Full Circle | Franklin Family Portrait Photography

I distinctly remember the day Evin and Luke shared they were having a baby with our Sunday School class. As was the custom, munchkin donuts - or rather, donut holes - were involved in the reveal. And let me tell you, we were all consuming our fair share of fried sweet dough on most Sundays throughout 2007.

At the time, many couples in our nearly/newlyweds class, the one in which we met people like the Krehbiels and the Grays, were showing up with donuts. It was an exciting season, and so when Luke and Evin, in early 2008 came in bearing delicious gifts - it was icing on the cake, or rather, donut. Not only would this little one on the way be one of the most beautiful children ever, but also a wonderful soul - as Cohen has proved to be.




We had found in Evin and Luke, even just sitting with them in class every Sunday, a true example in our lives for what a young, strong marriage should look like. They are the epitome of a team, sharing in the places where the other is weak and loving them so much in those places they don’t even know it is weakness. It just happens to be the place where the other person gets to give a little bit more.



And they give. And give and give, and always have. And I’m grateful that three years later we still call them friends. And that we can still learn from and be inspired by not just the two, but the three of them together.








Because now as parents, Luke and Evin encourage us even more, especially as I watch Evin juggle the life of a mother with that of a wife, photographer, and business owner. All of which she does an incredible job balancing, even if she can’t see it herself.





Taking the first offically official family portraits of the Krehbiel family was most certainly a joy, if not just for their company, the beautiful weather, and a stop at Sweet CeCe’s!










I never imagined that life would come so full circle, even in just three years, but I am thankful that it has.

Father and Son | Nashville Family Portrait Photography

I really love being a part of surprises. There’s a hidden joy in the ability to be a part of doing something unexpected for another person. So it was without hesitation that I gladly agreed to get some photos of Ryan and his dad, Dick, in honor of their wonderful mother and wife, Kathy, for Mother’s Day.

The hardest part, though, to surprises - is always the waiting, as it has now been almost three months since our session on a blustery February day. A day that seems so long ago and yet not.



Though I've known Ryan for years, I first met Dick and Kathy just a few months ago when they hosted Natalie and I at their beautiful home in western North Carolina. There is nothing like skiing with your best friend and then coming "home" to an incredible pair like the two of them. Dick was to me, at the time, an incredible source of wisdom and thoughtfulness in a season where there was a lot going on inside my head. A writer at heart and a man whose garden puts me to shame, you can't help but feel like you've known him your whole life even after just two days together.

Meet Dick and Bud...







As I said, I have known Ryan for years, and in that time was certain that it takes a unique and wonderful pair to raise such a great guy. A guy that has been such an incredible source of strength and support and love, himself, to my best friend and has become someone we can't image our lives without. Someone's whose humor brings life to every situation, and is seriously one of our favorite people to be around. Ever. And we've got a 52+ hours (driving time) road trip to prove it!

Meet Ryan and Bodhi...







I'm inspired by good men raising good men who will one day raise good men. There's a shortage in this world, but I'm grateful it's not in my own life.







Loving that we had the chance to incorporate Ryan's beloved Scout in the session!





The chance to take these photos, as simple as it was, of the two most important men (and their loyal companions) in Kathy's life is such an honor.



The three of them, together, are collectively some of the most fantastic people I know. Warm, inviting, caring, intelligent, and thoughtful.

The kind of people you just feel beyond grateful to know.

Just A Normal Saturday | Nashville Family Lifestyle Photography

Oh yes. You read that correctly. Ashton and Elijah.

The Ashton and Elijah everyone oohed and aahed over not even two months ago or so when they were first born. Oh, how tiny they were.

And still are, really.

Small enough to leave echoes of pitter-patters in my heart, that's for sure. Sigh.





After about a month and a half of foiled plans, due to sicknesses and snowstorms, I finally got to spend some time catching up with Amy and Josh and their boys this past weekend.

By this point, both Amy and I were close to dying to get some updated shots of the little ones and their big brother Avery. And boy, if I don't fall in love with this session over and over again everytime I look at it...











And if there's a picture out of all of them that gets my heart stuck in my throat upon each glance, it's this one:



When I look at Avery, I feel the way I do when I was sitting across from Amy at a restaurant and she shared the news that after so long, there would be a little one on the way. Oh how my heart literally leapt out of my chest to match the tears pouring from my eyes. I see joy and hope and purpose beyond all measure when I look at that face. The face of the first world-changer in a line of three...

And I definitely see the last (almost) two years having gone by way, way too fast.







I love when a family opens their hearts and home up to me. When they trust me with their story. And when the stories are sometimes as simple and still incredibly beautiful as a Saturday afternoon watching "Little Einsteins", feeding your seven week (and a day) old newborn babies, eating popsicles, and being a family.

Because in the normalcy of life, there are always those moments as big as the ones seen on stage or in movies. And I get to see and capture them, often when no one is looking.

I love that my job is to help people remember what they don't always see.











Amy and Josh, thank you for sharing your Saturday with me. For having been such a constant in my life for the last umpteen years. For being friends and role models, confidants and supporters. For making such beautiful and wonderfully perfect children.

I am truly honored to be a part of your story.