I can’t believe that two months have already flown by!  Seriously, where is the time going?  Master G is growing more and more everyday.  He has already gained 5lbs 4oz since his birth…this boy loves to eat!!  You remember that sweet log bed that my friend, Doni had for Gunnar’s newborn pictures?  Well, here he is on the same bed at 6.5 weeks.  Quite a little chunky monkey and I LOVE it!!

On another note, although I am still technically on my own maternity leave…I am taking a few clients the month of September.  I will only be taking family sessions October and November for the holidays.  The month of December will be reserved for my family along with a couple of sweet newborns…(two of them being my youngest brother’s twins!!)

Stay tuned for all the info for the upcoming holiday sessions!  Have a wonderful Monday!

Blessings!

Janelle

Can it be possible that summer break is over??  Where has the time gone?  We made a list at the beginning of summer…Our Summer List.  It was a list of all the things we wanted to do over the summer…here are some of the highlights: celebrate our new baby brother, Gunnar!  See Toy Story 3, make pirate grog (this was my eldest’s request - quite yummy), Gracie potty-trained (YEAH!!), Read 50 books, visit Daddy at the firestation (this was actually difficult because Daddy had practically the whole summer off with us - yeah!!), scavenger hunts, Vacation Bible School, celebrate our new cousin, Belle Lehman!  Have a “stay-cation”, sleepover at Grandma & Grandpa’s house, catch butterflies, make birdhouses…IT WAS AWESOME!!  So, I would be lying if I said that we were itchin’ for school to start, but what an amazing summer we had!!

So, with having Master G, I have enjoyed taking some nice time off of “work”, but while I have been gone…I FINALLY bought an IMAC, which I was so thrilled about and just two days ago bought the latest version of Photoshop, I jumped two versions so, there is fun new stuff I can’t wait to learn!!  Now that school has started I will have a few mornings that are quiet (hopefully!), I plan to use them to have fun with my new toys work equipment and software!

On another note…there was some work that I did prior to having baby that never made it to the blog, but still deserve a post, so this week will be dedicated to posting some of those clients’ images!!  Thanks for some serious patience!!  I will also be sending out info regarding sessions for October and November INCLUDING my Holiday Minis sometime next week!  I will also be blogging all the info so stay tuned.

Just for fun…here are some shots from our family camping trip up in the White Mountains…it was wet, but very green and VERY FUN!!  AND here is a little secret…I am a mom before I am a photographer, so in order to take some fun snap shots of my kids I use my point-and-shoot camera, I just bought this one and I really like it!!  Then I can make sure I capture the moments as they happen!!

Our GIANT marshmallows!!

Headed out for a hike…new baby in the wrap

One of the many creatures we saw…frogs, snakes, horny toads, night crawlers and more…

Lots of yummy wild strawberries!

Lots and lots of night crawlers because of all the rain!!

Catching crawdads…

A waterfall from all the snow run-off and rain…

These were elk we saw across the lake…

We met my folks up in the mountains and then some of our dear friends met us up there a few days later…here we all are!!

Thanks for indulging me!!  Lots of more stuff to come this week!

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

She is my best friend, besides my sweet hubby.  She carried me safely for nine months in her womb.  Cared for my every need.  Sacrificed on a daily basis for me over and over again.  She has walked beside me everyday…cheering me on…crying for me…praying for me…holding me.  She gave up a successful career for me.  She has loved me unconditionally from the moment she knew I existed.  She is honestly hands down the most unselfish, gracious and merciful person I know.  She prayed for the man that I would marry.  She has prayed for the children I would bear.  She has prayed for every part of my life and I know she continues to do so.  She is one of the main reasons I am who I am today.  She held my hand six years ago when I welcomed my first child into the world and became something I had dreamed of.  She is beautiful inside and out in every way.  She is my mom, my hero, my best friend.  I am blessed beyond measure and although I try and tell her often how much she means to me…I love that I get a special day to tell her again.  Thanks, Mom.  I love you.

So, now that I am a mom of three and one more still cooking, I realize something that my mom always knew.  Just what a blessing this “mom” thing is.  It’s not all roses, in fact to be perfectly honest somedays is only the thorny stem, but that doesn’t take away the joy of being a mother.  I read a quote that read “Motherhood…find joy in the journey.”  Well, said.  I am sensitive to the fact that God chose me to raise these children.  This is my job and not to be taken lightly, we are raising up the next generation and let’s be honest it’s ugly out there.  Being intentional takes work, but it’s worth every minute…I am constantly reminding myself that we only get one shot.  For me that’s heavy so, I am thankful that I don’t do this alone…not only am I blessed with an amazing hubby…I have a God that walks every step with me…encouraging me, holding me up, loving me every minute.  Thank you, Jesus and thank you for my little ones that you have graciously blessed us with…

Oh and one more note…how about what I received today for Mother’s Day?  One of the best gifts ever…I’ll show you, but first, “Why was it the best gift ever?” because behind it was love, thought, time and best of all it was intentional.  My hubby took all three to Plaster World and let the kids paint these for me…  (Thank you, Babe)

PS…Can you believe that my kids kept it a complete surprise and didn’t say one word!!  That is impressive!! 

