We’re celebrating moms today! These smiling, beautiful, fabulous women are the crazy glue of our lives — they keep us together and stick to us when we need it the most. (Think about it. She does, doesn’t she?!) I admire so many amazing women and moms in my life for their incredible multitasking and ability to laugh in this journey we’re all on.

So often moms are caught behind the camera as the ones who document our families but are rarely seen in front of the lens. If you’re a mom yourself, and took a quick count of portraits you had taken in the last twelve months, could you count them on your two hands? Instagram doesn’t count! (I fall into the group of people who can barely count them on one hand… let alone two!)

Let’s honor our amazing moms this year with a short and sweet mini session for her and the kiddos. There are only a handful of these sessions and they will sell out crazy fast! You’ll receive a lovely gift certificate just in time for giving this Sunday, and we’ll schedule her mini session in the next few weeks. These sessions are only for mom and the kids; family fine art portrait sessions are available year-round.

Here’s the details:

20 minute session on location / 10-15 images in preview gallery / 5 printable images to 5×7 / 1 gift portrait (8×10 or 5×7) :: $250 (session must be paid at time of booking and scheduled before August 1, 2013)

Use the contact form to reserve your session because these will be gone in a snap!

I love this little spot in our fair city — the view of Manhattan and the Flint Hills is magnificent, the sunshine is always beautiful and golden, and there’s tons of space to roam and explore. Not to mention the picture-perfect sunsets… and bonus, it’s really called Top of the World. We had a blast making lovely portraits of these kiddos…

Everyone’s thinking fall family portraits–and why not? The colors of fall this year are stunning and it’s the perfect time to photograph your family for upcoming holiday gift giving. If you’re interested in a session, I only have three openings available before the holiday ordering deadline. So be sure to hit the contact tab and get on the schedule before it’s too late!

Aren’t these little cuties totally adorbs?

Oh, the love I have for this little man runs deep and he’s barely a couple of weeks old. And a super easy, laid back baby…he posed so effortlessly and was calm as could be through the whole session (although a full belly and warm blankets didn’t hurt either?). Meet Will, nine days old ::

I’m loving these sibling portraits ::

Holidays are a great big deal for the Weaver family, especially now that their three beautiful daughters live around the Midwest and across the country — so their time spent together is so precious. And when they get together, there’s bound to be lots of fun, laughter, and a couple of really cute pups around!

The girls had a fabulous idea for their mom’s birthday this past fall :: a portrait session for the whole family! With their Thanksgiving turkey in the oven, we gathered in their beautiful backyard and a few points on the Kansas State campus, with amazing fall colors all around us.

See what I mean about adorable furry friends?

A lovely portrait of just mom and dad…

We stopped in front of Hale Library with its soft, warm light and lots of happy faces on the green.

This one is a GORGEOUS, beautiful gallery wrapped canvas for mom and dad’s home. One of my favorites!

One more of just the girls ::

Weaver family, it was an honor and a delight to photograph these portraits for you! Thank you for including me in your time together to celebrate Thanksgiving!

I know it’s not Friday (bummer), but we’ll do this week’s Favorites post a little early…just because it’s fun!

I’m not going to do a lot of yammering, because the families I had the opportunity to photograph this year know how much they mean to me. And for that, I’m grateful and ever so humbled. I’m honored to have been part of your family story, and be able to give you inspired ideas and ways to share your images in your home and with others.

So. With a very heartfelt thank you, and the promise for more beautiful images in the future with your gorgeous faces, I give you my favorite newborn, children and family portraits of this past year. (RSS readers, click here)

It was awesome to see this family again this fall after Ryan and Melia’s wedding! Their little guy was a total heartbreaker, and we had such fun getting together again to photograph their family portraits on the Kansas State University campus.

Bundles of energy and filled with joy. He exudes happiness.

Some children are really what I’ve heard called “lens-aware”. They know when a camera is poking in their face and what they are “supposed” to do. In some cases, that’s great. In other ones, however, my intention is to break down that barrier of having the barrel of a giant 24-70 mm lens staring them down. To encourage little ones to instead, not do what you think you should do. In making children less intimidated and conscientious of the camera, do we really find out who they are and the things that they love.

I think this session is a great example of being lens-unaware, and with it comes great spirit and freedom in the images. (I could go on and on about this topic, and if you’re interested in hearing more, let me know in the comments and I’ll feature it in an upcoming Behind the Image post!)

A very sweet moment with momma…

Mom and dad shared a quiet moment together, too.

In a word :: joy.

Young family–it was so much fun to spend time with you! Enjoy your beautiful portraits!