the joy of gina

this week my friend gina lost her fight with cancer. she truly was an exemplary human being, always looking out for everyone else and seeing the best in all of us. i can't possibly put into words how this petite little woman had such a huge impact on the community, my child's school and our church. but let me just say that her life and her death has had a profound effect on my faith and there is no way that i can begin to describe, in this one little blog, how much she has done for me and how much we will miss her. i will definitely be a better person because of gina.
please keep the neibergall family and gaps children in your prayers in the coming weeks.
God bless you, dear gina. we will all miss you terribly.

paige and jason

paige, jason and i had a great time at their engagement shoot. we even grabbed a six-pack and had a beer while we waited for the perfect light! it was like high school all over again. except paige was in fourth grade when i was in high school, so that would have been really inappropriate.
anyway, this was really an incredible shoot. the light was perfect, there was just enough breeze to rustle paige's hair up, jason was in a good mood, they dangled off of cliffs for me . . . it couldn't have been better.
paige and i have shot over 150 weddings together. that's just insane. and she was only 20 when she assisted me for the first time. so we've had a lot of talks over the years about what it would be like when (and if) she ever married. she was at one point convinced she'd be better off single. :) even though we aren't that far apart in age--humor me--it's been really fun to watch her grow up and fall in love. jason is the perfect match for her and i really couldn't be happier for the both of them. their wedding is going to be a real tear fest and i am very excited to have the best seat in the house for the whole thing.
much, much love to you both.

tami and garrett

sweet tami and garrett are getting married in november, so it is great that we got to do a session outdoors in the spring. we canvassed the town looking for the perfect magnolia tree and ended up sneaking onto someone's front yard (ready to bolt at any second.) we were convinced that an old lady with a gun would come storming out, but we were successful in our covert operation.
they are adorable. look at them. they're that cute in real life, too.
i'm very excited to be a part of your wedding day, you two.
happy spring!

coming soon . . .

i did paige and jason's engagement shoot yesterday. i'm supposed to be going on vacation today, but i can't tear myself away from the photos. we has such a fun night and they turned out so great. they are darling together.
i'll post a sneak peek today and then post the rest in a week or so.
i am so happy for paige. i could go on and on, but i'll save that for later . .

meredith and j.r.

we still aren't in full-swing wedding season, yet. that starts this weekend. but we did get to shoot an april wedding for meredith and j.r. at st ambrose. it was a little chilly for april, but it was an absolutely gorgeous wedding.
i know i sound like a broken record sometimes, but we just get the coolest couples. these two are from great families, they're smart, fun, cool and have a great relationship with each other. we're just lucky to get to work with such awesome people.
meredith got a little bonus as she married into a family that knows a lot about flowers. it was a stunning wedding. (that and her mom was quite the organized m.o.b./planner.) we'd never seen the marriott look so beautiful.
paige and jason are pretty good friends with these two, so i think i'll have an excuse to stay in touch with them.
best of luck to you both!



by paige
























by sarah

the paci fairy

my friend melissa just published a book to help kids give up their pacifiers when it's time. neither of my kids took pacis, although i really gave it my best with both of them. but i've seen a lot of my friends struggle with this, so i thought i'd pass it on.
i met melissa through my friend jay spence. she sort of took over as his best girlfriend when i moved back to iowa and it was always good to know that there was someone out there keeping an eye on him. he was both of our daughters' Godfather, so we know he is watching over them. melissa is honestly as sweet as she is beautiful and i know she put a lot into this great book.
if you're getting close to the milestone of giving up the paci or have a friend who needs some help, please check out her book. it's really, very sweet.
http://www.thepaci-fairy.com/
best of luck to you, melissa!

miss vivien

i did a quick little shoot of sweet vivien last week and realized i never posted her newborn photos! how rude!
vivien was the second wine haglet born late last summer.
i've known her mom and dad for a really long time (before they even met each other) and shot their wedding when we were still all film.
yeah, a long time ago.
anyway, it's always fun to watch your friends transform when their first baby is born. and i don't get to see that very often anymore. it has been an absolute blast to watch this unfold. will and tammy are naturals at parenting and i get a huge kick out of tammy. she's super relaxed and ultra cool.
lastly, check out that hair! these second shots are from her seven-month shoot. she is flippin' adorable.
so . . . introducing miss vivien mae.

then










now