I’ve been taking Autumn’s pictures for … honestly – I’ve lost count how many years!

I always look forward to seeing her family every year – and THIS year – I would be seeing her TWICE!

I CANNOT stop laughing at that picture! PURE JOY!

ISN’T HE JUST ADORABLE!!

OH MY HEART!!!!

Autumn – thank you for asking me to capture your beautiful moments!

Those boys – they are certainly special!

It was a busy BUSY fall! I have about 53 sessions waiting to be blogged – and since sessions are slowing down – I JUST started preparing them!

We spent A LOT of time with my parents this fall – at the farm!

Enoch ADORES my dad and wakes up at 5 AM to sneak downstairs and cuddle with him! And ask to go feed the cows. And ask about going on a bear hunt.

And one September day – they went on a bear hunt – we just waited until a more reasonable hour!

THAT SWEET LITTLE FACE! I miss his curls SO VERY MUCH!

They didn’t find a bear – but we did see a deer and helped Pa get his hunting paths ready!

As I type this – it’s cold and snowy – and I am MISSING THOSE COLORS and the warm – longer days!

My cousin Vanessa has the sweetest little baby! She had some breastmilk that didn’t make it into the freezer in time and she wanted to have a milk-bath session with her baby! We couldn’t find a tub to put outside to fit both of them – but we did find a metal tub for *K*!

OH MY HEART!

I ADORE THOSE SHOTS!

The vision in my head was EXACTLY what I shot!

Vanessa is such a WONDERFUL momma to her little PUMPKIN!!

I don’t typically have my kids with me while I shoot a session – but since this was family – Fitzy was there – and wanted to take some pictures too!

He stood where I stood and shot those ones! He did such a GREAT job!

But those shots – and the next ones – those are all HIS eye!

Saying yes more – to things that I can say yes to. Yes – you can help paint the house. Yes – you can cook dinner. Yes – you can clean the bathroom. Yes – you can do laundry. Yes – you can take some pictures. The confidence on his face SHONE SO BRIGHT!

Empower your kids – they can do AMAZING things – when you say YES!

Over the Labor Day weekend – my sister was visiting and we made a morning trip to see our Grandma – or as the littles call her – GGG – triple G!

THAT FACE!

If you need matching leggings with your littles – or your sister – or your mom – make sure to check out my sister’s LuLaRoe inventory!

FIRST GRADE! I have a child in FIRST GRADE!

I cannot believe that nearly 6 years of crazy long sleepless nights have come to THIS MOMENT!

He likes to remind me that his preferred name is Fitzy. He’s only Fitzgerald when he’s in trouble.

He still loves the color orange – but he likes to be silly – so he wrote orangey!

His favorite movie has changed each year – this year – Journey to the Center of the Earth – the cheesy made-for-television one!

His favorite food remains pizza – although he loves ALL THE FOOD!

He has wanted to be a chef since he was TWO! I believe that he will be one someday!

This year – he will be at school EVERY WEEKDAY – ALL DAY! Last year – he only went to Kindergarten 3 days a week – and I must say – I am missing having his sweet soul home with Enoch and I! BUT – he LOVES school! He loves reading his Bible verses!

He loves packing his lunch and packing his book-bag. He is a rule follower and prefers to do his homework NOW instead of later. He loves his friends and loves his teacher – a teacher that his dad had in grade-school!

Fitzy – you are kind. You are smart. You are BEAUTIFUL! YOU WILL CHANGE THE WORLD!

The week before school started – Missy and I took our boys to Penn’s Cave and Wildlife Park!

Enoch doesn’t understand that cows aren’t like dogs. You can’t just walk in the fence and pet them. Because with HIS cow – you can!

I don’t typically take my camera on our excursions – but I am SO HAPPY I did!

LOOK AT THAT HAIR! THOSE CURLS! THAT FACE! I CAN’T EVEN DEAL WITH HIM!

I told the boys that we were going on a journey. TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH!

MOM! I FINALLY GET TO SEE WHAT THE INSIDE OF THE EARTH LOOKS LIKE! WHOA! WOW! SO COOL!

I learned something new about Missy that day – she’s not really fond of enclosed spaces! WHO KNEW!

Aiden didn’t seem too thrilled either!

THE WONDER! I love those shots!

SO BEAUTIFUL!

Those little hands and those tiny rocks! The moments I don’t want to forget!

If you haven’t been to Penn’s Cave – you should go! We had a GREAT day!

