I think I like this one better. Can’t decide - go back and forth. But I love the interactions going on …

Zach would love to suck your blood! Love it when kids are toothless. This image will be a crowd pleaser when he’s graduating or getting married:)

The image on the left of Luke would be so so so beautiful enlarged BIG Amy:) 

LOVE these …

Totally jealous of these! Sizzling! I have a handful of shots where I LOVE how you are looking at each other. The one on the left is my favorite.

FAVORITE.

Look at how delightful they are - you can just tell …

Julia wanted me to get a natural looking shot of her dad. I could just feel that he was an engineer - I guessed - I was right - it was funny - it made him laugh and I got the shot:) But most of the time he walked around EXACTLY like my dad (an engineer) does with his hands behind his back listening and observing and probably wishing I would turn my volume down:)

I love these shots of Julia and Jason …

These make me smile, these make my knees weak, these make me jealous, these make me love my job …

Happiest children ever. They make my job so so easy. I have never seen them cry, whine, pout, beg - they just smile and laugh at my songs and think I’m fantastic - heehee.

My new favorite all time image. Soon to replace the other in my banner:)

Then we could talk scrapbook teacher talk for hours. NO ONE in this WORLD knows how hard it is to be a scrapbook teacher until you are one. And we were part of a club that kept at it for years. Most people teach 5 or 6 classes and realize it is a near impossible job and quit. We both were crazy and part of a super special elite club that stuck it out for YEARS .

Then Amy BOUGHT A SCRAPBOOK STORE with a friend! You heard me. And it is by far the best one in Columbus - probably Ohio. It is called Scrapbook Art and is located on Polaris Parkway. GO.

I was so happy to finally meet Adam and Annie in person. I completely felt like I already knew them because we have talked about our kids for hours and hours. They were so much fun and so so good and LOVED to have their picture taken. Nice! I absolutely LOVE some of their images…….

We were at Alum Creek Dam and it was perfect. I loved the steep hill, the steps, the meadow, the electrical tower. Great location.

Aren’t you so glad I made you get in a few Amy? This shot is magical! Would love this shot with my kids:)

What the other half of photo shoots look like, lol……

The End

Ellie and her friends had a craft show. All of the proceeds went toward Canine Companions. They earned $250! I had HUGE mommy guilt because I didn’t really pay attention to what she was doing until the day of. She had been sewing in the basement all week (I can’t go down there because I almost have an anxiety attack from all the clutter and chaos) and came up the morning of the show with these adorable bags she had made. It made me super teary and proud and sad and mad at myself. This girl begged me to teach her how to sew - I didn’t think she was old enough - she broke me down - I taught her quickly one day because I had a lot on my plate - literally set her free after 5 minutes of instruction and she was off. She can thread it. Fill the bobbin. Change her stitch style and length… Love this girl.

We are going to a Middle School orientation tonight with Jackson. I can’t even believe it. He’ll do great. Even though he has put me through pure torture when it came to sleepovers and birthday parties and playdates and summer camps, he has always been so good about school. Never complains, teachers love him, does well …. The only time he ever got into trouble was THE FIRST WEEK OF FIRST GRADE when he kicked some poor little kid in the head on the playground on purpose. When I told him he would be suspended if he ever did that again he wanted to be, lol. “I would get to stay home with you mom?”

This is the picture he picked out to be in his 5th grade slideshow…

I looked outside while doing dishes and saw this last week …..

and every single day this one takes Ellie’s favorite prized precious Miss Kitty out of the car and places it in the front yard. So strange.

I met Kay - Susan’s mom -  right after I met Susan. Just like Susan there was instant comfort. You can tell her anything. There is never any fluff - it is always real, raw, unfiltered, funny, loud, crass, emotional, straight to the point conversation. If she doesn’t like what you are wearing she tells you:)

As time went on Susan and I got married and started popping out babies and Kay became Nanna. I can barely remember what her real name is anymore. Nanna was a huge part of my life in those early (before I had too many kids) child rearing years. I would wake up, get dressed and go find Nanna and Susan. I feel like we had lunch together everyday for 3 years. Good times.

Because it runs rampant throughout their family Nanna was always very good about mammograms. She always said it wasn’t “if” she was going to get breast cancer - it was “when” . It always made me flinch when she said that but then the day came.

It was one of those 9/11 - where were you when - moments. A phone call I will never forget. She took immediate control. Super positive. Put us all at ease. Early detection, early cure …. and she beat it. She went with her sister into her cave and didn’t come out for months. Seriously. I remember feeling helpless. Got the daily updates from Susan. Couldn’t cook for her because she couldn’t keep anything down. Didn’t visit because she was sicker than a dog.

But then she came out on the other side a survivor. Changed, strong and bald, lol. That led to riveting questions and comments by the 3ish year olds:)

We don’t see each other enough anymore, but when our paths do cross I LOVE it. Love catching up and hanging out withe her. Always feel so filled after time with her and Susan. I predict in three years after I get all my kids in school all day ( hear the angel’s harps?) Nanna time will resume.

Nanna taught me how to sew on her kitchen table:) Those of you that are my crafting friends out there know how important and cool that is.

These two love each other something fierce…..

they ain’t right…..

alcohol was involved …

Love you Nanna!

More fun, crazy, fabulous, beautiful and downright hilarious shots from Susan’s bday coming soon.

I went into this worried about my settings and worried about shots that I might miss, but it was so effortless. I never remember “thinking”. Not once.

I approached this as if it were my own birth. I was selfish:) I took the shots that I would have wanted. I knew the shots and angles that I wouldn’t have wanted. I wanted Leslie to look at these with pride. I wanted them to be sacred to her. Not a coffee table album but a “I know exactly where it is on my bookshelf if there was a fire album”. Kidding. I want her to look at these over the years and and feel powerful and beautiful because she was. She was amazing.

