Oh. My. Goodness. I just love this family!
Six that will soon become seven… with smiles, freckles, laughter and such joy that you can not help but smile when you’re in their presence.
It is such an honor to capture sweet moments for them! I’m already looking forward to meeting their newest addition!

When Wally contacted me to set up a surprise family session as a Christmas present for his wife, Renee and their two girls, I was ecstatic! I’ve photographed Abbie and Allie on numerous occasions, but I’d never had the privilege of capturing their entire family together.  As we talked about ideas and color schemes, pink and purple were a must. Each one represents a favorite color of his precious daughters. We worked behind the scenes to find clothing combinations that would be visually pleasing, photograph well and showcase their personalities! It was such a super fun experience to work with a husband and dad who really wanted to treat his ladies and document their love as a family!

When we finally settled on a date, we never imagined we would be braving arctic like weather. Early, early in the morning we arrived, stepping out onto grass covered in ice. Quite a shock for us Florida folk!  It was so chilly. No, it was literally freezing; but their love quickly warmed things right up! And as an added bonus, God sent down some pretty incredible sun kissed lighting. It was heavenly!

Enjoy one of my favorite family sessions ever and be inspired to give the gift of photography to someone you love today!

 One of the most precious parts of any family session is when Mom and Dad get to steal a few moments alone. Don’t let your wedding be the only time you document your love- make these moments a priority in your session!    Did I mention, Wally and Renee happen to have some seriously precious (and animated) girls?!! Love the way they interacted together! Something so sweet about sisters! 

Early, on a warm sunny morning, I met up with the McLemores for a sweet little family session. With 2 cute boys and an unexplainable amount of energy, we jogged the morning away capturing some fun memories of this season of their lives. Towards the end of our time together, there was such a beautiful warm glow surrounding us, that I couldn’t help but share a few of these sun kissed moments too!

Thanks to the McLemore family for allowing me to document their precious family.

If you’ve ever lived in Florida, you know the plight of our weather. One moment it’s bright and sunny, the next instant there’s a flash flood! Thus was the afternoon I spent with the Alonso family. We started out with a sweet kiss of sun, which suddenly become so warm, we actually headed to the cars to wait it out and give the little ones a chance to cool down. A quick ten minutes later, the sky became eerily dark, with strong winds and an obvious threat of imminent rain.

Despite the circumstances, there was great success. Precious moments of an entire family gathered together. Hugs, smiles and kisses. Songs sung to little ones by adoring dads. Curls that will seriously melt your heart. It was a Florida afternoon, which though full of many unexpected surprises, was completely redeemed by the love that was displayed in each interaction by these 8 individuals!

Thank you Alonso, Edmonds and Martinez families for trusting me to document this precious season in your lives.

I love capturing families, but I’m a total softy when there are four sweet ones. I’m constantly reminded of my own precious blessings while I spend time with theirs. This awesome family was so much fun to work with- the kids were downright adorable and phenomenally well behaved, despite the monster sized mosquitoes that attempted to carry us away! Flexibility and patience played a huge key in making this a success and Katie, Luke, Sarah and Emma were up for the challenge. They went with the flow and charmed me with their toothless smiles and spunky personalities. Their mom had it right when she said in her email, “Let’s just have fun!” Fun, that’s exactly what a family session should be!

So, here’s a little sneak at our delightful time together!

I adore this first image because it speaks so directly to the relationship that these children have with their father. You can literally sense the love, adoration and respect they have for him by the way they circled around and snuggled up.

  How do you get this:

and this?

You let them do this first!

Be prepared for complete cuteness!

And, I always adore a picture or two of mom and dad! What a beautiful reminder to your children of the importance of commitment and unconditional love! Besides, how often do we as parents find ourselves in front of the camera?

My favorite! This is one of those I would have to blow up and hang so I’d see it every day! What a beautiful family.

Speaking of hanging up images, it’s that time of year when Christmas is knocking at the door and everyone is looking for the perfect gift. I frequently receive emails from families who would like to print images for their home or for relatives during this season. The tendency is to get quite a few 4×6 prints and to place them in a collage style frame. This year, I propose that we change our perspective and look at the images from your session as art. From experience, a large quantity of 4×6 images simply does not have the same impact as a few carefully selected prints in larger sizes. I thought this adorable family would be a great way to explore the possibility of thinking outside of the 4×6 box!

Take for example, a master bedroom. Rather than one frame with a collection of small images, imagine waking up to something that not only adds visual impact to your room, but tugs at your heart strings as well!

What about your dining room, the place your family gathers and your guests join you for scrumptious meals and lots of laughter? Nervous about one day changing the style of the room, stick with classic black and white images from your session.

