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

This weekend was so fun because we got to surprise my sweet friend, Genea with a shower to celebrate Baby Maddy who will be here very soon.  It was some of my favorite things…a true surprise (she had no clue), celebrating a baby, wonderful friendships and of course…yummy food!! 

A few weeks ago we got some pictures of Genea, her belly, her hubby and her sweet little boy Jayden.  We actually took the pictures in both my (old) backyard which was totally overgrown with weeds, but made for great pictures and my parents’ backyard that was lush and green!!  There is all sorts of fun stuff for Jayden to get into at my parents, but we snagged him up for a few photos and a couple just of him too!!  He seriously has the bluest eyes!!  My Gracie and him are the cutest little buddies and in fact when they are together they get mistaken for brother and sister!! 

This little guy loves his Mama!!

My favorite!!!

Thank you K Family for letting me share in this joyous time with you!!  I can’t wait to meet Miss Maddy and photograph her sweetness!!

Love you guys so much!!

Blessings!

Janelle

The day after Tiffani & Jake’s wedding I had the privilege of photographing a couple that was part of their special day.  Leoni & Jeremy live in a town called Bonny Lake.  Doesn’t that just sound like the cutest town ever??  Well, it seriously was so gorgeous…just green green green!!  AND although Jeremy has a strong dislike towards them, dandelions everywhere!!  I loved it!!!  I met them at their house and they drove me back into the mountains to a beautiful forest (remember me saying that I thought Edward might jump out!!)!!  Then we stopped at a fun little park on the way back to their house for some shots and then of course we had to get some pictures of their super cute pups!!  I LOVED that they wanted to do some fun pictures as a couple before they start expanding their family with some little munchkins!!  Couples should have great photos together beyond their wedding day!!  They have been super patient with me finishing their images with the move and everything, so I am thrilled to be posting these to the blog because that means their CD is headed to them tomorrow morning!!!  Here were a few of my faves from our afternoon!!

How amazing is this forest!!??

If I had sum up these two in an image I felt like this one was it…so perfect and fun!!

Get after it girl…

I love this image on the train tracks…something about embarking on a new adventure!! 

These next two are my FAVORITES!!!!

Love those Dandelions!!! 

Thanks you two!!  Once you start that family of yours…I’ll have to make a special trip up to photograph your growing family!!!

Blessings!

Janelle

So, now to the reception of this fabulous wedding!!  There was still some great light outside so, we grabbed just a couple since it was getting chilly and everyone was anxious to get the party started!!  There were so many cute touches to different parts of the reception.  One of my favorite things was the “treat bar”.  As their favors for guests to take home they had a “bar” that was full of sweet treats.  The sign read, “Love is sweet, take a treat”!!  There were lots of non-dentist approved candies to choose from…and of course my absolute favorite, black licorice (although I have a soft spot for red too)!!!  I just LOVED this idea and am tossing around some ideas on how to use this for a party of my own!! 

Tiffani’s family is middle eastern and there are a few traditions that would not be missed!!  One of my favorites is grape leaves!!  I have rolled many a grape leaves with this family for different traditions.  In fact the last time I had rolled them was when Tiffani’s big sister got married almost 9 years ago…in the same dining room!!  So, I was thrilled to be a part of that tradition once again!!  I think that we rolled almost 500 grape leaves for this special day!!  If you have never tried these little morsels you are missing out!!  The other tradition that was not to be missed is a belly dancer!!  This was a real treat for Tiff’s side of the family, really for everyone, this gal was amazing!!  At one point she was dancing with a sword!!!  So, fun and really made the night that much more!!

I have to say that after almost 12 hours on my feet and 30 weeks prego, I was definitely beat by the end of the night, but so thankful to be part of this wedding and even more to have been part of this family for so long!!  They are a blessing to me and Jason both!!  We are already planning to drive the kids up next summer to spend time with all of them…can’t wait!!

LOVE LOVE LOVE the SHOES!!!

Isn’t this cake soooo perfect, simply elegant!

Sweet Treats

Their first dance was so sweet and they were both singing to each other the whole time…

Bride & her dad…they started out slow and then boogied with lots of spins and twirls!

