Refreshed...

Last weekend was refreshing and inspiring in every way. I got to spend three nights at the beach with 3 wonderful photographer friends. We girls talked, cooked, laughed SO hard, shared information and ideas, tried new camera tricks, played with old film cameras, explored an old lighthouse, talked about our precious husbands and children and balancing that with businesses, soaked up sunshine and salt air, ate out, slept in... simply wonderful.

And what a blessing these girls are. Wisdom, soulfulness, and joy all wrapped in friendship! Amber, Stephanie & Jamie, I'm already looking forward to the next time we're all together.














Amber & Stephanie were so, so nice to take some updated shots of Jamie and me for our websites!

I'm pretty sure I was really more like this the whole time they were trying to photograph me.




Our last evening there we spent down on the beach shooting until the sun went down. Spectacular. I shot these 3 with my iphone/instagram and loved how they turned out:



And a huge THANK YOU to Dad & Janet for blessing us with the use of your beautiful beach house! If anyone out there is looking to get away to the beach, The Cornelius House is my favorite place to stay! :) Jamie took these two beautiful photos of the house. Thanks Jamie!

Chloe is turning ONE!

I'm not sure what's cuter than a 1 yr. old in a tutu dress? It definitely tops the charts! I had a great time photographing Jessica and Scott's beautiful family this weekend and getting to capture their darling girl, Chloe, right before she turns ONE this week!

Chloe has run away with the title of most chill baby!! She happily posed and smiled for well over an hour! Yep, she's amazing! ...Speaking of running away, I almost forgot to share that the weirdest thing ever happened during this shoot! About 30 college student streakers ran by us while we were shooting! You could hear some of the girls shouting, "sorry!" as the naked "flash" mob ran by. A little sunshine and Oregonians start taking off their clothes. ;)

Happy 1st Birthday Chloe! And happy 1st Year to you too, Jessica & Scott! Thank you for allowing me to capture this sweet season in your lives. And may this coming year be streak free! ;)

For Jude

Our precious Jude bug turns 6 today! It's crazy to me that he could be that old already. Before having kids, I always pictured our children in my mind as itty bitty (baby/toddler), or teenagers, but never that middle age, you know, about 6-13. :) So to have a child entering that age bracket makes me feel a lot of things - like I want to reach out and grab him and pull him back to babyhood because this is all speeding by... keep him from loosing teeth and eventually going through that lanky stage. But even though each stage goes way too fast and I'm never completely ready to move onto the next one, I can already see that this next season is going to be a precious one. It's exciting, and I know I'll continue to grow too, just as Jude does.


2012 has already been an amazing year for Jude, and it's only April, so I'm excited about all God has in store for the rest of this year! Since January of this year Jude has benefited from excellent focused medical care (sensory therapy and seeing the endocrinologist) that has helped him to gain strides! Woo-hoo! Jude has been growing and maturing, and just in the past month Josh and I have been watching this tender-hearted, gentle person emerging that we are just madly in love with! Not that he wasn't gentle and wonderful before, but we're getting to know a deeper, more mature part of him, and I just love his precious heart!


I wanted to post just a couple snap shots of Jude from over the years (below), but because I'm a photo addict that's not going to happen... and grandparents will eat these up, so I have to post them all! ;)

Happy Birthday Jude! I can't thank God enough for you and the way He so perfectly made you! Your hugs and laughter make me soar. I'm so proud of you, for the hard worker you are, the tender-hearted boy you've become. Your jokes crack me up, I can't help but smile when you do, and I love your excitement and curiosity for life. I love you Jude Bennett, more than you could ever know. Of all the birthday boys in the world, I'd pick YOU! ;) xoxo








































































And lastly...

Jude reminds me a little bit of myself at this same age:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY Jude Bug! xoxo

You Cannot Lose My Love, by Sara Groves

You will lose your baby teeth.
At times, you'll lose your faith in me.
You will lose a lot of things,
But you cannot lose my love.

You may lose your appetite,
Your guiding sense of wrong and right.
You may lose your will to fight,
But you cannot lose my love.

You will lose your confidence.
In times of trial, your common sense.
You may lose your innocence,
But you cannot lose my love.

Many things can be misplaced;
Your very memories be erased.
No matter what the time or space,
You cannot lose my love.
You cannot lose,
You cannot lose,
You cannot lose my love.