Baton Rouge Engagement Photography Session

Everyone has got their deal and these people's deal is being awesome!

Meg and Rob. Awesome and awesome-r. No particular order there. Just awesomeness all around. Have never met anyone like them and never intend to eitherThis darling, dapper duo knew how to do a photoshoot!.

Meg's only request was she preferred NO buildings in any of her images. This is quite a task for living in the city. Baton Rouge at that! But we ended up with more amazing images than I anticipated. 

Aren't they model status??? That smile on her face though. 

GORGEOUS just does not cut it. 

What I loved so much about this couple was that they were absolutely adorable together. So comfy, so natural. Supportive. Charming. Smitten. 

They were truly just like one and that is a rarity these days. The ebb and flow was there. The long looks. The sparks. It was so apparent that they were crazy about each other. Just being together was complimenting the one to the other.  

And having fun was there as well! Those two have no lack of laughing between them. I can see why  they are like magnets! So much chemistry, so much laughing, so much goodness. 

Who does not Kung Fu fight on your regular Sunday morning? 

Because real love is just too much to be contained! 

Phone is ringing, it's JCREW... they need their models! 

Their love be like Happily Ever After.... Forever... all the Stars and Mars... to the Moon and Back... As Big as the Sky... Agape... and Everything Under the Sun...

these two are in LOVE... 

Baton Rouge Newborn Photography Session

Well, this post is a special one for me.

I had the opportunity to shoot some photos for one of my best friends, Mollie White (Euhus), and he precious awaited gift of Baby Jackson. I still call that girl by her maiden name because that's what she will always be to me. 

I never will forget how I met this jewel. She came up to me after a Late Night service at Healing Place and said, "Hi, I am Mollie. I want to be your friend." How can a girl refuse such an offer! You just can't. She is one of those special people that enters your story and you never wish to have it another way. One of kind, Mollie. Who's name is not even really Mollie... She's actually an Elizabeth but started this Mollie thing some years back and has kept it that way since. 

Anywho... this post is about Mollie, Jeffery and their darling Jackson whom just entered this wonderful world some 7 weeks ago. Jeff and Molls were more than elated with his arrival. 

These two have been waiting an extra long time for their sweet bundle and the wait was well worth as far as I can see... God has a perfect way to bring about His perfect gifts in His perfect time... 

Jeff made several pieces of art for their home to help Baby Jackson feel right at home...  

-ALL GRACE, TINY FACE-

I know the three of them are going to be living happily ever after... It was a long time of waiting for their sweet bundle but as Jeff told Mollie several years back, "he wished for her" and I know they stayed wishing for Jackson...

And here he is today! 

Baton Rouge Family Photography Session

It's been a looooong winter down in the Baton Rouge, Louisiana and we have all been itching at the bit for the grey skies and the downpours to finally stop. So that means it's time to get back to family sessions, outside in the afternoons and azaleas strewn about the neighborhoods! 

Thank you Jesus for SPRING! Although its almost over and we are heading into the 6 months of sweltering summer that we get down in this Southern town. But we make the most of our 3 weeks of Spring around here and I was lucky enough to get to schedule a shoot with some favorite friends of mine....  

the Vicknairs... 

This darling trio can not be summed up with mere words. Daniel, a tad over a year old, is sheer joy in toddler form. He would have been a younger brother but his precious parents lost their firstborn a couple years back- darling, little David. He was seriously a one-of-a-kind boy and made Mrs. Natty a very happy aunt.... He walked his precious self down the aisle of my wedding with a sign in his hands saying, "here comes the bride". Pictured below.... This post could not be complete without David mentioned... 

As you can see he was perfect and he looked very similar to their precious Daniel. 

I had such a grand time shooting with this family though... They love to just let me create for them and so they leave lots of the ideas for the shoot to my creativity. I asked for favorite books, blocks, toys and if they favored really colorful quilts... we made quite the springtime shoot!

We even had an extra- Gramdma Pippy! 

