{family&children} modern family

Meet the Porters!  I met Emma in high school, and thanks to Facebook we were able to reconnect.  She contacted me to book a session for her husband's family (gaining major wife points in my opinion!) and I'm so glad she did. Not only did they look great (lovely co-ordinating), they were so fun to work with. From making fun of my ugly pink chair (I still love it guys! ;) ) to bouncing around behind the camera helping to get the kids to smile. Thanks for letting me into your world!

{family&children} growing up green

I used to babysit Meagan when I was in high school.  I used to get her and her brothers off the bus and play Barbie's until their parent's got home.  When she called me a few weeks ago and told me she just had her second baby and wanted family photos, I was thrilled...but also felt slightly...old! Haha. I mean, to me, she has always been my "little neighbour girl", and now she's all grown up with two beautiful boys of her own.  You have a gorgeous family Meagan! Thanks for asking me to photograph them and congratulations again to you and Gareth!

{family&children} a smile for every year

Tom and Janet Baird are two of the loveliest people you could ever meet.  Tom is the trusted and talented pastor of my family's church (Fellowship CRC) and Janet is a sweet, wise and gentle mentor, and an inspiration to so many women.  They have been married for thirty years, and wanted to mark the occasion with a family photo shoot - a great idea, I think ;) .  They are a beautiful family, who are exactly as they seem in the photos; close, loving and so full of joy. I am so blessed to know them and to have been able to be a party to this celebration of love. Happy Anniversary Janet and Tom!

{contests} dream

Dreaming away the day at the cottage for this weeks evoking you photo challenge.

{contests} sorrow

This weeks evoking you photo challenge is 'sorrow'.  Entering my sad clown from April's "i am..." series.

{family&children}{newborn} praise

The Salvation Army Bethesda Centre of London Ontario provides accommodation, counseling and support to teenage girls during their pregnancy and after the birth of their babies.  The young mothers live in a supportive and positive environment where they are able to continue their education while also learning how to care for and nurture their babies*. It's a wonderful organization with a loving mission and it was a blessing to be able to photograph the girls who call it home.
This shoot had so much meaning for me.  First of all, two of my 'besties' were there with me. Jenica and Rachel organised the girls, helped get the babies to smile and let me boss them around a bit!  I'm so glad they both asked me if they could be a part of this, because they made my job so much easier and the day that much sweeter. 

The weather was also a huge factor. The session was scheduled for August 24th, a night a Tornado Watch was active in Southwestern Ontario.  I hummed and hawed all day, trying to decide whether to cancel the shoot or not. I so didn't want to, especially because most of the day was sunny and warm, and I was really looking forward to it.  Finally I made the call to go ahead, and I'm so glad I did;  when I called I was told that the girls had already started getting ready, deciding which outfits they and their children should wear, getting excited and pumping each other up!

As we entered the centre and looked around for our setup location, the clouds started to roll in.  I'll admit it, I started to panic! Haha, another good reason to have your closest friends come to shoots with you!  They kept me calm and we all swung into gear quickly.  That's when the song "Praise You in The Storm" started in my head.

The girls were ready (a miracle in itself!), all the babies were co-operative and happy right on cue (if you've ever tried to photograph even one baby, you know this is RARE and magical!) and we managed to get the very last photo done just as it started spitting and the clouds became too dark to continue.  We shared drinks at Starbucks and made it home minutes before the big storm hit!

Looking through the photos again , I know that God let me be part of something special.  The girls were so sweet and it felt good to be able to give them a professional photo shoot of them and their adorable babies.   This time goes so quickly and these babies are so precious.  I hope the photos are something that the girls and their children can look back on, and cherish for years to come.

Enjoy the preview girls!  And thanks again for trusting me with these moments!

*wording taken from the Bethesda Centre website: http://www.bethesdacentre.ca/home