chelsea+nate = ava

this little miss just turned 3, and boy can she work the camera!

her parents said it was because she's the only child and momma takes way too many pictures.

either way, it worked for me and made this photo shoot too easy!

it also helped that her mom and dad are just slightly gorgeous too!

it's obvious that nate and chelsea cherish every moment with their sweet little ava.

they really are the cutest little family!

one fashionable outfit set the stage for some amazingly colored photos.

 *note to self: next time, bring brighter side walk chalk. this idea popped in my head a couple weeks ago and i was so grateful that chelsea and nate were willing to run with my whacky ideas. i think it added some whimsy:)

 this is one of my favorites. i love the natural overwhelming 

happiness on chelsea's face when she looks at her daughter.

ava and her daddy were so sweet.

can you tell ava looks up to him?!

i really enjoyed this fun and whimsical photo shoot. thanks sweet ava girl!

and chelsea and nate too!

lorenz family

there's nothing quite like a sister.

believe me, i know.

taking these pictures reminded me of the love/hate relationship i had with mine growing up.

although, these sweet girls showed more love:)

i've had the opportunity to watch sofie and emma at our church nursery for the past 8 months. and when i say "opporunity," i mean pleasure. they are just so calm and sweet.

sofie is a tad more sassy then emma, but both their curiosities were running wild in this "forrest."

there were leaves and pine cones and places to run galore!

i felt so lucky when i was able to capture their true smiles. 

dad was a little bit late, so watching jaynee chase after her girls while we were waiting was quite amusing for me, although i'm sure exhausting for her:) but she never complained. no matter how far she had to chase them, she always kept a smile on her face. she is a great mom, and these girls are lucky to have her.

when dad finally arrived...boy, did these girls light up!!

they sure love their daddy and it was very apparent.

what a darling family these four make. i'm so happy that they truly count their blessings and show it!

thanks jaynee and lee!

i really enjoyed our photo session!

the markarian family

i love photographing my friends.

especially these sweet kids, who i get to watch once a week.

jayme and i swap kids each week and do a rotating date night co op, so our kids see a lot of eachother.

maycee is one gorgeous 4 year old. and she is so sweet too;

 always watching over her younger siblings and making sure all is well.

and maverick? he's destined to be cool with a name like that. i love his shy nature that you can see in the second photo. when he does open up, he's a silly boy. and rambunctious just like all boys:)

little miss karmyn is just as yummy as they get. she was born a month after my carter baby and i love watching those two girls interact and grow up together. look at those HUGE blue eyes and long lashes!

jayme and i have been friends for a couple years now, which is a lifetime in military life.

we lived in monterey together, and now here. her and ely are what you call a power couple... always on the go with new ideas and serving someone in need. not to mention that they are great parents!

i just love this sweet family and all that i get to do with them since 

we live so close. don't they just photograph well?

this one might be a favorite of mine:

thanks ely and jayme, for sharing your darling family with me!

jess & cari's family

so i have a small list of actual saints that i know.

jean tolman

my mother in law, kathy

my sister, noel

matt mcnease...

and since i've moved to georgia, i've had the pleasure of adding another one to my list:

cari winn.

i'm so lucky to count her as a good friend and equally as lucky to have been able to photograph her beautiful family. you can feel the love and silliness of this family. i had to put my camera down a couple times to just crack up while watching them.

cari is married to a wonderful man who is pretty much hilarious.

not to mention that jess adores his gorgeous wife:

 and together they've created three handsome boys.

get a load of these hunks; these parents might be in trouble during the teenage years.

and cari is expecting another sweet baby!

i know you can't tell, but she's 21 weeks pregnant in these photos!

they say the don't care what the sex is, but i'm rooting for a girl.

can you imagine how stunning she'd be?

i loved the energy exuded by this sweet family.

the love, the silliness, the sarcasm, and all the "weenie's" we had to yell to make the boys smile made this a great shoot. thanks winn family for letting me capture your awesome family!