Claire Jane

Introducing little Miss Claire! She was such a good girl and put up with me for a LONG time.



At the beginning of the session, I mentioned something about putting Claire in the bird bath, saying it a little jokingly in case her parents thought I was off my rocker. Fortunately, at the end fo the session Claire's dad started talking about how he might go out and clean out the bird bath....YEA! I don't ever push parents outside their comfort zone...at least I try not to, but I hope they agree that the bird bath was worth it. I love these first two.

Of course, as is my luck with newborn sessions, Claire wasn't really interested in sleeping at all (don't let the closed eyes fool you), but I think we still got a lot of cute ones. Here are my favorites.

Thanks for having me over guys! Auntie Jen won't be so "demanding" next time ;-)




I was told this one is for Grandpa.




The happy family!

Father's Day

Let's see if I can make it through typing this without getting my keyboard all wet.

My dad means the world to me. A few words that come to mind when I think of him are: faithful, patient, loving, generous, understanding, strong, resourceful, intelligent, dedicated and funny. The thought of not having him around is unbearable. There is no way I will ever be able to thank him enough for all he has done for me as well as for our family.

I don't know why, but as a teenager, I didn't like the fact that anywhere we went, we always ran into someone who knew my dad (probably something to do with teens trying to get away with things without their parents...or anyone who knows their parents...finding out). But as I got a little older, it was something I came to admire. I know this will sound a little bold, but hey, it's my blog and its the truth...but if you don't know my dad, you are missing out.

Curious if I'm right? If you hang out at the 18th green of Sharp Park Golf Course, there is a good chance you can meet him...weekly ;-)

I love you dad with all of my heart. Thank you for being a the best dad, a wonderful father-in-law and the most amazing pappa we could ever ask for!

It amazes me that after dealing with me for 30 some odd years, you don't look like this everyday dad!

And if ever there was a child that loved his/her dad as much as I love mine, it would me my son's love for his dad.

Even photos can't quite capture the sheer joy and sparkle and amazement in the eyes of my son when he is around his dad. Observing their love for each other is one of the biggest joys of being a wife and mother to them.

I hope this slideshow shows him how much we both love him!

Click here to view the show!

Flying High

The Knot Michigan Fall/Winter 2008

This is the updated post to my sad photos in a previous post of Jenn and Jerry's wedding which is featured as a Real Wedding in The Knot Michigan Fall/Winter 2008 magazine which is on newstands now.

The kind people at The Knot sent me the nice files as seen below!

You can also the rest of Jenn and Jerry's story and a few more photos by clicking here.

Nathan + Sara + Cole

Another one of my fabulous August brides, Erin, nominated the second winning family that I had the pleasure of photographing the other day.

Here is Erin's nomination:

"Nathan and Sara moved to Michigan from Kentucky in 2006 because Nathan was hired as the new youth pastor at our church in Brownstown (Nathan will also be one of the ministers for our wedding). I immediately liked them both, not because they were pastors or Christians, but because discussions with them challenged me to think more seriously about my beliefs. They're not interested in leading stereotypical Christian lives, but about loving people. As a youth minister Nathan really makes students think about bigger issues than prom and football games. He's inspired led them to volunteer in their own community, as well as think about global issues like hunger and poverty by sponsoring a child in a third world country. Nathan himself spent a summer in Honduras working with impoverished children, and both he and Sara really focus on helping people in need. Nathan's sermons and discussions he's led have caused me to think about the type of life I want to lead and the impact I can have on the way people think about Christianity in a good way. I am lucky to call Nathan and Sara friends. "

Thank you Nathan and Sara, for all of the good you share with this world!

Here are a few of my favorites from the session.

Roberta + Claudia + Cloe

A wonderful client of mine, Karen (stay tuned for her wedding pictures in August) nominated Roberta and her two daughters for my free photo session contest. It was a joy to meet them. The two girls were so well behaved, it was unbelievable. I asked Roberta if she would take my son for a couple months to "train" him, but I think she has plenty on her plate as it is.

Here are some excerpts from Karen's nomination:

"First I want to say that attitude is 99% what makes life as you see it. Now for my nomination, my closest friend in the entire world, Roberta.

We became friends a long time ago when we both got hired into Consumers Energy at the same time. In the years since then we've become very close. She grew up in a rural area and went through so many tough things in her family life. She managed to get through school and during highschool her best friend was killed in an auto accident. She went on to college but wasn't able to finish at the time. She had to start working 2 jobs to pay her bills.

We became pregnant at the same time. She miscarried while I delivered my youngest. She was there for me anyway. She then had twins just over a year later. One was perfectly healthy and the other was born with a rare genetic disorder known as Alagille Syndrome. Right before her twins were born her father passed away suddenly. That was the one thing that devastated her. He was so excited to see her kids and she was only a few weeks away from delivering. Due to her daughters illness she had to resign from her job to care for her medical needs. She ended up filing bankruptcy when financial issues set in and she lost her house...all because she needed to care for her children. She really did lose everything. She never took the 'Why did God do this to me' route. She picked up all she had, went back to school for nuclear medicine and had to do a 40 hour per week unpaid internship while providing for her children as a single mother. She graduated with her degree and started her first job in her field of study in May 2008.

She was also a pivotal person during some difficult times in my life as well. She took me and my three kids into her teeny two bedroom trailer and was my only shoulder to lean on. That meant more to me then words will ever be able to say. Through it all she is still a very strong person. It's very hard on her but she only says that in the end it will all pay off, and it's starting too. Her life is all about her attitude."

Roberta, you inspire me and your two beautiful daughters are so lucky to call you mom!

Here's a few more of my favorites from their session.

The Lucky One

That would be me...the lucky one. Today I had the pleasure of meeting both families who won the little contest I held around the first of the year.

More to come, but here is one for each family!

Books are Better with Dad

Wild Animals

We had a fun time with our family visiting the Detroit Zoo. I think my son's favorite part of the day was holding Auntie Hanna's hand....and the train ride, until we went through the dark tunnel.

This was our second visit to this zoo. Last time I tried to take pictures of all of the animals...and I don't think I ever looked at those pictures again. So this time I took lots of pictures of the REAL wild animals!

Some of these are out of order...sorry!