This is week 12 for the This is Our Life project and the theme is "emotive."

When I think about my family, there are lots of emotions that come up - love, pride, thankfulness, hope, and sometimes frustration - hey, I'm human and trying to be honest here - but other than love the biggest one is joy. Hearing my kids laugh, seeing them play, seeing Joey's latest creation, hearing them talk about God (even if Jack is confused about the difference between Peter the Apostle and Peter Parker), seeing them be kind and thoughtful to others, hearing them pray, seeing Jonah's face when Daddy comes home, hearing Abbie sing along to her favorite songs (currently Big House by Audio Adrenaline) - those are all things that bring such joy to our home.

Remember last March when it was super warm and everything bloomed crazy early? Well, God must think our weather needed balanced out, because this March has been coooold! When we planned this session I think we both thought it would be quite a bit warmer, but we ended up with maybe 40 degrees and windy. Luckily, since we were at Bridgeton, we hung out inside the bridge for most of the session, so at least the wind was blocked.

This was an engagement/family session and since it was so cold we were done in about half an hour. We got some great images in that time and I'm so excited for Jessica and Doug's wedding in May.




You can see more from this session on my facebook page.

This is week 11 for the This is Our Life project and the theme is "play."

Amazon shopping for Mommy and Daddy = lots of fun play things (aka boxes and bubble wrap) for Jack and Jonah. 

In typical kid fashion, Jack and Jonah were thrilled this week when several packages arrived and everything was wrapped in a ridiculous amount of bubble wrap. They had so much fun popping those silly bubbles and Jack pulled Jonah around in the big box for a while.

I love that kids are so easy to entertain. For some reason, I tend to forget that, and think they need this toy and that book, and this video game...but really, all they need is a nice big box and a little imagination.






This last photo isn't related to others except that it also involves boxes...this is the Titanic model that Joey (with help, of course) made for his Cub Scout drive-in movie last week. The boys in his pack go all out for this event - there are very few plain old cars and lots of boats, tractors, military vehicles, and movie vehicles.

This is week 10 for the This is Our Life project and the theme is "changes."

Lots of ideas went through my head when I saw this week's theme. With kids, something is always changing, but I decided to concentrate on the adults this week.

Daniel (my husband) and I are healthy, despite a family history of pretty much every health problem you could imagine, but  this year we decided we really should do something about the weight we've put on and our horrible eating habits. SO...out with the snack cakes and pop (well, we still have pop...just much less than before) and in with the salad and water and fruit and yogurt.

Jonah and his blankie...he's recently decided that only the corners will do for holding on to. I love that he loves that thing. 

Joey and Abbie loved their blankies too and Joey had a bear he named Juicy that I was sure was going to go to college with him. Jack prefers to hold a Hot Wheel or two or his flashlight when he sleeps. 

What special thing does your child like? Don't forget to get photos of it! Feel free to bring stuffed animals, blankies, dolls, or whatever your kids are attached to, to your photoshoot, or consider having a lifestyle session in your home to capture them in their everyday lives.

Even if you don't include it in a professional session, don't forget to at least take some snapshots...they won't carry those stinky blankets around forever! :-)

This is week 9 for the This is Our Life project and the theme is "out of the shadows."


This is a little late, but at least it got done! I was a little stumped by this week's theme. I don't know why, I was just feeling a little uninspired and decided to go through older photos to see if any of them fit. By old, I mean a couple of weeks, not last year or anything.

As I was looking through the photos, I came across this one and love it! Jonah LOVES his big sister, and every morning when Joey and Abbie leave for school, he climbs up on the couch and watches them walk to the bus stop. Then he is thrilled every afternoon when she comes home. When she's gone, he points to pictures of her and says "Abba! Abba!"

Don't get me wrong, he loves his brothers too, but Abbie definitely holds a special place in his heart.