Baby Frank Anthony

I had the pleasure of seeing little Frank Anthony on his first day in this world. He's beautiful! I can't wait to take more pictures of him as he grows.

Congratulations to the happy parents!



The happy happy daddy!


He was so content and quiet the whole time except this one little moment:


But he calmed right down. Looks like he might be an easy baby!


Surrounded with the love of family:







Jeanette went to get a pedicure with a friend the night before she went into labor. The polish was supposed to be a beautiful, deep purple, but too many coats caused it to look black instead. It's so not Jeanette to be sporting a goth look, so we all found it qui


Welcome to the world, Frank Anthony! You are an incredible miracle, a huge blessing to all who are in your world, and loved beyond measure!

Up North

Labor Day weekend is one of my favorite holiday weekends of the year, and this time was no exception! The weather did not cooperate, but that didn't stop us from enjoying everything we could.

According to tradition, we spent Saturday with my extended family on Coldwater Lake. We were stuck inside the whole day, so I have no usual tales of water skiing, tubing, swimming, and the like. Still, it was fantastic to get to spend time with the family, catching up with cousins, and eating loads of amazing food.

We headed further north for the rest of the weekend, aiming to enjoy our early anniversary trip. [Our anniversary is at the end of September, but Matt always complains about how cold our anniversary trips are, so we thought going earlier in the month would be a good idea... ha! If only! I guess we might just have to get used to cold anniversary trips!] We didn't get to enjoy swimming in the big Lake like we had hoped, but we did get to explore downtown Petoskey, hike through Petoskey State Park, drive up to Cross Village through the Tunnel of Trees, and meander through Harbor Springs and Charlevoix. Most of all, it was just fantastic to spend a relaxing couple of days with just the two of us. And, we all know how much I love exploring Michigan... :)

Enjoying a "small" cup of cappuccino and a yummy lunch at Jolly's:


Our windy self-portrait by the beautiful Little Traverse Bay:

A Baby is on the way!

This couple is one of the most deserving people to be experiencing the honor of becoming new parents! Their immense love for children and family has always been apparent. They have always been generous in opening their home to family events, driving all over the state for other family functions, giving personalized gifts to each of the numerous nieces and nephews, attending events for godchildren and friends, and so much more. Their journey to having children of their own has been long and difficult, and it gives me immense joy to see this little miracle of God growing in Jeanette's belly now! They are going to be amazing parents.

Jeanette is gorgeous, by the way:


Between the two of them, I'm positive their baby is going to be absolutely beautiful!



Jeanette and, as niece Maggie calls him, "Buzz Buzz" like to cook together, so we thought it would be fun to capture some of their time in the kitchen:



This baby is so showered in love already! They can't wait to meet him/her!


Their session wouldn't have been complete without their other member of the family, Katija:


The little one is due in September! I can't wait to show you more pictures then!

Friends, Family, and Lakes!

I can't believe that summer is wrapping up soon! It's been an absolute whirlwind of fun, jam packed with family and friends. In the past three weeks, we've been to three family reunions! We've enjoyed spending time with our awesome new friends, visited some old ones, and had a blast with other family visits. And it's not over yet!

We spent a couple of days in Mt Pleasant recently with family. We watched some incredible dirt track racing at the Mt Pleasant Speedway with my cousins. I wish I knew how to post the videos I took, because it was so awesome! Then we enjoyed family reunion #1, where we got to see Uncle Frank and Dan's latest inventions (always fascinating!). Last time it was their pop-pop boats, this time Dan was in the process of building a camper from scratch:


And he seriously has every single square inch serving a purpose. It's amazing how he thinks!

We also enjoyed the traditional tractor ride, which Dan improved with "new" (re-purposed) seats, stairs, and a sign:


All-out country style! :)

One of the highlights for me during these last few weeks was spending a day with my college piano professor. She's such a blessing to me! We enjoyed relaxing at her home on a lake, and even ventured out on a paddle-boat ride:


Our cousins from Mt Pleasant came to visit us for a day as well. We enjoyed venturing through IKEA. Ah the joys of big city living! :)

After all of that, Matt spent a weekend golfing 70 holes with his brothers in preparation for their annual golf tournament, which they won for the third time in four years. Congrats guys!

While he was out golfing, I was sailing! As I've mentioned so many times before, I LOVE SAILING! This time, I took my friend, Laree. We had a blast! It was perfect weather, so relaxing, and filled with jokes and laughter.


This is Laree acting like she was going to fall out when we were heeling:


At reunion #3, we played on the beach, ate tons of food, paddle-boated around, and buried Benjamin in the sand:


It has fed my soul to be with family and friends, and around so much water! :)

David :: Class of 2011

I had the awesome opportunity to take senior pictures for our eldest nephew, David, last weekend. I can't believe he's going to be graduating so soon! Time flies...

We had a lot of fun venturing all over downtown Port Huron to get some cool shots. David was so easy to take pictures of. He's such a happy, confident guy. I know he'll do well in whatever path he chooses after graduation.

Congrats on being a senior, David, and I hope you enjoy your last year of high school!

Lake Michigan

Just a week ago, our plans for the 4th of July weekend were pretty much non-existent. All that we had planned for our three day weekend was taking my grandma out for lunch on Sunday (which was great! ...so glad to be able to spend time with family again!). So we started talking about taking a trip to Lake Michigan, where--believe it or not--Matt had never been! We're planning on heading that way for our anniversary, but I think I've talked it up so much that Matt was getting awfully anxious to check it out! We figured we could head over that way on Monday, making it a budget-conscious day trip. Then I figured, why not just check out Hotwire's last minute deals? Ya never know... And so we scored a great, cheap hotel room in Grand Rapids! And it turned into a day and a half, still-budget-conscious last minute trip!