Tiff’s sister, Terra (my BF) was her matron of honor

Jake’s best man brought along the Snoopy Snow Cone Maker.  I had one exactly like it.  Most of Jake’s groomsmen were his life long friends and they used to make snow cones together and were in their own little “snowcone gang”…so they welcomed Tiff in with a fresh made snowcone!! 

Terra & her oldest little girl, Addi who made one beautiful flower girl

The yummy grape leaves!

The belly dancer was a surprise to her dad, so I love his expression when he finds out!!  Priceless!!

The inside of the cake was pink champagne…oh so yummy!!

Jeff & Jason

Tiffani, Jake and all the family…Thank you so much for letting Jason and I be there to celebrate and capture this day with you!!

Love all you guys!!

Blessings!

Janelle & Jason

Can I just say how completely thrilled, jumping up and down (well, not technically - I am 8 months pregnant - Ha!!) EXCITED I am to be finally posting my Seattle wedding from last month???!!!  The last few weeks have been a blur to me with moving ( 8 months prego & 3 small children - I almost lost my mind) and getting a HORRIBLE cold that I had to put work on the back burner for just a teensy bit!!  So, I am finally done with this gorgeous wedding and there were SO many amazing images that I wanted to post that I decided to break it into two posts for two days!!

I have known Tiffani for around 16 years!!  Obviously, she was a little girl when I first met her!!  Her older sister and I have been the bestest of friends since our freshman year in high school!!!  Miles separated us after our freshman year, but not our friendship and I spent many spring breaks and part of my summers out there with her family!!  So, amazingly beautiful!!  Their family is so precious to me from grandparents down to Tiff.  Love them all!!  So, when my bestie called and told me her little sister got engaged and wanted me to shoot their wedding I was a little bit EXCITED and so honored!!!  Jason and I both knew this would be so fun to do together…a sweet little get away for us too!!  Since we knew about the wedding almost a year in advance…we even waited to get prego with baby #4 so that we knew we could make the trip!!  Haha!!

Well, Tiffani found her a great man!!  Jake is such a gentle spirit and they are just a wonderful fit together!!  They both love the Lord and each other which is obvious in both their lives!!  Jason and I were so happy to be part of their beautiful day!!  It was true Northwest weather I must say…raining, sunny, raining, sunny, cloudy, sunny…and so on went the day, but it was perfect and we were able to be outside for some gorgeous scenery (sometimes with umbrellas)!!  So, here is part I of their beautiful day!!

Are these the BEST shoes you have EVER seen???!!!  I wanted to snag them!!  I refrained.

One of her girlfriend’s had the hanger made with her new last name…

Loved how the itinerary for the day said, “Game Plan”

Jake and Tiffany wanted a “first look”…oh how I LOVE these…the emotion is so amazing, takes my breath away when they see each other for the first time.

Tiff…you are absolutely stunning!

Love the umbrella!!

Handsome groom!!

Gorgeous Wedding Party - What a BARN next to the church????  Score!! 

Tiff’s brother-in-law, Jeff was the officiant (my best friend’s hubby) - He did an amazing job!!

Headed to the reception…

Stay tuned for Part II tomorrow!! 

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

Meet Carlton & Ronda…they are my Boulder Creek High School Senior Reps.  They are technically finishing up their junior year and will be seniors in the fall!!  So, what is a senior rep??  Just what it sounds like…they are going to be seniors and now these pictures represent me, so to speak.  I am creating some killer “rep” cards for them to pass out to every friend that just like them will be a senior this next year!!  Really my first real attempt at a little marketing for the 2010-2011 school year!!

Now, saying all that…my schedule is completely booked from now until baby comes, however I am already scheduling for the fall since I will be back in the swing of “work” in October.  However, since I will have another little person at home I will be taking a lighter schedule this fall, so if you are wanting to do family pictures October - November contact me soon!!

