First of all, we would like to thank each of you for the prayers and support, for both Jodi and I and the family of our friends in the wake of my previous post.  It’s incredible to see people banding together to encourage and lift up those in need… even if you might not know them.  God, if only it were like this all the time, not just in tragedy, we’d be a much different generation. There is so much that could be different. So, thank you again to those who sent notes of encouragement, shared the post with friends, and prayed… you made a difference in our’s and the Murray’s kids lives and we appreciate it.

This past week was a difficult week for our community, but what has come of it is an incredible testimony to the power of grace, and a town that comes together. Our priorities have been once again shaken up, and we’re realizing the importance of friendships and family, and how little we communicate how much people mean to us.

Life is a Gift.

It’s why we are passionate about photography. It’s why we love to celebrate with families, as they have babies… grow them up… graduate them… give them in marriage… and the process begins again.

Last weekend, at our photography convention, we entered the following image for competition.  It’s our most recent family photo we created for our New Year’s cards, and it’s simply titled “Life is a Gift” because it’s little moments like “horsey back rides” and “airplane rides” that make family life amazing.  Little choices, little sacrifices made along the way that culminate into creating who we are, and who our kids will become.  Today, we are grateful for the gift of Life, and hope that you are too!

So, go ahead, hug your friends. Tell them you love them… appreciate them for who they are, and the fact that they hang out with your crazy self and put up with your kids. :)

Our November and December usually finds us cramming in Christmas card orders and gift prints, and the blog gets left in the dust. So, here is a collection of family and children’s sessions we were working on this past Fall.  We are so grateful to each one for trusting us with these precious moments in their lives! It’s an honor!

I realize it’s been a little while since I’ve posted, and it’s good to be back.  We’ve been working with a lot of families lately, getting things together for Christmas cards and such, so I don’t like to post their family pictures until the cards are sent out.  It at least appears to Jodi and I that it would spoil the fun if we’d show the images before the cards are delivered. All that to say, we’ll be getting back into the weekly posting now that Christmas cards are pretty much coming to a close.

Anyway, here’s a fun family session from a few weeks ago.  They were guests at a wedding we photographed this summer, and it always an honor have families referring our work to each other.

We’re proud to call the Bishop Family some of our newest friends! We met them through our church, and have been truly blessed by their lives. They have been working overseas and came home this summer for the birth of little Zephie!   They are headed back in a couple of weeks, and while we’re a little bummed we won’t get to hang out with them, we are super excited about what they are doing.

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It was so good to see Brian and Lindsay again after photographing their wedding a few years ago.  I realize that we only step into a couple’s life for a few hours during consultations and then again at the wedding, but often by the end of our time together we’ve become friends. So when they go on and start families, we enjoy having them back again and meeting the new little ones!

Brian and Lindsay have 3 handsome (and well-behaved) little fellows each with the God-given gift of beautiful big eyes!

This summer was a special one for my family! Due to a spot this summer where we had back to back weekends without a wedding, we used that as an opportunity to travel to visit grandma and grandpa and the cousins! Jackson, our oldest, learned to swim, we went for motorcycle rides, visited Hershey Chocolate Factory, went to great-grandma’s farm, and much more. It was a wonderful blessing, and a summer we’ll cherish for a long time.

Here are the cousins!

We love the Wilbanks family, and it’s been so much fun getting to know them better the past few years. It had been a while, though, since we had the pleasure of photographing their wonderful children! Little Reed joined their family not too long ago, and we were honored to capture this precious new life. Reed’s big sister, and big brother are quite thrilled with this new family member, but the cat isn’t quite sure. Reeds daddy enjoys hunting, so we got some deer antlers and weeds to help set the stage for his images.

Oliver is a good lookin’ little chappy, and he’s a fun kid to be around. Jodi did a great job with him, and working on these images made me smile! Oliver has 6 months under his belt already, and he’s rocked all 6 of them! Our studio is usually in our garage, but over the winter we tear it all down. So, for Oliver’s session, our good pals at Moore Photography were gracious enough to let us work in their studio! Thanks Danielle!!