hope you enjoy this little sneak peek of some of my favorite pictures from your photo shoot.

Priscilla, Andy, Isaiah and Ambri

I have had the privilege of photographing this family (or parts of the family) three times now. I took Priscilla's maternity pictures in November of 2009, Ambri's baby pictures in early 2010 and now the entire family! It's fun seeing how their family has grown. Ambri kept us very busy during this photo shoot! She is definitely on the go and determined to explore. It was so sweet watching her run around and get excited about what she found (like the old, rusty pipe she found by the house!). Isaiah was a well behaved big brother. He did such a good job smiling even when he was tired of it!

Enjoy this sneak peek Priscilla and Andy!






It's amazing to me how fast babies grow. Priscilla's maternity session and Ambri's baby session seem so recent! (Click on this picture to enlarge it.)

Sneak Peek: Lori, Pat & Family

After taking these pictures last Saturday I walked away knowing Lori and Pat are very blessed. All of them were so happy to be together on this Saturday morning (even though they could have been sleeping in!). Lori and Pat have often talked about their children so I really enjoyed getting to put a face to all those names. They invited me to lunch afterwards and I'm so glad I took them up on the offer. Thank you Lori and Pat for including me in your family time and letting me boss all of you around to get the shot ;-).

Lens Love

Behold an image:



You might see a picture of a dog. Perhaps you see a picture of a cute dog. Or maybe pretty blue curtains.

I see a picture taken by a "really awesome-I can't believe I took the plunge-new LENS". Um, can you tell I'm a bit EXCITED! Thrilled is probably the right word. AND I got the lens for a really great price!

This lens will open up my abilities during a photo session so much. I will have so much more freedom in how I take a picture. I probably won't have to take a step ladder with me to every shoot (but probably will anyways--just in case). I will probably still use my trustee 50mm lens. I will always love that lens that has (almost) never done me wrong. But, this new 17-55mm will be my best friend for family photo shoots (which I have TWO of this weekend). I can finally get everyone in the shot without bending over backwards, literally!!

Anyways, enough about my lens love. Lets return to the cute dog pictures which you're probably more interested in (or maybe not?).





This is my sweet pup, Mia the Sheltie. She is my little buddy. I adore her and I don't know WHAT I will do when she dies. That's pretty morbid, huh? But when you think about it dogs just aren't alive for very long at all. She's probably already half way through her life at 6-years old!
I love the way she looks embarrassed in these pictures. Seriously. Before I stuck my camera in her face she did not look like this. It's like she's saying "Really? Can't someone else be your model? This is so embarrassing.". She is such a strange little creature.

I would also like to leave you with a challenge on this Good Friday.
Why do YOU celebrate Easter? Not your family, not your church, not your friends but YOU. I'm spending some time this weekend to remind myself why I do (and why we all should). Using this to help me-http://dsr.gd/gbBDbD

"In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the (wrath absorbing) propitiation for our sins." 1 John 4:10