Baby Harper Preview

I headed over to the East side of the state to hang out with Baby Harper and her cute older sisters and brother. She is such a sweet baby and had the cutest nursery! Mom did a great job putting it together, especially since they were surprised with the gender.

Dykhouse Preview

Wemple Family Preview

The Wemple family came to my studio for a session last week Tuesday. We had gorgeous weather and the best.light.ever! The boys and I had lots of talks about gross sounds and stinky feet, right up my alley. Ha! Their mom runs the daycare Tyler used to attend and is super organized and on top of it! I wish I could hire her to work for me...maybe someday when I can afford an assistant!

Baby Ethan One Year Preview

This adorable little guy is cousins with Ruby...this family has a good gene pool! He wasn't super interested in looking at me no matter how crazy I got or what sounds I made, but he did love the wagon and dirt. Loving those big eyes and I want to pinch those cheeks!

Vandyke & Meyer family preview

I had fun with this family last week at Aquinas where we enjoyed another beautiful fall day! Little Reese is the only grandchild and is adored by this family the same way Tyler is by ours. She kept me busy busy busy, but I had so much fun chasing her around. Those eyes kill me...can't get enough of them!

Norton Family Preview

Vanderwood Preview

We enjoyed some gorgeous weather for this session in the orchard. Little L had his first bites of apples and was obsessed with holding one. Love his big, blue eyes!

In The Orchard l I Heart Faces Photo Challenge

After having so many great orchard sessions this fall I had a hard time choosing just one image. After some help from facebook votes I have decided on this image. Loved this session!

 

Balance...or lack there of

I love my job. Because I love my job, it doesn't always feel like a job. I feel like I am so lucky to really and truely love what I do that I turn it into a burden. For some reason it seems too good to be true that I can work from home and have a life so I don't let myself have one.


When I left my job at Meijer behind, the goal was to do what I love and have more time for things that are important to me. More time for my family, more time to learn and develop this passion. Time to get in shape and keep my house up. Time to enjoy this amazing life with my son. That kid is so stinking funny right now and I am missing it. I wanted time to just be. To be in the moment. Time to enjoy what is going on around me and participate.Time to volunteer and serve.


To be honest, if a job working for someone else required this time commitment from me, I would walk away as would anyone. So why am I doing it to myself? I am a bit of a workaholic and my expectations of what I can get done and reality rarely match.


I heart lists. A lot. I make really great and long lists and schedules of when I am going to get them done and rarely do I consider extra time for life to happen. Sometimes I have lots of lists going on and things get missed because I don't have a good system in place. By the way, getting a system in place is on my list. : )


My deepest desire with this business is to provide amazing customer service to my awesome clients. For something so important to me, I don't get to devote much time to it. Another important thing to me is serving the community. I really looked forward to using my time to volunteer at a food bank and provide photography service to families with sick children. I haven't been able to fit that in and I feel it calling to me every.single.day.


One of my favorite quotes is "Be the change you wish to see in the world" by Ghandi.


Well, this is my world...and I am going to be the change within it. In order to be fair to my family and myself, I am changing my hours that I work. I love working from home, but the downside is that my work is ALWAYS here and waiting. On the rare occasion I sit with my family at dinner or on the couch I feel like my computer is staring at me. It's really creepy. I love working for myself, but that means I am the only person who can take care of stuff. Changing my hours is all fine and good, but if I don't lessen my workload, nothing is going to change.


Starting October 31, I will no longer work on Sundays. No sessions, no emails, no editing. This is a day I have promised to keep work free so I can rest and enjoy time with my family. My hubby is holding me to this, so no exceptions.


Speaking of my hubby, that man does all of the laundry and dishes and has for over 6 months. He washes and drys and folds and hangs and puts it all away. I couldn't do this without his support!


Beginning in November, I am limited to only 3 sessions per week. This is my magic number right now for being able to pay the bills and provide the level of customer service I feel you all deserve!


I also have an intern starting soon who will be tackling my very long list of marketing and product info pieces. Graphic design is something I can do, but certainly do not specialize in. This was an easy choice to let someone else do. Bring on the experts, please! I can't wait to get this all together and I am so excited to show it all off when the concepts come to life.


I will also be using the services of a book keeper to organize my receipts and expenses each month. I love the fact that I can hand off an envelope full of receipts and get a spreadsheet back.


I feel so incredibly blessed that I even have the problem of too much work. My greatest fear when I left Meijer was that I would fail. Who isn't afraid of that? I had NOTHING on my calendar when I gave them my notice. Leaving a secure paycheck took a lot of faith and hard work, but I am so glad I took the jump. Even burned out, I am so happy!


I look forward to giving you all amazing service and I am so grateful for your business! New things coming: Session consultations, extensive what to wear support, fun sessions, and easy ordering. I can't wait to get started!

Thanks!!

My amazing Aunt Joyce I Family Preview

My brother's are both tying the knot this year and I ran into some trouble with my bride's maid dress fitting me this summer...as in I ordered the wrong size and didn't lose enough weight. My Great Aunt Joyce, who has lived behind my parents my entire life saved the day and worked some magic so I could still be a bride's maid. I was still working full time at Meijer plus running this business and didn't try my dress on properly with enough time to get a replacement. I have no idea what I would have done without my Aunt helping. Plus, she lets us come swim in her nice pool!

Generational family photos are not what I specialize in, however, I wanted to do something for her as a thank you. We got her kids and grand kids together last week for a family session at Aquinas. Enjoy your preview, thanks again for saving the day!!

Hayden Senior Preview

Hayden is one cool guy...he and his mom made the trip from the East side of the state a couple of weeks ago to do urban senior photos. I had the luck to work with Hayden's aunt at Meijer and they share some amazing creativity in that family! Hayden is an artist and soccer player not to mention a killer dresser. Enjoy your preview Hayden.

Mojares Family Preview

This cute family lives on the East side of the state and came to see me while in town visiting family for a wedding. It was a chilly day, but the girls braved the outside with me for some pics in the spring meadow in the ghetto! These girls were dressed so stinking cute and have the personalities to match! These girls really love each other too...they wanted to do all of their photos together.