If you don’t know what this project is about, CLICK HERE to find out!  Otherwise, keep reading, enjoy the images and remember to click the link at the end of the post to continue to the next blog!  It’s a big ol’ circle of awesomeness.

So this week, I pulled out my camera while I was playing with the girls.  We had built a very extravagant (well, as extravagant as an old sheet and duct tape can possibly be…) castle in our living room.  We had an army of scantily clad Barbies battling dragons, dinosaurs and questionable characters in an effort to free my two warrior princesses.  And then life called.  It reminded me that my little girl isn’t as invincible as that warrior princess who just slayed the 130 foot “dragon.”  I decided to show photos of this, the painful side of our REAL life, instead of only sharing the good parts.  My little girl has asthma.  Nope, it’s not the end of the world.  Yep, we count our blessings each and everyday that it’s nothing worse than this.  I can tell you though, that at the first sniffle or wheeze, our stomachs flip and we wonder if her newest drug protocol will work.  We don’t wonder IF, but WHEN and how long we’ll be in the hospital.  It means that every cold will not simply pass in 5-7 days, but instead become a battle against pneumonia.  It means we watch our strong, amazing girl lie nearly lifeless as she struggles to breathe.  Typical for us, one of her allergies was triggered as we played and she had a flare up.  Typical for us, she balked when I told her we needed a breathing treatment NOW.  So here we are.  This is part of our regular life and I’m sharing it with you today.

A valiant effort on her part, but hiding did NOT get her out of a decent dose of Albuterol today.

My sweet little girl…hoping she grows out of this very soon.

Now please continue the circle BY CLICKING HERE to visit the uber talented Rachel of ARNA Photography

So, it’s been pointed out to me recently that my blog is looking more like a shrine to my children and less a place of business.  It’s cool.  People like to see actual CLIENTS and not my totally adorable, cherubic little darlings.  I get it.  I’m just really, really great at keeping up with the needs of my clients, not so great at making time for the blog.  I keep up with my Life Stories posts because I have a ring of photographers who would come after me with torches and pitch forks, should I miss a post and screw up the circle!  (Love you all!!  Don’t hurt me…)  Anyway, I was looking over wedding images shot this weekend with my dear friend Jenica of Lemon Drops Photography.  Love that chick.  I decided to edit a few favs.  Then, I decided I’d be totally crazy-like and actually POST them.  On my blog.  A place for CLIENT images!  (Be warned, my Life Stories series will still be posted on Friday…and it will contain multiple pics of my angels)

Now, a couple things about these.  #1, this beautiful bride kept saying over and over, “I feel so awkward.  I’m just not natural in front of a camera!”  I think nearly every bride I’ve shot has said this.  You know what, you are STUNNING on your wedding day.  Stunning!  Please don’t ever stress about being awkward or looking anything less than completely amazing.  It’s our job as photographers to shoot you in a manner that flatters you   #2, when I meet prospective brides, they thumb through images and say things like, “Well, my venue is not nearly as gorgeous as this!!”  I’m telling you right now that most of the images you see below were shot in the corner of a church basement.  Seriously.  #3, I obviously have some serious love for bridals because those are always the first images I edit!

Just before the holidays, I squeezed in ONE last engagement session.  Getting downtown the weekend before Christmas was a nightmare, parking was nearly a disaster, yet I wouldn’t have changed one thing about this session!  I love when a couple is so comfortably in love.  This will likely make you roll your eyes, but I’m totally going to say it: they were ADORABLE.  Bam.  Said it (and said it in caps, so you KNOW I mean it).  We started the session in the tiniest taqueria I’ve ever seen.  The best thing about the place was that it meant a lot to these two!  It was a place where their love was kindled.  Tacos with a side of life-long love and companionship?  Yes, please!  As we moved closer to the city, we were met with more crowds (and more parking issues), but it didn’t get us down.  We rocked this thing out together!  I’m very much looking forward to their wedding. They were completely amazing and fun and so quirky-cute that my heart was very happy at the end of our time together!  Enough babbling…here are a few from their session.  Enjoy!

