This has been a year for babies in my family.  In February my older brother, Jason welcomed twin girls into their family, we welcomed Gunnar at the end of June, my brother, Jeremy welcomed his little girl at the end of July and my youngest brother, Josh will welcome twins (we find out their sexes tomorrow!!) at the end of the year!!  Six babies in one year…wow!!  Get togethers on my side of the family will number 21 just with my parents, brothers’ families and my family!!  Yeah!!  I wonder if my parents really thought about this when they had four kids!!  What a tremendous blessing!  Can you imagine Christmas in two years??  Oh my!!  So, fun!!  The even bigger blessing for all of us is that we all live in the same state!!  Most of us live in the same neighborhood!!

Well, my brother, Jeremy had to move his family out to Gilbert for work…I really hope that this is the farthest away any of us siblings ever move from each other.  We are all really close and even the 50 minute drive seems way too far!  They have a spunky 2 year old, Greer and they just welcomed Miss Belle to their family at the end of July!  We had to wait a whole week to see her because we were up camping when she arrived, but she is just the cutest little newborn ever.  She looks very much like her older brother, but even more so looks just like her gorgeous Mama, my sis-in-law, Lorie.

There were way too many images to choose from, so I put way too many in this post (should have done a part 1, 2, & 3…but I didn’t want you to have to wait!)!!

Here she is…Miss Belle Anna

She got her Mama’s lips {sigh}

Can you believe that hair?

You are gorgeous, sis, love you

Love seeing my brother as a dad…he is awesome, love you friend

Favorite

Sweet family of four

Big brother feet…little sister feet

I love Greer’s look here…it says, “I’m doing what you told me Auntie!”  Love you, buddy

oh sweet little niece of mine…you are beautiful…love you Belle

{Hugs & Kisses}

Blessings!

Janelle

Last night we enjoyed spending time with this amazing family.  They spoiled us with dinner and the kiddos played.  My daughter, Gracie is nine months older than Jayden and they are great friends.  When they were over last night we asked her, “Gracie, who are you going to marry?”  She pointed to Jayden and said, “You, Jayden!”  Save the date: January 2030.  Haha!!  We have known them for just over four years now and we are blessed by them in so many ways.  They have allowed me to photograph their family since before their oldest was born…I am thankful for their constant support!!  Love you guys!

Now on to their sweet new addition, Miss Maddy.  She was born a week before our little one and I think that they will be great friends!  She has just the sweetest little personality.  We were lucky to get a few sleepy shots because this little girl was wide awake and just soaking in this new world of hers.  Last night when she was here she was cooing away and just all smiles.  I love it, what a beautiful addition to your family God has blessed you with, B & G!!

Family of FOUR!!

I love this next image…there is always a time of transition after baby, just love how his Mama is lovin’ on him

Love baby cheeks…

Sweet Little Angel

Love you guys!!  Congrats on your addition…she is absolutely beautiful and a perfect fit!!

Blessings,

Janelle

I know I have been absent for a couple of weeks…I have an excuse, a pretty valid one…I had a baby!! 

I’ll be honest…I am enjoying having time with my family and our new little man, Master G.  I am soaking up every moment of newborness (I don’t think that is a word, but I like it anyway)!!  Unless God has a different plan this will be the end of having babies and the next step of moving onto the next stage with our family of six now!!  There is so much that I could tell you about how Master G came into the world, but that I will reserve and just tell you this has been a wonderful experience from beginning to end, despite the times that I complained to mostly my husband and maybe my mom about many different things with pregnancy, or when I was at 10cm without an epidural and was hysterical calm & cool, or the moment that I saw him and the peace and love that I felt instantly.  He was the missing piece to our family, it is odd, but it feels like he has always been here and I can’t imagine life any other way.

Well, the fun thing when your Mama is a photographer is you get to be a baby model!!  Well, Master G knew that his Mama was in fact a photographer and that she has some wonderful photographer friends that were also super excited to get their hands on him for some fun baby poses!!  My sweet friends, Erin & Doni had some fun and I will be honest and say that he was the easiest newborn that I personally have ever worked with and not just because I am his mom.  He literally slept the entire time except for one feeding, he let us do pretty much whatever with little effort.  We wanted to do a variety of different shots for portfolio work as well as for me personally.  So, at a typical newborn shoot for me the variety is always different depending on the baby, but the biggest thing is if you want newborn pictures the baby needs to be a week old.  Master G was a week old in these pictures and it was perfect.  He was still nice and sleepy, but more than that he let us move him all around and stayed asleepy.  The older they get the harder it is to move them around once they are sleeping!!

So, honestly these are some of my favorite shots ever and not just because they are of my son, but because they just turned out so sweet.

Here he is Master Gunnar…

This has to be one of my favorites…I LOVE all of his hair!

This blanket was made for Gunnar by my sister-in-law’s mom.  She has made one for each of my children.  They are a cherished keepsake at our home.