I’ll be “offline” on and off for the next few days as we finish up moving, so if you are waiting for your session to be posted…thanks for your patience and I’ll be back “online” very soon!

Happy Mother’s Day!

Blessings!

Janelle

Wow…the last few weeks have been a whirlwind!!  The next few will definitely be as well (we’re moving and I’m less than 10 weeks from baby #4…yikes!).  Just so you know that I haven’t fallen off the face of the earth I wanted to share a few things that I have been working on.  I just got back from Washington where I had the privilege of photographing one of my best friends’ little sister’s wedding!  I took a teensy-weensy time out with my hubby to hang in Seattle and enjoy a Starbucks (or two or three or…I lost count, seriously!).  I’ll post some pictures of our little adventure in the next week or so.  On another note…I was so proud of my man who has helped capture the last two weddings with me and is educating himself as much as possible with both literature, practice, etc. to shoot more and more with me!!  So, much fun to have a built in date while you are working AND just so you know that I am not exaggerating, my next wedding post will include some of his pictures as well!! 

Well, I have lots and lots of work to be working on so, I will keep this short!!  Here are some pics of things in the works (more to come very soon!!)

Jordyn & Jamie (gorgeous Sedona wedding!!)

Carlton & Ronda…headed for Senior Year at Boulder Creek

Tiffani & Jake’s “First Look”…this seriously was the sweetest moment of the day…thank you Washington for giving us intermittent sunshine!!  Totally love that mom, sister & niece were all watching this moment from afar!! 

Leoni & Jeremy…L & J were both in Jake & Tiffany’s wedding  & wanted to do some fun pictures just the two of them the day after the wedding…they took me to this amazing forest and seriously I thought that Edward was going to jump out at us…hee hee!!  But FOR REAL we were only 3 hours from Forks, WA (for those non-Twilight fans - that is where the books take place!)!!!

Ok, now here is a test, did you notice anything different about these images??  How about my NEW logo!!  What’s up??!!  :)  So, excited that the fantastic Aleta worked me up a way fabulous logo!!!  Here is the final version…Seriously, couldn’t be happier!!  Check her out if you are looking to revamp your own look!! 

This is about the time when I hear that little voice saying, “get back to work!” and so, I must!!  Can’t wait to do some fun blog posts on more images from the sessions/weddings I just did sneak peeks of!!  Hope you are having a fantastic week!!  BTW…Happy Birthday to my BIG BOY today…I can’t believe that I am a Mommy to a SIX year old now!!  Love you, Buddy!!

Blessings!

Janelle

Yeah…I finally got my sample album!!  I just posted Dave & Amy’s Engagement Session on my blog and I thought they would be the perfect for my sample album to show clients!!  They are the cutest couple and we had some amazing images from our session!!  This particular album is a 10″ leather flush mount album with 20 front and back pages.  I love it!!  Here are a few sample pictures so, you can see too!!

PS…my NEW logo is completed!!  I can’t wait to share it with you…very soon!! 

Hope you are having a wonderful Wednesday!!

Blessings!

Janelle

Did you get pinched today?  We actually all wore green shirts except for Daddy…he had to do blue with a small green stripe.  Apparently, “green” is not part of his wardrobe, but that’s ok, blue was actually first associated with St. Patrick’s Day anyway!  :)  I find St. Patrick’s Day a particularly interesting holiday.  It is amazing to me that so many of our “holidays” revolve around Christianity and the belief in Christ and yet our country is constantly trying to kick him out of everything…hmmm.

Do you know the history of St. Patrick?  Here is a brief history lesson.  He was born in mid 300 AD.  He came to Ireland basically as a missionary to witness to the Irish people.  Although there are much more successful missions later after Patrick, he is given much credit bringing Christianity to the Irish.  He was a missionary for nearly 30 years.  He died on March 17, 461.  The coolest part…is where we get the tradition of the shamrock.  It was said that Patrick used it to explain the Trinity to the Irish people…three separate leaves…yet one shamrock.  Isn’t that cool?  There’s a little history for you on why we celebrate St. Patrick’s Day…

Well, a couple of years ago I signed up to be a rep for a company called Once Upon A Family and their whole mission centered around family & traditions you create as a family.  Well, one of their suggestions for St. Patrick’s Day was a “Lucky Us” book.  Something really simple…basically you declare St. Patrick’s Day as a day to reflect on just how “lucky” you are to have your family, friends, etc.  Well, I wouldn’t say that I really believe in “luck” per say, but we have used the word loosely and this will be the 3rd year of our “lucky us” record in our book.  I feel so lucky/blessed in so many ways…family, friends, community, life…but mostly, that I know God has a plan.  That I don’t have to depend on “luck”!!

