Oh, happy baby…look at this gorgeous little lady! Miss Emily just turned one, and she is all smiles! And, wow, those beautiful dark eyes….swoon!! This sweet girl just made me happy this morning, and we had the best time. Her sweet mom and I could very likely have spent the entire day just talking. We got along great and are kindred spirits no doubt! I’m so excited to share her images with you. She’s just beautiful and I would’ve brought her home with me in an instant. Happy birthday, sweet Emily! 🙂

I just L.O.V.E this face!! 🙂

It’s so great to have the opportunity to meet new families. I’m always amazed at the adorable personalities that the children have and little Copper and sweet Conlee were no exception. They just LOVED their session with me, and at the end of it precious Copper announced that “This was the best night EVER!!” You gotta love a kid that thinks you gave him the best night of his life! Wahoo! 🙂 Loved these sweet children. Thank you for sharing them with me, and I hope that you enjoy your little sneak peek of their cuteness!

He just LOVES his sister…so sweet!

Casey is like a little sister, another daughter, sweet friend to me! This precious girl has spent countless hours at my home watching my two children as our babysitter for years. For several summers, you could almost consider her a part of my 1:17 Photography summer staff as she would always stay with the kids while I was at sessions, behind closed doors editing, or packaging orders. I just LOVE this girl, and can not believe she’s about to be married! In December, Casey will be marrying the love of her life, the one whom God has given her to spend her life with. I could not be happier for them, and so enjoyed our time together doing this photo session the other night. I can see how these two meld perfectly together. I loved seeing them laugh together and gaze into each other’s eyes. Their excitement about their future together is easy to see. This is such an exciting time for this sweet couple! Casey, our family loves you so very much, and we are so happy that you have found a man who loves the Lord and obviously adores you! Congratulations…can’t wait til December! Enjoy your little sneak peek, you lovebirds! 🙂

To be honest, there’s not much cuter to me than dogs. I just LOVE them so much. Such a special part of my family as well as so many others. My amazing and beautiful neighbor, Kim, is absolutely phenomenal at getting photographs taken of her family and capturing these special days before they are gone. I mean, she’s G.R.E.A.T. at it! This sweet family lives next door to me, and I just adore them. The purpose behind this session was to photograph the kids with their dogs. When we first scheduled the session, it was to be just for their oldest Golden Retriever, Kenai, who is 11.5 years old…just to capture the love between kids and dog. But, in the months since this session was first scheduled, this family has added another sweet pumpkin’ to their bunch….”little” Samson, who is still a “baby” at just 4.5 months. Love, love, love!

And, of course, since we were all together and everyone dressed cute, we grabbed a few of the kids and Kim, too. Thank you, sweet friends, for the opportunity of photographing your family! All of them! 🙂

Now, for the doggies! First up, the elder of the group, Kenai!

And, the little man…Samson!

Little boys! Just love them! And, just turned two-year-olds are in a class all their own! This adorable, big ol’ blue eyed gorgeous little man is Bryant! He just turned two-years-old recently, and I’ve been photographing him since he was just days old. I can hardly believe how big he is now. He is quite possibly the most well-mannered little guy I’ve met in quite some time. His “no, thank you” and “yes m’am” just stole my heart. Thank you, Heather and Russell for continuting to give me the opportunity to watch you little man grow up through my camera lens. Ya’ll are just a precious family! 🙂

And, to finish up our morning, we photographed Bryant in his Great-Grandfather’s rocking chair. I just LOVE every one of these photos. Cutie-pie! 🙂

How do I love this next one? Oh, let me count the ways! 🙂

Now, y’all know how very much I love photographing sisters!! 🙂 I had another amazing opportunity to photograph another set of beautiful sisters and their parents at the Arlington Town Square the other night. Sweet Sarah and Emma were just amazing to shoot…beautiful smiles, great clothing choices (go Mom…LOVE the boots!), and lots of laughter. The laughter part was mostly in thanks to Dad, please note example photo below:

Hahahha!! I just LOVE it when families show up ready to have fun and enjoy the session. This is what it is all about. Making memories and capturing our families as they are. Thank you for sharing your sweet girls and family with me, “A” family. You guys were just great and I loved meeting you. Enjoy your sneak peek! So, so many more to come. Seriously, these girls cannot take a bad photo! 🙂

I’ve have been so very excited about photographing out at “The Farm” again and now I remember why! We had a great Mini Session evening on Friday! Lighting was beautiful, families were smiling, and children were happy as they climbed on the tractor, feed the chickens and picked wildflowers! It was a great night! So, without further chit-chat on my part, I’m just going to share the sneak peek with you! Thank you to all the families involved in helping to make a great night! So much fun!