So please if you watch this I would LOVE it and be forever grateful if you would leave a comment. Bringing a child into the world is probably one of a woman’s most raw and emotional moments and Leslie was so brave to be my guinea pig so that I could show people how beautiful birth photography can be. I think it is the second most important event after getting married and the least documented. I want to change that.

I will post more information soon about birth stories. I’m still working out the details but my goal is to provide an album and a disc containing a mini maternity session, the birth and a mini newborn session. I will have everything figured out within the next couple of weeks. Call me if you need to know information before that.

We always stay local. I let each kid pick the day’s events.

Brynn chose bowling …

Dane was scared at first. I was going to be the mom and walk and talk him through it but the big kids took over. That’s when I know having four kids is allll good. Makes me all proud and warm and fuzzy to see them naturally help Dane.

I forgot about lunch. So we ate potato chips and nachos instead. They were in heaven.

And then Dane decided to set his ball down at the line. Back up. Take a running start and kick it as hard as he could with his sock covered foot. We all went from wondering, to “STOP DANE!” to cying laughing. It took about 3 seconds for the pain to set in and then he was DONE.

We went to Old Man’s Cave the next day (didn’t bring my camera) and then on Wednesday we went to my favorite diner called Tom’s. It’s in Zanesville. It is seriously like stepping back in 1950. We all had lunch and a huge sundae for $35! Well Dane’s lunch was a plate of bananas but still. Jackson said, “it was the best hamburger I’ve ever had even though it smelled like rotting carpet”. I just wanted them to experience their dripping over the bowls onto a plate sundaes. It was so interesting to see the clientele. Couldn’t believe how many people came in just to buy nuts, lol. I really wanted to steal one of their metal bowls but resisted. Hard one to explain to Ellie and Jackson now, lol.

Ellie chose Delaware (city). It holds a spot in her heart from when we would go to speech therapy every week. For the first three months it was hard trying to figure everything out. I would drop off Ellie at Miss Jenny’s and then have a baby and a rambunctious toddler to deal with for an hour. I hated it. Dreaded it. And then I started snooping around and found one of the most beautiful cemeteries. A few months later I found a really great playground. Delaware also has GREAT ice cream stands with “eyeballs’ for kids ice cream. So what started out as something we dreaded turned into something we looked forward to. We would stay hours longer because the kids LOVED eating at the cemetery and looking at the graves. I bet some of you can’t wrap your head around that:) I also taught them how to do grave rubbings and it’s one of those things they remember and beg to do.

then off to Mingo Park.

One of my dreams was to photograph a birth. I get birth. You don’t get the beauty and miracle of birth until you are on round two or three. At least I didn’t. Put it this way - there is no way in H*E* doublehockeysticks - that a photographer would be in the same room with me during my first delivery. But once I was pregnant with my 4th I realized that the swollen ankles, the double chin and the giant thighs were just the battle scars of the amazing journey. The journey that I only found amazing and humbling AFTER I had the baby. While I was pregnant I wanted to kill someone…

So long story short I asked Leslie and Patrick if I could be in the room while they had their 3rd baby. I felt comfortable asking because she’s from my tribe. And they said yes. It’s something I want to offer. I think it is as important as wedding photos. I want to offer a classy simple book filled with a few maternity, a lot of birth and a few newborn images. I’m still figuring out the details but I think it’s important. And meaningful. Totally something you would grab if your house was on fire.

So here is Part 1 of Leslie and Patrick’s journey …

Stay tuned over the next couple of days for the rest. Unless you have a heart of stone you will be moved and blubbering. I don’t cry much but everytime I go to work on these photos I get choked up a time or two.

Oh and for these maternity images - Leslie couldn’t move. Seriously. The baby was sitting on a nerve that left her totally incapacitated. Like 110 year old lady, lol. I felt so sorry for her. So her maternity shots consist of getting out of the car and facing one direction. Then turning around facing the other direction.

Want a sneak peek of what’s to come?

We usually wait for Grandma and PaPa to come up - they have become part of the tradition too. Love that. So I finally felt like I should document it.

A few notes about these images. Bad light. Brynn and Ellie were beside me - I only took pictures of what was in front of me in between giant bites:) Bad mom. It is still a novelty to me that Brad needs reading glasses. I think he’s HOT in them. That is my dad content. Imagine what he looks like mad, lol. No one could make me cry faster when I was a teenager. EVERY SINGLE MEAL he takes off his glasses and rubs his eyes. And every single one of my 3 year olds hid when it was time for the volcano.

Pallawi and Bhushan were the NICEST people. I loved how they looked at each other.  Great great connection. Lots of laughter. So natural in front of the camera. Dreamy. Loved how cute and festive the baby’s room was. They are going to make a beautiful little boy:)

Pallawi has only gained her cute little 25 pounds (the weight one of my thighs gains while I’m pregnant). She was stunning.

Pallawi’s MOM and DAD (traditional and modest people) were standing 2 feet behind me during this shot. It made me soooo nervous and twitchy (can you imagine what they were wondering about me, heehee), but I am so glad I went for it because I love this shot:)

love. love. love .love. love love.love the next one….

Speaking of mom and dad …

Indian jewelry is my favorite. This necklace symbolizes that she is married. How cute is that picture of her dad?  He was one you had to sneak up on. And I conquered.

So many amazing shots from this session but these next three are my favorites.

Thank you for calling me and trusting me Pallawi and Bhushan! It was so nice to meet you. I can’t wait to hear how your labor and delivery went - hope that little stinker has turned and you get your natural childbirth (even though you are a CRAZY WOMAN).