So, let’s talk about this super fun shoot with these super fun & pretty/handsome models of mine.  I am fairly certain that if in fact I had a little sister I am sure she would look just like Ronda.  If you know me then you can probably see the resemblance.  Seriously, every time my hubby sees Ronda he has flashbacks from high school…LOL!!  Well, Ronda is one of the most beautiful girls inside and out.  If you know her, you know how true a statement that is.  She is so sweet, isn’t afraid to be a little goofy and has the most amazing singing voice!!  I loved so many of her images…since I think we look fairly alike…I may put one up on my wall and say it is me 10+ years ago…LOL!!

Carlton.  Don’t judge…I know he is wearing skinny jeans, well first of all the guy works at Levi, of course he is up to date with the latest fashions AND second how many guys can actually pull them off, not too many so, give him props, he be lookin’ good!  Carlton seriously cracked me up the whole time we were all together…his “oh so serious” face lasted about five seconds before he was cracking up again!!  I was glad to have he and Ronda together since they are good friends and they could joke and make each other laugh!!  We seriously had some fun and I am totally excited with their fabulous images!!!

So, give it up…

Thanks you two for totally Rockin’ these!!!

Blessings!!

Janelle

This is one of the most gorgeous resorts in Sedona, AZ.  Absolutely stunning with Oak Creek flowing right behind it.  I am talking about the L’Auberge de Sedona.  The next little get away for my hubby and I will definitely be here in one of their cozy little cabins.  Just so cute and they even have a super cool outdoor shower in the cabins!!  Jordyn and Jamie have a wonderful story of what a soul mate is all about.   They are definitely soul mates without a doubt and both are just complete when they are together.  Jordyn has two of the sweetest kiddos and I just love seeing her interact with them, but even more than that I loved watching Jamie with his two precious gifts…Jordyn has definitely got herself a wonderful man!  Jordyn is already a wonderful mother and now she is going to make an amazing wife…even more than that she will be a military wife as Jamie is in the Navy.  He is based in San Diego, but just after they said “I do” his ship headed out for the next several months.  Once he is back they will follow him wherever the Navy has him settle (hopefully, San Diego!!).  Thank you, Jamie for your amazing service to our country.  May God protect you as you serve.

So, this was the first wedding that I drug my amazing hubby with and gave him a camera, lens, a few tips and said go get ‘em.  He did a great job and I really tried not to be bossy…haha!!  The best part was that he LOVED it and it was awesome to hang out with him and shoot the wedding together!!!  I feel so incredibly blessed!!  Well, here are some images that I have been dying to share!!

LOVED her shoes!!  Perfect match to her dress!!

Her dress was SO stinkin’ cute!!  Her precious little girl’s dress was made from part of her dress…

My hubby captured the next image of the couple’s “first look”!!  love love love it!!

I just love it when a couple chooses to see each before…the moment is sweeter than any other.  The bonus for a photographer is it gives us some time to get beautiful pictures of the bride and groom relaxed and just enjoying one another…all of the next shots were shot right after their first look.

Hubby’s angle…

Jordyn…seriously you are a beautiful bride.

Not so bad yourself, Jamie.

B just loved this bouquet and was completely thrilled to be running around with it for pictures!! 

Thanks again you sweet love birds for allowing us to be part of your Wedding Day!!

Blessings to your family!!

Janelle (& Jason)

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

I am realizing that time is passing by so amazingly fast with my own children, but when I start to see my families of newborns come to me for one year pictures,  I realize it even more!!  Well, I have to say that Miss Raegan was one of my favorite newborn sessions ever last March.  You can see her as a sweet little newbie here.  Her parents are some of our dearest friends and it is always a pleasure to see them.  Raegan is the spitting image of her beautiful Mama…that’s one lucky Daddy if you ask me!!  We had fun playing at the park, kicking the ball and chasing the birds!  Here she is just as cute as ever and growing up WAY too fast!!

Thanks again, P Family!!  She is just cute as a button and full of personality!! 

On a personal note…this week has been really crazy for me in so many ways!!  I have definitely been leaning not on my own strength.  I am so thankful for so many wonderful friends that have been praying for my family!!  Praying specifically tonight for my mom!!  Really wishing that I was with her in Colorado at the hospital, but praying that God would make everything crystal clear by morning and that she will be on a plane home early in the week!!

I am working on a BIG post for tomorrow both personal and business!! 

Hug your families…tell them you love them…

Blessings!!

Janelle