This field (while filled with allergy laden mustard seed) is just breathtaking. That said, this gorgeous family IN the field? Hello. Aren't they beautiful? 

At the shoot he shows me a picture that was just published in a magazine of their wedding image. They had a carnival theme and they were lounging on a sofa being held up by an elephant......AFTER he showed me that, he made a comment in passing about letting me do my thing creatively. Okay. No fair. A mini session in a field with only a little Ikea chair won't scratch the surface when we're competing with an elephant. haha! I still think the pictures are super, super sweet. There are no props or large animals great enough to replace a real connection between a family welcoming a new addition. Welcome to this crazy world and your crazy awesome new family, baby Aislinn. 

The first one. 

Yes. 

It's totally wrong in so many ways. I mean, you can really only see one persons face and really, you can't even see her that well. There are tons of imperfections with this image.

But for me, the intimacy of the embraces, the kisses, the inspection of mommy's necklace...this moment as a family... all tied up in one little bundle...it's just beautiful to me. 

It's really difficult (for me) to put words on something that just "feels" good, this shot is one of those. Love it. Love the others, too. This family makes everything wonderful. 

HOWEVER, because my passion is photographing fleeting moments in life and relationships, fussy babies totally fit the bill. See, it's not about the baby crying, it's about what the family does to console him. It's precious and makes me melt in a little puddle.

This is one of the coolest elements of what I get to do for a living...

AND NOW....Happy Birthday, sweet boy. :) I've loved growing with this family in Max's very first year of life. I'm ecstatic about watching him continue to grow through the next stage of life....the wonder years. 

This family is precious. I believe that tells you everything you need to know about them, but in our current day of too many words and adjectives, I'm compelled to go on about how wonderful they are and tell you how we met. 

My friend called me one day and told me that one of the kids in this family spends several months out of the year in the hospital. Day in, day out, not leaving those 4 walls. She thought it would be fun (&special) for them to have pictures made of their entire family if we could arrange to do it in a season where everyone was well...and together. So that's just what we did. To say we had fun doing it is a colossal understatement.

Learning about what families endure and how they respond to difficult situations in life never looks like what I think it will look like. People blow me away with their faith and gratitude for what they are given every day. Meeting people like this family, touches my life and inspires me to want to be a better person. It's beautiful. They're beautiful. Today is beautiful.