A little about myself and why I do what I do.
My husband and I were married young, myself 20 and he 21. Shortly after we were married, I thought I could be pregnant, went to the doctor, no such luck. The doc actually had the audacity to say to me, it’s probably for the best. I was very hurt by his words. We then started trying and a year later nothing. We consulted with my Doctor and I went through a battery of tests. Long story short, I cannot get pregnant. We settled into life and grieved the loss of children that would never be.
Eight years into married life and we had a friend of my Mother’s contact us and ask us if we would adopt her baby. Things had happened and at that point in her life she couldn’t care for another child. We jumped at the chance to adopt. We had five months to prepare.
Lillian was born and she made our little family complete. We were completely enamored with her. Six years pass and, in that time, I started a photography business that was starting to really take off. We were contacted by my cousin asking if we would be interested in growing our family. This cousin also does foster care and she said one of our family members had their kids taken and put into foster care and that she was caring for them. We went to meet them.
After meeting them and having a family discussion, we decided it was a good time to grow our family again. We became foster parents so the girls could come live with us. We welcomed into our small home a 15-year-old, a 9-year-old and a 4-year-old, all of whom were girls. A year later we adopted their baby brother and moved into a much larger home with more space for 5 amazing kids. I have often heard from the girls that they wish we had baby pictures and that they wish they had come to us at a much younger age because their history is only by memory, a trauma filled memory that is difficult to remember. I can’t bring back their baby pictures, but I can take their pictures and we display them with pride all over our home. I read somewhere, that children need to be reminded that they are loved. Not by words, but by displaying their photos around their home. It shows children that you love, cherish and take pride in them.
After this explosion of kids, I took a break from photography and now 5 years later I’m back! It is now my goal to make sure all of my clients have beautiful artwork that they cherish of their whole family hanging in their homes.