Always Giving of Himself

As if my husband does not give enough of himself in the day-to-day, (here and at work), he decided to ride with a few other residents in the MS150 to help raise awareness, and fund research for, Multiple Sclerosis. August 28-29 he will bike 150 miles for this great cause. If you would like to support him and further research on MS please consider donating HERE. Any amount will make a difference! Thanks!!!

Featured Gallery: Mandy & Zoe

Peeping Mom

Sometime in the life of our house there existed only two bedrooms and Myles' was at the back of the house. Between the later-added third bedroom and Myles' room there is still a window. With the move to the toddler bed/new room we have found it very convenient to stand on the desk in the third room and spy through that window. Today was only the second time Myles has taken a nap in his bed. He got up at 5:30am this morning so I was really grateful when at nap time he went right to sleep.

(After seeing this I'm not surprised that he managed to fall out twice in one night earlier this week.)

It's A Small World

When I first met Pete and Marie at a couples' gathering at our church and found out they were from Michigan it quickly became one of those "no way!" moments that seem to happen so often. Marie is from Grandville where my high school is and Pete is from Muskegon, about 5 minutes from where my parents now live (I put that in minutes instead of miles to emphasize my MI roots...). I didn't imagine upon meeting them that I would one day be photographing their family. Later this Summer they will expand into three (okay for Sadie's sake it will be four) as they welcome baby Pierce! Pete and Marie, thanks for allowing me to photograph you (and for choosing such a great location)!

I think Pete's a little sweet on her...

Comfortable in Her Own Skin

My friend and co-pastor, Mandy, exudes such quiet strength and joy. She is passionate, creative and confident in the person God created her to be. During our time together I could see that she instills these same characteristics into her daughter, Zoe. It's difficult to describe in words but I think the pictures give a glimpse of what I'm trying to say:

Why I do what I do: Thanks, Mandy and Zoe - for being you and for allowing me to photograph you together.

Big Boy Bed

A week ago we moved Myles into his very own room (for the first time in his little life) AND into a toddler bed instead of his crib. The first night I stayed in there for 2.5 hrs and each time he got out I put him back in. He found the game quite amusing. I kept sitting down in the chair for some reason - until I realized how futile that was. When I decided to stay standing in between laying him back down, he scooted to the edge of the bed and then said "mommy" as he pointed to the chair. He was waiting for me to sit down before he got out again.

He finally fell asleep and did not wake up until morning. The following nights were better but he did not nap until Thursday - way too many distractions. (He had Ezra's dresser drawers emptied onto the floor, and books everywhere). On Thursday, he finally took a nap but, unfortunately, I had to wake him up to go to the airport. We've been in Michigan for the past few days for my sister Jess' wedding shower. Tomorrow the adventures in the "Sesame-St. bed" (as Myles calls it) resume once again.

The family at 3 or 4 months of age

It's fascinating to me that so many people comment on who Ezra looks like. Some people swear he looks just like Myles, or say "man you are just like your Daddy", and others say "I think he looks like you." I think the truth he shares traits of all of us but, here are pics of each of us around the same age he is now. You can decide for yourself.

Myles

Ezra & Mommy (not supposed to reflect my opinion of who he looks like, I was just trying to get a side-by-side comparison :) )

Mark

French Press Photography

I will be adding to this and tweaking things here and there but.... www.frenchpressphotography.com is now up and running! Pass it on. Google it. Link to it from your own pages... I'll stop now. Check it out!!!!

Mr. Flexible

Myles eating his lunch the other day. What a character that one.

"Do the Zoo"

When Hillary wrote and said that they would like to have their pictures at the Cincinnati Zoo, I knew it would be the perfect opportunity to build some "lifestyle" shots into my portfolio!

Sim and Hillary and their lil girl attend UCC with us. Hillary works as a pediatric resident and Sim balances that crazy life by being a stay-at-home Dad. They also have made the incredible decision to step out in faith and join a team from our church in moving to Indonesia for 2 years after residency. What incredible people of faith.

As you might imagine, I thoroughly enjoyed spending time chasing them around the zoo for the morning!

And the one that spurs me on to keep pursuing this photography dream: