Tutu Cute!

Something just for fun :)

Thank You Aunt Jessie!

Charlie's Aunt Jessica (Jennifer's sister) just got back from a 38 day field research trip on a boat in the North Atlantic and Artic Ocean for N.O.A.A. She brought Charlie this cute hat back from Iceland so we had to show it off!

The Christening

Jennifer's family so graciously held Charlie's Christening at their house and Mark's nephew Jason performed the Blessing there as well. The ceremony could not have been more perfect and poignant. The Blessing was so touching and was all that we hoped for. It meant the world to us to have all of Charlie's family there to share such a beautiful moment in her life. We are truly lucky and blessed to be surrounded by such wonderful people! We can't thank you enough for all the love, support and friendship!

Five Month Session

Here is some favorite pictures from Charlie's 5 month session this April 21st. The brown knit outfit was a gift from brother Josh and the teddy bear is her favorite from grandma. The bracelet she is wearing was also a gift from our clients the Bohme family. Thank you so much for such a sweet gift! She will have that forever in her keepsake box.

Christening Photos!

Here is Charlie in her Christening gown. This gown was made by her great aunt in Norway. My sister and I also wore the gown for our Christenings. It is fun to carry on family traditions across generations and continents. It really makes you realize that you are part of a much bigger picture. The close-up of Charlie's face is my favorite. I love that sweet reflective look that she gets.

We are also very happy to have Mark's nephew Jason, who is a minister at Beavercreek Church of the Nazarene, perform the services for us tying in Mark's side of the family as well.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Charlie's first Valentines Day at just three monthes old! She is certainly a very sweet Valentine and we are glad that she is ours!

Charlie and Daddy

Charlie was her usual happy self this morning and I wanted to photograph her in Mark's arms while she was still in her good mood. People probably wonder why we always have a lot of photographs of people's hands whether its at weddings or portrait sessions. So here is my best attempt to tell you why hands are important to me...

I don't have many memories of my grandfather Victor, but as a small child I always remembered his hands which just absolutely seemed gigantic to me. He was six and a half feet tall and was a mason who worked with his hands his whole life. They were always rough from work, but they were also the most gentle hands too. He always held my small hand in his and would even lift me into the air with me sitting in the palm of one of his hands. For some reason his hands are forever etched into my memory. My father's own hands are very much the same in my memory and I'll never forget his either.

Years ago I had photographed the hands of a bridesmaid at a wedding holding her husband's hands. They never purchased the photograph and had only seen the photograph once. About a year after the photograph was taken she came back to the studio to tell me that her husband had died that week of an embolism right in their driveway. As she prepared for his funeral, she couldn't stop thinking about the photograph I had done of her holding her husband's hand. I talked with her at the studio and she told me that at the time she thought it was a odd picture. 'Why would anyone want a picture of just hands?' Now all of a sudden that photograph meant the world to her.

I hope Charlie has this same love of hands and always remembers her father's hands. The hands that are always their to support her, hold her and soothe her. It's one of those silly simple things in life that we tend to overlook, but when noticed can mean the world to you.