You can read the story from these first pictures on my personal blog, “Sweet Threads.”

Kevin looking up activities on my iPad on Pinterest. Made this ornament from leftover pieces from last year’s winter inspiration shoot.
On Christmas Eve I woke up to the boys using my shoes & pillows for Angry Bird scenes. Birds were flying. It was awesome.The first picture on the left is from Christmas Eve 2011, the one on the right is from 2010. Damian has grown so much… too much.Rocky & I started a little tradition where Rock dresses up as Santa & rings bells outside of Kevin’s window on Christmas Eve. We go outside & check it out, just missing “Santa.” Kevin paused just long enough to give me an obligatory smile before dashing outside. The next picture was his reaction to the cookies & milk being gone Christmas morning.

Hiding behind the kids who are ready to drive up to Grandma’s in Findlay. This year I have a lot of work to do to finally loose the “baby weight” {I pretend it’s still from Damian}. I would love to fit into my jeans again. {Inspiration & advice welcome!}

I took these pictures for Christmas cards {that I never mailed}. Some of you might get a hello & Christmas greeting from us in February.
The sky on Christmas day from the passenger seat… so clear & pretty. A little peek of my office. The rest was a mess during at this time. In my next post I want to share about a brand new tradition we started & what it looked like

Thank you for letting me show you my little family album! I promise February will be filled with a special Valentine DIY & romantic weddings! ♥

This first post is pretty close to my heart, since it’s the bridal pictures for my sister’s wedding from Valentine’s Day of 2011.
{Oh, did someone just throw the “Rotten Blogger Award” to me? Making that a 2012 resolution…!}

Their story is worth sharing & I really hope it brings a smile to your face the way it does to me when I see this beautiful family…

Rachel & DeWayne married in 2000. {I know this might sound confusing, just keep reading}. I was her bridesmaid & sang a Jaci Velasquez song & {happily} cried my way through her ceremony… as all good sisters should. They were young, madly in love, & excited to share their lives together. Many changes took place over the next few years, including a move across the country & welcoming three lovely kiddos into their family.  The road ahead of them had some devastating twists & turns, including the loss of DeWayne’s beautiful mom to breast cancer. After a very difficult period, they made a very hard decision to separate & proceeded with a divorce.

I know that’s not a word you usually see in a wedding blog and I’ll be delicate with their very personal details. Anyone who has been through a divorce, or is close to someone going through one, knows that the pain is excruciating. I truly wish there were as many resources dedicated to inspiring couples to work through life together as there were sites inspiring them to use mason jars as their centerpieces. I think so many of us could use that kind of refreshing encouragement & hope. Perhaps you may see more of that around here this year…

Back to my sister & her story.

The papers made the divorce final, but their story was far from the end.

Although they were living hundreds of miles apart, a visit over Christmas brought a change in their hearts & they began to carefully reconnect.
“Reconnecting” eventually led to another engagement & wedding!

It was truly a red letter day to see this family sewn back together. You can see it in the faces of each of their three children in their wedding portraits. They had a simple, very heartfelt wedding ceremony to re-marry on Valentine’s Day. It was such an honor for me to capture this special time in their lives. I love that these pictures show so much warmth & love, even during a very cold Ohio February…

Venue: The Patterson Homestead in Dayton, Ohio {you may recognize it from this post last year}

Remember, these kiddos had just recently saw the miracle of their parents coming back together. It was better than Christmas.

Rachel & DeWayne, I love you both! Thank you for being so trusting & allowing me to give you advice on every aspect of setting up this shoot!
I’m so happy for your family!

Hope you enjoy this poster I made especially for them:

“Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending.” Maria Robinson ♥

I love when siblings and daddy’s can make it to the shoot… it’s so precious to see everyone together in pictures once more before the little one arrives!

Sarah loves autumn. Ever since we were little she would get giddy about all things fall & even the interiors of her home are influenced by the color palette this season brings. I love that she now has a little one born during her favorite month!

{Stay tuned for his newborn session} ♥

I assumed that after Texas, we’d be given an exotic assignment. Germany. Italy. Japan?
I quit college to follow Rocky to a little base in a big state.

After being separated for the summer, I found out our next duty station while I was driving to join Rocky. Wright Patterson Air Force Base. Right back to where we started. We were both relieved that we would be going “home.” It was definitely a blessing. But knowing that I could essentially pick up where I had left off in college, I wondered if it was the best timing to have a baby. But it was too late to wonder, Kevin was due in March.

His birth made me realize that I couldn’t take a single “good” picture. I didn’t know how to focus the camera & I started begging Rocky to teach me how to do it. As a stay at home mom finishing my design degree, I didn’t have the luxury to leave the house for my assignments. I ended up doing a lot of food photography in the kitchen for various class projects. I had an itty bitty camera {not even a DSLR}, but I studied light & metering like a maniac. When I had the vision for a certain shot, I would ask Rocky how to do it. He patiently explained the technicalities of shutter speeds, ISO changes, white balance, etc. When I had free time, I’d photograph baby Kevin. Capturing him in those moments was pure euphoria.

He has been the passion, the catalyst, and the face of my photography journey. No bride would have ever Facebooked me inquiring about doing their wedding if I didn’t have million pictures of Kevin plastered all over them. Because I didn’t plan to grow up & be a wedding photographer. I just wanted to record his life & be a good graphic designer. He changed all of that & made it easy for photography to find me.

Today I took Kevin out and photographed him. It was like old times, but he’s almost my size & thinks he’s a grown man. This was Kevin’s Easter outfit {yes from last Spring}. I kept meaning to photograph him in it but never got around to it. “We’ve sort of had a lot going on,” is definitely an understatement. I fell in love with this suit when I saw it, I think it would be a fun take on a ring bearer’s attire for a casual wedding!

