I can’t think of a better way to make an entrance into the blogging world again then with this shoot. (For those of you who don’t know, we moved to our first home…and yes,that is a blog post in the works. So needless to say, “house” has consumed my mind and time for over a month, but I am SO glad to be back!)

To say that I am excited to share these pictures with you is the UNDERSTATEMENT OF THE YEAR.  You see how I did that? ALL CAPS.  That is so you can feel just an inkling of my excitement!!

I don’t know if you are a Johnny Depp fan, or a Tim Burton fan, but I am a fan of both. I have always thought the idea of an artist having a “muse” is a little strange. But for the first time in my many years as an artist, I get it. Sometimes there is just someone who seems to make your dreams, creations, visions come alive, by well, just being them. I am certain that Johnny Depp is Tim Burton’s muse. And I am starting to think that just maybe this family might be mine.  (Is that an awkward thing to share?  Oooo…I hope not.  What is that you say, no one reads this part any way?  Phew.)  The truth is they just have a knack for making my photography dreams come to life and I am hoping that Lydia wouldn’t mind being referred to as a “goddess that inspires the arts”.

This photo shoot was a little bit of a baby of mine. After browsing Anthropolgie catalogs and stores for clients of mine, it became a fun little dream of mine to do a shoot like this.  There is just something wonderful and romantic and perfectly whimsical to me about bringing living spaces out into God’s living spaces.  I love the dreamy quality of it and longed to try and pull something like that together.  Long dreamed. Lots of coordination to pull it off.  AND birthed into a DREAM COME TRUE with the help of Lydia and James and Ruby.

When I came to Lydia and said, “I have an idea, so you need to hire me to take pictures of you and your family again!!” I wasn’t sure how she would respond to my bold request.  But she was excited!! and that made my excitement spin out of control into utter elation.  And thank God for James and Ruby who were willing to go along for the ride. After much coordinating, me robbing her house of almost all of it’s insides, and a lot of patience and dreaming together, we pulled it off.  And it was all totally worth it. I am over the moon.  I hope you enjoy this one as much as I did!

We started with some photos with Lydia’s parents in the flowers. They were visiting and I was so glad that they got to tag along for a bit! Got to capture the grandparents when you can, and these two were the sweetest grandparents ever!

After that came the vision….

I just love old books.

Soft sunlight.

Quilts that feel like they have a story in every stitch.

Pillows that saw the face of a new marriage and fresh love.

A lampshade where it doesn’t belong.

An old stained glass window that makes the sunlight dance.

Here is the space that I envisioned and the family that just seemed to know how to bring it to life with their love, laughter, and joy.

When the laughter fades, it gives a moment for the love to intensify…

Thank you so much for coming along on this dream with me….