Day in the life of newborn twins and a toddler
There are no words for this one…Â Â Just cuteness overload.
Jordan and Pat’s wedding — and a bit about gratitude.
Every once in awhile a couple crosses my path and I find myself feeling extraordinarily grateful. I’m grateful that I get to make a living doing my art. And I’m grateful that I get to make my art with such remarkable people.  Jordan and Pat set the bar. They are Authentic. Kind. Creative. Stylish. In-love. Today was one of those mornings when I genuinely woke up feeling grateful and excited to to write and share the images from a wedding.
I met Jordan serendipitously through a wedding coordinator 7 or 8 years ago. Little did we know then, that we share a long line of friends and history. Jordan’s Grandmother lived right next to my grandmother out in Eastern Colorado and were best of friends. When Jordan found out 7 years ago that I was going to name my daughter Ramona after my grandmother, she put two and two together. Ramona Harris. Julie Harris. Nonie (my grandma, Ramona). I learned that Jordan is almost a cousin to me.  And that was just the beginning… As I’ve gotten to know Jordan and Pat, I’ve come to appreciate who they are so much. I find myself wanting to connect with them more and more every time I look through these pictures and relive their wedding day, and I hope that this will be just another page in our history. I hope to foster a deeper friendship with them and get to know them even more. And so I feel grateful. I feel grateful that my art has brought me to Jordan and Pat. Thank you, guys for giving me the opportunity to get to know you and the honor of shooting your wedding. I adore you both so much
Denver in-home maternity session
I think it’s been two years since I’ve posted a maternity session on my blog. I just don’t get around to blogging much these days, but I simply couldn’t pass up the opportunity to share this particular session. This sweet couple is expecting a baby at the end of the month. To top that off, they just purchased and moved into her great-grandmother’s home a few weeks ago. The home was built and lived in by her great-grandparents and so it remains in the family–hopefully for many many years to come. I loved the vintage, yet simple feel of this session as this couple showed me their garage with the old Thunderbird in it, unpacked boxes in their tiny kitchen, and made up the beds. It was such a sweet session all around.
Denver Family/Newborn session
My “people” are the ones who are comfortable with who they are as a family. They don’t feel the need to present a pristine home or dress their kids in matching clothes. Sometimes juice is running down their kids faces or they have marker all over their hands.  Sometimes there is spit-up. Dirty diapers. Fighting siblings. Overturned furniture. These families are honest–I know this because I have two kids myself, and keeping things in perfect order is impossible–in fact to try to capture perfection in my own home would be a lie. It’s this authenticity that makes me feel safe and allows me to document the good stuff. The stuff memories are made of. The stuff called “life”. These are my people. This is what I love.  Thank you, Chavez Family–I’ll miss you.
San Diego
We are finally at a place where we can travel together as a family and actually call it a vacation. The kids are fine on a plane with a bag of candy and a couple of devices. We can get a home on VRBO and Ramona and Sylvie can share a room, while Jesse and I can have our own. (Netflix, baby!)  Meals are easier when we go out. Bedtime is flexible. The kids can swim. It’s pretty dreamy, actually.
Travel is my jam. I don’t care what kind of car I drive or how big my house is. I don’t care if my dinner plates match or even if I get my roots done every 6 weeks. But travel is an actual necessity. I can’t live without it. I really can’t. For awhile it was tough, I won’t lie. We had to find someone to stay with the girls while we went away. I couldn’t actually be present wherever I was, because my heart was at home with my kids. If we did bring our kids, we had to bring a nanny so that we could actually enjoy our vacation and that was breaking the bank. But we’ve arrived. Traveling together works now. We have fun, and we are making memories.
When I was growing up, my parents used to load all of us four kids into a big Econo-van every Thanksgiving and drive to Arkansas. WE WOULD DRIVE. This wasn’t just when I was little, either. This went on through my college years. But in all seriousness, these are some of my best memories as a kid. Stopping at gas stations every 4 hours and loading up on junk food, sleeping in the car, fighting over the game boy–these were the times when I would actually be forced to be with my family for hours at a time. And that was just the drive. When we would actually get to Arkansas we would be bored out of our minds, so we would have to find things to do. Me and my brothers would go on long walks together or my sister and I would go to Walmart (which was always a highlight of our trip, might I add). It wasn’t fancy hotels or trips to amusement parks that I loved. It was the time together–the memories made. Collective mindfulness, if you will. It was rich.
I want my kids to have this. I want their memories of our time together to go beyond our backyard. I want them to appreciate our vacations even if it’s just ordering pizza and sitting in a hot tub or sharing a can of coke in a HOJO. I don’t have forever with these girls. In 15 years, there won’t be family vacations like these. Ramona and Sylvie will be taking their own spring breaks or God forbid, trips with their boyfriends. Their priorities will be different and Jesse and I will yearn for the days when we could just hole up in some house in some random state and simply be together–just a good vacation from the hamster wheel.
Baby Linden Brown
Meet baby Linden. I got the pleasure of meeting and photographing this little nugget last week. She is the first daughter and second child to a very special couple whose wedding and engagement session I photographed way back in 2011. I have kept in touch with Cambria and Anson only through facebook and was overjoyed to get to work with them again to document this sweet time in their lives and to meet their gorgeous children, Woodley and baby Linden. It’s incredibly rewarding to get to work with old clients again–especially when they become parents and we get to connect on this whole new level.
Laura and Mike’s Wedding at the St. Vrain in Longmont
When I thought I was done photographing weddings, I didn’t think about all of the friendships I would miss out on. I forgot how many people I had met and come to love, simply because of my career as a wedding photographer–people like Laura and Mike and their precious son, Levi. Its these relationships, these beautiful people full of light and love and stories fairy tales are made from that I’ve missed.
Laura and Mike have quite the story–they’ve journeyed from loss and heartbreak to a renewed hope. They have trusted to love again and they know that above all, family is their sanctuary. This was all so palpable at the St Vrain on 12/28. Laura and Mike’s wedding was more than a beautiful wedding (that, it was!). It was also a tribute to hope, joy, love and God. All the fruits.
Thank you Laura and Mike for reminding me that love is so much bigger than a rapid heart beat and a flutter. Your love is so clearly unconditional–for each other and for Levi and for all of the wonderful family that surrounded and supported you on your wedding day. Blessings.
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