FAMILIES | The Berntsen Family - New Addition

It's kind of surreal to be sharing these images!  As I've mentioned in other posts, Lindsay and I have known each other practically since birth.  Our fathers' were childhood best friends and as a result I have a best friend for life.  We've grown up, liked boys, graduated from school, and gotten married and shared some many moments over the years!  Some of our most cherished memories are from our yearly camping trips to Skycroft campground in Ontario, Canada.  We even dreamed about and promised each other that the camping tradition would continue when we started families of our own (which at the time was years away!). 

However, earlier this spring the news finally came, Joel and Lindsay were expecting their first child in October!  They were overjoyed and on October 1st their little girl entered the world!  She's perfect in every way and I have no doubt that both Joel and Lindsay will be wonderful parents!  You could just tell from their session how much they adore her already!  Even though I was in Virginia for most of her pregnancy, I am thrilled that I finally got to meet their new addition a few weeks ago.  I am beyond excited to share these precious images of them and their new baby girl, Halle Emma Berntsen!  Congratulations on your little one!

PORTRAITS | Stewart Anniversary Session

Meet The Stewarts' Al and Dawn!  Al is the pastor at The Kirk in Forest, Virginia.  My husband and I started attending there in March and its become a big part of our life this year.  We love the small community of believers and we knew right away we were home.  So, needless to say, we see a lot of these two - but their cool so it's ok :-)!

Both of them being from Connecticut like me is awesome!  Not to mention, Dawn's hometown is the tiny farm town next to mine!  It's a miracle that someone from North Stonington and Preston met each other outside the state - that never happens!  As it turns out, they got married in the fall of 2008 just like my husband and I.  They even read the same passage from C.S. Lewis' "Mere Christianity" as we did at their ceremony - cool since it's not a common selection!

So, when they asked me to photograph an anniversary session to celebrate their fifth year of marriage - I was honored!  Pastor Al and Dawn kindly took Bryce and I out for breakfast at Carols' Place (we have awesome friends and clients!).  Then we headed over to Ivy Creek Park here in Lynchburg.  It was overcast but the rain held off until the end of their session so we got some great images! Congratulations on your 5th anniversary!

FAMILIES | Meeks Family Session

I LOVE this session!  Terrie wanted to gather her family together at a place significant to all of them, so we decided on Camp Hydaway, where they work each summer.  I've shot there one other time (for Jon & Jackie's couple session!) and let me tell you, it's quickly becoming a favorite location - so many completely different areas!  We spent our time in the upper part of camp for this session! 

As the sun went down, the light was just to die for!  Of course, we had to get some images of this whole family together!  There isn't a more polite, friendly, easy going and fun bunch of kids than these four - which is a tribute to their mom!  It's no wonder it was super easy to spend a Saturday evening with all of them!  They laugh a lot and get along tremendously well!  A couple of months ago, I shot Tyler's senior pictures and Terrie wanted to make sure that we got some individual portraits of Trevor, Kaitie, and Kaylie also during this session!  Here are some of my favorites!

FAMILIES | Espenscheid 4 Family Session

Back in May, I had a fantastic family session with the Espenscheids and all their grown children at Peaks View Park here in Lynchburg!  You can check out that session here!  One of their son's Derek and his fiance' Amanda came back to visit with the grand kids a few weeks ago!  So, of course a session for the four of them was in store!  We met a Riverside Park so the kids could go to the Sprayground after our session (it's been hot!).  I had previously scouted the park for some session locations but ended up doing most of the images at the Miller Claytor House which is accessible from the park.  The house has a beautiful garden and was the perfect setting!  I didn't even know it was there so I'll definitely be shooting there again in the future!  Check out some of my favorites below!

FAMILIES | Espenscheid Family Session

Dan Espenscheid is a coworker of mine at Liberty University!  He's been following my work for a while on Facebook (thanks Dan, I appreciate it!) and I was honored when he asked me about doing a family session!  All the Espenscheid kids and their spouses, minus a few grand kids, would be in town during the Liberty University Commencement weekend and of course, it was the perfect time to get them all together!

We decided to meet at Peaks View Park on a Sunday and my husband came along to assist me!  We don't get to work together a lot so that was nice!  Plus, he's really great at putting people at ease and making them laugh.  I like to refer to him as my personal laugh machine!