That poor tie kept falling off. Made for many photographs of him adjusting it.

His tie makes me laugh. I wasn’t allowed to touch it. Four year olds can be so stubborn, but it just makes for even more personalized photographs.

He let me hold his hand while I led him out of the tall grass. I cherish every time he lets me, because I know my opportunities to do it are limited.

It was hilarious to “work” with him. He has a lot of attitude lately & I had to bribe & beg most of the time to get him to stand in the right light. Posing him was useless, he would pretty much do the opposite… or run…

This evening as I arranged these photographs for this post I remembered why I ever picked up a camera in the first place.

Kevin, you are getting so tall that it makes me cringe. I miss the baby with rubber band arms. But your humor & sweetness make me appreciate you as you are. I will replay this evening a million times because of these images. I’m so glad I have them, because it was so special to spend time with just you again.

Thank you for being perfectly on time & changing me in so many ways that I forget who I used to be. ♥

Brothers.

Cousins.

I could shoot with this delicious lighting every day and never tire of it {and subjects as perfect as these boys}!

Oh the temptations for three young boys climbing on this contraption… they showed a lot of restraint for this portrait!

After we “finished,” we let the boys cut loose and this perfect scene unfolded. This is why when I say I’m “done” I never put my camera up right away:

Photographing children is outrageously fun & unpredictable! You never know what you will get & they are quite entertaining.
Here are some outtakes from their vintage inspired portrait session:

I enjoyed this session so much, a big thank you to their mamas for coordinating their outfits and helping to keep everything flowing on such a hot March day! We enjoyed popsicles at the end {to my satisfaction}. My one regret is that I didn’t incorporate the women behind the scenes, but I look forward to when we will! ♥

Nathaniel’s newborn session took place at Carriage Hill Farm located in Huber Heights, there’s a lot of charm & excellent natural backdrops to use in portraits.

I am love with every perfect wrinkle he has.

It’s probably obvious that while I was photographing Nathaniel & preparing this post, it just made me all the more ready to meet our little man. With every kick and movement I wonder what he looks like and what he will think of our world. It can be distracting, but I love daydreaming about him :]

Congratulations Samuel & Suzanne, I’m so very happy for the two of you!

I’ve been eagerly anticipating spring and couldn’t wait to start shooting outdoors again. The idea was to create a sweet picnic for two adorable sisters with a yellow theme. As I’ve been assembling this post, Pandora played a live version of Coldplay’s Yellow. No kidding. I had to laugh at the very appropriate selection.

I love cotton candy & how it never fails to take me back to being a little girl. Usually, the portions are too much to eat at once. I made some quick cotton candy suckers by slicing the cotton candy, then cutting it with a cookie cutter. I assembled the cotton candy hearts on the candy stick with a small dab of lemon curd. I recommend them if you have some main desserts but want a pop of color and flavor for a shower, wedding, or birthday. I’ll have to post a DIY with pictures of how I assembled them and some creative ideas. The only drawback: they won’t last long.

Right now the earth is still waking up, so it’s pretty bare around here. Last fall & throughout the winter I shot most of my sessions in the field just at the edge of Tipp City. It’s ideal for some outdoor shots without showcasing our severe lack of greenery on the trees {plus it’s within walking distance of some other great historical backdrops}. It complimented their spring wardrobes perfectly.

Angie’s dad, {my uncle Dan}, was a Marine so I didn’t get to see her family a lot when they lived in Japan. Her daughter Madison looks exactly like the Angela I remember from when we were little and they were visiting one Easter…

I love these… Austin looked so handsome in his cowboy hat & you can just see how much he loves being with his mama!

When we were finished with their session we stopped to reward “the kids” with ice cream {Angie & I had some too of course!} and wrapped up the day enjoying our treats at the park. Madison picked me my first flower of the year and even though we were “finished” I had to snap one more…

Angie, your family is so beautiful… I had such a lovely day with you three! ♥

Here are some pictures from spending a beautiful spring morning with the Waltons…

Jack, I love your curls!

A little known fact about Jack, he’s quite a literary enthusiast.

All styling done by Mr. Jack. I just had the pleasure of watching & photographing him at work.

He kept track of every book they read and made sure Kerry got to every single one. I love how particular little people can be.

She makes pregnancy look so amazing:

I love Kerry’s modern style. It can be hard to find maternity clothes, but accessories & colorful shoes always make an outfit feel more fun {and you can still wear them after the bambino gets here}!

Kerry, you are beautiful in every stage of life. I wish your family all the best and can’t wait to meet your precious little baby! Happy Birthday lovely mama ♥

I don’t plan on updating my other blog, Military Spice anymore. I have to admit I miss food photography. I love it.

I usually try to brainstorm ideas for cakes early in advance, but it’s been very busy. I only had 24 hours to sketch, gather supplies, bake, assemble, and decorate the cake {and cupcakes}. I was inspired by cakes I found on Flickr, it never fails to give me unique ideas.

The monkey, green pillow & tag were last minute additions. They helped bring some color to the cake that fit my color palette. I had tried to incorporate some yellow as the crib sheet color, but I added too much gel & it was almost fluorescent! I covered that layer with white fondant & I’m not sorry.

This is kind of what it’s like when you become a mama… your baby puts the world into focus.
It becomes easy to make decisions because you can see what matters & what can wait…

Best wishes to Sam & Suzanne as they welcome this baby boy soon!

Next I’ll talk about seeing Wicked at the Schuster Center in Dayton. I made the mistake of reading & falling in love with the books first…

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