Personal

Here are a few images that I have recently pulled out of the Izzy "Archive."  In my years of being a Mom,  I have developed the bad habit of taking lots and lost of photographs of my children and downloading them to my hard drive for storage.... yes, I guess they go to storage, right? I am sure there are Moms out there who would give me an "Amen!"   So with much determination I have started going through my storage, sorting, throwing away and remembering my crazy girl!   Here are a few from this last year.  

 

Adoption

My husband's sister, Amber Smart, and her family began the journey of fostering over two years ago.  I had never been around anyone who had fostered a child.   My family watched, learned, and admired their commitment to love a child that was not their own and after what seemed like a long period of time they were given the choice to adopt Dylan, and their family said,  "Yes!"

As an observer, I realize this journey to adopt is NOT easy.  The waiting, hopelessness, sleepless nights, doubt, frustrations, refining and questioning yourself as a parent,  I got to take a few photos of  Dylan's final adoption at the court house.  The stale courtroom, which had no air conditioning, was slightly suffocating.   The waiting, the paperwork, the waiting, another case... the Judge finally gets to Dylan.  His name is called and we all come up, together as a family.  The Judge smiles when he sees Dylan is surrounded by people that love him and suddenly I could take a full, real breath. I was fully reminded that when I get afraid or feel alone, I can ALWAYS come before God, He calls me His own even when I was lost, sinful and alone, He adopted me.  His love is always working,  redeeming us and turning the brokenness of this world into a beautiful reflection of Himself.  Its hard to walk and commit to the brokenness of this world but how awesome to share in His ending of the story.


Here are a few images I want to share.

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun....

Just wanted to share a few favorite images from a recent photo shoot that I did a couple of weeks ago.  Each photo tells such a great story and makes me smile. Enjoy.  

The Jacksons

We love hanging out with the Jackson's!  Marcy is a singer/songwriter and Bryan is an amazing guitar player.  Their son Bridger, who is 4 1/2 months old is his Daddy's twin!   It was nostalgic for me when editing these photographs because our family has had the opportunity to walk with them through many seasons of life.  Children are truly a gift, we are honored to get to be a part of this season as well.    I picked out some photos that I LOVE the most from the shoot and wanted to share. 

A photograph is usually looked at – seldom looked into." -Ansel Adams  

So true!!!   Yes, we live in the technology era were we are inundated with images on a daily basis.   When do we stop to really look at each other or the life happening around us?  It seems less and less these days but somehow I feel validated by an outstanding photographer who never lived in the technology age, who had a trained eye of seeing into a photograph.  We can create anything we want in a photograph these days and it takes more work to stop and really look at someones work and appreciate what goes into a great photograph.  I hope to continue to be inspired to look into others worlds, relate and be apart of it in some way with my camera even if I don't get to do it everyday and hope that others could give it more than a passing glance.  I hope the same spirit continues on for those aspiring or working photographers in the world and we don't lose our sense to REALLY see.  

Manning

Got the chance to do a shoot right before Christmas with an old friend of mine and her family.   I had done photographs of this family (Susan and her two children Jason & Leisha)  before there were husbands, wives or children.  I had worked with Leisha and her mother (Susan) years ago and with a new addition (Laura)  to the family they wanted new photos.   Leisha and her family had since moved to California,  so it was so sweet to spent time with them while they were here.  We love this family and they are so laid back, fun and full of life! This shoot is just another example of why I love photography! It is an great adventure to document the essence of relationships and others in a creative way.  I am always thankful when were invited into this journey! Its an honor!!  Enjoy!

Madison

Ok, a lady never reveals her age, right?  Needless to say a dear friend that I graduated High School with contacted me to see if I would take her daughters ---- pics.  Its your guess, no and it is not grade school. Needless to say, Maddie, her daughter was a "Rock Star, " but more importantly an amazing girl!  We hung out downtown and got to play! She will be heading to OU next year with her major and life plan in check!    I was honored to be apart and document this time and excited to see were her journey leads  her!

The Burgesses

Love this couple!  We have known Brent and Hannah for a long time, actually before they had kids!  So great to see their family grow and be invited to talk photographs of them in this season of life.  Brent is an awesome drummer and Hannah is super crafty and creative (www.plumtreepaper.com).  They have two precious children Aiden and Eleanor!   We had so much fun!  We hope to do it again!