Red Thread Session: A homecoming

Several weeks ago, I had the honor of photographing a family as they brought their newest son home from China.  They had previously adopted from China and had taken that son along on their trip, but upon their arrival they were able to introduce him to their three daughters.  He was so excited to meet his other new siblings and begin this new chapter of life in their family.

I loved the grin that crossed his face as they paused to see the group of family and friends who gathered to welcome them to St. Louis.

 This was my favorite moment as he smiled and reached out to meet his sisters.

I am so thankful to be a volunteer with Red Thread Sessions.  As with many parts of being a photographer, It is such an honor to be a part of these special moments as families grow and change- through marriage, birth, and adoptions.

Lynn Family- On location in Tampa

While in Tampa visiting my brother's family, I got to photograph them in their new home of Tampa, Florida.  It might have been raining and unplanned, but I love it! My brother is the youth pastor at an urban church and as we walked out the doors into the drizzly day, but I saw this overhang with great coastal color, I had to brighten up the rainy afternoon ahead with some cheery portraits. 

This Season: T's first year

A special little guy just had his first birthday! Baby T is ready to cruise the streets and and enjoy this next chapter ahead: Adventures in Toddlerhood. I loved photographing this family for a This Season session. We spent a great morning together enjoying his special Radio Flyer tricycle, a breakfast picnic, and walk through their neighborhood park, which just so happens to be Forest Park. Can't beat that! 

What I love about a session like this is getting really personal with a family. They really let their guard down and engaged with each other, laughing, munching, and playing. I got up close and in their face, but they were perfectly in tune with spending time together, and I love the special, relaxed glimpses we get into their family life.

Newborn E

I had the honor of photographing Baby E just a few days after she was two weeks old.  I love seeing the connection with newborns to their parents. She loved the cuddles and snuggles with both of her parents! It was so beautiful to see the expressions on their faces as they held her close and enjoyed her newness. 

This Season: Dinosaurs

I write often about seasons and our This Season package here and on social media. I think one of the reasons I love it so much is because I see these special glimpses of my every day life that are simply wonderful. Full of wonder.

I step back often and have to just take in the incredible life that God has given to my family. Certainly there are challenges and hard parts, but alongside that- and perhaps because of that, sitting in almost magical contrast are the sweet, miraculous, and warming moments that fill us up, let us savor the goodness.

The seasons change often all too quickly, and the little moments change. The light that drifts through the window is filtered through leaves that come with the freshness of spring. The interests of our children shift and wane and blossom. The milestones and rhythms of our families change as our children grow up.

Our middle son amazes me. Even in this year of change in our family, with three rowdy boys, two of which are preschool age, he takes a long chunk of almost every afternoon to enter into imaginative play and whispers to himself involved stories and complex characters. There are voices and independence and creativity. I tend to let him play alone, but one afternoon in midwinter, I asked if I could observe him with my camera. Unscripted. Unposed. No consulting mom on wardrobe.

Special details that make the difference. Slouchy socks, train shirt, necklace from the treasure box at school transformed into a form of dino transportation, and PopPop's hand-carved dinosaurs.

This is his season of imagination.

Unfazed by my camera, this is what I saw.

Baby A

It was my privilege to photograph Baby A, and see the way her mother and father were tenderly looking at their new daughter.  They were learning the ropes of parenthood with their first child and it was such love driving them to do it as well as they can.  One special moment was so powerful for me to see Baby A's mom as a mother for the first time.  Having known her for many years it was striking to see the transformation from daughter to mother. And there are a few frames in which I can see the look her mother gives to her as she looks lovingly at her own daughter.

T turns one!

I had the joy of photographing Jessica and Lonny on their wedding day a few years ago, and they simply love each other so much.  You can tell they shower their son with that same enthusiastic love and he just lit up seeing the smiles on his parent's faces.

Happy first birthday, T! You are such a champ!

Baby T

This little guy was a bundle of joy and it was so fun to spend a bit of my morning with his parents and grandmother who all just loved each other so well. I know I say it almost every time, but I love every time I get to photograph someone in their home or at their front door- this time I got to do both.

I am looking forward to seeing Baby T grow and that big toothless grin change as he gets older.

Red Thread Session

I am a volunteer photographer for Red Thread Sessions, and I have really been enjoying sessions of new families who have joined together through adoption. This family is really special to me because we have ventured together on this journey and brought our sons home a week apart. We shared in the trials of adopting from a virtually closed nation but never giving up because our sons are fully worth every bit and more. 

Though I briefly met this brave, sharp young man just hours before he flew to the US from his birth country, I had the privilege of sharing part of the morning with him recently.  Welcome to St. Louis, E! We are very glad to have you. 

Black and White Boy

I have had the honor of photographing this family from engagement session to wedding to the newness of a son at all his young ages and stages, and even of their homes as they have moved and transitioned.  I was so excited to continue to document their journey as a family at a new house with their now three year old boy.  His vigor mixed with contemplative spirit really shone through in a number of the black and white photographs I created of him.  I am eager to share a few!

Red Thread Session with a BAM!

It's been quiet here for a while, as I have been on maternity leave.  We adopted our youngest son and brought him home from Ghana after quite a lengthy battle to bring our family under one roof.  It was fitting for me to ease my way back in to a short fall season with a Red Thread Session.  I volunteer with Red Thread Sessions to provide photography for families who have recently adopted, and it's such a an honor to introduce a new family through photographs.

Not only did we photograph these two lovely ladies in a way you might expect from a PLP family session, but we also did something special.  Part of their personal adoption story included a special connection to DC comic book characters.  A few years ago now, a friend donated a very large poster collection to Brian and I to aid in our fundraising efforts- a large portion of which was DC comic book characters.  We got bogged down in paperwork and never sold them.  As soon as I read their story, I knew that the person who donated the posters would be honored by them being used as a background for their portraits- a story-telling element and something really unique.  This person has a huge heart for adoption and is an adult-adoptee.  They gave the OK for us to use them in this way and I set to trying to find a way to create something.

My favorite part of the session was when this lovely young lady asked me, "Can I hold my mom's hand and look at her? She just makes me so happy!"

This photograph also really touched me.  You can see this new mother's heart through her facial expressions of tenderness, protection, and satisfaction.  This daughter is so dear to her. Likewise, her daughter's face is so joyful.  She simply could not stop smiling when she was close to her mother. It was so beautiful.