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Here are some favorites from an on-location newbie photo shoot of a sweet little guy named Layden.  Omaha has some precious little ones, too!!  Enjoy!  (Thanks, Amanda!)

And finally, the last batch!

That's me in the sunglasses! Hi me!

Me and Erin!!

More of the rockin’ wedding . . .

Wow, it’s been a long long time since I was last here.  So much has happened since then.  I’ve kind of been on a little break . . .

My husband got a new job and we moved across several states to Nebraska. . . the great city of Omaha.  We love it here and he loves his job.  I am staying at home with my kids and enjoying every second.  Living in an apartment for 6 months with the majority of our things in another state isn’t all that fun, but we’ve definitely made the most of it.  I can’t complain.  I have a beautiful life with a beautiful family.  Things could be much worse.  And thankfully, in the dead of winter, we sold our house after being on the market 6 months.  God is good.  He really is.  And there’s lots to be happy and thankful for.  Some sprinkles of fun and excitement have popped up over our 6 months here during this new journey, one especially that recently gave me an experience of a lifetime . . .

I went with one of my best friends to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico to . . .shoot a destination wedding! Who ever said I was taking a “break”?!  HA!

This is completely cliche, but it was the most amazing time ever!  The bride and groom were so incredibly fun and beautiful.  I couldn’t have asked for a more perfect couple or a more perfect day.  Really, truly.

I wasn’t just there one day or a couple, but 7 days with 2 days of travel.  I got to know the bride, groom, their friends and family quite well.  It was such a fabulous time and a textbook perfect experience for me as a photographer.  It worked out so well and I loved it so much that I’m ready to take on more!  Brides, grooms, sand and sun…I’m all yours! 2 destination weddings down, many more to come, right?!

I took so many pictures and want to share so many of them with you, that this may be a post that I share over several days.  So more posts to come after this one . . . keep an eye on the blog!

Thanks, again, Jenny, Jordan and to my dear friend, Erin, who got me into this . . .and I’m so thankful she did!   We rocked it!!!  Yay us!!!!

One of the best things about being a photographer is getting to know families well and seeing the children grow up.  Granted, I have known this family for a very long time (their momma and daddy I’ve known since grade school), but I still don’t see them or the kids all that often.  And usually only when they call for me to photograph them.  I love those calls!  For many of my friends and return clients, I don’t see the family until our next sitting, so each time it’s like a mini reunion with lots of catching up in between clicks of the camera.  For Madeline, Blake and Emma, it was one of those reunions.  I was welcomed with open arms when I arrived to our location.  I got big hugs and huge smiles from all (I think the last time I saw them and photographed them was at least a year ago and maybe longer?).  It’s the hugs and smiles that make photography so worth it.  Madeline couldn’t wait to tell me about Tennessee, her new friends, and how much she loves getting her picture taken.  For one location we had to jump in the car and drive a bit.  I never imagined I’d have two tag-a-longs after they turned to their mom and said “can I go with Valerie?”.  (My thoughts, “of course!!” and secretly it made me feel so very special.) And while in the car, Madeline asked me all about ME.  How many kids do that? (Not many!)  She’s a sweetheart.  It still makes me smile thinking about it.  I love these little people so much.  It’s been so great over the years having this excuse (family photos) to get to be with Jen, Jason and their amazing little people

So, thank you, Jen.  I had a fantastic time.  The kids really truly made my day.  And seeing you and catching up, Jen, it was really great.  Thanks for your love and support, as always.  And thanks for bringing Jess, Ella and your mom so I could see them for a bit as well.  (Wish we had had more time, Jess and Julie!  Maybe next time.)  Love and hugs to Jason who couldn’t make it and even bigger hugs to you and the kids as you continue your journey in Tennessee and go down the amazing road that God has put you on.  Love you!

And now, may I introduce a beautiful little sweet pea whom I had the honor of seeing the birth of…Logan Michael.

Logan, you have a special place in my heart! So do you, Jami xo

I never dreamed I’d become so close to a client in such a short amount of time whom I only met a few months ago.  Jami contacted me earlier in the year to do her maternity photos and to photograph her baby shower.  From that point on, she booked me for her wedding and also her birth.  THE BIRTH OF HER BABY!

