Blessings from me to you!!

From our home to yours... I pray that your holidays are full of

laughter, joy, meaningful moments and lots of amazing memories!

This past year has been so amazing...

I am so grateful!

The past few days have been full of lots of laughter,

late nights of wrapping presents, giggling children,

way too much food!! :) Ornaments, pez dispensers (note the one below) that

the kids love and that make me smile. :) What is it about pez??

I look forward to the year ahead!!

Thank you for being part of making this year a great one!

I can't wait to capture moments of the coming year for many of you!

The Lord bless each one of you!

With love!

Jamie

Merry Merry Christmas and a wonderful new year!!

Family Fun!!

Fall shoots... Winter shoots...

I LOVE THEM!!

This family was so fun to shoot! The kids are full of personality!

Delightful is the word that comes to mind... they have so much

fun as a family! I love how that comes through in these pics!

Thanks W family!!

Here are a few of my favs...

Look at those eyes!!

The whole fam!

Ohh.. the love!


Life is fun!

Childhood days...

little sleeper...

Little Sleeper

I have got to get back into the swing of things in posting on my blog!!

I am so sorry I haven't posted as often as I should... but thank you for being so faithful to keep checking!

Well, today I could have posted another sneak peek from one of many shoots... but instead I think I will try and do a new section...

Photo of the week...

So, today's photo is of our daughter, Eva.

I walk into our room and there she is asleep on our bed... fully snoozing with her brothers batman mask still attached to her face.

Ok, moms... it is times like this that we freeze in our hearts and call on often with a smile... or... maybe it is one that we tuck away to pull out one day when they are getting a little cocky. ha.

I love these bits and pieces of life that bring so much joy!

I love how quirky kids can be...

Our little sleeper...

Thanksgiving...

So... I am walking through the grocery store today... one of the million crazy people who shopped the day before Thanksgiving for those last min. things... as I am turning the corner, the cold case near the deli got my attention...

...it was filled with every "side" possible... green bean casserole, potatoes, jellos... even stuffing! Maybe this has been around for years and I have missed it... it jogged my memory of some of my best memories growing up and then as a mom preparing dinner for my own family of six. I can remember my mom with her apron on (she still wears an apron and I LOVE IT!)... she was cooking away... so happy to be serving her family and have all of us around. There were dishes in the sink as she cooked, amazing smells in the air, smudges of flour on her face and apron... kids dipping fingers and testing food ahead of the meal... years later, my kids would prob. say the same about me... I am a happy mess while cooking. :)

All of this to say... none of this would have been true if my mom had run to the store and bought all packaged food prepared by someone else. There are lessons to be learned in the kitchen, memories made... it becomes a gathering place to share our lives as we prepare for the meals... Mom gave us a fearless outlook on cooking and trying new things in our own kitchens. Ok... so, yes, there is a time and place for quick fix meals... believe me... i have needed them, too. But Thanksgiving?? Lets boil our own water, mash our own potatoes, make our own stuffing... and all the while lets share what we are thankful for as we gather in kitchens around the nation...

Happy Thanksgiving!

Artwork by our 7 year old son, Flynn.

Mondays...

A glimpse into the past... so many years ago... Daddy and 3 of the kids...




Monday... it is here again...


We wake in our house to the kids groggily (is that a word?) climbing out of bed. Asking if it is really Monday already? Begging me to "turn out the lights... too bright, mom!" By the time I drop them at school... we are saying our "i love you's"... Then it is time for Eva and I to head home and start our week, too.


Sometimes the week ahead can be overwhelming... when will it all get done... I am so tired... was up watching movies with kids and hubby and then editing after that. I am finding that when i begin my Mondays, it is all about perspective... and asking for wisdom in ordering my days.


These days pass so quickly... before I know it I won't be hearing the chatter of 4 kids (although sometimes the chatter could lower a few levels!), see the boys tear through the house with light sabers... All four either laughing or yelling at each other... ok, maybe I won't miss cleaning the toothpaste off the bathroom counter! But, the older I get the more I see and understand the brevity of life... how fast these amazing... and, yes, sometimes"trying" days go with our kiddos... with those we love.

This is the start of a new week... new perspective... fresh outlook... its Monday!

Weddings... Booking for 2010!

I am currently booking weddings for 2010...

I love to capture not only the traditional... but the DETAILS that make your day memorable! I have put together just a small post including a few pictures from weddings that I have recently covered.

You can contact me through my website with questions or to book me to cover YOUR wedding... I can't wait to record your story that will last a lifetime...

Urban downtown shoot!

Angie and kiddos...

Ok... so I have been working on my business plan for a bit now...

What would my ideal shoot look like? What location would I love to shoot at?

This shoot hit it on all levels! These guys were amazing! They checked out the location ahead of time... Angie had much the same creative vision that I had... when they showed up they were excited for the shoot... They allowed me to bring in some of my creativity and I LOVE the results! We had so much fun! The kids were amazing, too! Thanks, guys, for allowing me to photograph your family. I had so much fun!

Here are a few of my favorites...

This may be my fav. from the day... Love the textures!

Beautiful girl!

Oh my! Look at those eyes!

Fab. family!

Mom and her kiddos...

Feel free to leave comments!

It may be November... but Sr. photo shoots are still going strong! I met Nathan by the lake to get some pics and then headed to some urban settings downtown... What a great guy! I had so much fun... when I see these senior guys I think of my own little guys (ages 10 and 7) and know time will fly by and soon I will be doing their sr. shoots... sigh. I hope it slows down a bit as I sooo enjoy their stage of life... each stage is great... I hope my boys grow to be as kind as the young men I have had the honor to shoot!

As usual, here are a few of my fav's!...

I am loving this season of Senior pictures! I am sorry that I haven't been posting often enough... I am trying to catch up between editing many shoots, to taking care of kiddos with chicken pox... yikes! But I wanted to post a couple of recent sessions of some senior guys I just shot. I had so much fun. This session was with Ben... what a nice guy and so much fun!

Here are a few of my fav's!...

Here are just a few more of my fav's of Kayla... what fun we had!!

Kayla!

Ok... what a FUN shoot! Kayla is an amazing senior gal and I had a blast shooting her senior pictures.

My goal in all of my sessions is bring out each of your personalities through the pictures... to see that person that is unique only to each of one of us as individuals... I think that happened here and I couldn't be more thrilled!

Have a wonderful Senior year, Kayla!

Here are a few of my fav's... :)

My personal fav... lit by a sunset in front of her...

I found this great pink wall! yea!

Feel free to leave a comment!

I love hearing from you!

Senior Urban shoot...

What a fun afternoon I had with this senior on her photo shoot. We shot all over downtown Valparaiso and she was so great to try my crazy ideas... We found so many great textures to photograph against. She could not take a bad picture! Her smile and eyes lit up the camera...

Thank you so much for letting me capture this time in your life!

Here is a glimpse of some of my favorites...

She actually found these steps...

I love this one!

Urban at its best...

Downtown Valpo has so many great textures!

Beautiful!

Thanks, again, for such a fun day. May you always remember this amazing time in your life!