We ended the afternoon at our house with tea and cookies. It was a great St Patricks Day indeed!

Little Daniel made himself at home :) Sometimes you just gotta get it yourself!

Well, that's how we do down South! 

Baton Rouge Family Photography Session

Some people build buildings, some build cars or resorts or corporations or new magazine designs or flavors of gum or some other long, lengthy list of other fabulous possibilities...

And then you have the ones that build, well... others... 

Whatever you do, I believe it's to make this world a better place to live, but I do believe there is something quite irreplaceable about impacting the actual life trajectory of another person. 

And this is what she has been for me and thousands of others.

The gal pictured above- Alliece. Never known of one prior and know I will not know of one greater. 

The one with the curly, red hair and the tall, long frame. Usually in black and always, always with red lipstick.  A friend sent me a message yesterday that read, "you really don't know how weird your friends are till you start to describe them to someone else". She was referring to me but I laugh because I find that with lots of the people I know- including this lady here. 

Alliece is one of those lovely people that is indescribable. You can't quite put your finger on what it is about her but you know there is something incredibly different that makes you want to know her. I love people that do that to me, like a magnetic pull into their wild, curious world as if I have to know what makes them up. I suppose that's the people person side of me, always wanting to know the next person's story. 

For Alliece, it's all over the way she talks, the looks she gives and the words she shares. She has this certain gaze that looks past your face and into your heart- to really dig down and get to the root of what's going on. It's an incredible gift to not see only at face value. I am miserable at that in some moments, some days, but not this gal, no, she is adamant to let every person be heard, every song to be sung.

She has single-handedly touched and cared for the lives of thousands- dare I say millions- of men and women lives that she has encountered since stepping into this world of work many of years ago. She has gotten in the trenches with the lost, broken and wounded in the world of Child Services, over and over again all around this beautiful state of Louisiana, the nation and this world. "Blessed be the poor", she told me one day. "The poor in Spirit, because they will see God". She can't help but go where the broken reside. It's in her. It propels her. It wakes her up in the morning for another day. To women's homes to Katrina relief to inner city and the elusive world of human trafficking to every single square inch in between. It's truly unfathomable how one person could give so much of their life for so many others. 

And so we Others got together to celebrate all the times she constantly leaned in for us... 

Many, many, many more of the others... 

Year after another year for ALL THE OTHERS... 

This fearless women and her charge into another year with touching many more others... 

(More. Others.)

(the list just goes on and on)

(notice the red lip stick in her honor) 

And when that strong, little lady cried like a baby when we all gave our speeches on how our lives would never be the same without her constant support into us, it was a moment that none of us will ever forget in which we shared with her the blood and sweat and tears she gave for us. The fears she helped push aside, the Truth she constantly poured out and into us, the miraculous prayers prayed. Every single moment she gave to us. Freely. 

And the last to share their sentiments was the one we were there to celebrate ourselves and she marveled at our reflections and commissioned us to share what we had gained from her investment...

to others... 

So here is to a life legacy for... 

Others. 

"There is no greater love than to give up one's life for a friend" 

Baton Rouge Family Session

Well, I  hit a milestone in my age.... TWENTY FIVE. Yep, from this year forward I will continually turn 25. I have made this scenario in my head because it helps me to rationalize the fact that I am- from this point forward- going to be forever getting older. So twenty five it is. It's a nice round number and leads me to keep looking forward to the 30 that will never turn.

So here we are with a little TWENTY FIFTH shindig for moi and THIRTY FITFTH for old Chad. I wish I had clips from the whole week because it was all fabulous- baking cheesecake with Joni, handmade videos from remote African villages, dinner with friends- but I only documented (with camera) dinner with our Dinkel fam.  I wish there was the right amount of words to share about each of these individuals but I can't seem to sum up all their crazy goodness. 

