2010 was a BUSY year for me and blogging took a back burner to all the exciting shoots, family fun and the biggest news of the year – our ‘new’ baby girl – Elia Chelle!  Why it’s taken me 4+ months to introduce her can only be summed up by saying I’ve been soaking up all the delicious moments with my girls and my computer has been collecting dust most days. I knew going into baby number two that the time would fly by and I was determined to slow down to enjoy it all. Once again we have been blessed with a laid back, sweet, sweet baby and I couldn’t be more grateful. I am LOVING my time home with my girls and am looking forward to getting my photog wheels turning for the spring and summer season (available sessions are limited for this year so I can continue to enjoy these two beauties so if you are hoping to book with me catch me early to be sure you get in). I have some fun shoots on the horizon and a ton in the archives from last year and have my fingers crossed and big intentions of getting some blogging time fit in…

In the meantime below are a couple snapshots of the accordion style announcement we sent out and a couple recent candids of the girls from last week.

The November rain was a Godsend for me – all the warmth allowed me to shoot outside in the snow and Lael just had to have a shot of her new sis in her snow cave…

Enjoy my little lovies…

(far right of the second spread is the front panel of the card, the spread below is the inside and the rest of the bottom spread is the back – accordions are confusing).

Her baby blues are so sparkly…

Lael LOVES her little sis and we couldn’t have had an easier transition!  Elia gets no fewer than 50 kisses a day, they are so stinkin’ cute together!  Elia crosses her feet like this all the time.

This little boy has made a mark on my heart that is difficult to explain…

I think it’s a combination of a few things…sharing in the miracle of pregnancy and birth with my cousin, girl friend and business partner was a treat and blessing beyond what I can express. Savoring the moment of learning a little boy has been born was such an awesome surprise! Capturing Pius’ first images as he came into this world and greeted his Momma with open eyes that stared into her soul was breath taking. And, I think top on my list is the mark this little guy will leave on us and especially the baby in my belly – it’s a joy that melts my heart. For almost 33 years I have cherished my relationship with my sweet cousin and watching our three year olds light up when they see each other brings a pitter patter to my heart. Marek and Lael are 5 months apart and Pius and this little one in my belly will be too and I can’t wait to see what’s in store for them.

It has been awesome watching your family grow, you guys have done an beautiful job raising your babies. The tenderness that Jahnna and Zavier have shown to Lael is so special and it means the world to me that they take time to make her feel so loved,  Thank you for letting us share these moments with your incredible family. We are blessed to have you in our lives!

Enjoy!

I have been dreaming of this shot for quite some time and I needed the perfect fit to make it a reality. Kelly’s Tire Station has been apart of our family since my dad was a little boy so having a family baby boy this summer made it perfect.

The smiles he was giving me were to die for!

I mean seriously, look at this smile!

And there’s another one!

We had an awesome weekend in Anchorage with our cousins! It was my cousin Justine and her husband Ryan’s son Beck’s baptism and we had the wonderful honor of being his Godparents. The service was a beautiful, private ceremony with close family and friends and were were so happy we got to be a part of his special holy day! I can’t wait to see photos! The other exciting reason we headed down was for my cousin, Nicholas’ first art show which was held at an adorable coffee shop called Coffee Cats. Nicholas’ work is incredible and it was so great to see his collection hanging. What a treat!

The weather was amazing and I had so much fun photographing all the cousins playing together at the BBQ celebrating Beck’s baptism. I’ll post some images here, but to see the full gallery of 60 images click here.

Our drive down and back was beautiful…the mountains were spectacular, the budding leaves were just showing their pretty green faces and the 12 moose, two porcupine and lots of rabbits stayed out of our way.

What a great trip!

Enjoy!

These guys came to me for a little happy birthday to Dad photo shoot! They bantered back and forth, teased each other and laughed at me for my crazy suggestions the entire shoot, but I think in the end they had a good time and hopefully we got a few shots Dad will enjoy.

Are just so stinkin’ cute together!

These two have a story much like ours…they began dating at 15, dated through the remainder of high school, headed off to a bigger city to brave college together, moved home, got married, became parents to a little chocolate lab to ease into the role of parenting and now after 15+ years together they are entering the most fulfilling role yet. Your new little guy will be here so soon and he is going to fill you with more love than you ever knew your heart was capable of. Like us you’ll likely wonder why you waited so long to have a family. You wouldn’t trade those years of fun and being together for anything, but the joy your little guy will bring you will give you reason to wonder. You are going to be such wonderful parents. I can’t wait to meet him and take his first photos – I have some fun ideas in mind for his photo debut. Stay tuned. Enjoy!

…to be able to make such a fun family smile! It’s especially nice to be able to do it all for such a wonderful cause. You might remember the giving is awesome campaign from around Christmas time. You can read my full blog post here. This is one of the families I chose and couldn’t have been more honored to do there shoot. Sharlot, Rachel, Cynthia, Shantel, Kenny & Drew you guys were so much fun to work with, thank you! Sharlot – you are so tender with your kids it warms my heart to see and feel the love you give to them. Raising five kids on your own and working so hard to support them is commendable! I hope my glimpse of your world makes you smile for years to come. Enjoy.

Below is the nomination this special family received.

