It’s wonderful to finally meet your little one… after 9 long months… and there’s no way to describe the delight you feel as they sleep in your arms.

This little boy has captured my heart completely (along with my husband, of course!)…

can you tell just by looking at these images how sweet this girl is?  her heart is just precious.  and she sure does love this boy who God has blessed her with.  i can already tell that their love is a precious, deep thing.  i am excited to see how their roots will grow and deepen even more during their many, many years of marriage.  i am super excited for their june wedding… Gaillardia will be the amazing venue of choice.  it doesn’t get any prettier than that!

I love the sweet relationship between a mom and her son…  There is something so sweet and tender about it.

I love being the Momma of my little 3 year old boy.  We love on each other, we love to snuggle and take care of each other.  As I watch my son grow, I wonder (as many mothers do) if we will still have this closeness when he grows up?  I stand in awe of the fact that the Lord has entrusted my husband and I with the honor of raising a little boy.  We pray that he grows up to be a man who loves and pursues the Lord.  We pray for the tenderness and closeness of our relationship to remain and even increase… no matter how old he is.

I have been photographing Colton’s family (color image below) once a year since he was probably 10 years old.  I continue to admire the relationship he has with his Mom.  Even after so many years, they really do still seem like the best of friends.  Every time I see them together, he always has his arm around her.  So, I asked him what made his relationship with his mom so special?  But he couldn’t quite put his finger on it.

So, I’ll pose the question to you… what is it?  What can parents do to nurture the closeness with our sons?  How can we cultivate a relationship with them so that they will feel safe in coming home and confiding in us, even as teenagers?  I desire to continue to study and know my son’s heart so that my husband and I can help guide him in the ways of the Lord,  so that one day he will be able to share his heart with his wife and truly be known by her.

We love offering our “In Your City” sessions a few times every year.  We frequent Dallas, New York City, and Tulsa and  have some amazing clients in each place… and have lots of other wonderful places we’ll soon add to our list (Kiawah Island, Malibu, Nashville, etc…).  Just send us a quick email if you are interested in setting something up in your city… we’ll tell you all of the details on how to get us there.

The Tulsa sessions will fill up fast, so contact us soon if you’d like to reserve a space and find out more details.  This is a perfect time of year for portraits since it’s right before Christmas.  Wall Collections, canvases and albums are the perfect thing to put on your wish list.  I don’t think a better gift exists than photographs of those you love the most.

Looking forward to meeting you and playing with your sweet children!

Details on “Dallas – In Your City” will be posted soon… stay tuned!

We wanted to give you a glimpse into the life of little Javier Santiago Restrepo.  He is a delightful 4 1/2 year old little boy who fought hard to beat leukemia.  On July 25, Steve and I were blessed to meet their family, photograph them, and video their most precious moments before Javi went to be with the Lord on Friday, July 31, 2009.

It began when I received a call from a dear friend and client, Coach Sherri Coale, saying she wanted to give them this priceless gift – a photo session and a gift certificate for prints… I cannot agree more.  This is absolutely priceless.  Thank you, Coach Coale, for allowing me to be a part of recording these memories.

Our family and our dear friends lifted up this specific photo session in prayer… I want to share those prayers with you and show you how faithful God was in answering them.

1) We prayed for the weather – it was supposed to be 100 degrees this day, but I really wanted to capture him outside if possible.  The Lord brought us cloud cover which cooled it off a bit and made us feel safe to bring him out on the porch… and, I could not have asked for a better location.  The backdrop of their home was amazing and beautiful.  They had a big wrap around front porch with a swing and rocking chairs… The direction their home faced was even a blessing from a lighting perspective.  We were able to shoot on their front porch, their yard, and then in Javi’s room.  Javi’s room was even perfect…

2) We all prayed for Javi to have strength, happiness, and joy.  It took him just a little bit to get warmed up, but once he took me to his room I felt like his new friend.  He wanted to show me everything that was important to him… his sailboat, his backpack, even his closet.  He was so good at interacting with his family as if I wasn’t even there… this made for true, intimate moments.

3) We prayed that God’s Spirit would work through us as artists… giving us perfect conditions, fresh eyes, and wisdom for a new aspect that we brought to the session – video.  We’ve wanted to eventually incorporate video into a few family sessions but had never done it before.  He was faithful… the end product is more than I could have ever dreamed up myself.  God set everything in its perfect place.  I am so thankful that we incorporated video… to  see the way his Mama plays with his hair, the way he “bonks” his Papa on the head, hearing his sweet laugh, and just hearing his voice.

We have spent countless hours editing and examining these images over past 10 days (thank you to our clients who graciously waited while we put our efforts here, first)… we’ve cried buckets of tears as we got to know their family through these images.  We hope you watch this so you can get to know Javi a little bit better… and we pray you see how faithful God is.  Please keep praying for this wonderful family as they enter into a new chapter.

There will be a new photo of Javi added to this post each day for the next week, so feel free to come back and visit… the new images will appear under the slideshow.

***If the video does not run smoothly turn the HD option “off” in the player.

Oh, how I admire Heidi’s strength.  Everyone who mentions Heidi to me, mentions how strong she is.  She loves that little boy so much… you can tell it in each image.  And, I love every image I took of them together.  It was wonderful for her to be so “unaware of me”… I just felt like I was a peeking in on all of her sweet moments with Javi and was able to capture so many unprompted moments.  These images are a true picture of how much they love each other.

In this first one, Javi was a little sad and went to hide in a little corner of his room.  His Mama came and picked him up and comforted him.  I couldn’t have asked for a more perfect place for them to stand.

True happiness.  I’m not even sure what they were talking about…  this corresponds with one of my favorite video clips in the slideshow.

And, Heidi’s favorite:

Javi with his big brother, Diego.  They are such a fun pair… the best of buddies.

I love these next two images.  Javi shows me his sailboat and tells me all about it.  In the second image, he runs his fingers over the treasure chest.  I love the detail of his hand.  Haven’t you memorized the hands of those you love?

A proud Papa watches his sweet little boy.  Their relationship is so cute… Santiago (Javi’s dad) makes me just stop and laugh – as I’m sure you can tell that through the photos and video.  I can tell he brings laughter and hope to this family… I am thankful that Heidi and big brother Diego have that right now.

Javi playing with his Etch-A-Sketch

This is just a sneak peek of just some of the amazing Seniors I photographed this year… This group of girls were all friends with our 2009 Senior model, Madi.  We enjoyed each one of them!  Summer is a perfect time to fit in a session before the school year begins.  Enjoy…

It’s delightful to be able to work with little clients like these… Blakely was so peaceful and easy to work with.  And, I was able to sit and visit with her sweet Momma during a short feeding break – that time is wonderful too… to get to know each client personally.  What a delightful family.  Thank you for allowing me to capture your little girl…  The album we made for her family is just breathtaking.  We loved it so much, we ordered a copy for ourselves to keep at the studio!

I love this sweet family… it is always wonderful to “grow” with a family… and to document them year after year.  Thanks and hugs to Thy, their delightful mom, who continues to trust me with the amazing privilege to document her precious children… and to trust me when i pull them into a grungy alleyway.

It’s always delightful to photograph your friends. Megan is one of my dearest friends… a beautiful girl inside and out. Isn’t it sweet that little Sophie got her Momma’s dimple when she smiles?