The Neese Family

These are my dear friends I am visiting here in Charlotte this week. Michelle has been my friend since 4th grade -- for 20 years now! We only went to school together the one year in Minnesota. I remember riding the bus with her to school and singing songs. Then she moved away and we were pen-pals. I have over 50 letters from her from that time. We both moved numerous times and then when we were in high school she flew out to visit me each year because her dad is a pilot. Then I was in her wedding nine years ago. And since then she has had 4 kids. I've been doing the visiting the last few years and it's been nice because I have shot 4 weddings in the Carolinas now so each one is a good excuse to visit her. God has really blessed me with her friendship and used us in each other's lives over the years. We always have the best deep conversations about life. Anyhow... now that you know my life story :)

Today the kids were playing in the backyard--the weather is GORGEOUS here. And so I did some shooting and got some great shots of their cute family.

This is Gavin, the oldest:


Logan is next:


Rhiannon is the only girl:


And Aiden is the baby:


I love his chipmunk teeth:


Here's Brian and Michelle:


And a cute shot of the three boys:


I love this family. The kids are each so special and have their own unique personalities. My friend Michelle is an absolutely amazing mom. She blows me away. It's crazy to think about where we are now and how far we've come from the little girls who rode the bus together in 4th grade. Life is one amazing, unpredictable journey.

Introducing Tate

My friends Michelle & Haines, whose maternity shoot I did a few months ago, just had their little boy, Tate, on Saturday morning! He is 6 lbs and some change and 19 inches long. I got to stop by the hospital yesterday to meet him and shot a few photos while there. Oftentimes I don't find newborns super-cute but Tate is a cutie and I'm always so amazed at how tiny and soft newborns are.

Here are some of my favorite shots:



Blowing bubbles:


Angry-baby face:




SO sweet.

#78....check!

78. Take photos of my parents


Yesterday my mom came over to hang out with me during the day a little. She had just had her hair done that morning and looked so cute. So I said we should do a photo shoot with her and my dad on one of the days she gets her hair done and she said, "How about today?" So we did it! It was a little sad though cause it was SO windy so I don't think you get the full effect of the hair-cuteness. But look how cute my parents are together!! They are some of my favorite people in the world and this August will celebrate 33 years together. I'm proud of them for sticking through some tough times. They know the meaning of their vows, "in sickness & in health." My dad nearly died of a brain aneurysm 5 years ago and his recovery has been a long one. But he's doing well and we are SO thankful to be able to still have him with us.

We had fun taking some photos with my dad and both of his babies:


He loves his motorcycle. Yes, my dad is a hard core biker-dude.

Those of you who know him are laughing right now. He's a gentle-spirited electrical engineer nerd in real life but I think the motorcyle helps him feel like he's a little more on the cool side :).

He had so much fun with these photos:




Then we took some shots around Freestone park.





And finally ended up in old town Gilbert where we ate at the new Oregano's there--yumm! But we took a couple shots while waiting for our table.



Love you mom and dad! Thanks for everything you've done to bless me and impact my life!!

Two cute bellies!

Yesterday I got the chance to shoot what few photographers have had the chance to shoot - two sister's maternity photos! Emily Edwards, a wedding consultant that I love working with, and her sister, Jenny, are both due with their first child at the end of March -- only 5 days apart!! Emily is having a girl and Jenny is having a boy. It's hard to imagine anything cuter than that.

We had a lot of fun shooting at Emily's house and at a nearby park. Both Jenny and Emily were gorgeous and glowing:


Emily has stricking eyes -- check out this model shot :):


I had a lot of fun with the double-belly shots:



Both Emily and Jenny's husbands also got involved in the fun. Here's some of my favorites of Jenny and Tim. Tim was a goof-ball and made Jenny laugh a lot:





And here's some favorites of Emily and Brian - gorgeous!:




Finally we had to shoot some portraits of all four of the cute, expecting parents:



My favorite:



Thanks guys for this opportunity! I'm SO excited for you and can't wait to hear the news in March!

My favorite Christmas Cards

So I know Christmas is long gone for this year but I was taking down some of my cards and decided I wanted to share with you some of my favorites I received this year. Every year I receive cards from people with their family picture on them and it's fun because I shot them! I love to see the creative cards that people come up with using my photos. So if you have a card with one of my photos on it--make sure to include me on your mailing list--I would love to receive one and add it to my collection!

Here's the four I received this year (all very poorly scanned in):






I guess it's time to take down the tree now...

Worden Family Portraits

I have to say this is my favorite family I've ever done family photos for. Definitely NOT the easiest. But my favorite. This is my sister, brother-in-law and two adorable nephews. We've attempted family photos numerous times throughout the years and it's always more work than usual because Noah (6) and Elijah (5) are both autistic. Noah's gotten a lot better and will hold still and try to smile at the camera. But he's easily distracted and Elijah is usually the distraction. The boy won't sit still and won't look at the camera no matter what a loud fool I make of myself :). But I love them to death so we always do our best. Even though it takes a lot of energy, we always end up with some cute photos in the end. The best thing to do is keep moving. So we do things that are fun for the boys. Noah loves swinging:


And recently he's taken up basketball:



It's pretty amazing. The basket towers over him but he ends up making his under-handed shots a good percentage of the time. Here's some more cute shots of him playing:



And a cute one of Josh and Noah. Josh is so good with the boys.


Here's my sister taking Elijah down the slide:


After some fun on the playground equipment we went on the merry-go-round. Elijah lit up.



And finally we ended our outing with a ride around Freestone park on the train.


I love this one of Elijah. Poor guy was SO cold by this point.


And one last shot of the whole clan:


I love you guys!!!