My childhood friend, Doni, who I reconnected with recently has the sweetest bed that her brother made for her…Dan - I’ll take one please!!

And these two were for Daddy…

And this is all of us…

We have been so blessed.  I love that God knows exactly what we need and that He knows who and what our family will be before we ever do.  When I look at the above picture with four little people in it I remember when it was just me and my hubby.  It was different then, it was fun, it was a little quieter and less chaotic, it was great…BUT this is us now, our house is louder, more chaotic…but it is still great!!  I still love this man more than words can express…more than over ten years ago when we said “I do”.  It’s not easy, some days it is down right hard, but it is worth every effort and thank goodness Jesus is at our core or I don’t know how we would make all this work.  He is the stitches that holds us together.  He is our Rock.

Thank you for letting me share my family with you.

I have other sessions to post and I will soon, but for now it’s back to my family.

Blessings!

Janelle

Welcome Logan’s sweet little brother, Luke!!  This family is amazing and I just loved that I got to spend the afternoon with them.  Logan & Luke’s mama and I go way back to junior high if you can believe it!!  She has been a part of my life for so long…she was a bridesmaid in my wedding too!!  Funny though as life tends to be and we get busy we had a few years that we lost track, but don’t you love technology and how it can reconnect you!!  I sure do, I have been reconnected with so many over the last few years!!  ANYWAY, now we only live a few miles from each other and get to see each other much more often, although with our little ones it still makes it a little difficult to get together as much as we would like!!  Well, Mr. Luke is one of the cutest little guys I have ever seen!!  He stayed asleep for the first part of our session and we were able to get some sweet little shots of him!!  Then we got some shots of big brother…being just that “big” and showing us how it’s done!!  Congrats, S Family!!  It was a privilege to photograph your growing family!!  Love you guys!!

These outdoor shots were taken just outside their back door!!  Gorgeous desert right now!!

Also, two big things that I will be posting about soon…one is my LOGO is just about finished and I can’t wait to show you!!  It’s Awesome!!  I’ll tell you all about that and my amazing designer once all of that gets finished up!!  Second, I have had the amazing pleasure of second shooting two fabulous weddings the last two weekends with one of my best girlfriends!!  I will be posting some of those images VERY soon!!  April is a VERY VERY busy month for me…with two destination weddings, newborn. maternity and family shoots!!  Going to be a wild one, but am so excited!!  The month of May will start my slow up since my belly bump seems to continue to be growing and growing!! 

Blessings!!

Janelle

I hope you don’t mind, but today my post is very personal.  One thing that I love about this blog is that it gives me a vehicle to share.  Share my photography with you, but also my life.

Today is a day that is forever imprinted on my heart, on the heart of my whole family, especially my oldest brother and his wife.  You see, today is one year that they delivered their little girl who’s life had already been taken up to heaven.  My heart grieved a loss that was only partially mine, my niece.  Sometimes God just doesn’t make sense, but without God where would we ever find hope?  Are there questions…yes, many.  Here is what I know to be true, God is always good.  He never changes.  He is always faithful.  There is no gray here…you either believe those things or you don’t.  Yet, if God is good, how could He allow the pain of such a tragic loss…well, I don’t think I know the answer, but I only have one puzzle piece and God has all of them.  We live in a fallen world and it is full of sadness and pain, of anger and hate…but through Jesus we have joy…we have hope…we have faith… and we have His undeserving grace…

So, today this is a story of my older brother, Jason and his wife, Melinda’s children…a story of joy, hope, faith & grace.  God does restore hope and brings back joy…through our faith in Him and His beautiful grace…

Meet Ava Joy…she is my oldest niece (actually her Mommy & Daddy have produced all my beautiful nieces).  Her middle name fits her perfectly…she is full of joy and full of life.  She has a smile that lights up a room and the bluest of eyes that dance when she is excited.  She is a wonderful mix of both of her parents in personality and in her looks.  She is a joy…

For those of you that walked with Jason and Melinda, really our entire family, through the devastating news about their unborn child last year, you never got to meet her.  As a family we were all their to see her, to hold her, to sway her back and forth…to say “we love you”…to know this little baby was already in the presence of Jesus.  With permission, I would like you to meet her as well…Sweet Mya Hope…quite fitting a name because she does give us hope for what it to come…we will one day see her again.

We never know God’s plan for our lives.  Neither did they…God allowed a very real, tragic loss in my brother and sister-in-law’s lives.  One that shook them to their core and allowed them to question things they never questioned before…for one their future…What would God have for them, for their family?  Could they ever endure to “try” to have another child?  Actually, they weren’t really in a place to even ask that question, when God answered it before it was spoken.  He said…no you won’t “try” to have another child.  I have a plan for your family.  So, He made the decision for them and despite the shock of His plan initially, it was even more evident that it was His plan.  And wouldn’t you know that God blessed them beyond they could ever imagine…TWINS.  I still remember Melinda telling us, “they saw TWO” after her first appointment and she was still shaking after the 30 minute car ride…so many emotions.  Yet, God is good…He is faithful.  Exactly 11 months after they delivered Mya Hope, they were given two amazing gifts…not to put Mya in the shadows she will always be a part of their family and all our lives, but to only more clearly give us a glimpse of what hope is…

So, here are the two newest members of their family…Christa Faith and Jada Grace…

This is Christa Faith…

This is Jada Grace…

So, today is a day that has some sadness, but mostly hope…a renewed hope of God’s plan and His gift of joy.  We don’t know His plan, but He does.