I’m sure you know by now that Missy is my bestest friend. And I happen to also be her photographer – and that’s how it started out – I was her photographer and she read my blog. And then Jared and I lost our first baby and they were going through a loss and then another – and we connected about that. And our great dane puppies. We had a puppy play-date long before we had kids to get together!

I’ve known her for 7 years! But we’ve only gotten REALLY close the last 4!

Missy is almost completely surrounded by BOYS! They have one girl pup – Bailey – but their other 5 family members – ALL BOYS!

Jager is Missy’s BABY – he’s an old baby – but he helped her heart heal after losing her babies – much like Schrute helped us heal after losing our first baby Enoch!

Missy wanted some pictures with him – because he’s certainly aging – and it’s hard to say goodbye to the puppy that helped you heal!

And then there’s this face. This crazy happy lovely face!

LOOK AT THOSE BLUE EYES!

I LOVE THOSE SHOTS!!

Their story is not my story to tell. BUT LET ME TELL YOU – it’s an AMAZINGLY BEAUTIFUL ONE!

And maybe someday – you’ll be able to read about it here!

Or on our marriage blog – the one that has taken a backseat in life – but someday! SOMEDAY!

I LOVE THOSE FACES!

And our yearly picture with the big brother carrying his little brother on his shoulders.

SERIOUSLY!

I LOVE THOSE SHOTS!

That moment – that was a candid moment. I turned around to check on them to see THIS! SO VERY SWEET!

MISSY – I LOVE YOU – you know that. BUT I JUST WANTED TO WRITE IT DOWN!

Thank you for your friendship and for asking me to create these memories for your family!

Shalane nominated Evelyn and her family AGAIN for my yearly BEAUTIFUL contest!

This year was THEIR year! They WON!

I met Evelyn first at MOPS and then again because our kids go to school together – so we see each other often enough! Her smile and positivity is absolutely INFECTIOUS! When they pulled up – their boys got out of the car and were really NOT very excited about the idea of family photos – they’ve NEVER had ANY taken professionally!

Aren’t they just ADORABLE! This MIGHT be my FAVORITE shot of the evening! SO SWEET!! I LOVE LOVE LOVE those shots!

At the end of our session – the boys said – well – that wasn’t TOO bad!

That’s a WIN in my book! Evelyn – thank you SO much for meeting me!

And Shalane – thank YOU for submitting Evelyn and her family!

My friend Ericka is AWESOME! She’s a single momma and she LOVES LOVES LOVES her girls!

She asked if I could possibly watch her squishy baby – and the boys said YES! NOW! LET’S KEEP HER! FOREVER!

I mean – who says NO to that SWEET FACE!

She is quite possibly the happiest baby I’ve EVER MET! And I had two HAPPY babies!

That morning – Enoch got bit by a bug – next to his eye – almost IN his eye – and he looked like someone beat him up!

Fitzy was doing dishes for me while I was helping E hold his favorite little baby!

She will be my squishy. She is SO VERY SQUISHY!

He absolutely ADORES her! It makes me sad that he doesn’t have a little baby – but not sad enough to HAVE another little baby!

We FACETIME my sister often – almost everyday – especially when we have fat babies to show her!

LOOK AT THAT CHUBBY GOODNESS!!

I LOVE CHUBBY BABIES!!

After our little baby left – it rained and rained – and the boys JUMPED at the chance to play in it!

I LOVE THOSE SHOTS!!

His little eye – I was hoping it would get better – but it only got worse!

I ended up taking him to the doctor the next morning because his eye was swollen shut! She gave him a shot of antibiotic just in case his eye was infected! Poor guy – he was NOT happy about that! But by Sunday – the bite had gone down and he was back to normal by Tuesday morning! He looked in the mirror and said – my eye isn’t squished anymore! I CAN SEE!!

We spent the afternoon picking blueberries with GG!

And it’s been FOREVER since I’ve taken pictures of Jack – so we had a mini-mini photo session!

That G – she’s the ABSOLUTE BEST!

I didn’t intend on bringing my camera to the fair – but I was going straight home afterward – and couldn’t risk leaving it in the car!

I’m really happy that I HAD to bring it with me!

I LOVE THOSE SHOTS!

THAT CRAZY ENOCH GUY!

G is the crowd favorite!

The boys love taking pictures of me – and I LOVE seeing how they see me!

Make sure to spend quality time with the people you love. Make sure to take pictures. Make sure YOU are in the pictures!