little noah woke up very early the morning of our shoot and had not had a great night of sleep.  he is getting a lot of teeth and his mouth was very sore which kept him up a lot in the night.  you would have thought he would have been all crabs, but he was all smiles and such a good little boy.  and, just when we thought he had run out of steam, we gave him a little bath and the smiles came back again.  it was so great to meet the entire family…a beautiful morning and lots of love to go around.  thank you, jon and jenny.  so fun to see you all again.

baby nora frances was a dream for me to photograph…just a little love muffin.  isn’t she yummy?  so so beautiful.  i enjoyed meeting her parents and grandma so much.  :)  we had such a nice morning.  congratulations d family on your precious baby girl…

oh miss marlowe…you are too sweet for words.   i have been photographing this little love since she was just days old.  it has been wonderful watching her change into a little girl.  her red locks are so beautiful and i hope she grows curls of red forever and ever.  i am so happy miss marlowe decided she wanted to have her picture taken…it took her a couple hours  :)  but, was most definitely worth the wait.  as you will see there is lots and lots of sweetness below.  thank you, lisa and dave.  i loved my time with your family.  and, a special thanks to grandma for helping us at our shoot and letting us use her beautiful yard.  :)

i cannot believe it has already been two weeks since i traveled to the beautiful state of montana to meet barb uil of jinky art .  my experience can only be described with one word..amazing. it was a chance of a lifetime to be educated by barb…she has a talent that is admired worldwide.  our home for two days was the most wonderful family ranch just outside of hamilton, montana.  it truly was beauty beyond belief and a photographer’s dream…literally.  a beautiful farm house situated at the foot of the mountains…i felt like i was sitting in the midst of country living magazine.  and, the light…the light at dusk was breathtaking and to us photographers light is everything.  for two days barb inspired the 12 of us who were there…we laughed, listened, learned and photographed the most adorable children.  i loved every minute of my time there…and, left with a spinning mind of ideas and excitement to get back to my clients in minnesota.

please take some time to go look at barb’s work…she will draw you in with her lovely, whimsical, soulful photography.  meeting barb was an experience i will cherish forever…she has changed the way i look at my business and for that i will forever be grateful.  jinky art blog

and, below are a few of the little lovelies i had the opportunity to photograph…these were a few of my favorites.

the story of shelby is beautiful…it began in montana where shelby’s parents were living before shelby was born.  shelby’s mom had experienced a tough pregnancy up to this point and at 22 weeks, with the guidance of her doctor, she was advised that she needed to be closer to a hospital that could handle a premature baby.  she traveled to sioux falls, south dakota where her mom and dad were residing.  shelby decided to come into the world on april 13th. she was 23 weeks and only one pound.  on june 1st, shelby’s doctors decided shelby needed to be transported to minneapolis to have heart surgery. it is here in minnesota where little shelby will stay for awhile.  her daddy has since found a job here so their family could all be together.  she has been a very strong little angel over the last 3 months and is now 37 weeks. taking photos for this little sweetness was the most rewarding session i have had in my photography career.  shelby has already endured so much in her little life.  and, her mom and dad…are an inspiration to everyone who knows them.  the strength it must take…and, the sacrifices they have made.  God must have known they could endure it all because they are doing the most wonderful job. it was a joy for me to meet shelby’s mommy…her family’s story has touched me forever.  i have been keeping up on shelby’s journey and this particular journal excerpt by shelby’s mommy moved me so much…here is a little bit of it.

i am just sitting next to my baby while she is sleeping…i love to just watch her and tell her how much we love her and that mommy is here and will do whatever it takes to make her feel better.  when i have her in my arms i finally feel at peace.  it gets to be a time when we both get to heal together… by suzanne ullom

as parents, we can feel the love in this reading, but it takes on a whole new meaning.  as i am typing, tears were going pitter patter on my keyboard.  and, as you see the photos below you will be moved by emotion as you see this perfect little baby girl who is growing stronger and stronger by the day.

dear God, may you continue to watch over and protect sweet baby shelby…amen.

i also had to share the most wonderful story of katy the angel…you will see her below.  angel katy is 45-50 years old…literally.  she originally belonged to michael.  michael was born with downs syndrome.  he had many heart surgeries and at the age of 30 passed away. before he died he passed the little angel doll to his mom’s older sister.  michael said it was his time to meet his real angel so he wanted katy to watch over other people here on earth.  katy has been over the US, europe and even iraq with a soldier. her keeper is now alec who was born with a heart defect.  alec is now 13 years old and has had several heart surgeries.  he heard about shelby from his grandma and wanted angel katy to visit shelby.  and, so it is here next to baby shelby that katy the angel sits.  so incredibly heart warming…

Pictures of Hope Foundation, a national charitable organization, benefiting families in the neonatal intensive care unit {NICU}.  The pictures of hope foundation {POH} is comprised of professional photographers from all over the united states, that provides an opportunity for professional photographers to give back to their community.  Members of Pictures of Hope, offer complimentary, documentary-style photography services to families with a child in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

Time spent in the NICU is often an unexpected journey for families, a journey full of overwhelming emotions…sadness, confusion, hope, celebration and unfortunately, at times grief.  Throughout this roller coaster of emotions, many parents do not consider the importance of documenting these moments in their lives nor do they think about how much they will truly cherish these images years down the road.  Pictures of Hope provides you with invaluable photographs of your sweet one that you will cherish forever.

At the request of the parents, a photographer will come to your NICU room and photograph your baby using the available light in your room.  Pictures of Hope is a charitable organization, there are no fees for the services provided by our participating members.

For more information,  visit www.picturesof hopefoundation.org or feel free to contact me directly!