First Christmas

is this not the most precious sight ever?!

7 years old!

I can't tell you how much it freaks me out that I'm the mom of a 7 year old!! The one piece of advice I never took for granted was "they grow up so fast". Knowing this, I made a concious effort to savor every second, every moment...yet I blinked, and now she's so big! I'm afraid I'll blink again and she'll be grown :(

Last January I was with Madison in Chicago at my Aunt and Uncle's house. They have a garden tub that is surrounded on all three sides by mirrors. If you sit on the edge of the tub and look at one of the side mirrors, you will see dozens of your mirror image reflected as far as the eye can see! One of my favorite childhood memories is sitting on the edge of that tub making silly faces, striking fashion poses, and trying to count how many images of me I saw in the mirror. Well, during our visit in January, I walked into the bathroom to see Madison sitting on the edge of the tub, amazed at the optical illusion of the mirrors. I stood in the doorway, smiling to myself, just watching her fascination as I thought back to my own memories. I then told her that I loved her so much and she has been such a joy in my life, so much so that I wish I could go back and re-live her life from ages 2-5 all over again because they have been so wonderful but went by too quick. She cocked her head to the side in thought. After a few seconds, she looked at me and goes, "No, mom. You can't just keep doing your favorite parts over and over again because then you wouldn't know what the ending would be, and the ending just might be better than you think."

I dropped my jaw in awe of her profound insight. After my initial shock that something so wise came out of her mouth at so young, her words hit home. I do wish I could relive Madison's life all over again, every single year because I have enjoyed her SO much...but at the same time, I can't wait to see all the things the future holds for her. If the next 7 years are anything like the last 7 have been, then I know it will be nothing short of amazing....

OpLove

For those of you who don't know, I am partnered with a non-profit organization called Operation Love Reunited (OpLove http://www.oplove.org/) where photographers volunteer their time and service to photograph military members and/or their families either before, during or after a deployment.

I was contacted to photograph Major Hughes and her two beautiful daughters before she deployed for a 10 mo. tour to Iraq on Thanksgiving Day. Here are a few of the pictures from the photoshoot.

Thank you for your service, Dana and thank you for allowing me to photograph your precious family. I can only hope that these pictures will help keep the memories of your family a little bit closer while you're so far away!

6 months!

I can't wrap my brain around the fact that it has been six months since Preston was born! Where has the time gone?! I know that I will turn around and he'll be 7...just like my other baby! Who I will post pictures of as soon as I can get her away from her friends long enough to take them!!

This photo is not photoshopped..those are really my sons eyes...which he got from his Daddy :) I'm so thankful for this little person :)