If you’re not familiar with this project, just CLICK HERE to see what this is all about!  There will be a link at the end of my post.  Click it.  You’ll love it.  You will be brought through an entire circle of inspiring personal posts from photographers around the world

December 2011:

My girls share a very special bond.  We’re often asked if they’re “that way ALL the time or are they just on their best behavior!?”  The answer is almost always that they’re like this ALL the time.  They are BFF’s.  They share secrets.  They share giggles.  They share dance parties while they’re supposed to be napping…  They call each other by pet names and take care of each other better than I ever could’ve hoped.  They are hand holders–happy, sad, scared, timid; whatever the mood may be, they hold onto each other for strength and comfort (even while spying through their bedroom window on the kids at the park, which they often do!)  I’ve been fighting it for over a year now; partially because I hate change (and can usually find just about any reason to avoid it), partially because a year and a half ago we made sure that we only looked at homes with enough bedrooms to provide each of them with their own room…our girls really, really, really, REEEEEEEALLLLLLY wanna share a rooooom!!!! (in their words)  So today was a very exciting one in the Anderson household.  Mom agreed to combine two rooms into one (and…dance party ensued!)  I don’t think I’ve ever seen them so happy.  My littlest one didn’t have to retreat to her own room across the hall today when playtime ended and naptime began.  She happily climbed into her little bed, which now sits mere feet from her beloved sister, and had her big sis read her a book and tuck her in.  And while I still have my reservations about this life changing move, seeing them this happy has truly made my heart swell.

(And yes, my child does have a temporary tattoo on her forehead…I could’ve edited it out, but really, this is our life!  Dirty and imperfect as it may be, this is our beautiful life <3

And now…the next blog up in this circle is an AMAZINGLY talented friend of mine, Laura of Laura Morita Photography.  Love her to pieces and love her fresh and very creative perspective even more (if that’s even possible)  Click!!  Click, already!

The story of us, November, 2011:
If you don’t remember what this project is all about, CLICK HERE for a refresher!  Now, enjoy!

As I readied the house for guests this week, I was reminded again of how much there is to learn about life each and every day.  My teachers?  My daughters.  I ripped through the house like a tornado; tasks tediously completed and checked off the to-do list one-by-one.  When it came time for pulling out the Christmas decorations, their little faces lit up.  I saw it as one more thing on my list of to-do’s, but to them, it’s magic.  It’s a feeling.  It’s a memory.  So while my shopping list sat neglected on the counter, we sat together and I told them stories about how we acquired each ornament, each stocking, each chubby Santa and every cheesy snowman tchotchke   I haven’t put out our Christmas village in years, but my 5 year old was so enamored, I let her set it up herself.  I loved watching her carefully unwrap and purposefully pose each little person.  And when she was done, I tried to keep from rearranging the pieces myself and admired the beauty that she created herself.  I remember setting it up with my mom when I was her age.  I remember feeling like Christmas was magical and amazing and full of love.  Later, I caught my daughter daydreaming and when I asked her what she was thinking about, she told me she was watching to see if the rain would magically turn into snow so we could sit and have hot chocolate together instead of going for groceries.  We live in Western Washington.  Snow is not all that common here this time of year.  We had our hot chocolate though and swapped stories and made memories together that afternoon. I hope she felt as special to me as she is

Please remember to click the link at the end of this post to follow the chain of photographers this month! You’ll be linked to amazing blog posts by other photographers who are part of this project!

Now, please continue the chain by clicking into the next photographer’s blog HERE!  Amy of 3 Peas Photography has a special post this month!

I first showcased this couple in a blog post for their engagement session nearly a year ago.  They were beautiful together.  So loving, so playful, but their words and actions so meaningful.  I was very excited about shooting their wedding.  I knew it would be FANTASTIC!

The venue: The Liberty Theater in historic Astoria, OR

The couple: Amazing.  In love. Passionate.  Everything a newly married couple should be.  Honestly, I can’t say enough about the two of them.  Admittedly, I’m a hopeless romantic, though I like to believe that I can read people very well!  The way these two looked at each other, the way they seemed to read each others’ thoughts and answer before fully knowing the question, the way they calmed each other with their presence; I see these things and know that these were two souls who were meant for each other.

The photos: Finally, right?  Haha!  I tend to talk too much (or so my friends tell me…)  So here they are.  I think the true love this couple shares will be more than evident here!