How about some of your favorite images that show the character and personality of your family in an unexpected place, like the laundry room? Now that’s one way to get inspired in an unassuming room in your home!

You see big isn’t scary! Big makes an impact. Big makes your memories larger than life and leaves you reliving them each time you catch a glimpse. Take the plunge this year, go big. You’ll be so glad that you did!

Thanks Linsey and Brent for being such good sports and for sharing your family with me! It was an honor!

What better way to start off the morning than with three precious little girls? I couldn’t have been more delighted to capture this family during such an awesome time in their lives!

Eric, is the worship pastor at our church and let me tell you, the Lord has given him a wonderful gift of leading others to the throne in adoration of our Lord. If you’re looking for a place to come and praise, you need to join us one Sunday! His wife, Kristin has an amazing voice too- so it was no surprise that on this day, there were lots of songs being sung, dances and twirls!

We’ve actually been trying to coordinate a time to get together since they moved to the area and Naomi’s sweet arrival was the perfect reason to finally make it happen. The morning started off with a quick mini session with the big sisters.

Mary Grace was so much fun and really allowed her personality to shine through. There is nothing sweeter than capturing a child, being a child. How wonderful to be able to look back on this season of her life and remember her smile, her spunky attitude and her laugh!

Next, it was Abby ‘s turn to charm the camera! A fast paced 2 year old is so much fun to capture because in the middle of their running and constant movement, precious little moments like these can be frozen!

We paused for a snuggly family moment before Naomi stole the show!

Of course, this post wouldn’t be complete without an official welcome to the world Naomi Hope!! Here she is, at all of 6 days old. So sweet, cuddly and kissable! What a beautiful gift from God she is and how blessed she’ll be to grow up as a daughter in this incredible family!

Ah, the love of a big sister…

I can not get over the sweetness of this next image!

While Naomi’s bedroom decor was created with her in mind, this Moses basket has been passed down. Each sister has spent time sleeping and relaxing in it, so it seemed fitting to capture Naomi taking her turn.

And finally, what’s a newborn session without a little alone time with Mommy?

Years ago, when I was just a little kid, I was convinced God  sent me a birthday present 3 days late. She was this cute baby girl, with chubby cheeks and a bald head. She was adorable in every sense of the word and boy did I love her…my new cousin Sarah. Little did I know then what a gift she would be in my life. Just like my brother, for years I spent weekends hanging out and “watching her,” the responsibility of the oldest grandchild.  Then as time passed, the difference in age seemed to dissipate and we became more than cousins who shared relatives and sometimes birthday cakes- we became friends. Friends who talk about great dreams, who share hopes and prayers, who have lost sleep over guys and decisions and mostly homemade cupcakes; cousins who have so many memories perhaps, volumes of books could never contain them all.

Ever since I fell in love with my husband and saw how God orchestrated our story, I have been praying for that very same thing for Sarah. I’ve asked God to allow a man who follows hard after Him to come in and sweep her off her feet, to treat her as the precious gift that she is and to lead her with compassion and love as they serve Him side by side.  A few weeks ago, the answers to that prayer became so clear, when her boyfriend Jonathan extended an invitation for our family to be a part of a special engagement weekend.

My heart spilled over with excitement, particularly as I read his words, “I am absolutely blown away that God has seen fit to trust me with the awesome privilege of being a permanent part of Sarah’s life. She has truly impacted me like none other and I could not be more humbled by God’s goodness in blessing me with her.”

Geesh, I love this guy already!!

This weekend we traveled to Tallahassee for the surprise of Sarah’s life, a proposal and a sparkly diamond, to match the glimmer in her eyes when she speaks of this incredible man! Boy was she surprised! (More of those pics to come later)

Then in true Sarah fashion (remember, she’s often my second shooter at weddings), her and Jonathan got up early Sunday morning before church for a mini session to document their engagement weekend. Because she’s my cousin and because their love is so beautiful, I couldn’t help but to post a few of my favorites right away.

I can’t wait for all that is in store for these two! God is going to rock their socks off!

Congrats! Love you guys tons!

P.S. I know I’m biased, but these may be my favorite “engagement” pictures…EVER. Seriously. Early morning light + love= awesomeness!

I just love it when I have the opportunity to shoot families more than once and I especially love it when they become sweet friends.  Such it is with the Simpson family! They stole my heart around this time last year and as this session approached, I could barely contain my excitement. They are fabulous in front of the camera, their love for one another is easy to see and fun- man are they fun! Here are a few of my favorite images from our time together!

With shoes this great, how could I resist?

Mr. D brought along his skateboard. He’s got some serious style…and skills!