First up, two sisters who I’ve been photographing for almost 5 years! Hard to believe that the oldest was only 6 months at our first session together. She just turned 5 and is ready to start Kindergarten! Crazy! Love these sweet girls! 🙂

Next up was two twin sisters that are book-ended by their big brother and baby brother! Always fun with this family and I love their spunk! 🙂

I was so excited to meet this next young man! He’s the son of a college friend and the same age as my little boy! I had never photographed him before, and really enjoyed getting to know him better! Great kid you’ve got there, “Crockett”!! 🙂

And, the final group of the night was the “H” family! Mrs.”H” is one of the many phenomenal teachers at my children’s school. It was an honor to meet her family and photograph them. We just laughed and had a great time hanging out! I loved watching their interactions and laughter together! 🙂

There is such a fun and different dynamic when I get the opportunity to photograph a group of brothers. Boys are just the BEST! So much fun! I met up with these adorable brothers at the Collierville Town Square the other morning and we had such a great time together. They were so well behaved and fun to be around. I really enjoyed my time spent with these young men. I hope you all enjoy your sneak peek! 🙂

“…despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.” Romans 8:37 (NLT)

My job as a family photographer is such a privilege and joy. Each time I am asked to photograph a family, I realize what a gift it is to me to be able to get to know them, laugh with them, and share my love for Christ through my photography and create tangible memories that will be cherished in the generations to come. Every family I photograph is special, but I had a very special opportunity on Tuesday evening to photograph my friend, Ashley, and her amazing family. Ashley and I grew up together as next door neighbors for most of my childhood and teenage years; and her big sister, Amye, was my very best friend.

But, you see, Tuesday night was different. It was the night before the youngest member of this family, 3 and 1/2 year old Ingram, was to begin his treatments at St.Jude for a brain tumor. Within the last couple of weeks, Ingram has been diagnosed with anaplastic ependymoma. When I received the phone call that Ingram was on his way to LeBonheur with a potential emergency surgery for a brain tumor, well…it’s just one of those moments in life that just literally takes your breath away. All I could do was to pray and send my love to this sweet family whom I’ve not only known since I was four-years-old, but also had the honor of photographing in years’ past as well. But, in that instant of breathlessness, I also found a hope and peace. If there’s ever a family with enough hope and perseverance to fight this thing and overcome this nasty cancer with God’s mighty power, it is the Dismuke Family. I called Ashley and offered to do a family session before the treatments began. I am SO glad that we did.

What a fun night we all had playing together! I just adore these children. How can you not laugh and enjoy each moment when the night starts out like this? Awesome! 🙂

We played hard, laughed hard, and created some amazing moments that I am so thrilled to share. It is my hope that through these images you will come to know this family and love them through your prayers. Meet the Dismukes! 🙂

Big sister, Madison:

Little sis, Lindsey:

And, little Mr.Ingram!

Ingram’s beautiful Mommy, my sweet friend, Ashley!

And, the Daddy, Craig. Don’t you love how God gave us Dads to wrestle around with? 🙂

God calls for us to pray for one another and uphold each other in our daily lives. We are the hands and feet of Jesus. This blog…my photography…is but a small piece; but, hopefully a tool in spreading the word about Ingram and his mighty battle he has ahead of him! Please remember Craig, Ashley, Madison, Lindsey and Ingram in your prayers. I just love this family! Ashley and Craig have started a blog that they update almost daily to keep us all posted about Ingram’s fight, www.ingramdismuke.com. There is even a place where you can enter your email to receive updates via email. I see it in my inbox every morning, and use that as a moment to pray for them. I encourage you to become a part of Ingram’s Army of prayer warriors.

I think this next one is my favorite of the night…love these big grins! 🙂

The family has started wearing black armbands because Ingram has one he loves to wear. They are in the process of getting some made with Ingram’s name on them. Until those are ready, they are wearing others. I love this last photo. All the family together, holding hands, up against a mighty oak tree. This image says so very much. This family loves each other and they love our Lord. Isaiah 41:10 says, ” So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

And, I say again: “…despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.” Romans 8:37 (NLT) I love you, Dismuke Family!! 🙂

I know! I say it all the time, but I truly believe it. I have the cutest and sweetest families to photograph. The 1:17 families are the BEST! And, to prove my point, meet 3-year-old Wes and 1-year-old Jake. Such adorable brothers who are all boy; but, unbelievably sweet and adorable. They give the best smiles and hugs!! Melt my heart with their cuteness! Thanks for sharing your boys with me again, Tori and Daniel. What little blessings they truly are! 🙂

First up, little charmer, Wes! He is Mr. Super-de-Dooper Superhero Man! hehe!

And my personal favorite one of Wes is next…so handsome!

And, for the little one, Jake! Complete with big blue eyes and sweet curls. Does it get any cuter? 🙂

And, finally a few family shots. Love this family!!