Hi friends. I just wanted to share one of the most recent accolades and high honors I’ve received which is being hand selected for Style Me Pretty’s Little Black Book. Style Me Pretty is definitely the leader in “all things wedding planning” and they are known for choosing the finest vendors in each area to add to their book. Anyhow, check out the listing and let me know what you think. Enjoy.

Allow me to preface this post by saying THANK YOU! Thank you to the wonderful people who have prayed for our baby boy, to those who have given gifts, offered their time, babysat Eden and Huntley, offered encouraging words, given wisdom and to my clients who have been so patient with me during this egregious episode in our lives. I’m completely encouraged by the beauty I’ve seen in so many of my friends, family, and even complete strangers. THANK YOU. I also owe everyone an apology for not blogging lately and keeping you posted with Holden’s progress. Since he’s been home (over a month now) it has been an incredibly busy time for us and the adjustment to home life is a work in progress. Blogging just had to take a backseat for a while. I humbly apologize.

The good news is that Holden is home. HE’S HOME! I can’t even begin to describe the rush of emotions that I felt on the day he came home. From the sleepless night before to getting up in the morning and loading his diaper bag in the car, Cheryl and I probably experienced the gamut of emotions in one day’s time.

Holden’s lymphatic duct is completely sealed and there is no more fluid leaking. His lungs look great and free of fluid. He’s been through so much but just continues to fight. The brain ventricles that were enlarged are normal. We’re thankful to God that he’s even here, let alone doing so well. Due to the fact that he was intubated with feeding tubes and breathing tubes at birth, he was never given the chance to practice the coordination that comes by instinct to take milk from a nipple. So he has had some challenge in taking milk by mouth. Therefore the doctors decided to place a feeding tube (g-tube) in his tummy. During the x-rays of this procedure, they also noticed a malrotation of his intestines, so they were able to fix that during the g-tube surgery. He did well and recovered soon after. The scars will remind him of the miracles and how precious life truly is, plus as his nurses said, “chicks dig scars.” He will have the feeding tube in until he’s able to completely feed on his own. That being said, he is making great progress with the bottle and taking anywhere from 1/3-2/3 of his feedings by mouth. We’re so proud of him!

This little champ still has a long road ahead of therapy, doctor’s visits, etc. but it is just amazing to look into his sweet little eyes and watch him smile back at you. He was almost a life that was snuffed out, he wasn’t given much hope by anyone but those who loved him the most. Now to see a little smile on his face almost brings me to tears (yes, I’m a little sappy) every time I see it. By the way, he smiled at me seven times and cooed the other night right when I got home, heart melted!

Please keep praying for Holden, for his growth, development, and continued progress. We would also appreciate your thoughts and prayers for our family as we adjust to life with a child who has special needs. I’ve been a bit behind with work and have not taken any new bookings over the last month in order to be with my family as much as possible. I’m finally starting to get back in the studio and catch up so if you’re waiting, you’ll be seeing some pretty photos soon! If you’re interested in booking a portrait session or a consultation about your wedding, I’m starting to calendar new dates right away. Please email or call at your convenience. Take care. Enjoy.

Hey friends! I wanted to invite everyone to the East Bay SMUG meeting next Monday, July 25th in Concord, CA. I’m going to be speaking about “Strong Photographs and Kindness: Creating a Meaningful Business.” For those of you who know me, I’m passionate about teaching and will truly be sharing my heart with you and many of the things that have helped me build a business that is thriving. I don’t believe in “secrets” and I’m totally open to sharing “what works” for me with you guys. Here are some of the topics I’ll be covering and of course we’ll have an awesome Q+A set at the end of the night:

-The Myths of the Modern Wedding Photography World.
-Your clients are key.
-Why do I shoot film? How to get started shooting film coming from digital?
-Composing killer images.
-Why keeping your photo sets simple on the wedding day is good for your clients.
-Details with meaning.
-Shooting personal work to develop your vision.

I’ll be debuting some brand new work at this talk and look forward to meeting everyone! It looks like we’re on track for over 100 attendees right now and I can’t thank Gustavo Fernandez enough for his vision and hard work in making this great meeting happen. I’ll see you guys on Monday!

It was truly wonderful photographing Esther and Matt’s wedding in Old Town Pasadena at the Westin. These two have so much style. I’m so happy to see their wedding featured on Wedding Chicks, a great blog for brides looking to find inspiration for their perfect day. Check it out.

There is something awesome about your final year of high school, something liberating and something energizing. I think Jessica sums up the sentiment of most high school seniors well and I hope her portraits convey a lot of that. It was inspiring to work with such a sweet girl who was comfortable being herself, laughing, enjoying life and not too scared of the camera (who am I kidding, she will probably be in front of a camera the rest of her life since she wants to be a reporter). Anyhow, we photographed at some of my favorite locations in and around Linden and this is what I came up with. Enjoy.

*Sidenote: I have sooooo much to blog and I’m feeling really inspired to blog so watch out (just as soon a I catch up)