I had a few minutes with this handsome kid, while the rest of the gang took a breather. This has got to be my hands down favorite image of him! Seriously, he could model right?!

We headed out to find more beautiful grass and a little shade. Isn’t this just adorable, especially the way Miss. J is posing?

Look at those blue eyes. They will make many a heart swoon, but for now, just her Daddy’s!

In case you missed this sneak, it’s worth showing again! A precious moment indeed.

Jen brought along this fabulous blanket and despite the sun blaring down, we were determined to make good use of it. At first we had to resort to tummy time, which was super cute and showed off Miss J’s adorable dress…not to mention the perfect timing of a dragonfly! What are the odds?!

Then we found a great spot for this. LOVE it!

A few minutes with the incredible Mom and Dad, now you know where the kids get their great looks!

My favorite of the Mr. and Mrs. I adore it when couples are still so in love. What a wonderful example for their children!

We had just gotten nestled down in this position when I saw the little ones running from behind towards their mom and dad. I couldn’t resist sharing this image, as it speaks so much about the dynamics of a family.

Jen also brought along her childhood guitar. I can not get over the posing going on here. My goodness these kids are just so darn cute! And this of course was right before we discovered a snake nearby- cute and brave!

I had the wonderful opportunity to meet up with this super sweet family on a beautiful, yet slightly windy day, while they were vacationing. The beach was the perfect backdrop to capture some precious moments and the love they have for one another. Seriously, we were about the only ones there, which made shooting such a blast! Check out a few of my favorites!

Mr. C enjoyed the sand. I loved watching him sift it through his little fingers. It completely reminded me of my own boys doing the same exact thing.

We were trying to get a really great natural expression. The solution? Let him play with his grandfather! Look at that grin!

Ah, the sky was perfect and so is this adorable smile!

Love this picture.

This is another one of my favorites. Mr. C was really hamming it up and he had quite the audience cheering him on just a few feet back.

So handsome!

Love it when a family has a moment where they forget the camera is there!

Such a sweet couple- couldn’t let them escape without a few shots too!

As an alumni from F.S.U., there is simply a lot of orange and blue in this picture. But, let’s be honest… I love it! So I’m attaching a “Go Dolphins” theme with this one… we were at the beach, so it’s not a far stretch! 

Thank you Barrett’s for spending the afternoon with me and thank you to Beth as well for sending them my way. It was an honor to capture these sweet memories of your family.

Finally, if you haven’t heard about the Dream Calendar, please see below! We still need a good bit of sponsors before the project goes to press! If you own or know of a business or family that would be interested in helping us reach the goal, please respond in the comments or send me an email via the contact form on the blog. Thanks in advance!

Summer and I have several mutual friends, attended FSU during the same years and we’re even active in some of the same activities; but this was the first time we’d had the opportunity to meet in person. Summer’s husband actually gave her this session as a birthday gift! What an awesome guy huh?! What could be sweeter than celebrating the love of your family and capturing tender moments forever?

We met up early, EARLY Saturday morning when the lighting was gorgeous and it wasn’t terribly hot. Ok, the lighting was perfect, but scratch the last part! I thought we might melt. Despite the conditions, their sweet little kiddos were such troopers. I was serenaded by Aggie and Repp swooned me with his big blue eyes! Just see how cute they are for yourself!

I adore little R in this one! It shows that a family picture really can show some personality!

When I asked Miss A to stand with her brother, she responded in this way. I think my heart melted then and there. Doesn’t yours?

One word: Adorable.

Hello Mr. Blue Eyes!

Isn’t Aggie precious here?  She was getting a bit antsy (to be honest, we all were…remember it felt like it was 110 degrees!!), so I was able to take her aside for a few minutes… just us girls. It gave her brother some time to run off his energy and provided the perfect opportunity for her to shine. This is one of my favorite images from our little “girl time.” She’s precious! 

Can I say this again? Adorable!

I love the way Aggie  held her dress as she ran through the field… so girly. 

This one might be my favorite image from the entire day. I love the interaction, the emotion, the way Dad is sweetly looking at his beautiful family… and again, the light- the beautiful sunlight!

One stunning hubby and wife wouldn’t you say?

Siblings…plotting something? Maybe! 

Here are a few more shots from my “girl time” with Aggie!

Oh, and then there is this little handsome guy.

As a mom of 4, three of them being boys, this next image is perfect… priceless! Can’t you simply feel the joy of being 2 again?

Beautiful mom.

Oh, G family how you brightened my day with your songs, your smiles and your sweet love for one another. I pray these images have not only captured your commitment to your family, but that they will speak boldly of your love for one another many years down the road.  I can’t wait to work with you again…maybe sometime around March?!!