Rachel

Best friend. Rock-awesome barista. Designated friend to call when you’re crying so hard you can’t breathe. Bailer out of despair. Interior decorator and fashion coordinator. Adopted aunt to my kids. Inspiration. Perspective-giver. Truth-teller, even when you don’t want to hear it, but NEED to. Listener to the broken-hearted. Encourager. My dose of sanity. My running partner and distractional conversationalist when I realize that my legs feel like lead and begin to throw their own revolt. The truth is she’s all of these things and more.
Her name is Rachel. I can’t remember exactly how we meet, but I can tell you my life has never been the same. She has become such a foundational part of my life I just consider her my sister. And quite honestly, I don’t know what I would do without her. (And hope I don’t have to find out like I did with my Katie who now lives in Tokyo…)
A few months ago, she agreed to hang out with me and let me take some pictures of her. I needed a chance to practice and learn a lot more. And the truth is, she’s gorgeous and it makes my job easy.
So here’s a peek at one of my best friends. She also happens to be our wedding and family album designer. When we started this business we realized I couldn’t do everything, as much as I might want to and that album design was one of those things I needed to turn over so that I could focus on photography, clients and my kids. As I debated what to do, I thought of Rachel. There’s no one whose artistic eye I trust more. She’s incredible, she understands my style and dedication to beauty and story-telling and she’s just great. So, she said yes. And as I’ve already gotten a glimpse of one album she’s preparing for one of our clients, I’m blown away! I almost cried as she flipped through the pages. She caught their story, their beauty and their laughter in the most beautiful way.
So without delay, here she is… And Rachel, can we do this again? I’d be a fan.

What's in a name...

He's almost one year. I held him in my arms today and looked in his eyes and found myself in disbelief. I couldn't imagine my life without this rotund, constantly on the crawl, smiling boy and yet a year ago, I couldn't imagine life with him. (For more on that read here
When we were trying to figure out what to name our little boy (after we found out at the ultrasound appointment that he was indeed NOT a she…) we stumbled upon a Hebrew name, “Jayden.” (We picked a variant spelling, but it is still derived from the Hebrew name) It means “God has heard.” I knew that was my little man’s name. Because our lives as husband and wife had been all kinds of examples that God HAD HEARD. He heard when we couldn’t pay our bills, He had heard when we were so hurt we didn’t know how to pick ourselves up off the ground, He had heard when we didn’t know how we were going to pay for groceries that month (By the way, if the person who left those groceries on our doorstep is reading this – thank you. We cried when we got home and knew we could make it another month and that God had taken care of us through you. Thank you. You have no idea how much you encouraged our faith. And those of you who sent us money secretly, thank you. We still share the stories of how God took care of us when we didn’t know how we were going to make it. We’re still in awe.)
We want the world to know that “God has heard.” Life sometimes sucks, quite honestly. We are dealt rough blows, painful moments and everything else, but even when we don't know how to pick ourselves up off the floor, God has heard... My prayer over this little man is that he could share in powerful ways by his words and by how he lives that God has heard and He cares. He is completely and utterly aware. And He is there, no matter what your circumstances, your friends, your past or anything else is telling you.


And just for fun, here's one my favorite pictures of that little man...

Precious Little Family

Upon meeting the entire family, I immediately wanted to be an honorary member. There's little Ava who is full of life and probably spent our entire session running and exploring. And then there's Brayden, and seriously, if Hannah were older, I think I'd be reserving him for her. He's kind, spirited, talented and just all-around awesome. But what do you expect when you have this kind, loving, strong dad? And then there's Jules. How she does everything she does astonishes me. From running two different departments to having a ridiculously BEAUTIFUL house (and yes, secretly I wanted her to come redecorate my house...not so secret anymore, I guess) and being this precious, all-in, loving mom...she really does it all.
Thank you, Jules, Tim, Brayden and Ava for sharing your time and your story with me. You are so adorable and I loved exploring with you guys. I hope you enjoy the moments I had so much fun capturing! And happy early birthday, Ava!

(Sorry, I loaded so many pictures - I had the worst time narrowing it down!)







Let it be said, you two are gorgeous!!!



Oh, precious Ava






That's about 1000 cool mom points right there












So...I was so in love with the mom/son combo that I put up 2. What can I say? They're adorable!!!






I am in love with Ava's eyes














I decided to end on a ridiculously sweet note.

1,000 Cool Points

I never planned on being a mom. I was sure I would lose a child (like misplace them) and that I was completely unqualified. When I found out I was pregnant with my first, I cried. For days... I was terrified. For 9 months I struggled to accept a role I was sure I didn't want.
And then I met her.
Life changed. God gave me the most incredibly awesome little girl. She was full of life, joy, giggles and as we've seen in the past few months, an unbelievable ability to compose hilarious songs on the spot. Though I still feel like I'm still right about the unqualified part, I love it.
And yes, I also have a little man that has stolen my heart in the most ridiculous way. And he was also a surprise. We were planning to adopt a little girl (our choice, not because of circumstance) and I found out I was pregnant. With a boy. (Did I mention that whenever I watched little boys playing at the mall or the park I was instantaneously zapped of all my energy? You can read more about that a little further down in the post "Jayden") And again, I'm in love. (And yes, we're still going to adopt. We're just paused for the moment)
God has given me insanely cool, smiley, hilarious, awesome kids. With the horrid reaction I had both times, I don't deserve it, but God is His graciousness probably knew I wouldn't have survived without such easy-going kids. So here's a little glimpse into why I think they deserve 1,000 cool points.




Yes, my heart just melted, too


I cannot help by smile every time.


If only you could hear her sing "Part of Your World" And yes, she chose a purse to put her candy in...


My little man already has a baby 6-pack



She found his Spiderman mask and entertained herself for hours



Action shot of her "roar"




Yes, this is my daughter. And those are her ear muffs. And yes she was napping.