Is Winter over yet?

It's about this time of year where I get sorta lonely...

The cold keeps everyone indoors...someone is always fighting some sort of "sickness", there is a type of gloom that sometimes hangs over everything as we all await spring.

don't get me wrong...there are moments of FUN in this wintry season...we love sledding with friends and getting together with family for holidays and such...and after a jam packed fall, it is a welcome relaxer...

However...it's as we are entering the "long haul" of the season that I start to miss all those families that I met in the fall...their relationships are energizing...I find myself wondering how they are...wondering if newbies are beginning to crawl, how little ones are doing in preschool...how moms are handling the balance between work and carrying for the kiddos...

The people that I am privileged to photograph are more than just faces on a digital file...WHO they are stares back at me from the screen and I am reminded of the laughter and sweet conversations that were had as we strolled through a park or ran across a field chasing squeals and giggles...

I am thrilled each year when families call back and set up another session...another time to just BE themselves and let me interact with them...

Life is really all about relationship...and I'm not immune to the impact it has...

I see these little girls' faces and I am instantly transported back in time...remembering her telling me stories and holding my hand while we walked around the campus for this photo shoot...

I think you'll see what I see as you scroll through some of my favorites :)