Saturday Sessions: Booking for Fall 2016!

One of my goals for 2016 is to document our everyday. Like, the ordinary boring day to day stuff. That's where the magic is. One day a month I take out my big camera and (try really really hard to) take pictures all day. It's so crazy how different our lives are month-to-month, especially how much Lincoln grows and changes in that amount of time. I don't know how long we'll live in this house, but it doesn't feel like our forever house, so I imagine years down the road looking at these pictures with Lincoln and future kiddos, talking about our old house and the fun blue walls downstairs, and the chalkboard wall we had (we'll be having one in that forever house, too) and how funny Luna and Lobo were– at this point I imagine they'll be old and crotchety and won't tolerate little hands playing trucks on them. I just love this time I want to soak it up. As we get older, and our family grows, I know schedules will get more complicated and people will know more words and have better means with which to assert opinions... so I'm just savoring. Savoring all the pajama days I can. There will come a day, likely too soon, where I will be expected to wear pants again.

I didn't get consistent about documenting our life regularly until the end of last year, and there are only a few pictures of our life in the early baby days. I was self conscious about my eczema and the baby weight, and tried really hard not to be in pictures. Now, even just a year and some removed, I am so thankful to have those few pictures, I think there's literally 4. Such a sweet, fleeting season. I look back at them and instead of seeing just extra pounds and puffy, sleep deprived eyes, I see new parents, totally clueless but smitten with their baby boy. I mean, I'm also a little chubby, red and flaky but also– smitten. And that was real life then. It really happened! 

See our 2016 everyday photos here: 

January     February     March     April     May     June     July 

There's something really special about each season. Slow mornings in pajamas, snuggling and drinking coffee while watching cartoons. Playing outside in the backyard after nap before dinner time. Marriage days without kids, making dinner together, then just hanging out and working in the same room together. Going for a walk with the dog in the neighborhood, sitting on the porch enjoying the evening. Every season, seemingly ordinary at the time will be the things you miss the most when it passes. Those perfectly imperfect moments are the extraordinary ordinary things. Those moments are what life is made of. 

Even if you don't like your current home, or what you look like, or whatever circumstance you're waiting on to change– document today. Even with a selfie! Years from now (or months, or weeks, or days!) you'll look back on this time fondly, and be so thankful at how far you've come. 

So, in the spirit of documenting the now (and to help with the last stretch of our debt free journey!) this fall I am offering in-home documentary style family photo sessions! Hooray!

Sessions are on Saturdays at your house, either in the morning or in the evening. The objective is to document your Saturdays in your current life season-- snuggly mornings, making pancakes, soccer practice in the backyard, making dinner together, a birthday celebration, adjusting to life at home with a new baby, playing with your puppy... whatever it is that you do on weekends as a family, in your element doing your thing your way. 

details:

two hours at your home

documentary style family portraits

online viewing and downloading of images

USB flash drive with full resolution files

rights to print

$185

dates available: 

August 27 morning evening

September 3 morning evening

September 24 morning evening

October 8 morning evening

October 22 morning evening

If you are interested in scheduling a session, please email wearehandpicked@icloud.com with this info: 

• your name
• top three choices for day and time slot
• best email address for invoice
• names and ages of people in your family
• your inspiration for the session (making breakfast together, playing outside after nap, lazy morning in PJs, anything specific you want to me to capture, etc.) 
• anything else you want me to know! 

PS: Our friend Amber from church and Langhoff Creative did a short everyday family session for us earlier in the summer. These are some of my most favorite photos EVER! The ones of me rocking Lincoln for nap are everything. One of my most favorite places in the world. Check out my blog post featuring them here!