We enjoyed a perfect February evening in downtown Tulsa for their shoot. This winter has been crazy warm so it already feels like spring. The temperature was perfect, the light was ooey gooey and I was smitten with this couple.

Kady's sense of style is amazing! Her outfit just makes me swoon.

Her eyes really are that cool. No photoshop tricks here.

Girl, you are going to be a smokin' bride! I can't wait for August.

See, aren't they just a perfect pair?

A chicken legged photographer such as myself is wishing she could have killer legs like this. ;)

Kady and Phillip, thank you so much for choosing me to capture this special time in your lives. You are perfect for each other. Love like yours is why I do what I do.

My maternity leave was absolutely amazing and I treasured every moment (even the sleepless ones.) It is a new season with new love stories to photograph and I am thrilled. I'm delighted that I will be shooting without the extra weight of a baby in my belly this year. I had my first engagement shoot of the season last weekend and my first wedding will be on Saint Patrick's Day.

So, here is a little sneek peak at Kady and Patrick's engagement shoot. More to come very soon!

I took a few photos of him the other day and coaxed him into making a kissy face at the camera. I may or may not have bribed him with candy. Then I added some text with photoshop on top of the image.

In photoshop I laid out a printer paper size sheet and added the size of photos and text that I wanted for the project. I also added a border from my Design Aglow bag of tricks.

Valentines baggies from the dollar store.

Keegan and I added Hershey's kisses to all of the baggies and I stapled them closed.

I cut out the cards so that they would cover the top of the baggies.

I added a little hot glue.

And Ta-Da!!

The front:

And the back:

With that said, I am so full of gratitude for this special time of maternity leave that I get to stay home and spend all of my time with my precious family. There really is nothing better in this world. Keegan and I have been doing so many fun things together, I have been cooking meals, doing crafts, snuggling with my baby girl and I even watched a movie the other night. I have been so busy the last several years that this amazing time at home has been SO good for my soul.

I wanted to share a little crafty project with you that I did the other day. I didn't take photos of the project as I went along but the process was pretty simple. This is a chalkboard that during the Christmas season was covered with Christmas cards. During the rest of the year it usually has something written on it in chalk. I am in the process of redecorating a lot of things in our house and displaying our photos is one thing that it is at the top of my decorating priority list. I am a photographer for goodness sake. ;) So.....here she be.

So, what do you think? I just love it! I wish that I could magically make my heat registers move off of my walls and onto the ceiling or the floor but I haven't been able to figure that one out yet.

I bought doilies with a coupon from Joann Fabrics but they were bright white and I wasn't in love with that look for this project. So, I dipped them in a bowl of diluted black tea. Instant antique doilies. The Polaroid photos came from a pinterest download. I used photoshop to resize them for 4x5 prints and dropped my photos on the image with photoshop.

I just taped everything to the board so that I can easily switch things out. I debated repainting the chalkboard but I kind of like the look of the chalky residue.

I cut a piece off of my homemade Christmas garland to keep out as a little added interest on my piano.

I plan on posting some more photos of other fun projects that I have been working on very soon. I hope that you have a wonderful day!

Lack of sleep wll make you forget lots of things.

This is our very first photo of our family of four.

I love my kids!

Cutest baby booties ever. Thanks Aunt Jessie!

4 days old. She is wearing the sweet hat that my friend Nichole got for her off of Etsy. This whole girl world is so much fun. I am pretty excited for when she gets just a little bit bigger because she is so tiny right now that hardly anything fits her.

5 days old. P sleeps next to my bedside in her cradle. (Well...sometimes she sleeps.) It is the same cradle that I slept in when I was a new baby and it was made by my father.

Headband made by my dear friend Keri in Michigan. Her Etsy shop is Guguberry.

6 days old. This is my absolute favorite thing about newborns. Kissing that sweet soft head of hers while she is curled up on my chest makes all of the sleepless nights totally worth it.

1 week old. I think that her little lips are my favorite thing about her face. So sweet. This is a hat made by my amazingly talented friend Cassidy. She knits the most beautiful things you have ever seen. I can't wait to show you the sweater she made for her. I put a headband on top of the hat that was made by my friend Lisa and her little sweater is from Miss Jessie Dewey. I have really great friends that love my little sweetie.

10 days old. She is lounging on her amazing quilt. I had it made by Holly at Binkwaffle. I cried when she gave me the finished product on account of how perfect it was and really wanted to keep it for myself but I decided to let Penelope have it.

I just love those cheeks!

12 days old. Lounging in front of the Christmas tree. It is a wonderful thing having a baby in December but the holiday season really crept up on me. I feel like I kind of missed out on a lot of Christmastime activities and decorating. But......I am pretty sure that she is totally worth it.

Headband from Etsy Lou and Lee.

Finally, our daughter Penelope Rose is here! I say finally but really she was right on time just like her big brother. Both of my children were born on their due dates without any kind of induction. Even the nurses that had been in labor and delivery for 13 years had never heard of anyone else doing that. I guess I have a timely cooker. ;)

These are some of my favorite photos from labor and delivery. The amazing Jessie Dewey (Imago Vita photographer as well as the owner and photographer of Jessie Leigh Photographry) is responsible for blessing me with these images. Words will never be able to express how much these photos mean to me. My labor was faster than any of us could have anticipated so she literally bolted into the delivery room seconds before the baby's arrival.

Fresh out of the oven.

I was so happy that they put her right on my chest after she was born. They couldn't do that with my son because they had to suction him right away.

Hello world!

Penelope Rose. 6lbs 5oz. Born on her due date December 4, 2011 8:33pm.

He is my special little helper.

Everyone should bake in their undies.

I walked into Keegan's preschool one day welcomed by their "I am thankful for...." board. There were just a few of the kid's projects up on the board. I definitely teared up over this. He is so excited for his baby sister to arrive and talks about it all of the time. ;) I am so thankful.

She will be here any day now. Here I am feeling very well rounded at 39 weeks.

Gosh, I love this kid! My heart is so full.

Earlier this year I was asked to participate in raising funds for the Tulsa Crisis Pregnancy Outreach (CPO) and gladly jumped on board. They held a banquet and an auction so, I donated a session knowing full well that the type of session that I would most likely end up doing would be a family. I was okay with that.

My husband and I have always had a heart for adoption and started looking into the whole process at the beginning of this year before I got pregnant. We can't wait for our baby girl to arrive in just a few weeks but we also look forward to the day when our family will grow through adoption. During our research we found out about CPO and were blown away by them. CPO's mission and the heart of their organization is nothing short of amazing.

The primary mission of Crisis Pregnancy Outreach is to provide love and assistance, free of charge, to young women who are experiencing a crisis pregnancy, and to their children as well. They accomplish everything through the hard work and dedication of volunteers so no one there recieves a salary.

We have several friends that have adopted or are in the process of adopting through CPO and this beautiful family is one of them. Travis, Valerie and Trenton...Thank you so much for spending the evening with me and being patient with my pregnant lack of agility and speed during your shoot. ;) It was such a pleasure getting to know you all a little bit better. I am very much out of practice when it comes to shooting families and kids so, I hope that you enjoy your non-family photographer taken family photographs.

Handsome little man.

Could their outfits be any better?

Nope.

I just love Trenton's smile.

It just so happened that a train came by in the middle of our shoot.

Nothing quite as cool as a little penny flattening.