My Third Session for St. Al's

What an experience these last two weeks have been! I have had the amazing opportunity to meet many families from the Treasure Valley. Each of these families brought a beautiful perspective to me and I am excited to be able to have their photographs displayed at the Family Center at St. Alphonsus.

The families I photographed on Monday were refugees. Some were from Burma, some from Burundi, some from Congo. Although our languages were different, I could see their story in their eyes. Such beautiful colors God has made - such beautiful spirits!!! I really loved shooting this session. It was a challenge because of mismatched clothing, children with dirt still on their faces and the language barrier, but it was a session that I would gladly do again. It was such a wonderful experience.

Here are some of my favorite shots from that evening.

More St. Als Models

Here are the remaining models I shot for St. Alphonsus last week. I am completing another shoot tomorrow with some refugee families. I am super excited about that!!!







These photographs were done last weekend. Baby Girl was already 2 weeks old and we wanted to make sure we got the squishy newborn shots :).

Okay - here's what I did on my birthday...

I was able to work with the families whose faces will grace the Saint Alphonsus' Family Center. It was a mad rush to get each family done in only 30 minutes, but we managed to do well. There were a few things that didn't go as planned (like me forgetting my CF cards at home...yes...you read that right!!!), but the end results were beautiful. Here are a few of the photographs that were taken on my birthday.







Here is one little guy that stole my heart. Meet "O". His parents were told that they would become his parents only 12 short hours before he met them. It must have been love at first sight, because the bond among the three of them, only 6 weeks after O's birth, is indescribably strong. I was not expecting typical "squishy" newborn shots because of his age, but as soon as he had some secure time with Mama, he dozed off and let me "arrange" him with his parents, getting these amazing images...





I'll post more by this weekend :).

I'm now 31...yes...it's true.

Monday, I turned 31. Humph. Okay - so, I thought 30 would be crazy hard. Nope. It came and went. No big deal. 31, on the other hand, now that one is hard. I can't believe I am creeping further and further away from my 20s. I am ALWAYS the youngest in a crowd. Not anymore, Folks. Don't get me wrong - I am sooo happy with what's happened between birth and now. I've acquired my bachelor's degree, I've married an amazing gentleman, I've had the most gorgeous baby in the world...I am super happy with life, but it is weird to think that I am actually getting to an age where I am no longer considered "young". Well - perhaps to some of my older audience, I AM young, but you know what I mean!!

However - all that to say -

I have tried to buy a bottle of wine the last two times at the grocery. BOTH TIMES I GOT CARDED!!! Normally, I'd love that, but I've lost my license, so both times, I've been unable to take home my cooking wine. I would like some cheese with my w(h)ine, please...

I'll share a little later what I did on my birthday. And in 7-10 business days, I'll share with you what I got for my birthday from my hubby.

I was on TV Monday!

I had the wonderful opportunity to do an interview with Michelle Edmonds from KIVI Channel 6 news.

Michelle founded "Community Baby Shower" a year ago after she saw the need for baby items for new Moms. In order to prepare for the drive, Michelle airs a few stories on different baby-related subjects.

A few weeks ago, she and her videographer came with me to a maternity shoot. After the shoot, Michelle interviewed both Monica and me. It was so great to have this opportunity. Monica did such a fantastic job on her interview! She is a natural :). To view the segment, click HERE.

And here are some resulting photographs from that news story.

O'Dell Wedding Sneak-Peek!

If you are stopping by to see Tara & Ben's Sneak Peek, please leave a comment for the couple at the end of this post.

I had such a blast with this wonderful family. I seriously have been so blessed by my brides, grooms and their families. You all have been so stinkin' sweet :).

Tara and Ben got married in Fruitland, ID. We began the day photographing Tara getting ready in her mother's master bedroom. I spied a beautiful photo of Tara's Mom and Dad at their own wedding several years before. Tara's father sadly passed away about a year ago, and I knew this was a perfect opportunity to have him in one of her wedding photographs...





Then I headed over to visit the boys getting ready - or...playing cards, really. They all looked so handsome in their tuxes and green ties!!! I love green!




Tara and Ben met at Sally's house for their time to connect before the wedding. Ben waited patiently as Tara drove up to the home with her mom. When he turned around to see her for the first time that day, I could tell that he was enamored by her beauty! He held out his hand to help her up to the porch and they embraced! It was really wonderful to see. I have the best job in the world!!!





We headed back to The O'Dell Ranch, where Tara and Ben would exchange vows. There was amazing scenery all around. It was sooo gorgeous. We couldn't finish our bride and groom session without getting a shot of Tara's first baby in the background :). For us city folks, that's a horse.





I don't do a lot of processing like this, but I had to play with this shot. I am sooo excited about how this turned out. Tara and Ben - I hope you order this as a HUGE canvas - it would be absolutely stunning :).



I saw more blue eyes at this wedding than I have ever seen before. And - they weren't just blue. The Junior Bridesmaids had eyes that were crystal blue - almost transparent. ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS!!! Then - at the wedding, I kept seeing people with just gorgeous eyes. What kind of water do y'all drink in Fruitland ;)?



We took the bridal party out to the field. Look how the sun flare was going right to the couple. It was almost as if Daddy was looking down on his baby girl...he was there with her.



The bridesmaids came to the wedding in a horse and carriage. It was so cool! I loved how these men totally fit the scene, too. Okay - maybe it's normal in Fruitland to see cowboys runnin' around, but not in the city :).



The wedding was short and sweet. This officiator had married Tara's parents and sister and brother. Ben had crafted the arbor for the wedding. It's sentimental touches like these that make a wedding so personal.



Tara loves color (so do I!) and it turned out fabulously to have that much color!!! I just loved it!






A few dancing photos...the two of you danced beautifully!




I hope you've enjoyed your Sneak-Peek, Tara & Ben! I had such a blast not only at your wedding, but getting to know you through these last few months. Happy Marriage and consider yourselves loved...

It's been too long...

Hey, People! It has been far too long since my last post! Well, can I tell you a little bit of what I've been doing?

We've been busy looking for a new car. Not because we hated our Saturn Vue. Not because we needed something bigger, smaller, roomier, cuter...nope. We are looking for a new car because of the 4th of July. Okay - not because of the holiday, but because we got in a pretty major wreck on that day. With Lumuli, Julius and I all in the car, we are extremely thankful that all of us are fine. Lumuli has a gash straight from a horror flick and I've got some bruises that would make hockey players jealous, but nothing serious enough to warrant a trip the hospital.

We were only about four blocks from home - we had just come from visiting my cousin Kristi in Star (it's a town in Idaho, Silly!) and were driving into our subdivision at about 20 mph. We ended up jumping the curb, running into a 700 lb boulder, striking two trees and knocking down two fences. It was sooo scary and we were in shock for awhile, but like I said before, we are so very thankful and really have nothing to complain about.

Sorry I didn't have any cool 4th of July photos to share :(. However, I'll upload some of the wreck tomorrow (or maybe on Sunday since I have the beautiful O'Dell wedding tomorrow).

***ETA: I'm posting these photographs a couple of days after I wrote this post. These photographs do not do the severity of the crash justice!!! I promise...our car was TOTALED. The insurance company told us so ;). Anywho - here's a little bit of what we went through on the fourth***

This is where we initially hit the 700 lb stone...yes...700 POUNDS!!! We hit the tree next to it and in front of it I believe


Then, Lumuli overcorrected and we ended up on the other side of the road.