Motherhood Event at the Farm

If you are anything like me, you probably have a bajillion photos of your kids…on your phone, on your computer, maybe they even made it onto your wall or in a photo book.  But how often do you have images of your kiddos WITH you?  How often are you in the frame, reminding them (and you) that you were there, that you took up space and engaged with these little humans you’ve kept alive this long?

  Too often we allow insecurities to keep us behind the camera.  Or we just don’t have enough hands.  This April 7th I want to give you the opportunity to get in the frame with your babes.  It’s important to me that mamas see how beautiful and strong and beloved they are.  I want to celebrate how hard you have fought for your babies and the family that you have.  Photos can be very powerful…an image to look at and say to your soul “It is Well”.  So here are the deets…

I can’t wait to see you there! Subscribe to my email list if you’d like to be the first to be notified of future events and happenings! Joy

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Morgan and Troy

Ya'll.  These two.  One of my favorite aspects of my job is getting to hob-knob with some of the coolest cats in town who I probably wouldn't have outside of a photo session.  A maternity session is such an exciting time to jump into someone's story...all the anticipation and wonder and down right exhaustion!  As a mom of three I get it.  And I am always so impressed by these Mamas who want to document it all.  All the feels and swollen things.  Morgan and Troy, you guys are gold.  I am so thrilled for you and your journey and can't wait to see it all unfold in a few short (though they may not feel short right now) weeks!

A chilly and brisk morning with the Dillons...

I love it when clients share with clients!  Anyone following me on Instagram can see that a lot of our time over the last few months has been dedicated to renovating an old farmhouse in North Durham.  It has been a dream come true!  We will be listing it in a few weeks, but I have been trying to utilize the property and old barn in my photo sessions as often as possible while I still can.

Kelly saw a session I did with a mutual friend of ours at the barn last fall and loved the rustic barn look and felt it would best capture the essence of her family of outdoorsy boys.  Kyle is heading to college in a couple years and, as most Mamas do, Kelly wanted to capture some family moments while she still has all her boys under one roof.  Time flies, ya'll!  

One of the ways I love to serve my clients is by sharing with them the thing that drew me to photography in the first place...this telling of a story and the details that may seem insignificant in the moment, but that truly capture the sounds, tastes, feelings that made it memorable to you.  As I watch my kiddos grow, it is not so much the big milestone moments I worry about forgetting, but the everyday mundane that I don't ever want to forget...that cow lick and the way her nose crinkles when she laughs.  The crooked smile or tilt of the head when he is really listening.  This is the gift that photography gives to us.  The beautiful everyday.

Kelly has such a sweet connection with her boys and I am so glad she now has evidence of that connection frozen in time.  Life will definitely be changing for the Dillons in the next few years, but they will always have these images to remember, "This is us.  This is who we are."  We also proved that cold, grey January days can still make beautifully connected photographs!  Body heat encourages physical connections!

Thank you, Kelly, for inviting me in to these moments with you!  You done good, Mama!

Welcome to my world!

Hello! This project has been a long time coming and because of my great skill at starting a project and constant struggle to carry it across the finish line coupled with perfectionist tendencies, I am incredibly grateful and proud to finally present to you my website and blog!  

As I thought through the best way to introduce myself to the worldwide web I thought a little day in the life project would be a good way to give you a window into my little world.  So I woke up on a Father's Day Sunday morning, took my first shot and...my camera broke.  I wish I were kidding.  Taking it in for repairs this morning.  Not to be deterred, I continued with my project using my iPhone.  Cause somedays you just have to keep rolling with it.

I love sleeping in on Sundays and I'm a two cups a day girl.  Most of my life I was a one-cupper, but then we moved.  Again.  For the 11th time in 15 years.  Yes, you read that right.  No, we are not in the military.

My family and I moved to Durham last August for my husband to work for a start up in downtown.  We immediately started a major house remodel (cause that's what we do) and just moved in a few weeks ago.  Another post about all that crazy coming up soon.  We have three crazy monkeys and one incredibly ridiculous labrador.  

There are almost always roller skates and basketballs on the floor, dog hair on the couch and always at least one basket of laundry waiting to be folded.  Because life is real, ya'll.  And it never stops.  

Since the first Sunday we visited Durham we fell in love with the vision of this little church plant in the city called Christ Central Church and have been worshipping there every Sunday since.  And can we just talk about the jazz?  So soulful and soul filling.  To meet every Sunday in a place surrounded by such rich African American heritage where Martin Luther King, Jr. once spoke is such a privilege.  

School is out for the summer and this is the first summer since deciding to stay home that I've been working.  Or trying to work.  I have to be honest here.  It has not been easy and filled with all the feels.  Guilt, gratitude, exhaustion and frustration.  I always feel like I am failing someone.  Please tell me you working moms can relate?!  We've all been getting readjusted to being together so much again and I really wasn't sure someone wouldn't die in the process.  So far every body is accounted for.

One of the perks of being a mom to older kiddos now is that they get to help around the house.  Because the dishwasher doesn't unload itself.  

The boys had a Father Son golf tournament, which is the fastest way to my baby daddy's heart, and we hate to brag, but they kinda won their age bracket.  No big deal.  The winning trophy/frame may or may not be front and center in our home.  And just to show what an amazing and cool baby daddy he is, though his heart's desire was to be on the couch watching the US Open, he instead took one for the team and was coerced into a Dad's Freestyle Relay at the pool.  So selfless.  And he does dishes.  I'll keep him.

We ended the day in our favorite way...with dear friends, burgers and cheesecake.  Laughing and dance parties melt away a lot of the hard things.  This is my life.  It's real.  It's messy.  It's beautiful.  My camera has become an invitation to take notice of the many gifts in this life.  To look for the beauty in the minutest mundane.  The redeemed amidst the brokenness.  To honor those passing beautiful moments by freezing them in time.  To remind my own soul and to invite others to look and see.  Thank you for coming along for the ride!