My lovely and super talented, friend, Maribeth, recently had a little baby girl so Briggs and I went over to visit for the afternoon and to play with big brother, Max! I adore this family and learned why Maribeth is one of nicest people on the planet… I met her mom, Patti

Check out this cutie and his adoring (& so sweet) parents! Thomas, aka T-Max, is 6 months old, so instead of a regular old portrait session, his mommy and daddy thought it would be fun to go shopping at the Minneapolis Farmers Market! <3

I think I say it every time I blog about these guys but… I love love love this family! Jon & Sara have the most adorable, sweetest, & genuine children. Sara, my most fabulous hairstylist, had the idea to head out and jump in some puddles with the kids (SO cute, I know!). Naturally, it made the most sense, to grab some energy (aka ‘sugar’) before jumping, so doughnuts it was for their afternoon snack, followed by some tasty lollipops . This shoot was all about the fun they have with Mom – its the little things in life that ought to be documented. In honor of Mother’s Day, here’s to one of the greatest moms I know!

I can’t remember the first time I met Emily, but I can tell you that since the moment I met her, I knew we would be friends . Emily is an incredible photographer, so when she contacted me about documenting her sweet family just hanging out at home, I replied with, “Yes! But instead of paying me, can we just swap session for session?” Miss Emily will be photographing our little family next month – yay!! But now its time to meet her adorable family and one of Briggs’ buddies, Zeke . This is the Steffen Family. And this is them, just doing their thing, at home, simply because Emily and Aaron want to always have images to remember this precious time in their lives (Oh how I love this).

Greg walked into the room and with a huge smile on his face said to his wife, “Hi Beautiful! How is your day?” He sat down, grabbed her hand and talked to her like no one else was in the room. I sat back, watched and sobbed behind my camera. It’s love like this that makes me want to capture an image, if only one, that will show the love that will never die. I am moved by each and every session I do like this, but Karen’s session was a little different. It was all in the way Greg looked at and spoke to his wife. I kept thinking… “THIS is how my dad would be talking to my mom or how Tony would talk to and look at me…” It was heart-wrenching and kept me in tears the entire shoot. I realize this type of love is out there and battling this stupid thing we call cancer, every day. It’s why I go and shoot these sessions. I’ve said it before, but its not about being overly creative (or being creative at all), it’s simply about the people in the photos at this very moment in their lives and their relationship with one another. Karen adored her husband, her children and her grandchildren… you could see it in the way that she used all of her energy to smile when her grandkids ran into the room. That short smile she gave completely lit up her face and it was the only one she gave that day because it was so physically draining. I spent the next short 30 minutes with their family trying to just stay back and adequately capture their love for one another.

As I was leaving the session, Liz’s aunt pulled me aside and said, “I didn’t understand why anyone wanted pictures when Karen doesn’t look like herself, but then I read the other blog posts that you’ve done and I realized its not at all about what anyone looks like, its about the love. The love between the people in the photos is so evident and THAT is why you do these shoots, isn’t it?!” I replied with just a simple “yes”… mostly because I was trying not to cry again. I then hugged Liz, Greg and the kids and then left them to more family time with Karen.

Liz, your mom was truly beautiful and evidently full of love. It was an honor to spend the short time I did with you and your family. Greg, your love moved me deeply… I’m so sorry for your loss and hope that there is some comfort in these images for you, Liz, Stephen and the grandkids to cherish for a lifetime.

My friend, Liz, called me and asked if I wanted to photograph her cousin’s baby shower… yes please! Lifestyle photography and celebrating a sweet little baby is right up my alley Enjoy this sweet little guy and his lovely Mommy!

I got to spend a Saturday morning hanging out with our friends and their adorably expressive children while they hung out at home. They played games, read books and put the baby to bed… I love when families document their beautifully simple lives for their children to remember!

Lauren from Ariel Photography called me one day and asked if I would be interested in photographing the Harlow family. She said she would have loved to do the shoot but she knows my heart is really for giving families these images. Images that show their beautiful love for each other. Thank you, Lauren… I’m deeply moved by each and every shoot. This is the story of Art. During our short time of only 15 minutes together, he told stories of how proud he is of his children and how much he adores his wife. I can only hope that there is an image for each family member that shows the depth of their relationship with Art.

Oh sweet little Grady… from the moment I met your parents, I knew that you would be fiercely cute! You didn’t disappoint . Welcome to this big old crazy world, little man! You have two amazing parents who love each other and you more than words can express – everyone can see it in their eyes!

From the beautiful new Mother Baby Center in Minneapolis…

I grew up across the street from Nancy in Shakopee. We used to play barbies all the time as kids – I distinctly remember her home and every aspect of it (including the spiders in the playroom that often scared us out of the room for the remainder of the day) . Now, 25-ish years later, I found myself in her home with her beautiful family, watching her husband, Matt, & daughter play piano while Nancy held her newest little guy. Life changes way too quickly, but at least it turns into something wonderful… even if, the little guy decides to spray what should have been the contents of his diaper all over the couch in the middle of the shoot (yep, that happened – see Matt cleaning the couch below?!)!