Sneak Peek: The Miller Family

I have known this family for a long time.  I love to be able to take pictures of people that I have known forever.  It feels more personal and I feel like I am able to capture the "real side" of their family.  Lindsey and my husband grew up together and have remained friends for all of these years.  They also live less than 2 miles from us.  Unfortunately, we are both pretty busy and we don't get to see each other as often as we would like.

The other thing I love about this family is that they are a mirror image of us.  They also have three boys.  It is so fun to get together with families that are in our same situation.  We can feel each others joys and pains.  I am sure they also get the sympathy looks and comments when people see that they have three boys.  Why do people always do that?  I personally LOVE having three boys.  Yes, there is a lot of noise, activity and a fair amount wrestling.  However....we have VERY little drama.  Hallelujah!

Anyway, back to the Millers.  They are such a wonderful and loving family with great hearts.  Lindsey is a Littleton Firefighter and Kim is a teacher- talk about serving the community.  We are blessed to know them and hope that our kids are able to make memories together.   

Editing this session was more fun than usual.  I smiled my way through it the entire time I was working.  I love these tow-headed boys!

Lane

Miles

Noah

 

Identical twins are so fun to photograph

One of my favs.  Can you believe that these guys haven't had a professional picture taken since their wedding?

It was fun to run around Historical Golden chasing these active boys.  These sessions are challenging and I love it.  I even got them to all put on mustaches for a fun shot at the end.

Hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil

Thanks for sharing your family with me, Millers.  Let's get our boys together soon.

For more pictures visit my website or my Facebook page.

Perspective

I am going to try to get through this post with crying my little eyes out.  Luckily, I am subbing today. So sitting on display in front of twenty-three 7th graders will help keep me from bawling.

On Tuesday afternoon I ran over to my parent's house.  Mom was going to watch my kids while I had a photo shoot (and Chris was out of town).  I got there a little early so I could help get dinner ready and mom and I took a few minutes and were doing a puzzle with my youngest.  My mom's phone rang.  It was one of her longest and best friends.  I could hear part of the conversation and it was one of those conversations that caused me to pause and think deeply.

The conversation was basically one friend calling another to tell her she was thinking about her, that she remembered and to share life with her. (uh-oh....eyes watering.  Hopefully no one is noticing the crazy substitute starting to cry in front of her laptop).

You see....30 years ago something significant happened in our family.

My oldest sister died.

Gosh that is a tough sentence to write and re-read.

My big sister was born with a degenerative muscle disease which took her life at age 13.  I can't remember the name of the disease (as it is ridiculously long), but I do remember that there were only 2 reported cases of this rare disease at the time my sister had it.  Strangely enough (or as I like to look at it a "God thing"), the doctor who specialized in this rare disease was based here in Colorado.

I am extremely grateful that even though I was only 6 years old when she died, I have a lot of memories of her (another God thing).  I remember that day very vividly.  They knew she was going to die very soon and Julie and I were given the choice if we wanted to go to school or not.  She went.  I stayed home.  One of my friends was with me.  Apparently her mom let her stay home too.  I remember playing in the "computer" room that over looked the front yard and seeing a big black car in the driveway.

The next few days were a blur with family coming and going and Good Friday and Easter.  You see, she died on the Wednesday before Easter.  I remember sitting the balcony of our church on Easter Sunday with my dad crying as he was holding the hymnal.  I remember asking him why he was crying.  Apparently as a six year old I didn't quite comprehend what was going on.  I don't really remember his answer, but looking back on it now I can imagine how hard that question must have been for him to answer.

To this day Julie hates the smell of Easter Lilies, it reminds her of what happened that Easter.  Which is funny because I happen to love the smell.  It brings back memories of family and love.  At our old church, every Easter they would have a lily garden and people could donate in memory of a loved one.  Every year, Carol was on that list and every year after church on Easter Sunday, we got to bring home a lily.  I loved that.  I miss that.  Maybe I need to go out and get a lily this year. 

Back to the phone call on Tuesday.  My mom made it a pretty quick conversation (because we were there) and when she hung up we had a great conversation.  It went something like this.

(Update: new class of twenty 7th graders thinking their sub is a cry baby)

Me:  That was nice.
Mom: Yep.  She is one of the only ones who remembers and calls me around this time of year.
Me: I am not sure I even know.  What was the actual date that she died?
Mom: April 18th.  It was the Wednesday before Easter.
Me: (quiet for a minute)  That must have been hard.
Mom: Actually it made it easier.
Me: What do you mean?
Mom:  I figured that now I had something in common with God.  And that's what got me through.
Me: (stunned silence)  How so?
Mom:  It helped me to remember that we both had a child die.
Me: (silence.....trying not to sob like a baby).

Perspective.

This year the 30th anniversary of my sister's death happens to land right on Good Friday.  And I am thankful for a phone call from a friend that sparked a great conversation and a phenomenal life lesson from an amazingly strong woman.

My mom could have wallowed.  Why me?  But instead she had PERSPECTIVE.  As we celebrate the death of Jesus on this Good Friday, remember to have a little perspective.  You might be going through some terrible, awful stuff today but so did God.

And remember the best part........SUNDAY IS COMING!

Sawyer: 4 months

I love my "Baby's First Year" babies.  It is so fun to see them every few months and watch them grow and change.  I also love getting to know the moms of these sweet babies.  It is nice to meet other moms who are in the parenting trenches with me.  Somehow talking about poop and breastfeeding is a normal and bonding experience.

When Ashley contacted me about Sawyer's 4 month pictures, she warned me that "he was a chunk".  I could hardly wait to see him.  You know how I feel about chunky babies:  LOVE THEM.  Perhaps that is because, I myself, was a chunky baby.

After a few delays (including her older child's bout with Scarlet Fever, yikes!) we finally met up to do Sawyer's pictures.  Ashley wasn't kidding.  Sawyer is a chunk, but such a cute and happy baby.  She even thought he might have an ear infection, but I would have never known.

I also love doing pictures outdoors.  It can sometimes be tricky in the cold, winter months but Colorado is such a beautiful state that if you wait a few days, the sun will come out and warm it up!  I love that it ensures that every session that I do looks different, even if we shoot in the same general location.

Sawyer was a trooper and endured the spring weather and we got some great shots.  Grandma was also along for the ride and it was fun to get to know her better as well.  She is a sweet (and sassy) southern lady and I loved chatting with her!  She is going to be in town for a few months taking care of Sawyer until he is big enough for day care.  Let's hear it for Grandmas!!!  They are the best.

Drooly babies are also a weakness of mine.  So combine chunky and drooly.....match made in heaven!

Hello cute leg rolls!  The only time these are cute.

Toward the end, Sawyer was getting sleepy and the only thing he wanted was his thumb.  Tough to get pictures, but so cute at the same time. 

Sawyer, keep growing and I can't wait to see you when you are 8 months old!  For more pictures visit my website or my Facebook page.