The rate at which my business grew this year is beyond my comprehension. When I started in July/August I assumed I would get maybe 1 or 2 clients a month, doing this more as a hobby. I don't think there is any way I could have imagined having 30 full-session clients and 18 mini-session clients in a matter of 5 months. My January 2016 also has 4 newborns and a sitter milestone session booked. I also have clients already booked in April, APRIL!

These last two months have been extremely hard for my family with me going from a full-time mom to a busy business-owner, 2 unexpected deaths of close relatives (my grandfather and aunt), and illness after illness for my kids, BUT, I still seriously feel extremely blessed and fortunate! I LOVE what I do and I LOVE all my wonderful clients who are supporting me in this journey.

Something else I LOVE is when I finally get a chance to take pictures of my own children. This is my daughter, 15 months old, and her first time at the indoor children's water area at Longwood Gardens. We were there for breakfast with Santa (which did not go well - she only screamed and did not want to go near him, much to our disappointment, oh well...), so thankfully I had my camera with me when we decided to quickly stop over at the Conservatory. The excitement and pure joy on her face made all the stress of the last couple of months just disappear. And, once I finally got these images on my computer, I was able to relive that moment all over again.

This is what photographs do - they freeze a moment in time, a moment you can look back on year after year, and they make you smile. I wish I could say we will all live forever, but we won't, so make as many memories as you can today. Take pictures, have your picture taken, capture those memories, and get those pictures printed - BIG and ON YOUR WALL! Life can change in a blink of an eye, book your session today and let your memories live on in beautiful photographs! Thank you to all my past, present, and future clients. I LOVE you all and I LOVE your support!

The Sunday before Thanksgiving I had a session with this wonderful family. Little Henry and big sister Sawyer are absolutely adorable! Henry was a tough cookie to crack, but I did get a couple of half smiles from him and I'm pretty sure Sawyer would have let me take her picture all day as long as I had enough gummies. I've said it before and I'll say it again, I feel so lucky to have a place like Longwood Gardens right down the street. Even on as cold of days as this, we had a nice, warm, beautiful place to take pictures at.  I also feel so lucky that I get to work with so many incredibly nice families, such as this one, who are trusting me enough to capture memories and freeze time in photographs they can look back on for years to come.

Last Sunday I had the pleasure of walking around Longwood Gardens and photographing yet another lovely family. The two little boys, Connor and Evan, are adorable and look at their fabulous outfits! Mom sure knows how to coordinate clothes!! I love these colors! Connor definitely kept me on my toes and loved climbing and playing hide and seek in the trees.

There's a reason why it's called the golden hour, just look at this gorgeous sun! I love shooting in the mornings when the sun is just coming up or in the evenings when it is just going down. No harsh shadows, just beautiful golden light. Add in 3 adorable boys and their fabulous parents, and it makes for one perfect photo shoot! Jamie and Sean may have their hands full with 3 energetic, yet sweet and adorable boys, but they were great during our session and so much fun! I'm sure these will be portraits their family will treasure for years to come.

After Saturday's wonderful time at Longwood, I was twice blessed with another fabulous family and session there again on Sunday. This time, with 2 year old Carter and his parents. I have been wanting to take pictures in the field there for a while and was so happy when they were up for it. The colors they wore coordinated so well and the morning sun was just at the right spot. Little Carter is absolutely adorable. He may not have liked the camera, but I still managed to get some looks and smiles! And, the truck book I brought plus the blue lollipop mom had were just what he needed! Gotta be prepared with kids!

Longwood Gardens is one of my favorite places to take pictures at. It is simply gorgeous. Add in a sweet and beautiful family of 4, and it's that much better! Mom really wanted to make sure I captured genuine smiles out of her kids, and I think I delivered. Laila and Zain have such great personalities that it was easy!

On Sunday I had the absolute pleasure to walk around Longwood Gardens with Leah and her two daughters, Amelia and Nezzie. Amelia, at only 10 years old, is such a beautiful, intelligent, creative girl, wise beyond her years. She was also an easy, cooperative subject to photograph! Plus, her little sister, Nezzie is just one of the cutest baby girls with her big, dark eyes! She stayed awake the whole time we were there and didn't cry once! Leah was hesitant to be in the pictures, but I'm so glad I was able to talk her into it! It's incredibly important for moms and dads to be in the portraits with their children because it's a treasure for them to look back at the photographs and remember their parents - they won't see wrinkles, blemishes, or the baby weight you can't seem to lose, just love and memories.