It’s hard to believe this little guy will be off to Kindergarten next year!  It has been such a treat for me to watch him grow over the years and see his personality take shape.   He has character galore and his enthusiasm about going to school is absolutely adorable.  He told me just how excited he is to learn math, science, but most of all he is excited about reading…a kid after my own heart!  Considering my youngest son started Kindergarten this fall, I know all too well how hard it will be for his parents to watch him get on the bus for the very first time next year.  Something tells me there may be a few tears shed!

If any of you follow my This Lunch Rox blog you’ve probably heard me mention someone named Maria quite a bit…if not, here’s a little backstory:

Maria Emmerich is the person responsible for my family’s transition to a healthier lifestyle.  You can go back and read about it HERE, but to summarize…I had been working out for a little over a year and was so frustrated that I wasn’t achieving my weight loss goals.  A friend of mine from the gym introduced me to Maria one day while we were working out and I learned that Maria had a book called “Secrets to a Healthy Metabolism”.  I purchased the book that day and the rest is history.  Everything she wrote in her book made perfect sense to me and since then my family and I have taken baby steps toward a healthier lifestyle and the results in how we all feel is nothing short of amazing.

Maria and I  talked often at the gym and over the years have become quite good friends.  She encouraged me time and time again and helped me achieve not just my weight loss goals, but also helped my family learn healthier eating habits.  Words really can’t express all that she has done for me.  The fact that I am no longer plagued by sugar cravings, tired for most of the day, forgetful (the list goes on and on)…it truly feels as though Maria has given me the best gift a friend could ever give.  With her help I’m so much more awake, alive and energized and my day isn’t consumed (pardon the pun) with thoughts of food than I’ve ever been before.  I can safely say that my life has changed for the better because of the hard work and dedication Maria has put into her research about food and how it affects our bodies.

Not long after I purchased Maria’s book I learned that she wrote the book as a way to fund the adoption of two precious boys in Africa.  For two years I’ve agonized with her as they were met with one delay after another.  They were matched with their sons over one year ago and expected them to be home shortly thereafter, but yet again there were delays.  It has been heart-wrenching to know how eager Maria and her husband, Craig, were to get those boys home yet have absolutely no control over it.  Imagine the joy we all felt when we received word that they got the go-ahead to head to Africa to retrieve their boys.  They kept me updated on their travels back to the states via texts and I breathed a huge sigh of relief when they finally touched ground in the United States.

Maria and Craig were so eager to have photos taken of their family that they invited me into their home just days after they arrived.  I didn’t want to interfere at all with their bonding time so I quietly observed and captured moments as they unfolded.  It took every ounce of energy not to pick these little guys up and snuggle them to pieces during the session.  Luckily, since then I’ve had plenty of opportunities to spend time with them and they have given me the unofficial title of “Auntie Jamie” which absolutely makes me heart sing.  The little boys will always hold a very special place in my heart to say the very least.

I’m often asked who is behind the cakes I have made for my kids’ birthday parties and events.  So without further ado let me introduce you to the insanely talented, Becca, also known as “the cake lady” by my kids.  Becca’s creations are nothing short of works of art.  Her attention to detail is awe-inspiring!  Needless to say, she has brought her fair share of smiles to my kids’ faces over the years!  Not only is she an incredible artist, but she is a fabulous mom as well.  I’ve been photographing her family for a few years now and her kids are so well behaved and each has personality galore.  It’s always such a joy to work with them!  Before I get to their session images I just have to share a few of the cakes Becca has made for us:

And now for a few of the images from their family session we did last Fall:

What a fun session this one was!!  My client wanted her Christmas card this year to include her Grandma’s delicious sugar cookie recipe.  Together we came up with a plan to photograph her kids baking and decorating cookies to use on the card.  The kids loved whipping together the dough, but nothing compared to when the frosting and sprinkles came out.  Oh, the fun they had!

