Have you ever seen a chair at an antique store or a garage sale that just by looking at it you know it was loved? A big soft chair with wonderfully squishy arms; the kind of chair that is so comfortable that upon sitting in it you actually become part of the chair. A chair so loved and treasured that it is thread bare in all the right spots. A chair so perfectly comfortable, cozy and delightful that you are sure the only reason it is being sold is because the person that loved it so much was forced to sell it at gun point.

The morning that I spent with the Huber family felt like that. Just perfectly comfortable, cozy, warm and delightful. Just like a divine soft chair. I don’t know whether it was Rachel’s incredibly cool english accent, or the fact that their impeccable house embodied everything I dream of in a home, or that the love inside the house was so big and so full that I kept looking at the corners of the ceiling to see if it might possibly explode. I can’t put my finger on what it was about this photo shoot that I loved so much, but the whole time I just knew that being with the Huber family was just like being cozy in the perfect comfy chair. We talked, we laughed, we just plain had a great old time. I am pretty sure they would agree that I felt that way. No, not because they felt the same way, but because I have literally never talked SO much or stayed so long for a photo shoot. I may have actually talked their ears off. I should check with the doctors. I hope they are recovering well.

Thank you Huber family for the most delightful photo shoot! You guys not only have a wonderful sense of humor and an amazing warmth about you, but you are also a beautiful family and Luke is as sweet as can be.

Baby Luke has this black bird mobile above his changing table that I was in LOVE with. So was he.

AND he has an OVAL crib. He is my hero. Seriously.

Dad kept wanting to help Luke smile for his photos.
It was CRACKING ME UP. I had to get it on camera.

He needs no help smiling. A total natural.

Nerdy. Soft spoken. Introverted. Awkward. When I think of people who are engineers for a living, I can’t help it, these are the adjectives that come to my mind. I am sorry. I know that this is a stereotype. I think it is even a little mean. I am trying to get past this stereotype I have for engineers. I apologize if you are one. I assure you, I am going to therapy.

A few years ago Jason and Sarita entered my life. They are two of the most amazing, godly, inspiring, hard working, generous and FUNNY people I know. They are kind, thoughtful and magnetic. They are the kind of people that everyone loves to be around. And can you believe it? They are engineers. They met at an engineering event, fell madly in love with one another and have been together ever since. Changing the lives (and the stereotypes) of everyone they touch.

When Jason and Sarita announced to us that they were having twins, I feel ashamed to admit it , but my heart sank a little for them. I know I am exhausted after a day with my ONE daughter, I can’t fathom having twins! Then, the more I thought about it I realized, God wasn’t giving ME the twins, he was giving them to two of the most capable people I know. If ANYONE can make raising twin boys a breeze, it is Jason and Sarita. As my daughter grows up and continues to offer me knew challenges everyday, I become more and more confident that God picked her especially for our family. She just fits. The first time I saw Jason and Sarita with their brand new twin boys, I knew again that God hand-picked those boys for Jason and Sarita. They all just seem to fit together perfectly.

Thank you Jason and Sarita for letting me capture your new, beautiful and perfectly picked-out-by-God family. Here they are when the boys are just a little over a week old.

This is a Daniel post. Ginette gets all the fun on this blog and now it’s my turn.

Our daughter, Dayla, was restless this morning so we decided to cruise around our alma mater, UCSD. There are a lot of new buildings and additions since we attended as undergrads but the center of the school and amazing weather are unchanged.

Honestly I just wanted an excuse to play around with our new super wide-angle lens. 

Engineering buildings

The iconic Geisel library which many people incorrectly assume is our mascot since it appears on everything.

THIS is our mascot, Triton

See that yellow awning in the background behind Dayla? That's where Ginette was working when I met her and where I asked her out on our first date, over 9 years ago.

A blur of radiant, exquisite color catches my eye as I zoom down the freeway. I turn my head. I feel a rush of joy and peace as I witness God’s magnificent paint brush. The flowers are beautiful. I think, “He is good at this.”

We have lived in San Diego over 10 years now and every year, sometime between March and May the Carlsbad Flower Fields are in bloom. The best part is that you can admire their glory without even getting out of the comfort of your freeway zipping, air-conditioned, music flowing chamber of a car. And truthfully, I never thought I had to leave the car. However, this year Dayla (my daughter) and I were treated by my mother-in-law to enter. And it was magnificent. Not to mention a photographer’s dream. And Dayla has a blast. What could be a better day then that?

Here is a little snipit of what a photographer does on her day off! (Still taking pictures!)

We went on a “tractor ride” to view the fields

For 60 years these fields have grown nearly 50 acres of Giant Tecolote Ranunculus

The playground had cute buildings restored from an old “Santa’s Village”

My daughter Dayla

Her cousin James

More flowers. But seriously, they are beautiful, right?