I gave mom and dad (as I affectionately call them. Des swears the Lord told her to love me like I was their own a couple of years after I lost my parents and we have since been like kin ever since). Although nothing could literally take the place of my biological parents they do a STAND UP JOB of filling that gap for me. The two of them have this uncanny ability to love 100% of the people that come their way! As I told dad at his birthday last year, "he sets the standard for men very high". 

They are parents to many but they are especially parents to all of us kiddos... 

Chad and Angel here... Chad, the eldest of this Dinkel parade, is the one whom I share January 9th with as very special day. He is years older.. being that I am 25 and all... but not wiser. Sorry Chad. I win. John Robert lucked out having his best friend and wifey have the same special day. Makes things quite convenient for his two life partners as he likes to call us. Chad's bride, the gorgeous little lady to the left- Angel, is the one whom always makes our days so special for us- organizing the Dinkel dinner and making sure all parties have their favorite cakes present (mine is KingCake). There were even face masks this year in which only the kids wore. Thank you, Angel. You're the sweetest. It's truly a joy to have her as a sister. She makes me feel so special and swears my hair looks great always.  

Next is my hunk, my babylove, my muse... (maybe not my muse, that's Jesus) but you get the point. Gosh, there is just seriously no amount of vocabulary to express what this guy consists of, mainly and largely sarcasm (no that is not a fat joke). But so many other things that make no sense to me at all. His love for me is seriously endless and his patience makes my brain hurt. I have never met a soul like John Robert and guarantee I never will. His heart is made of pure gold I am assured. His lumberjack beard is solely lagniappe. I love you, JRM. Aside from Christ you are the sole reason my life will never be the same and always be better and stronger and more wonderful since the day I met you. 

These little lovelies are next. Corey, the second born, and Claire his blushing bride. These two make me smile. Corey is said to be a tad on the high strung side but he is all heart to me. He's gotta be one of the sweetest guys I know. Just always making sure his family is taken care of well beyond the second and third mile. He's the one that grabs the door first, goes in for hugs and has that good ol boy charm with his love for guns and shooting crap. Claire's hair is usually quite the top subject but since her pink do for Lila's (second born) arrival in August she's moved to a more casual-mommy-deep-chocolate-brown flow. Also, sometime recently she has found this uncanny way to speak her mind, the truth or aka no dang filter and it's fabulous and creates many awesome moments for us on the family text. Thanks, Claire :)  

Next is the Geismen crew. Little Archer Burke was conveniently included. Cami, the youngest and most colorful of the Dinkel bunch married Hunter. What can I say about Cam? Gosh, the list could truly go on forever. She's the token life of the party, likes to make gourmet dishes and keeps us all on our toes with planning of lots of family activities. She's basically hyper to the fifth power. It's great and lends to very happy Dinkel activities. I suppose it only makes sense for her to marry a man like Hunter who speaks only once a month and only to Cami. He's gotta be the nicest introvert on the planet. Not the creeper, stalker kind of way but genuinely hospitable, calming and level headed. He lives for ESPN or CSPAN or whatever other channels accommodates very large amounts of sports only. 

The family is just a great mix of all things wonderful and I didn't ever know that life could be so fun within the context of fam. I grew up different, John Robert grew up differnt and to have such an incredible blast with 13 other humans is beyond me. It's just terribly refreshing to have a group of people that absolutely love to spend time with one another. They are definitely the exception to every family rule I know. And we are greatly blessed because of it. 

Along with LOTS and LOTS of laughs, Louis' brings gifts as well :) Corey and Claire's oldest is just cuteness in tot form! Geeezz!!!

I asked Lila Claire to smile but she was hardcore milk drunk for most of the night :) 

I wish I had one of Abe and Brody... Chad and Angel's two boys... There's always next year :) 

We always conclude the dinner with going around the table and sharing our favorite things about the person's birthday that it is. It's a wonderful tradition that is irreplaceable. There are bound to be repeats from year to year but it's just absolutely the perfect way to end a day where it is the goal for it to be special for YOU. 

So here's to having such a sweet family and being a whopping TWENTY FIVE and an impromptu Family photography Session.