The park was full of green and it was a beautiful sunny day!  There was a lot of laughing, smiling, and fun during our session!  I think, needless to say, I had a fantastic time with this family and without further ado, let me introduce them!

This is Dan and his wife, Deborah (I told Deb remembering her name should be easy because it's both my mom and my mother in law's names)!   Dan works at Liberty University but is also a Flight Engineer in the Air Force!  I wore an Air Force sweatshirt to the shoot so point for me!  They live here in the Lynchburg area and have raised such a beautiful family!  They have four children - Dan, Derek, Dana and Dustin! 

FAMILIES | BLUNDELL FAMILY SESSION

About two years ago, Lauren Blundell, and I worked together for Liberty University Online.  At the time, little Zachary was just a twinkle in Lauren and her husband Brandon's eyes!  Fast forward two years, I now work in the Registrar's Office, with Christi Hurtak (Lauren's mother) and during that time had begun taking on and photographing clients!

And as Zack's 1st birthday drew closer, Christi approached me about photographing her daughter, son-in-law, and grandson to celebrate this milestone!  So after a little calendar shuffling, the five of us got together May 4th!  Everyone was hoping spring would have arrived at that point but cooler temperatures didn't stop this little guy from being absolutely adorable!  The Blundell family (and the Hurtak's!) are some of the sweetest I have ever met and they genuinely love and enjoy each others company!  It's this beautiful satisfaction of being together that I love to capture in my family sessions - to remind you when life gets a little crazy!  Enjoy some of my favorites of these wonderful people!

P.S. Lesson learned: A dedicated baby whisperer makes these family sessions with little ones 10,000 times better!  A big shot out to our baby whisperer for the day, Zack's Nonna, Christi Hurtak.  I could have never gotten all of these fantastic smiles with out her!

FAMILIES | Long Newborn Session

About the beginning of March, I had the absolute privilege of photographing the Long family while they were waiting for this beautiful boy to arrive!  Uzziah was due in early April but the Long's thought he might arrive any day in the same fashion as their older daughter, Zaya!  She was about three weeks early!   However, Uzziah came pretty much right on time!  Fast forward to beginning of April, the Long's wanted to capture some images of this little boy brand new! 

A big thanks to the Longs for allowing my first ever newborn session to be taking part in these special moments in your family!  I hope you all enjoy the images of this sweet, sweet family!  Congratulations to Randy, April, and big sister Zaya!

FAMILIES | Long Family Maternity Session

Arriving early for my session last Saturday, I pulled into the bottom drive of the Liberty University Equestrian Center.  It had been cold earlier this week and my hopes for a comfortable sunny day were met.  I admired the sunlight as it warmed the backs of horses in the pasture and pooled around the old wooden buildings.  I knew the setting would be perfect to capture the love, warmth, and togetherness of the Long Family!

I was introduced to Randy and his wife, April, about five years ago through my husband's work at Liberty University. Over the years I have seen their family grow!  This is Randy and April's second child, a baby brother for 1 and 1/2 year old daughter Zahala, whose arrival is only two weeks away.  Photographing little ones can be challenging but Zaya was a peach!  She kept busy with one of my chalkboards while I took some images of mom and dad.  You can see how much she loved it in a few of the pictures!  The Long's were just a joy to work with!

Randy and April are so excited for this little boy, Uzziah, to join their clan!  I can't wait to meet him either!

FAMILIES | Carpenter Family Maternity Session

Back when I was a Resident Assistant at Liberty University, my partner, Amber and I, remember interviewing Anna for our Spiritual Life Director position and thinking - THIS IS THE GIRL FOR US!  We were on pins and needles waiting to see if she felt the same way about us and our hall!  It turns our she did and Anna has been a blessing to me ever since!

Anna was a perfect fit for our leadership team and it was during those late nights on the hall that Anna first shared about this guy she had met, Jason.  They both had paths the Lord wanted them to walk but when He finally brought the two of them together, they fell in love and were married last year!  I coordinated their big day and my husband even took some pictures of their ceremony.  You can check out some of the images on my Facebook page! 

Anna has a graceful strength she has always worn with quiet confidence.  She knew that she belonged to the Lord and found her worth in Him.  It is that knowledge that has enabled her strength and her ability to be an amazing wife to Jason and I know will carry her through the joys and trials of motherhood.