FAMILY SESSION: All the LIGHT we can see

If you are an avid reader, you'll notice a little "play on words" with this blog post title.  ((for those that don't have an opportunity to read novels too often, there is a book entitled: All the Light we Cannot See))  

LIGHT basically sums up photography...

if you understand how to use it, how to reflect and bounce it, how to bend it, it's amazing to see the results in the people of which it illuminates...

It's what stops people in their tracks...

...the glow

...the twinkle in eyes

...the spotlight!!!

LIGHT can also be something on the INside too!

And when you have BOTH...

it's magic!!!

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This was such a day...

The beautiful light was shining...glowing...

Using it to backlight and also to spotlight this wonderful family makes the dewy yellows and bright spots shine...but, what REALLY makes this family gorgeous, is the LIGHT that exudes from them, that comes from the inside...

It's easy to see the love they have for one another, the patience and grace they give each other...the HAPPY that they cultivate in their home because it spills over into their everyday life...

and it can't help but SHINE! 

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FAMILY SESSION: Grinning Ear to Ear

Marriage and Parenting...

that is some tough stuff...

I didn't know what I didn't know going into it all...

I think we all have visions of what it "will be"...

and what we often forget, is that not only are WE not perfect, but we marry an imperfect person as well...and then we have imperfect little ones...

and then we're all crammed into a house all thinking that our way is the BEST way...we sometimes get in a rut of thinking that "if only _____" (he'd do this or she'd do that)

but, the fact of the matter is that is takes two imperfect people CHOOSING to be 

gracious, 

forgiving, 

committed, 

and honest...

And to find that person that says, "I'm not going anywhere and I'm choosing to love you no matter what..." Oh gracious, that is a GIFT!!!

And then, to have those babies and model for them...

THIS is what LOVE really is...

it's not all about perfection, it's about doing the hard things, because THAT is what produces the AMAZING!!!

I LOVE LOVE LOVE when I encounter families that have chosen this type of pathway...

They dig in and do the hard groundwork...

I know it's exhausting and sometimes overwhelming and you wonder, "when is this chapter in our story going to be over because I 'd just like some clean clothes, 8 consecutive hours of sleep and to be able to go to the bathroom without someone calling for me!!!"

But with families like the one pictured below, they recognize that life isn't all about the circumstances, it's how you choose to react and love on those that matter the most...

they recognize that tough love and commitment means more than an easy ride...

I am so very privileged to meet families like these every year...

they have found the JOY in the everyday...they model LOVE in the mundane...and they LIVE life in the bigger STORY!!!

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SENIOR SESSION: Molly CO2019

She was my last #classof2019 Senior to photograph before graduation...

She has one of my favorite names too...I had a little "Molly Jean" once upon a time, when I was a school teacher...and ever since then, when I hear the name Molly, my heart does a little squeeze and I get a smile on my face!

Molly is everything that her name conjures up in my heart...

She's charming and kind...sunshiney and sweet...

her beautiful eyes take everything in as she unobtrusively engages in her surroundings...

Her "story" is gentle and classic...it's soft and simple...and yet again, her eyes are bold and bright...it's as if you can see straight to her heart...and there you find that graceful demeanor, with a pinch of determination and strength!

The Class of 2019 Seniors have been such an inspiration and an absolute pleasure to photograph.  I am honored, once again, to play a small role is documenting this chapter in their story!

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FAMILY SESSION: May Flowers

In my naivety, I thought that once my children got older, life would slow down a bit...

When they were very little, we dealt with sleepless nights...I was "on call" 24/7...the changing, the feeding, the catering to their every need...

to say the least...it was exhausting...

I feel as though I ran on adrenaline most of the time...on the sweet joy that my babies brought to me just by being mine!!!

"For sure," I thought, "things will get easier once they can ______________"

You'd think I would have learned my lesson after each time that I filled that blank...

"crawl"

"walk"

"feed themselves"

"dress themselves"

"learn to read"

No...I did not learn...

things CHANGED but they did not get easier...

If anything, the worries started to compound even more...

I recently read a post that stated,  "I used to worry about SIDS. Now I worry about suicide rates, SAT scores, school shootings, and sexting."

My life, over which  I felt I had some semblance of control, all of a sudden felt a bit berserk !!!

May has definitely been that sort of month for my family...I wasn't expecting the hecticness of it...(my eldest isn't even a senior until NEXT year for heavens sake!)  Between concerts, performances, activities, commitments, birthdays, family visits, tragedies befalling our school, college visits...along with just the "regularity of life"...

well...my lack of time management skills have complicated matters even more...

So, it is with a great sigh of refreshing delight that I share this family with you...

to remind myself that even in the busy, 

even in the crazy, 

even in the "I'm not sure I'm even doing this right!!!"...

that centering oneself on what matters most is where things come back into focus...

We are never guaranteed an easy, breezy life...

it's our choice of reaction that makes or breaks us...

I do not say that lightly...for I've lost a sister and other loved ones...and I've fought the unfairness of it all...

but again, I suppose it comes down to what I can and cannot control...

circumstances will be what they will be...

and I can choose to find the joy and accept the grace in the crazy...

This sweet little lady brings a smile to the faces of those that love her the most...she is a gift...a gem...a treasure...

and while, I know that life will not get any easier, it will get

FULLER and

more MEANINGFUL and

yes, BUSY

but it's worth it...

OH SO worth it!!!

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SENIOR SESSION: Eric CO2019

He just makes me smile...

He marches to the beat of his own drum and sort of like the Pied Piper, it just makes people want to follow him...the trail of happy that he leaves in his wake is quite refreshing!

Maybe it's because he's a baby brother to two older sisters...perhaps they had some "say" in training up this baby brother of theirs...but, I think it also has to do with the way he's wired...the way he was created to be...

He's intelligent, friendly, funny, and not scared to try anything...check out the pictures below and don't miss the video at the end that endeared me to him in the first place.

He makes his family proud and I feel privileged to know him!

Congrats Eric!  You're pretty awesome! 

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