Thank you for letting me share from the heart today.

Blessings,

Janelle

This sweet little face, Emery, has the most wonderful Mommy.  She is one of my dearest friends and I treasure her like a precious jewel.  That is not an understatement…she is one of God’s many blessings in friendships to me.  She meets me right where I am, tells it to me straight, but full of grace and compassion.  She encourages me and she loves me just for being me.  Can you tell why she is like a precious jewel to me?  I love you, K!

Well Miss Emery joins five beautiful sisters.  That’s right this family has been blessed with now SIX precious girls.  They are all unique in their own special way and of course beautiful inside and out!!  Once Emery is a little bigger I am sure there will be some photos to post of all these girls!!  But for now…let’s welcome just Emery.

She is just the cutest little peanut, although now she is almost two months old already (yes, still catching up on my blog…and yes I still have more to catch up on!)!  I got to get a few pictures of her while hanging out with her Mommy for a couple of hours…best of both worlds if you ask me!! 

Also, tomorrow I will be blogging something very close to my heart, so I hope that you will pop on over again tomorrow!! 

So, here are a few favorite pictures of Miss Emery…

Love all of you guys!!!

Blessings!

Janelle

Oh how I love to photograph newborns.  Sometimes a newborn shoot can take several hours and as much as it can worry parents I always assure them that my job is to just wait for baby, so I am in no hurry.  Saying that Miss Maddie was quite a super star and slept for most of her shoot without much coaxing at all.  Can you believe all that beautiful hair?  This little girl is one lucky girl…she has the sweetest parents ever.  Her mama and I go way back to high school, which is another reason I love this job, I get to reconnect with dear old friends that I have lost contact with over the years.  K and I were great friends and it has been such a pleasure to get to know her again.  Her and her hubby both are teachers not surprising one bit!!  They also own a fantastic side business called Happy Feet Inflatables, so if you are looking for a fun bouncy house for your next birthday party definitely contact them!!  Anyway…enough about all of the back history and let’s get to the sweetness of this precious little girl…

Safe in Daddy’s arms

Mommy and her girl

Precious baby feet

Sweet little angel

I love sweet baby smiles

Thanks K & J for letting me capture sweet Miss Maddie…

Blessings,

Janelle

Can I say again that I love this photography gig??!!  Our friends’, A & M welcomed Miss Sadie into the world two weeks ago!!  She is such a beautiful little girl with the most perfectly round little noggin!!  As sweet as she is I have to tell you that she wins the prize for most peeing and pooing on a session and she did all of it on her wonderful Mama!!  :)  It is always such a sweet pleasure to photograph my friends’ families and new little ones…really a joy!!  M is an awesome photographer herself you can check her out here.

Thanks again M & A!!  Congratulations on your beautiful little girl.  All the sleepless nights are worth every moment!!

I love my amazing job of being a wife & mommy, but I am so blessed to have this photography gig too for so many reasons!!  One…it is such a small world!  When I got to this shoot and was talking to L about working for Scottsdale Fire and making connections with people we both know…the fire community is small in itself, but then…K turns around and says I think we went to the same high school.  Haha!!  Yes, we did!!  She graduated the same year as one of my brothers!!  I love this job!!  Crazy small world…I love it!!

Well, let’s get back to the star of the show…first of all I am in love with this little guy’s name.  I may be a little partial, I was born in Stockton!!  Is it such a strong name!!  He is definitely going to be a cowboy like his Daddy!!  His middle name is one that has been passed on from generations before…I love that.  He was such a good little guy throughout our shoot and once he was asleep he let us move him here & there without a peep!  We did our entire shoot outside which living in Phoenix is so doable!!  The light is amazing first of all and the babies seem to just love being outdoors!!  I had such a wonderful time with this sweet family.  Stockton is truly a gift that was long in the waiting…Congrats on a beautiful boy!!

Say a prayer for this little man…he had a rough week with an ear infection!!  K & L, I had such a wonderful time with your family.  Thank you Mary for being my wonderful assistant!!  I’ll be praying for all of you through the week!!  Blessings!

Back when I did the headshots for the DollyRocker’s girls I also did some shots for ads they would use for advertising this summer.  Here is one of those fun ads.  By the way all the graphic work was done by Meaghan Mitchell.  She is a fabulously talented graphic designer!

On another note…if you haven’t checked out DollyRockers, you need to!  Despite these girls are beautiful they are so talented, genuine and just sweethearts!!

This ad was used in the July Issue of ImagesAZ