The Gillis Family is nothing short of amazing. They have had to go through what no parent can even imagine, the loss of a child. Baby boy, Bowen Thomas Gillis was born early April of 2011 with PKD (Polycystic Kidney Disease) and lost his fight with it just 14 days after birth. This family allowed God to bring hope, inspiration, and encouragement out of such a tremendous tragedy. I was overwhelmed by their unwavering faith, perseverance, & out pour of their hearts during such difficult circumstances. I was honored to attend the funeral services and keep up with Bowen’s story on their family blog. Their story has touched the lives of thousands and helped raise awareness for the disease. Mac & Heather successfully put together a team & completed an iron man to help raise money for the PKD Foundation. In addition, they hosted their first PKD Casino Night last October that served as a fundraiser to help reach their goal of raising $20,000 for the PKD Foundation. It was huge success and their goal was achieved! I have truly been blessed by them and their incredible faith. It was an honor to be able to photograph their family this fall. I know they are still grieving the loss of Bowen, but it brought joy to my heart to see them treasure the moments they have with their other two children, Brooklyn & Blake.
“But He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you for my power is made perfect in weakness’. Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” -2 Corinthians 12:9-10
I love my sessions with the Goldman’s! I have had the privilege of photographing the Goldman family since their oldest was on his way! Each newborn session has been so special. Their boys are so adorable and we had a great time venturing outdoors in the cooler weather for a family holiday session! They are a beautiful family and are so natural around each other! Thanks Kevin & Kara for allowing me to join you for a such a special afternoon!
Happy New Year everyone! It certainly was a busy holiday season this year! It seems to go so quickly. I am so thankful to have been able to spend it with so many of our closest family and friends this year, especially our little man who turned ONE this fall! He is growing up way too fast! I certainly got a bit behind on posting my holiday sessions to my blog, so I am going to attempt to catch up to speed. :0) Between back to back sessions, editing, card designing, holiday parties & festivities, decorating, shopping, and best & most important of all; precious family time, my blog definitely had to take a back seat! Most of my session highlights were posted on my facebook page and even there, I didn’t have time to keep up! Thought I would kick off the holiday session season with one of our favorite family pics…our little guy is such a ham, he had us cracking up!
Sooo much to be jOyFuL for!
Wow, speaking of personality…I got such a kick out of my session with Ms. Harlow! She was FULL of personality and so many great expressions!! Check out her adorable trike and name banner! We had a great time playing and doing photos with her parents! Here a few of my favorites…:o)
this one cracked me up!
I know this is a little late, but thought I’d share some summer fun with my little guy and break things up a bit! We had a blast with our family this past July in San Diego and wish we could live there during the summers to escape the AZ heat! Brandon seemed to love it too! He was about 8 1/2 months old and just getting his top two teeth in…he thoroughly enjoyed making lots of faces with his new choppers! I took these photos within a span of about 2 minutes and couldn’t get over all of his hilarious expressions! Talk about Mr. Personality!
my modern day warhol :0)
Tis’ the season for precious babies! We are overjoyed for our wonderful friends, Greg & Betsy, who are expecting their first child any day now! Their baby girl has already been betrothed to our little guy haha! We are hoping they might share the same birthday too! Greg grew up with my husband and they have remained so close over the years. Even though we don’t get to see them as much as we’d like since Greg has been owned by medical school the last few years, we are hoping that will soon change with graduation and the arrival of our future daughter-in-law. ;0) I had a blast doing their maternity session. They are so adorable together and Greg never stops laughing! Thanks guys and we are anxiously awaiting your exciting phone call! ……stay tuned!
Welcome to the world sweet Aubrey Lynn! Our good friends were blessed with their second beautiful daughter, Aubrey. Big sister Emma is so excited! It feels like yesterday I was just shooting Emma’s newborn pictures and now she is such a big girl! She did great with her new baby sister and is incredibly gentle and sweet with her. Aubrey was so cooperative and slept like a dream baby. I loved just getting to spend time with them and visit with their wonderful family who were visiting from out of town. :0)
Dusty and I were really excited to have the opportunity to preview and photograph a new wedding venue debuting in the valley this fall. It’s quite the little gem nestled quietly off the golf course at the the Legacy Resort in Phoenix. It is called Sierra Vista and it is an old house with a great lawn space for outdoor ceremonies and receptions. I love it’s rustic charm with worn brick walls, tall trees, and wooden fence surrounding the property. A dear friend of mine and her husband were gracious enough to dress up as our bride and groom for a photo shoot to showcase the property. It was definitely hot out, but they were such good sports! We look forward to shooting weddings there soon! Here are a few of our favorites from the shoot. :0)
I was blessed to help capture Chad & Nash’s wedding day in 2009 and now they are expecting a little blessing of their own! I am so honored they’ve asked me to help document some of the most significant moments in their lives. We had a such a great time doing their maternity shoot and now we are anxiously awaiting the arrival of their first son. Seriously, have I said how much I love what I do lately?! Sometimes I get caught up in the stress of running a business and all the work I spend behind the computer, but then I am quickly reminded what an amazing job and opportunity I have to build relationships and share life’s joys with clients like Chad & Nash. So thank you guys, sOoO much, for sharing your lives with me. I can’t wait to meet your baby boy (I’ll keep his name a surprise :0) ) and do his newborn photos!
I was so excited to photograph little Lauren Lucille! She was perfect. She even gave us her big, sleepy smiles! :0) Congratulations to Abbey & Craig for their beautiful baby girl!
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