Today we had some dear friends up to our home.  Our kids are all the same ages…and they all just have a ball the entire time they are together.  I just love that.  We made some Shamrock cookies in honor of the holiday…however this is the sole survivor after six children came through the house in a whirlwind…

I hope that you had a GREAT St. Patrick’s Day!  If you haven’t had a chance to think about how “lucky” you are…take some time to do that.  Write it down…date it and put it in a place where you can reflect on it often.

Blessings!

Janelle

I had the AMAZING privilege back in October to spend a few days with some incredible people.  All of them peers in this photography industry all of them absolutely wonderful people.  I don’t just say that.  For a group of photographers to come together and “hang out” and when I say “hang out” I mean…learn, teach, share, laugh, absorb and “hang out” too, that isn’t all that common.  Don’t get me wrong not that it doesn’t happen, but to come together with the intent to share what we have learned…”secrets” so to speak…places we have shot…and have no fear, but only excitement about doing just that…seriously AMAZING!!  Anyway…I mostly absorbed all that I could learn from each of these wonderful people and surprisingly for most of you that know me personally, didn’t talk all that much.  There was too much to take in!!  Anyway, we spent some time taking pictures too!!  This all so sweet couple put on their wedding attire and let us put them here there and everywhere!!  I wanted to share some of the images with you…I just first had to dust them off and edit them…it only took five months!!

Thanks to all the other photographers and to those who put everything together!!  AMAZING!!  I learned so much!!

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

Have you figured out that life isn’t easy??  Sure sometimes the road seems smoother with less bumps and other times you need a serious off-road vehicle to navigate.  I am always reminded whether the road smooth or very bumpy that I am not in control.  I have no way of seeing beyond this moment to know what my road may look like ahead.  Sometimes that is a blessing and sometimes a curse.  However, I have a God who knows my road…every bump, every crack, every curve…whew, to me that is a huge load off my shoulders and a reminder that I can only live one moment at a time.  I hope that you have not been overwhelmed this week with life…with worry…with stress…I pray that you too can live each moment to it’s fullest and sit strapped into the passenger seat securely knowing that God is in control and that He is driving.

So, I have to share an epiphany!!  Like I said, life just isn’t easy sometimes.  As a mom of three little ones, one being in kindergarten, our mornings can sometimes get a little hectic.  Let me first say that if there had not been the invention of coffee I probably wouldn’t even be awake at noon.  I am not a morning person.  Ask my parents…they yanked me gently awoke me each morning over and over again until I quite literately rolled out bed.  I spent most of my high school years in my pajamas, ask my husband I didn’t even bother to get dressed for school!  Sometimes genetics are a funny thing in what your children will inherit.  My son got the please leave me alone in the morning gene too, uh-oh!!  So, the morning is somewhat of a whirlwind for me because my two more than cheery girls wake up bright and early and my son and I lay lifeless in our beds until the clock tells me that if I don’t get up right now I will be in big trouble.  Then it’s change a diaper, maybe get dressed, pour the coffee, do something quick for breakfast, brush our teeth Gage’s teeth, now hurry everyone in the car…last one in is a rotten egg, right?  And seriously, if you leave one minute late you will be punished by a loooooonnnnnggggg line of parents in vehicles all waiting patiently & cheerfully, to drop off their kids.  Did you notice in my haste to get out the door I forgot something?  How about my son’s lunch!!!?????  Ok, so I have to admit this has happened on more than one occasion.  Soooo, this brings me to my epiphany…sorry it takes me awhile to blurt things out sometimes!  Why not make life in the morning a little less hectic and a little less embarrassing for my son who’s mother can’t seem to pull it together to make him lunch…so this is what I did this morning…

I bought two loaves of bread and decided to premake peanut butter & jelly sandwiches and freeze them!  I know they make these in the freezer section of Fry’s however this was a lot cheaper to do it yourself!!

So, I started spreading the peanut better on jelly on almost twenty slices of bread!

Then I used my cut-n-seal from Pampered Chef.  Do you own one of these??  This has to be one of the best inventions ever!!  It’s only $9 and it makes the best little sandwiches because it does just what it claims…cuts & seals!!

Aren’t they cute??  I popped each one in a ziplock bag and threw all 16 of them in the fridge!!  Of course wouldn’t this have been a smarter project on Sunday instead of Friday, but now we will be prepared for Monday morning at the Zeller House!

If you have any time savers for getting your kids out the door…post a comment and let me know!  I can use all the help I can get!! 

I’ll be posting a family session from back in November that was taken in downtown Glendale in the morning…so check back!!  I hope you have a wonderful start to your weekend!!

Blessings!

Janelle