One of the joys of my job is how it connects me to people I wouldn't have met otherwise. Beautiful people like Bri!

As we went through our initial consultation in preparation for their engagement session, Bri told me that she loved the rustic beauty of the country. We talked about what she and Mark love to do together, where they are most comfortable, then we settled on heading to Mark's childhood home for our photos.

Mark's childhood home was one beautiful surprise after another! Bri had never been  upstairs in the barn, and as we walked up it took our breath away! What a beautiful piece of history. I loved hearing Mark talk about how as children they would play basketball up here.









THIS!!!

One of the most common phrases I hear since having Adeline is "I bet you have some great pictures of her / Do you just take pictures of her all day?" While I do have tons of pictures of this little sweetie, the old adage that the shoemaker's children have no shoes is also true.



I was determined that I would actually go through her pictures and make a special video for my and my little family. I'm only a week past my deadline too!

Our year has been amazing. My heart is overwhelmed by all the sweet moments our family has had and the joy of baby in our household. It's almost more than I can process even! Pip has been the sweetest baby, and T has been the best brother- well, as brothers go! I cannot image our family any other way.




We would love your comments on this post to celebrate Pip's birthday and her miracle story.

Blessings,
Julie

In many ways I lead a small, but valuable life. It is unlikely (although I'm more than happy to keep the option open!) that you will ever see my name on a list of top grossing photography businesses in the metro area. But that is ok with me, because of you. My clients friends.

Through something that can only be described as grace, you trust me with your greatest treasures: the ones you love, your most memorable days, and even those incredibly special and intimate moments of new life, sweet blessings before you walk down the isle, tear-filled gift exchanges from the heart, and so much more.

This has been a special week of pictures (more to come) but one of the reasons is because of this sweet family. Knowing that Jill's loves pictures and places a high value on them, I really wanted to make sure it was perfect for her. As expected, they showed up looking beautiful (and handsome) and being sweet as ever.

Here's a little peek of our fun!
If you are interested in booking a session this fall don't wait! Session slots are filling quickly. I also currently have a limited number of mini sessions available. Click here to find out more!

There are some people in life that from the moment you meet, you know you'll be lifelong friends.

That wasn't the case with Jessica.

Jessica and I met when I was 14 years old at a summer missionary training camp. I thought she was adorable, fun loving, adventurous and great friend material.

She couldn't stand me.

Thankfully I knew nothing of that, and the next year at the same camp when I found out who my roommates were, I was excited! You guessed it - Jessica. Her feelings as you can imagine, weren't quite on the same level, but that year as roommates we had so much fun together that it launched us into not only friends, but sisters on some level.

Seriously.

Like Sisters.

She starting going on family vacation with us.

We continued to go to camp together, but then branched out to working with inner city youth at a camp in Michigan, piling into an overloaded back seat and driving through to visit family in South Carolina, spent many nights sleeping over at each other's houses, survived manual transmission driving lessons, prepped for big celebrations like home school banquets and graduation parties, and she was at my side the day I married my sweetheart.

We have walked beside each other through falling in love, hearts broken, wanting babies, having babies, family hardships, and so many other moments.

I'm thrilled that we are now celebrating another momentous event- the celebration of a new life!

Jessica is radiant.

While every session touches my heart in a certain way, there are some that strike very close to home.

I haven't talked about it here much, but for the majority of our 15 year marriage, Anthony and I have struggled with infertility.

Even though I know that every baby is precious, when I found out I was pregnant with both my babies it seemed extra special. Throughout the long wait in-between Tucker and Adeline, I felt like God pointed me to these verses.

Romans 5:2-5
2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

Even though I have a smallish baby currently, snuggling sweet baby Salem was about enough to give me baby fever all over again. Salem rocked his newborn session. He was so sleepy and calm and beautiful. If every baby was like this I would do this all day long every day.

This weekend I had the honor of photographing my first ever Quinceanera! Even though the weather was HOT, it was wonderful. Desiree is a beautiful girl inside and out, and there is no question that her family loves her and each other dearly.

Here is a little sneak peek!

Meet Bobbi.

Bobbi is the boss, owner, creative designer, talented artist and visionary of Unsweptstone Photography. Bobbi is funny - like not just a little bit, but like go-on-tour-hilarious. She puts you at ease immediately, makes friends quickly, and everyone secretly hopes to be her best friend.

However, even though Bobbi is a talented photographer, like most women including myself, she was a bit hesitant to get in front of the camera.

When it was time to update her headshots for her business, and after naming every excuse not to have her picture taken, we got down to business and talked about a vision for the session. We wanted it to reflect her personality, but also be laid back and not too stuffy. We talked about wardrobe, location, etc. then we picked a date and made it happen.


Seriously my friends. It was SO. MUCH. FUN.


We headed to the Old Market in Omaha, Nebraska and the fun began. Bobbi loves books, in fact it's part of how she named her business, and is a talented writer as well as a photographer.

We browsed through my favorite bookstore, got some fantastic coffee and laughed - a lot.


At the end of the day, I think she would tell you it was worth it to get in front of the camera after all.



Now, if only she can convince me to do the same thing!

I love it when I get to follow a client along life's journeys. Every milestone feels a bit personal to me along the way, and being trusted to document those milestones is a joy, as well as a responsibility I take seriously.

Being able to take Jen's maternity pictures was a gift. I've taken Jen's pictures before there was Steve. Then, when he (literally!) came into the picture I got to take their engagement pictures and celebrate with them on their wedding day. If felt only natural to share in their joy of bringing a new little life into the world.