I scream that because how could it not be exciting to have the opportunity to photograph a baby being born? It makes you want to scream it to the world!  The best part of all, though, was that it was a scheduled c-section and it had been approved for me to actually be in the surgical room to photograph it ALL.  Wow.  How often does that opportunity arise?!  Not often.  (Thank you, Dr. Anderson, and St. Mary’s staff!)

For me it was extra special.  I had 3 c-sections myself.  The first was completely emergency in which I had a tube down my throat to breath and my husband wasn’t in the room for the birth.  It was very scary.  My 2nd birth was to be a VBAC and it ended up in c-section after 31 hours of labor.  Photography was the last thing on my mind.  My 3rd was a dream compared to the other two.  It was a planned c-section and I had a photographer on call.  While she wasn’t able to be in the surgical room with us, she was there for everything else (thank you again, Kellie, soooo much!).  It was one step closer to having the photographs of my own children being born.  So getting to photograph Jami’s birth gave me another chance to be more a part of a birth than I ever had been.  Not only did I get to be in the room, but I got to see it all happening.  I saw it all from the other side of the sheet and it was the most amazing gift Jami and her husband could ever give me.  But of course the biggest gift of all, not the event itself but the star of the show, gorgeous and healthy Logan.

I’m so happy I can share with you what I got to document that early morning in June.  Jami gave me the okay to show these to you and so I hope you can immerse yourself into the moment as much as you can.  Such a very special intimate moment in which Jami and Michael are allowing you to see through the eyes of me… something not many are allowed to see.

Thank you, Jami and Michael, for such an incredible experience and for allowing me to be a part of such a very special moment in time, one that can never be recreated.

{ Warning: this is a birth…there is some blood and fluids in these photos. }

Dr. Michael Hallam & Jami Hallam before the birth of their son

A huge welcome into this world to sweet little Connor, just 12 days old.  I first met Connor when he was inside his mommy’s tummy when I took his big sister, Catelyn’s, pictures at Easter.  I knew he would be cute but never knew he’d be soooo sweet.  I love sweet little baby boys, but I’m biased, too, since I have two of them.    Thank you, Amanda, for sharing your son with me.  Thank you for sharing so much of yourself as well…it’s always so fun to meet new people you click with and have so much in common with.  Hope you like Connor’s first portraits!

I’ve had some exciting things happening which has made me so busy that some days I wake up not sure how to take on the day, but somehow, by the grace of God, I always do.

This week my husband was traveling, yet again, (he travels 2-3 times a month with his job) and so I drove into 24-7 mommy mode.  I love being in mommy mode round-the-clock but sometimes it’s frightening because with a full plate of things piling up, once Neil is back, I somehow have to uncover all those things very tediously.  The uncovering forces me to work work work and that can be very hard because I feel like my kids get put on the back burner and that’s one thing I strive very hard not to do.  They are my world.  Of course photography is my world, too, so they are more like my…universe

One thing I do when I get so busy is put off editing my personal photos.  I put them into folders on my computer and external hard drives and rarely ever edit them so then of course I rarely ever print them!  Back in February my dear brother-in-law and sister-in-law visited from Oklahoma with their 2 beautiful girls (my beautiful nieces) and I did some pictures of them and my kids in the studio.  I’ve been slowly digging through those pictures, much quickly than I ever do any other personal photos, and it was when I saw these photos of my children that I was reminded how innocent, beautiful, amazing they are.  That it is they, special angels on Earth, given to me by God to raise and smother with love.  I look at these photos and my heart melts onto the ground and all over them.  I love them so much for their love for each other and for the little people they are becoming.  It’s when I am reminded by a moment captured in time of these beautiful people that I remember what life is truly all about.  Not the busyness, not the overworking, not the competitiveness, not the recognition and not even the money, but the children…my children. My family. I ran across a quote not long ago and it sums it up beautifully…

“A happy family is but an earlier heaven.”. - George Bernard Shaw

I love my work and what I create behind the lens and in front of the computer screen, but a million times more, I love my children. Sometimes we need to be reminded of what’s most important.  It can be taken away so quickly.  And trust me, it’s when it’s taken away, that we want it back most.

Happy Father’s Day to my husband who has helped create these little people I love so much and who has become an even more amazing husband and friend to me each and every day.  Look at the family God has given us.  Wow….

Much love ~ Valerie