Earlier this year, I spent a fun, busy day with the M family in Florida. Their 3-year old boy/girl twins and a 10-month old baby boy provided so many pictures for our day I had the hardest time choosing photos from the Full Gallery to the Story Gallery. The fact that these three children were so stinking adorable and beautiful didn't help me narrow down photos, either.
So, I chose the longest song (about 7 minutes) and ended up with close to 200 photos in this movie. Sometimes you just have to make exceptions (normally a Story Gallery is about 100 photos).
The daily life with three kids under three is so filled with moments - all day long - that a lot of photos were taken. If you watch all the way to the end, you'll see the pictures end pretty abruptly. That's because all the adults were so wiped out after the busy day.
Could we all just pause a moment and appreciate the hard work parenting is? Mommies and daddies have the hardest job, especially in those early years. And when it's coupled with babies who don't sleep, well, it really shows the love and sacrifice parents do, every day.
Mommy M and Daddy M are doing such a wonderful job with their family and their young children. It was a joy to spend a day with their family!
Enjoy the movie!
The M Family - Day In The Life (New Hampshire)
Earlier this month I had the privilege of spending a day with the M family in New Hampshire. They are a wonderful, wholesome, inspiring homeschool family of five, with children ages 9, 7 and 4. About two months ago mom was diagnosed with cancer. An aggressive one that is large and spreads fast.
Mom writes a blog (click here), and in September she wrote:
Emotionally yesterday and today have been the hardest. A short conversation with my oncologist revealed that i have a life expectancy of 4-12 months. Needless to say that that pretty much knocked the breath out of me. I hadn’t realized how insufficient the chemo is with my particular cancer. I have 1% chance of a miracle, so I going for that 1% and I am not stopping.
The day I spent with the M's, mom was feeling good. Dad was home from work, and grandma had come to stay for a couple of months from Finland. And a friend from Texas was there to help with a healthy, organic diet.
I hope the pictures will speak for themselves, but you could imagine a day in the life of young mom diagnosed with a serious cancer would have been a depressing day. Instead, there was an amazing peace and joy in the house, all day.
In the beginning of her blog mom writes:
I am a daughter of a mighty and compassionate God. He is the God of gods and Lord of lords, mighty and awesome, He is my refuge. I am the bride of my considerate, ever-understanding, and oh so breath taking husband. I am a mother to our three sweet, rambunctiously giggly and happy children, they are my everything. I am also a 36-year old woman who is about to take on cancer! This is our story.
And yes, I completely sensed the presence of God in this household, and the many, many prayers people are praying all over the world. This family is in for a fight, but they have God on their side, and they are not alone!
Would you join the prayer forces?
Holiday Schedule Is Filling Up!
It's October, and Christmas will be here before we know it. If you've been thinking about getting your family pictures done, it's time to book your session with Stories of Joy!
My specialty is Day In The Life. I have four more sessions available for 2016. Contact me for details! I would love to document your life as it is right now. I cannot imagine a better gift to you and your family than a documentary of your family!
Stories of Joy Fall Special is Mini Sessions for $150 - an easy and quick way to get your family pictures (or your children's pictures) taken. November is all book up for families, but October still has some availability, and maybe for the last minute people we can squeeze a December session in, too!
November weekends are all booked up in Florida for the One Hour Documentary Sessions as well, but I am still booking for October and early December in Florida. The Fall special for the One Hour Session is $250 - normally $350, so make sure to take advantage of my Fall pricing.
And if you miss this season, ask me about gift cards for 2017 sessions! Gift cards for a photo session make a wonderful present for anyone!
Day In The Life Photo Book
I am so excited to share with you all about the Day In The Life Photo Book - my first copy arrived yesterday, and it looks AMAZING. Really amazing! (Read here - What Is a Day In The Life Photo Session.) I designed the book on my computer using my sister's Story Gallery photos from her session in Virginia, about 100 images, and had it printed at a professional photo lab.
I wanted to keep it classy and simple, showcasing the photos from her Day In The Life Session. The book is a 10 x 10 size, and has a hard cover in grey linen. I had my 10-year old be my model, and she loved giggling through the photos. (There are some really funny ones there, you can see the movie of her Story Gallery here.)
The pages are nice and sturdy, which always helps when there are little hands looking through the book.
The colors are beautiful, and the quality of the photos much, much better than the photo books I used to order from before I became a photographer (I cared about the free part, or the cheap part, not the quality aspect...).
This photo book is definitely quality. It will be a keepsake for years and generations to come. And if something was to happen to it? You can always reprint it.
I would love to see all my Day In The Life families have a book like this from every year. Life changes so fast - with little ones even three months make a huge difference, let alone a full year.
I have five Day In The Life Sessions available in Florida this year. Are you ready to book your session and give your family the gift of preserving this time in your life in a meaningful and beautiful way?
Send me a message and I will send you more information on the Day In The Life Sessions!
The C Family - Day In The Life
The C Family
Back in April this year, in Florida, I had the privilege of joining the C Family for a Day In The Life shoot. I didn't have a blog, or website then, so this is the first time I'm publishing this slideshow. I am so excited to surprise them with it today!
Some of the families I have had Day In The Life sessions with, I already knew, but not the C's. We met early in the morning one Tuesday in April. Daddy had already left for work a couple of hours earlier, but both girls (ages 5 and 2 1/2) were still in bed when I arrived.
I believe the feeling was mutual - Mommy C and I became friends instantly, and I loved the girls! We truly had a wonderful day together laughing and sharing, and me taking pictures. At first everyone was very aware of the camera, but very soon it was forgotten, and the day was just like any other busy day in their lives.
I can't wait to go back one day to do a new Day In The Life session with them, or just hang out with their family.
I hope you like your slideshow!