Dorie & James + Mason {Fort Steilacoom Park | Tacoma Family and Engagement Photographer}

Dorie, James, and Mason are one of the the most adorable families ever! The original purpose of this session was for an engagement shoot. Dorie and James are engaged!!! They have the cutest kid, though, seriously. So we made it a dual session. I originally met Dorie through my dear friend, Christine, who was also my officiant at my wedding. I didn’t really have the opportunity to get to know her then but I’m so glad to have had this opportunity to capture these memories for her and her family. James and Dorie are some of the most laid back people I’ve ever met. A lot of folks know that I don’t really shoot weddings but every so often I will. After hanging out with these guys, I was truly hoping they wanted me to also be their wedding photographer because we just got along so amazingly. And I’m pleased that in June, I will be shooting their wedding. YAY! The venue is beautiful and Dorie is going to be one STUNNING bride. I’m kinda sorta looking forward to just hanging out with them some more…trust me…they really are that cool. Mason is going to be such an adorable ring bearer, too! You can see just how much Dorie and James love each other. I usually have to pose couples and give tons of direction because who’s used to having a camera around to document all their PDA’s? These two were such naturals, it made this session such a breeze. They are very clearly in love and absolutely meant to be. Dorie is a girl after my own heart, too. When I asked her about the details of her wedding she came back with “as long as I’ve got my husband and a beer at the end of the day, I’m good.” Did I mention that James picked out her engagement ring without any help? WOW! And I mean, WOW! He did a really good job. Look at the way James looks at his bride-to-be. He looks at her the way all of us women hope for our significant others to look at us. It’s almost a look of disbelief of how he managed to get so lucky.

Dorie and James, I am absolutely thrilled you guys have picked me to capture the special moments waiting to happen on your big day. Your son Mason is amazing and was such a good sport for taking photos. You’re all so photogenic! I’m glad we’ve met and got along famously. =) Going through your photos and seeing the love you guys have for each other and for your son is what I hope for all families to be able to experience, though what you guys have is unique to you. Just fawning over your photos again while posting this has me smiling ear-t0-ear. You guys really have something special. You’re all in my thoughts and prayers and positive vibes as you move closer to your wedding day. I look forward to being there to document your first moments as husband and wife! Congratulations on your commitment to forever with each other. ❤

 

Artificial food coloring is evil.

Wow! I mostly shop the outside aisles at the grocery store but here’s added incentive.

Healing Autism & ADHD

A magnet with this phrase hangs on my refrigerator; and it’s also stated on my cooking apron. As I pondered on how to approach this subject, I remember back to the days when I never read a food label or candy (no, it’s not food) label.  Ignorance sure was bliss…but was it? My kids would get impulsive, oppositional, hyper, spin around, lack focus, and make non-stop sounds before the “food label police” showed up at our house.  So I guess it wasn’t really bliss after all. I traded those behaviors for the inconvenience of having to read every single label on every single food item I bought or was given to my kids. But the trade-off was worth it!

My kids became calmer, quieter and not so emotionally charged. Melt downs decreased. Sleep habits improved. And above all, I knew that I was improving the health of my children, which…

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Yami & Chris: Engaged! {Steilacoom Engagement Photographer}

I recently had the distinct honor and privilege to photograph my cousin and her fiancee Chris on the lovely Sunnyside Beach. It was soooo crazy windy that I almost flew away like Mary Poppins! These two were made for each other. If you take a look at the very first picture you see how happy they are just to have each other. To go back a bit, this love story has been in the making for about 15 years. These two met when they attended Lakes High School together and were inseparable  at that time. I’ve heard all of the cute little stories about these two and I can’t help but giggle. Chris has been in this family longer than I have! Haha. Heartbreak happened, though, because Chris had to move away because he was a child of a military family. Who would’ve known that they would some day pull it all back together to become this super couple. Yami is one of the sweetest and funniest people you could ever have the pleasure to meet. She’s also the homie! Chris is perfect for her and I mean that to a “T”. Side note: sometimes I like to call Yami a nickname I made up for her: Yama Llam Ding Dong. Yup. I did that. Moving onto the more recent times…Chris asked for permission to marry Yami from her mom and she could hardly contain herself! She was so giggly and when we stopped by her house for a moment she couldn’t stop smiling and she just HAD to tell somebody so since my husband and I were there,  we were it. Well, Yami later told us that her mom had accidentally left a minimized web page open to the ring Chris had planned to buy for her. Then, she “nonchalantly” was using her own rings to attempt to size Yami’s ring finger. She is so silly. The end result is a happy couple that I couldn’t be happier to support the marriage of. They’ll exchange their nuptials later this year in August and I can’t wait to document their special day with our other cousin, Rosa. Welcome to the family Chris. I love you both and am so excited for this journey you’re on together. I truly am overwhelmed with joy at this wonderful occasion. God bless you both!