So after eating lunch with Grandma on the east side of Detroit, we headed all the way across to the west coast. We decided to hit up Grand Haven that evening, and enjoyed strolling their very busy downtown. People were everywhere! Turns out they were having their fireworks show that night. We walked the boardwalk for a bit, grabbed a bite to eat, and decided we wanted to check out the beach. The beach, at Grand Haven State Park, was a mile away, but we knew we wouldn't be able to park anywhere near it with all the people around. So we walked the mile and enjoyed the views on the way. In flip-flops. Remind me not to do that again! Owww.... Anyway, the beach was awesome. It was clearing out a bit at the time (a storm was threatening the party... but it ended up passing). Matt couldn't get over how sandy the beach was! No more gingerly navigating seemingly endless rocks and stones! I knew he'd love it... We didn't stick around for the fireworks since we wanted to get a good start on our sleep before the next day.

On Monday, we stopped in at Holland's State Park. (We bought the year pass recently when mountain biking at Maybury State Park, near Plymouth, and we are taking full advantage of it!) We played frisbee in the water and layed out for a bit. If only Matt would let me post a pic of his t-shirt looking burn!


It was so heavenly! Who needs Florida when you have Lake Michigan?? (OK, I've never been there, so I'm probably not in a position to say... but still...)

After getting some yummy BBQ in Holland, we headed to our next state park--Saugatuck. And, oh my goodness... It was so perfect! The 2.5 mile, wooded hike to and from the beach (not in flip flops) was beautiful and worth it. The sky was blue, the waves were huge, the water was warm, the sand so perfect... Can it get any better than this? I say all of the time how much I love water, and I really mean it. It feeds my soul.


I feel so incredibly blessed to be living in Michigan again. Sandy beaches, huge lakes, beautiful scenery... And so much more. I think I could seriously write a list of 101 Things I Love About Michigan. Hmm...

Lindsey & Duane's Wedding Album Design

I have this thing for albums. They're just such a beautiful, timeless way to share a story, and weddings are one of the best types of stories to tell! I just got finished designing an album from Lindsey and Duane's wedding. Enjoy these sneak peaks, and click here to view the entire album design. And if you haven't already, check out the slideshow of their special day here!

Lindsey & Duane's Slideshow

Lindsey and Duane's wedding slideshow is up! Check it out to see more images from their amazing day!

Lindsey & Duane :: Married!

Friday, June 4th, was a wonderful, beautiful day! It was so fun to photograph Lindsey and Duane's wedding. Lindsey and I grew up together--our parents met when I was an infant and Lindsey wasn't even born yet. Over the years, we shared pajama parties (I'll refrain from posting the picture of Lindsey and I modeling our pink nightgowns...), played for hours in the basement, and enjoyed celebrating Christmases together. We haven't seen each other often in the last few years, but Lindsey made me feel welcomed and special on her wedding day. It was an honor to be a part of it all.

Kind. Caring. Thoughtful. Loving. Those are some of the words that come to mind when I think of Lindsey and Duane, as well as their family and friends. Their whole wedding day exuded those qualities. Every detail showed a special care for those who had come to surround them in love on that day. Understandably, a wedding day usually consists of putting all of the attention on the bride and groom, but I could tell that Lindsey and Duane wanted just as much to show that love right back to everyone else. The immense love they have for each other (they're such a perfect match!) and for everyone else made the day one that will stand out in my mind, and I'm sure many others'.

Lindsey's makeup was done by her friend, Lisa Marie, from Katherine Lynn Salon in Troy, MI. She did a fantastic job with Lindsey and a few of her bridesmaids. I love Lindsey's features--so photogenic!


Everyone's hair was done by one of the bridesmaids, Nicole, who also works at the same salon. I just have to give a shout out to her and Lisa Marie because they did such a superb job! I loved the styles and all of the girls looked so beautiful!


Lindsey's bridesmaids were so fun and nice! Here's her maid of honor, Lauryn, helping with the dress:


What a good looking couple!


The weather was pretty iffy all day, sprinkling a bit before the ceremony and threatening the plans, but it ended up working out just perfectly. A big storm did roll in, but not until after we were safe inside at the reception! This is Duane's aunt and godmother waiting for the ceremony to start:


I absolutely adore Lindsey's parents--they're some of my very favorite people. I love this special moment between Lindsey and her dad.


This sequence is so special! I would love to know what Duane said to Lindsey's dad, because the reaction was priceless!





Both the ceremony and reception were at the picturesque Fore Lakes Golf Club near Port Huron.


The newly married couple!


Check out this beautiful bride!



The bridal party was so fun and easy to work with. They all looked great, too. I loved the girl's dresses--they all showed their own personalities and can be used so many times after the wedding! (See what I meant about being thoughtful? Great idea, Linds!)


And yet another thoughtful detail... The couple's wedding cake, made by The Atrium, was surrounded by nine other cakes that each had special significance. Like the chocolate Bumpy Cake for Lindsey's brother, Austin; Lindey's dad's favorite birthday cake, German Chocolate; a couple of recipes from grandmothers; both mothers' favorite, Carrot Cake; and even the cake recipe that was enjoyed the night the couple's parents first met. The cakes were delicious--I saw plenty of people taking multiple slices. I've never seen such a long line of people getting cake!


The couple's first dance:


The DJ, from Black Tie Productions of Flint, was fantastic. Everyone had such a fun time!


I wish all the happiness in the world for Duane and Lindsey! I'm sure the years ahead will hold many good things for them.