Somehow this week, I got onto the topic of boys with my little lady. So, of course, I asked her, “Are you interested in any boys?” “Uh, NO.” Me:  “Just checking.  Are there any boys interested in you?” “Yeah.” Me:  “Oh.  Where – at school or at church?” “All the boys at church are interested […]

  This…this is my life. It’s all kinds of crazy pants. And I love it.  And them…   If you keep up with me on Twitter or Facebook, then you’ll realize how very HER this picture is. I could pretend like this never happens, but I’d be lying.  This is my life. A few weeks […]

I walked into her first grade class and it hit me.  We were the only ones… Hannah had been given a project of putting together a family tree.  So…I thought.  And looked on pinterest.  And gave her some options of ways she could do it. Her choice? Make an actual tree. Why not? We collected […]

My daughter’s class has a lion named Fred.  My daughter LOVES lions.  She will happily explain how she is fluent in lion.  And then proceed to speak and translate… So you can imagine how CRAZY EXCITED she was when she was picked to take him home for the weekend. Lately I’ve been trying to rethink […]

Hi there, sweet Chicago friends…   I’m coming back one more time before the end of the year and I’d love to see you October 11-14.  Currently I have 2 sessions left and 3 mini-sessions.  The mini-sessions are 25 minutes in length and are for Saturday, October 13th in downtown Wheaton and the session fee […]

God is so very gracious to us.  While we were in Chicago to document a beautiful wedding (of two awesome people), our sweet/amazing/we-miss-them-like-crazy friends’ little boy turned 1.  So we crashed the party.  Because that’s how we roll. Quick disclaimer: I do not photograph 1 year old birthday parties.  Ever.  Weddings?  Yes.  Life-giving, authentic sessions?  […]

You may remember them. If not, they’re a family worth remembering. 2 years ago, 2 of these precious children lost their mother.  Nick lost his sister and Nicole lost her future sister-in-law.  To say it was devastating would be an understatement. But Nick and Nicole knew that though they could never replace their mother, they […]

This was going to be a redemption story. I had planned and prepped and done the hard work.  (and scoured Pinterest for hours.) One of our children was going to have a REAL first birthday.  A party.  A celebration.  Friends.  Family.  And a pinata. You see the other two?  Well…sometimes life happens.  Our little lady?  […]

All the planning, prepping and preparing was done. Every last detail had been finished.  She sat and took in the room.  It was filled with the people she loved the most.  Although the hum of a neighbor’s lawn-mower could be heard – nothing could take away all the beauty of this moment. Today. She would […]

There are certain days that have that “and then” quality.  Today finds itself there. It started when I grabbed what I thought were my keys…and then I realized they weren’t.  And that I had locked us out of the house…while Ted had already logged 3 hours en route to Virginia…and I had a meal cooking […]