FAMILY SESSION: I might have cried a little

I may have cried the other day...

If you've followed me long enough here on the blog, or on Instagram, or Facebook...or good grief, if you've even ever had personal contact with me...you KNOW that I'm a lover of WORDS...

It's funny how that happens since I also love PICTURES...

There is that saying that "A picture is worth a thousand words"...

Well, I just like to SAY those thousand words ALONG WITH the picture...

I'm an extroverted people person by nature...

but my love language happens to be WORDS...

and so...

I may have cried the other day when I received the following message:

Dearest Colleen,

I was able to get all the photos downloaded. Let me say that we are thoroughly pleased with the outcome of our photo shoot! We have used photographers in the past and spent 1-2 hours! Needless to say, I was skeptical that you did not get all the photos that I imagined you would in such a short amount of time; however, I was grossly mistaken! You captured our children superbly (and this means even more when you see their school photos ha ha ha)! "Thank you" is not even the right phrase to describe our gratitude to you and your work. When we showed our children the photos yesterday, which, oddly enough, was the same day they received their school photos, they started talking about you. THEY EVEN REMEMBERED YOUR NAME!!!! I hope you know that as long as we live in the Central Ohio area, your services will be sought out and I look forward to working with you in the future!

I don't just do this "job" for something to do...

There is something very personal about it...

not just the "art form" (although it does affect, as it is an extension of my creative being)

however, it is also a form of connection...

...an investing into the lives of others

...giving away portions of my heart, my time, my thoughts

I don't take pictures to "please" others, but to encourage, to help them see the beauty that they already possess...to help record specific seasons of life because I understand how fleeting they are...

I had never met this family before...

but their words melted into me...and coursed through my heart and mind...

It's amazing to me when you give just a little, how you receive tenfold in return...

The clouds were just about to roll in...

We heard the thunder in the background and the sky was midnight blue on one side, while puffy clouds hung on the other side...

We knew we only had minutes to capture the essence of their littles and their family...and in this crazy weather Ohio, we knew we had to take advantage of the day given to us rather than try to reschedule...

We were dashing here and there...

exploring along the way...

and in our scurrying, we were still able to take moments to giggle and BE...

to laugh and tickle...

to enjoy an uninterrupted juncture of time with just the 4 of them...

They are every bit as happy and REAL as they appear...