I am 20 minutes away from heading out the door for Hawaii. I am very excited to be heading towards some sun, my sister's family and relaxing days with my family. I have been buried the past few weeks making sure I finished all my work before taking off and we spent what felt like weeks celebrating Cooper's 5th birthday. So my blogging has taken a backseat to the craziness. I did want to post more from the great time I had with the Galgon family.
The girls ran to change clothes. While they did that I snuck a little time in with each on the stairwell. The light was beautiful. It was so much fun watching the girls together. the middle two have an obvious bond that was incredible. There are a few pictures that really show it. Then we geared up to go outside in the rain. Little Maria lead the way...I could have stayed in the doorway all day with her! The rain stopped for just a few minutes and I got a hairbrain idea to drag their incredible antique couch out onto their lawn. How can you not love a family that is up for anything??!!

I started the year off stating something that I have never stated to a client..."I think we should reschedule, I just think trying to make the shoot happen is just going to me FUTILE..." Whenever I have brought up rescheduling I have always told the client that I could make it work but it just wasn't ideal. This time I just didn't think I could come close to making it work and I hate to waste peoples' time and money. But let me tell you how thankful I am that the woman on the other end of the phone believed in me more than I could ever imagine. Or maybe she knew that trying to get her husband and 4 girls all together at one time ever again would be even more futile so she just crossed her fingers and asked me to come anyway. And instead of being futile it ended up being one of my most favorite shoots. And I am so happy it is because the woman on the other end of the phone really deserves it. I do not know how best to describe Gretl but to say that she is just very REAL. Her and I see eye to eye on telling it how it is...it takes too much energy to pretend that all is perfect in life. So it was fitting that I arrived to find everyone in pajamas. It was really THE BEST!!! I had so much fun watching them play the violins together, read & giggle with each other and run around their house. And our fun was rewarded...when I opened the door the rain had stopped and we actually were able to get outside. I love this shoot so much that I am going to bore you with two seperate posts. I need to look at this post every time I think I just want to be outside...being inside can be so much fun!!!
Gretl, I soooo hope you love these as much as I do. And thank you for believing in me!!

On New Year's Eve a little boy was lucky enough to join an amazing family. I was at the hospital for just a few pictures but this weekend I got to meet little Kieran again and really get a good look at him. He is really a beautiful baby. But I expected nothing less as he needs to keep up with his stunning siblings. I love photographing this family. Every time I arrive now I am greeted by big hugs and smiles. And then they top it off with playing with me and my camera. I am looking forward to Kieran joining in the fun in just a few short months. This will probably be the one and only shoot he sleeps through.

The beginning of the year always finds me finally catching up on work that piled up on the back burner throughout the second half of the year. It is painful working through it all but once finished it is such a relieving feeling. I tackled the worst first and balanced my books so I can be prepared for Uncle Sam. Now I am moving on to the last of it which is the fun stuff...designing a few more albums for clients. It is a lot of work but I LOVE receiving the shipment from my album company and opening them right away. And then it gets even better when I get to hand them over to a family and see their faces light up as they turn each page. Great motivation to get the designs completed. My goal is to have my plate cleared up before we leave town at the end of the month for a little family vacation and visit to my sister's family in Hawaii. My calendar is already filling up for the first few months of the year so if you have thoughts of scheduling a sitting during the first quarter of 2008 call or email me now!
Here is my first family of 2008. I photographed their oldest when he was 8 mths old and now it was time to capture their second at the same stage. It was cold and rainy outside so hopes of getting out to run around were quickly dashed but we managed to get some great smiles anyway.

My last sitting of the year was for someone that I met in 2007 and she quickly became my family's favorite person. Tessa took care of Oscar and Cooper for most of the year and sadly when she started her masters program at the U we had to find someone to fill her humongous shoes. She is such a solid person I was constantly amazed that she had just turned 21.
When she asked if I would have time to photograph her family while they were all back in town together I made sure I had the time. I was really looking forward to meeting her family and seeing if they were all as great as Tessa. I am not sure they were as excited as Tessa and I. Family photos is something they hadn't done since their youngest was 6 mths old (15 yrs ago) and Tessa asked them to rally up for her. The weather not on our side but I really wanted to photograph them outside. So Tessa agreed to meet me in a place I had been wanting to try out...under the highway. It is not what you would think of as scenic but at least it is dry and I actually liked the graphic lines of the big support columns.
Tessa--I hope your family will be happy that you dragged them out on that rainy day. I think you are the best and I also hope you like the images.
I will say I am posting alot...w/ 4 kids I just couldn't choose which to include and leave out so I went a little overboard.