I think the title says it all. I love seniors.  I frickin’, frackin’ LOVE shooting seniors!!  I love the on-site outfit consultations (‘girl, that looks FAB.U.LOUS!!’), I love posing and molding them and coaxing out expressions they didn’t know they could give.  I love that these young adults are full of promise and hope and energy.  *Sigh*  Love senior sessions.  The session I’m showcasing below is one of my favorite types of senior sessions: BFF sessions.  Only a good friend will know when your hair is “doing that thing you like, really, really HATE.”  Only a good friend would say, “WAIT!  She needs my boots with that outfit!” and rip them off her own feet to create the perfect outfit for her friend.  I love all the laughter, the jokes and the memories made at these sessions!  SO, without babbling on any further, check out the stunning young women I got to work with recently…

I love families who love to play!  Chase, fly, run, tickle…it’s all fabulous in my book.  With two very little boys, I’m positive there is a LOT of play time in this household!  I truly enjoyed meeting (and playing with!) this adorable family.  Just a quick post today…lots to do in order to stay on top of things during this very busy time of year!  Enjoy your little peek at this beautiful family!

I’m sure you’ve seen it, especially if you blog stalk sometime around January…the 365 day project.  Then there’s the 52 week project for those of us who find the 365 a wee bit ambitious!  The projects usually begin as a resolution to take more photos for ourselves and to continue our journey toward knowledge and creative well-being.  A few weeks into the project and there’s a day missed here, a week there and then busy season hits and well, you know the rest of the story!  Add me to the list of well-meaning photographers with intentions that far surpass the amount of time these projects require!  I was at a birthday party last week and chatting with a friend.  She was talking about all the snapshots she takes of her darling little girl.  Once again, it reminded me that I never want this to be just a job.  I don’t ever want photography to be something I shrug off in the front entry and pick up on my way back out.  I need to kick it in gear and make something of all those little things that add up to so much.  So here we go.  A 12 month project.  YES.  A 12 MONTH project!  I am committed to the fullest degree.  Oh, I’m not in this alone, not by any means…  I’ve joined a group of other amazing photographers who have also accepted this challenge!  We’ve committed to snapshot/lifestyle images of our own families and lives.  Each photographer will have their Story, which will be posted on the last Friday of every month.  The Story will be interpreted differently by each of us: one continuous story, a monthly theme, who knows!  That’s part of the fun now, isn’t it?  Each photographer will fill in the blank, “The Story of _______.”  At the end of this post is a link to another photographer who has also participated and she’ll be linking to someone else.  It’s a whole big circle of stories in pictures.  Click through and enjoy a small view into the lives of my friends, as seen through their cameras

Being a lifestyle project, what you’ll be seeing here is LIFE.  They are moments where I will pick up my camera and capture life as it’s happening, here in my home, a field trip, vacation, whatever, but definitely not set-up or planned.  This is US.  Honest and open!  If you see dirty dishes in my sink, so be it.  That’s life!  Here you’ll see us, our life, our love for each other and a little bit of what goes on behind our doors   Remember that dream where you’re standing in front of class in your underwear?  That’s close to how I feel right now!  Whew.  Okay.  Today (and just about EVERY DAY in our home), there are dress-up parties and princess parades!  So today, this is “us!”

S0, here is my story.  The story of US.  October 2011, Part 1:

And now please, take a look at this incredibly talented photography out of Colorado, Bree of Breeze Photography!  CLICK HERE TO VIEW BREE’S STORY!

New babies are always big news, but there’s something a little different about your first pregnancy.  You’re excited, but you have NO idea what you’re in for yet   I love meeting couples who are expecting their first little one.  The anticipation of parenthood is so absolutely and amazingly beautiful.  I’ve known these parents-to-be for many years now.  My husband and I were so happy when we first heard they were expecting, but I was beside myself when they asked me to photograph them.  To say that they were BOTH glowing would be an understatement.  Watching them together and the way they already speak to and of that little one, it’s obvious to me what wonderful parents they will be.

Some of you have already seen a few of these on my Facebook page (yes, believe it or not, I’m a wee bit behind in my blogging…), so, sorry for the repeats but there are a few more in here that you haven’t seen yet.  Promise. Enjoy!