Oh right…I have a blog.
Yes, I know…it has been a looooong time since I have posted anything new. I apologize! We are still waiting to move into our new home, so our office life right now is less than desirable. I hope to catch up with some of my favorite sessions from the past few months, but I’ll start you out with my most recent!
You may remember the sweet Evans family from here…it was so fun to catch up with this wonderful family and to see how quickly these cute boys have grown!!
These boys were so stoked about the Avengers! It was so darn cute!
Brayden just hammed it up for me pretty much the entire time. What a charmer!
Hi…I’m Chase, and my cuteness is ridiculous.
And helloooooo beautiful Momma and Daddy!
There is just so peaceful and lovely about these two.
Here’s something fun…This was two years ago…
….and this is now!
To conclude…this family rocks. There is something about their joy that just makes me smile.
Thank you Evans for being so wonderful!…sessions like these just make me love my job so much!
As you all know, the rebuilding of Joplin tugs on our hearts. We started the Joplin Smile project shortly after the devastating tornado last May and have been so blessed to see how lives were touched by this outreach. From August through October our team of 27 photographers did family portrait sessions for 132 families! How amazing is that!! We can’t thank all of the spectacular photographers enough for the hard work and tears that they have put out there for these folks. If you would like to see some of these beautiful sessions and hear some of the stories, visit the Joplin Smile facebook page.
Shortly after Joplin Smile wrapped up, I received a phone call from one of the gals with Extreme Makeover: Home Edition who extended an invitation to us and our team to take photos of the houses that they were building for Joplin families. We were ecstatic!! We didn’t quite know the details of how many photographers would be needed or how many houses were being built but we knew that we absolutely had to be a part of it. There was so much devastation in Joplin, and this would such a wonderful step in the healing process for this town.
Here is a little peek into the beautiful houses for the amazing families that were chosen.
Seven houses in seven days and 6 photographers = a ton of fun!
Check out the rest of the houses at our talented friends’ blogs! Love Tree Studios (the lovely gals pictured with me above!) Catherine Rhodes Photography, and Jennifer Seris Photography
Here’s a view outside of one of the beautiful backyards. So much was done for Joplin through this amazing project, but as you can see, there is still so much more to be done! Continue keeping these folks in your prayers as they rebuild their beloved city.
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I had a wonderful time on a beautiful evening with a seriously adorable couple. Jealous? You should be.
Andrew and Shawna will be gaining the titles of Mommy and Daddy in a few short months, and wanted to have some portraits taken of the two of them, before baby comes along…how sweet is that!? Also fun, they’re not finding out the gender of their baby…so we spent much of the session time discussing whether they would be buying pink or blue in their near future. I admire your patience for sure!!
I’m so excited for you…you’ll be great parents!
Check out the looks that they are giving each other throughout this session…I didn’t tell them to do that. That’s true love, folks.
Thank you so much for spending the lovely evening with me! You guys are not only stinking adorable, but a wonderful couple!
I’m so glad to have been able to get to know you better…and I can’t wait to hear more about your little family as it grows!
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Things are super super busy around here, but we want to be sure to get in as many of our lovely clients as we can before it gets too cold!
Since the weather is cooperating and the leaves are gorgeous, we’ve decided to be a little crazy and do a special for our Facebook fans!
Hop on over to our Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/FantasmaImagery and take advantage of this deal!
There is very limited availability, and you will want to get in on it!
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Our dear friends, the Kerns have added to their family!! Meet Jackson Patrick Kern who was born on August 18th at a whopping 10lbs and 13oz!! (Kim, you are amazing!)
What a sweetie.
Ah! The light in their dining room was just dreamy.
John Bubby (as my daughter calls him) is such a sweet big brother!
While baby Jackson caught up on his beauty sleep, John Bubby and I went outside to play a bit (and take some pictures to celebrate his recent birthday). What a bundle of fun this kid is!
Two things: They had written “No Girls Allowed” on their playhouse, and I wasn’t about to break that rule…and yes, I am that hilarious
It wouldn’t be a complete day for this boy without playing ball. He’s a natural for sure.
LOVE this picture. He looks like such a big boy!
Oh Kerns, you are fabulous. Thank you for letting me hang out with your kiddos for the afternoon. I’m so glad that we’re friends!