The nomination for our third family came from Tonya Garnett and here is her story.

Her name is Sharlot Evans.  She is such a nice, sweet, hard working person and has gone through a lot.  She and her soon to be ex husband have five kids together.  She always worked full time while raising her kids. Her kids are all nice, well behaved sweet kids and all of them have such a nice personality.  She goes above and beyond for her children even while in a bad relationship with her husband.  She took on many of the responsibilities; school, work, practices, bills, etc.  She never let anything hold her back when it comes to her kids.  She always made rent, car payments, provided for all five children.  All her children are so nice and a delight to have around. Even though all these things were going through her life she still made time for family and friends and is always a person you can call on when you need help.  Sharlot works at the Cancer Treatment Center here in Fairbanks.  Sharlot always thinks of creative ways to make life interesting and fun for her kids with activities and outings!  Even though she has five of her own children she still babysat for her cousins and other family members.

I just think that she needs something special, especially during this holiday season.  She is such a neat loving smart person and she only deserves the best.  She is really an inspiration and we are so glad to know her.  If you meet her you can just feel the genuine person she is; loving, nice, and goofy and she is contagious by making others smile and feel good around her.
She’s just had a tough year and I think something special can probably bring up her spirits.  Her and her kids are all very beautiful people and they are such a joy to be around.

Thank you Cassy!  You too are an awesome person!

A teaser has been in order for a few months now and it’s finally time to showcase Mr. & Mrs. Jeremiah Johnson! You may remember Jeremiah and Adriel from their engagement photos here. If you know me you know I only take on a few weddings here and there and it has to be just the right mix of fun, details and of course the perfect couple for me to say yes. This one was an easy yes for me! She could have just told me the colors and I would’ve been hooked – turquoise, orange and brown (notice my blog colors). The details of this wedding were incredible…the beautiful off-white dress with incredible beading and tulle detail, the ribbon look of the bridesmaid dresses, the sharp tuxes with their turquoise ties, the old, little, white, church, the sparklers, the adorable black and turquoise favor boxes for the sweets bar, the birch branches and flowers – it all makes me giddy just thinking about it!

I spent the day with Adriel and she couldn’t have been more relaxed or ready to just be married. She had every detail just right and wasn’t worried about a thing. When those doors opened and she came down that isle with her dad she looked absolutely stunning! I wish I could have had a second shooter just to get Jeremiah’s reaction as she arrived. I know his heart skipped a beat.

The girls weren’t ready in time to shoot photos before the wedding, but the guys and I had a little pre-wedding fun! We stirred the pot a little at the church and got in a little trouble for pushing the envelope, but the images we did get were worth it! They all looked super sharp and I’m sure they enjoyed my theatrics as I shot. I tried to get a full shot of the churh steeple and when I was lying down in the snow nearly at the river I’m certain they had a good laugh at my expense, but hey – it was worth a try! Thanks guys for being down for anything and taking a little heat for my creativity.

If you’ve ever attended a reception with Jim Matherly you know he’s going to get you on your feet and keep the party going as long as the venue will let him. But, ff you’ve ever been to a reception with Jim Matherly and OUR FAMILY you know the party ain’t stoppin’ until someone is pushing our crew out the door and unplugging Jim’s speakers. Okay well not literally, but our family knows how to rock it out! From the family shot, to the 50 person train, to the sweet swing dancing by the Wolfe brothers – this reception was no exception!

What a great night and a beautiful way to start your new life together. We wish you the very best while you endure the icky Texas and New Mexico heat for the next year +. We miss you already and wish we could have made it work to see each other in Texas. Congratulations you guys and thanks again for your patience!  Love you both.  Enjoy!

Oh and even though the image quality isn’t great on the bouquet and garter toss series of images near the end of the slide show I think it is pretty hilarious and worth checking out! Look at the determination of the chicks to get that bouquet and watch the guys as they wait to see who is brave enough to pick up the garter – hysterical!

I’m very behind on my blog posts so for those of you waiting on a teaser I’m sorry for the delay – the beautiful weather, travels and company have me extra busy this summer and I’m lovin’ it!

There is no shortage of love for this little gal – she had an entourage follow her to the studio for her photo debut. Five adults and one sweet star of the show. Grace came to me a little grumpy, but after a few mad spells and some nursing time with momma she was good and sleepy and a dream to work with. Her momma and daddy were naturals with her and even though she had only met daddy less than 24 hours earlier when he arrived home for R & R from Iraq he slipped into his role without missing a beat. It’s so fun to watch parents as they learn the ropes of soothing and caring for their new arrival. Good work guys! Say an extra prayer for this new family as daddy finishes his last two months in Iraq. It was a pleasure to work with you and I wish you the best while you’re apart. Enjoy!

I love it when my clients are so easy going and down to earth. Brooke, Shawn and Emma were  just that and they made my job a breeze. Even though I pushed the envelope a few times and they just rolled with it. They trusted me to take them in the swamps, dirty ditches and to even let little Emma sit on a fence railing about 14 feet off the ground. What I loved the most was they let Emma be a kid and that makes for the BEST images of little ones. I wish them the best as they are await the arrival of their new little one and I can’t wait to capture them as a family of four. Thank you for such an easy going shoot, you guys were awesome!  Enjoy.