Blog Catch-Up: Spring/Summer Family & Kiddo Sessions

Catch-Up post #1!

It’s been a while, you guys, and I have very much missed sharing with you all on a regular basis! Honestly, I’ve been trying to fit a full time job into three workdays/week for two years now and it shows. 😅 I just haven’t had much time to post here, but I really miss this. I miss sharing the toddler pictures that make me laugh, the family pictures that make me smile and unconsciously put my hand on my cheek, the sweet tiny newborns, and the high school seniors who look very grown up. So here is my effort to catch you all up on what has been happening over the past year. I tried my best to pull one or two from every session, but if I missed one I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to leave anyone out!

This post is all about family sessions from last spring and summer. So many fun memories were re-lived as I went through the pictures! I hope you can sense the joy and love that was such a big part of these sessions. ❤️

We're Moving To NC! Answers to some questions you may have:

If you saw my post on social media about our upcoming move, or if you’re just looking around and stumbled upon this info, then you know we’re planning to move to North Carolina around June, 2022! I figured there would be some popular questions from my clients and friends and this might be the best way to answer them. :) Of course, if you have other questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out! You can contact me via my social media pages, email, or through the contact form on my Contact page.

Will you still be doing photography?

So far that is my plan, though I know it will take a bit to build up my business there like I have here over the past ten years. I'm open to venturing out a little bit, especially at first, but I don't think I could ever put up my camera for good. I just love this job so much. ❤️ And since we aren't planning to move until around June, I'll still be doing photography as usual here in Union City until then!

Will you still be able to photograph our wedding? Will there be any added fees?

If you've got a wedding booked with me already, of course I'll be traveling back to shoot it! And there will definitely not be any fees added to your package for my travel.

What if I have a Grow-With-Me package with you?

A lot of my Grow-With-Me packages already booked will be finished by or around June, but if you'll still have some sessions left I'm planning to make a few trips back to TN between June and December of 2022 to get those in if at all possible. I don't intend to charge any extra travel fees, as my plan will be to get a few sessions in while I'm here each trip. If for some reason I can't get you in though, I have some local photographers I can recommend who can finish out your package!

What about Fall mini sessions? We come every year!

At this time I can't give a definite answer on those. I do plan to be in TN for a week in October, as I have two back-to-back weddings booked, so I may be able to do some weekdays and possibly a Sunday or two. But it's too early for me to know for sure!

What about Santa mini session?

I really have no idea about these! I know a few of you have already asked to be added to the list for Christmas 2022, and if I can make it work while we're home visiting family or something I definitely will. But if I can't, I'm sure Julie will be happy to add you to her list. :)

Can we come to you in North Carolina for a session?

Um HECK YES! We'll be within a few hours' drive of several vacation areas, so even if you're not coming to our future town, I'd love to get you in for some pictures while you're traveling! (We'll be a few hours from Knoxville, from Myrtle Beach, and lots of other fun places!)

How do you feel about moving?

Honestly I am not worried about liking the area or falling in love with North Carolina, as I'm sure it will be lovely. But I am already sad that we'll be a lot further from our family and friends than we are right now. We have such a sweet support system here, and my sister and I are best friends. Not having them five minutes away from us will be hard. However, I moved to Nashville for college and looking back it was absolutely the best thing for me at the time. I'm hoping in a few years I'll look back at this move and think the same thing. :) We watch a church online that is based there, so we are excited to actually go there in person! And of course my husband has a few connections since he travels there often for work.

Where exactly will you be moving?

We're looking at a few areas a little north of Charlotte, so we'll be about an 8.5 hour drive from Union City. Yay for being closer to an airport!

Right now those are all the questions I can think of that a lot of you may be wondering! I love you all and am so grateful for your encouragement and support. And like I said, we’re planning to move around June, so I’d be very happy to get you in for a session before then. :) Just shoot me a message or give me a call and we’ll get that set up!

xoxo

The Rest of 2020

Hey there!
It’s been a while.

I had great intentions of keeping up with my blog after our little James arrived last February, but after a few attempts to catch up and get back in the habit, life kept happening instead. So after a lot of thoughtful debating I’ve finally decided to do one big post with a few of my favorite pictures from each session, starting in the Spring where I had left off before. Maybe someday I’ll get back to blogging individual sessions, but for now, it’s catch up time. :)

I’ve spent time today picking out these images, and as I put together this post tonight it struck me that there was a whole pandemic going on while these pictures were being taken. There were extreme political headlines, riots, natural disasters, arguments on Facebook about anything and everything. There was a lot about 2020 that we would choose not to relive.

And yet, when I look at these pictures, I see toddlers running and giggling through grass fields without a care in the world. I see a bride whose wedding had to be rescheduled laughing so hard she had tears streaming down her face (because of something I said that came out wrong, which happens occasionally. 😅) I see a couple who had been told they would never be able to have children hold their newborn baby boy in their arms, along with their daughter who surprised them a few years ago. I see moms and dads making such a good life for their kids through a lot of hard work and a lot of love. I see grandparents who just became great-grandparents for the first time.

There was a lot about 2020 that we would choose not to relive. But man, there was so much good, too. So much happiness in these everyday moments. So much love and so many miracles.

Man, 2020. What a year. What amazing days you brought us. ❤️

Whew, I know that was quite a long post!
If you made it this far, a few things:

You may have noticed I didn’t share any senior pictures here, and that is because I did share a full blog post of each of my seniors from last year already. Also, I have shared on social media several pictures from each of the weddings that I’ve photographed, and though I hope to start blogging those again in the future, that is enough for me for now. :)

Also, if I did miss any sessions, please forgive me. It was not intentional, I tried to go through my calendar from last year and include a few pictures from each session that hadn’t been shared before. Feel free to shoot me an email if I missed someone, and I’ll try to correct any mistakes!