Isaac, Graham & Grayson

Last summer I had all of these plans to do a late-summer sunflower shoot with my boys. Being about 349 months pregnant at the time, I just didn't quite get around to it. This summer, I made it happen. When I first sat down to edit these photos, I think I was over-analyzing them, and over-editing them. I am the type of person who likes PERFECTION when editing my photos. When I looked back at my first edits, I hated them and started over. The second time around, I did almost nothing to each photo...and I was in love. It was a good lesson to me that sometimes less is more, and sometimes perfection is in the real.

This one is SO my Graham.  I feel like this was the first summer I really found out who my little boy was.  At his birthday party this year, he had a bad bike accident and ended up with a broken arm and was in the hospital for two days.  He ended up having two surgeries, but through it all he was so strong, and so brave.  I am not the "pull yourself up by your bootstraps" kind of mama.  If anything, I err on the side of babying my little boys (their future wives can thank me later).  But he has this inner strength, and I have no idea where it comes from.  I was so proud of him over and over for showing so much resiliency during his accident and recuperation.  I love this boy more than my life.

And here's my Isaac.  He turned nine this summer, and he is changing every day.  I am so proud of him every day. He is so incredibly smart, and so sweet. The name "Isaac" means "laughter," and he has always been the laughter of my days.

 

And here's little guy.  He wasn't in the best of moods for this particular photo shoot, so I only have this one photo, but I sure do love it.  Could that light be any more perfect?  And, is it just me, or is the sun in the form of the cross?  Thank you, Heavenly Father, for this beautiful gift of my three boys.  They are the joy of my life!

Esperum Family

This sweet little family has been through so much recently. I hope and pray that the time they have now with their new little one is a time of healing and joy for all of them.

I'm totally in love with his perfect little lips...

Makynna and Livia

I have photographed these girls once before, and it is always so much fun. Mom does a great job with clothes, and the girls love the camera!

Laken

I have been photographing little Laken since before she was born, and I am amazed at how fast she is growing up! Last year, her daddy had just left for a year-long military assignment overseas and understandably, she wasn't very happy for her session. This year, he had just come home, and she was all smiles for her session!

Aubrey & Avery

Aubrey and Avery's mom did a great job picking out fun clothes for our photo session. Aren't they so cute?

Sache & Fischer

My best friend from childhood lives out of state, and when we get together (usually about once per year), it's such a fun time. We make memories that I carry with me until the next time we get together! Sometimes we have time to do a quick photoshoot. This year we did a few at my mom and dad's farm. Love the colors in these.

Then we went to the farm she grew up on.  There's not much left of the place, and I love how these black and white photos really match the somber mood that hits you when you see what's left of her family home.
It makes me so sad to remember all those sleepovers we had growing up in their house.  Now, you can barely tell where the house used to sit.

Such a difference in mood between the black and white photo and the color!