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I have been looking forward to writing this blog post for several years now…what makes this one so special? It is infinitely special because with much joy, I get to introduce you to Mae Brook Burgess!!! Remember my friends Mike and Danielle from this post…since then they have been blessed to adopt this sweet little lovey. I get so teary looking at these pictures. We have been praying for this little gal for a long time.
Doesn’t this family look so perfect?! Maeby was definitely made to be a Burgess.
Look at that hair! She’s so gorgeous!
It’s seriously so amazing to see these guys as parents. They were pretty stinking awesome before…this addition to their resume just makes them even more amazing.
OH I just can’t handle how cute she is!
“Good Looks Run in the Family”…so awesome.
Guys, I just can’t tell you how much you have blessed us over the years, and I’m SO excited to see you blessed now by this sweet Maeby baby. She was born to be a Burgess and you were made to be her parents…*tear*.
We love you guys, and can’t wait to see how much fun you’ll have with this joyful little gal.
Now let’s see if I can recover from the tears and goosebumps that I got looking through these pictures of you guys…sheesh.
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I have had the McDanels on my calendar for a while now and for one reason or another we kept having to reschedule, so it is with much joy that I can now introduce you to this sweet family!
This little lady is just so stinking sweet. Don’t you just love those curls! And those eyes…oh my!
We had lots and lots of fun playing on the playground! Even though it was wet from the off and on rain showers that we had that day, she still had a blast!
Sweet mama love…
There’s not much sweeter than a Daddy who adores his little princess.
And it wouldn’t be complete without a little picture of Mama and Daddy. What a lovely couple!
Thank you McDanel family for hanging in there through all of the craziness! You have a wonderful family!
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I have some of the CUTEST nieces and nephews on the planet. We were due for another photo update for them, so we spent an evening playing in the gorgeous evening sunlight.
Here’s Vince, the amazing little boy that started it all. I will always melt for my Vinnie.
Geesh…my Holly Pop is such a beauty. This gal has personality and a half. Never change, my love.
Here’s sweet tiny Tessa, the latest edition to the family. She’s such a doll baby.
And I guess their parents are pretty cool too. Many know this, but I’ll go ahead and tell the story again. Heather is my sister. Aaron is my husband’s brother. That’s right. Sisters married brothers. No, it’s not incest…no, it’s not weird. It’s just makes family gatherings more convenient and awesome.
Yay! I’m so glad that I have new pics for my walls…oh and for theirs too.
Thanks for allowing me to do my thing. I love you guys!
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I saw a survivor of the May 22nd Joplin tornado on the news a while back, who said that the day of the tornado, their life was paused. Nothing could take place because of the devastation. The thing that stuck with me was when she said that she was so desperate to hit the play button and get back to life; to move on and put the tornado in the past.
That’s what we’re trying to help the Joplin residents achieve with Joplin Smile!
Joplin Smile! is made up of large group of professional photographers from the Kansas City, Columbia, Springfield, Branson, and Joplin areas who have banded together to donate portrait sessions for the families who have lost everything. These are 100% free photo sessions that include a CD of high resolution images from their time with these incredible photographers. There’s no catch, Joplin residents won’t be asked to spend a dime on these portraits. The available session dates and times span from August 1st through October 30th, so everyone can choose dates that work best for them.
If you know anyone who was affected by the tornado, please send them to the Joplin Smile! website at www.joplinsmile.com. The photographers on our team (who you can see on the website) are set on helping these individuals, couples, and families move forward by creating new memories, and bring some joy back into their lives.
You can be a part of our team by spreading the word! Tell everyone you know about our effort and become a fan of Joplin Smile! on our Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/JoplinSmile. If you want to help out financially, you can purchase a Joplin Smile! T-Shirt on our website.
Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we reach out to these folks. They have been through so much! Even though we can’t give back what they had, we hope to provide encouragement that will help them take the next step to restoration.
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You may remember this cute family from a session last year, well they have expanded! After much waiting, they welcomed sweet Brecken into their family at the end of last year! What a joy this kiddo is!
They adopted both boys from Russia, so they wanted to represent both countries…how cool is that!?
It is so evident that this family was made whole with the addition of this cutie. These boys were made to be Simmons!
I love this image. He was a typical one year old during our time together, and just wanted to run run run.
Congratulations, Simmons family! You are so blessed!
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