One of the many things I love about my job is putting together invitations and announcements for my clients.  For the past few years I’ve had the opportunity to create “Stache Bash” invites for wonderful clients of mine who host this annual event in honor of the Movember movement.   My client along with his teammates grow mustaches for the entire month of November in an effort to raise funds and awareness to men’s health (especially cancers that affect men).  This has turned into quite the movement and last year the Minnesota Wild and 1,131 fans broke a Guinness World Record for the largest gathering of mustaches.  It has been so fun watching this movement grow and gather more momentum with each passing year.   I especially love that there are people out there who are willing to use their talents to raise money and awareness to a cause they believe in!  Here’s a peek at the invite we came up with for this year’s event:

My job as a photographer has allowed me to work with some pretty amazing people in my lifetime.  Susan is one of them!  I’m not sure if I’ve ever met someone who gives so much of themselves as Susan.  If she’s not participating in 3-day cancer walks, she’s volunteering at school or hosting fundraisers for other causes she feels passionate about.  Her generosity and selfless attitude is so incredibly inspiring and I know is appreciated by so many people in her life.  I’ve loved getting to know Susan and her family over the past few years and it’s been such a treat to watch her boys grow into gentlemen.  Not surprisingly,  her sons are sweet, compassionate and full of life…just like their parents.  Here are just a few of the images from their recent session:

I’ve been working with this family for several years and have heard them talk on several occasions about the vintage car they own.  Imagine my delight when they arrived for their session in said car!  I knew immediately I needed to incorporate this incredible car that the dad has spent so much time working on into their family photos.  We headed out for their shoot and had such a fun time together.  The girls are always so full of life and have the sweetest personalities.  I only see these girls once a year but the oldest one always remembers my name and doesn’t miss a beat when we start shooting.  This year was certainly no exception!  After we finished shooting family pictures she grabbed my hand and led me off to another shooting spot that was all her own. When it was her little sister’s turn for individual photos my little helper didn’t leave my side serving as quite the apprentice.   It’s crazy the bond that develops between myself and the kids when we work together time and time again…which of course means I like to spoil the kiddos after a session.   We wrapped up this shoot by stopping off at our locally owned candy store where I let the girls pick out a special treat (or two).  It’s so fun for me to think that these girls will likely remember our photo sessions together for many years to come.

Oh, the excitement!!!!

Mom and Dad agreed to let each of the girls have an ice cream cone before they left.  We went outside and I watched the following scene play out right in front of me!

Big sister offered little sister a taste of ice cream, but turned at the very last minute deciding it might be better to keep it for herself.  Little sister thought this was HILARIOUS.  Big sister offered, quite convincingly, again to share her ice cream and BAM!  Right when little sister went in for a taste she flipped her head and all little sister got was a mouth full of hair.  HA!!

Eventually they both decided to share a taste of their cones with one another.

And then all was well with the sisters again!

Up here in the north woods we try to be prepared for any kind of weather…sleet, snow, rain, you name it.  I thought I’d shot in just about every kind of weather, but on the day of Maddie’s high school senior session we were met with an entirely new challenge which was WIND.  Not just a little wind either!  We were dealing with gusts up to 50 mph at times.  Luckily, Maddie had a great sense of humor about it and we found a little area tucked between some buildings that helped protect us just a bit.  Throughout the session we just had to laugh as we were yelling back and forth just to hear each other over the wind.  It must have been quite the scene to say the least.  Maddie was such an easy subject to photograph…even with the unusual windy weather.  Maddie, have a great senior year at Hudson High School!  I had a blast working with you!

Every year for the past 4 1/2 years I’ve had the pleasure of working with this beautiful family.  My first session started with them was a maternity session just before they welcomed their first child into the world.  What a treat it’s been for me to work with them year after year as they welcome new babies into the world and every Fall to capture images of their family.  The kids have grown to know me and are pretty darn comfortable in front of the camera.  Here are a few of my favorite images from this year’s session:

In the hustle and bustle of life I find it far too easy to set down my camera when I’m not working…I’m sure any professional photographers reading this can relate!  It’s nice every now and again to pick up my camera and shoot *just because* without any pressure or expectations attached to the images.  As my kids get older it’s also become increasingly important to me to capture details and memories so that someday my boys can look at these images and remember the story of their childhood.  So, I made it a personal goal to be more intentional with capturing images that tell our family story and spending more time working on personal photography projects.  In her book, “The Sound of Paper”, Julia Cameron writes that working on such projects can inspire change in the way you approach your art form and transform your end result.   I can safely say that this has been the case for me and as a result I’ve fallen in love with photography all over again.

Below are some images from just one of the photo projects I’ve completed this summer.   My goal with this project was to capture my grandpa (a.k.a. “Popo”) working in his garden.  I have so many memories from my childhood of working along side Popo in his garden and at 90 years old he still has his garden growing strong.  I wrote about it on This Lunch Rox if you’d like to read more, but I thought I’d share the images here as well.  I’m so happy to have these images of Popo and I know that years from now I’ll appreciate that I took the time to capture him doing what he loves most…gardening.