heavy

We were asked very last minute to do a photo shoot today for good friends of ours. They have just found out that their sweet little son has Leukemia, and they would like photos of him and with him before he looses his hair. Of course we agreed to spend the afternoon with them, to love on them, and to capture them.

*Sigh*

Why does cancer even need to exist? My heart burdens for the children that have to go through this. I can’t even imagine what it must be like as a parent to have to walk that road. To have to ask God the hard questions. And to wonder why YOUR child has to endure such a disease. We are always honored when people ask us to step into their lives in such a way, to touch them with our art and to bring to life emotions that they themselves aren’t aware that they are expressing.

But my heart is heavy.

Jesus, I pray that these images we take today would be so deeply special to this family. And that they would have some relief from the pain, fear and burden while they are with us. That they will laugh together and for a time, forget that cancer even exists. I of course pray for ultimate healing. But mostly for your will in their lives and that of all the people this family touches. Strength. I pray for strength. And peace. And healing in his little body. How frightened his mother must be. But I know that she trusts in you, in only ways you can give her strength to do. Give us a remarkable photo shoot for this family. And surround them with your peace in their lives amidst the scary road ahead. Amen.

* Image found on Pinterest.

good. night.

That is what I say when something has been intense, overwhelming, exhausting or is unbelievable. To which, these past few months have been ALL of those things on EVERY level possible. I have been the worst blogger EVER lately. It’s because I have literally have had to PLAN OUT WHEN I SLEEP WE HAVE BEEN THAT BUSY.

I have nothing to complain about. But it has been a whirlwind and I am tired. And the first thing to fly out the window was blogging, unfortunately.

I have been busy with this:

And this:

And this:

OH. AND THIS:

And this:

This:

And this:

And this:

This:

More of this:

THE LIST GOES ON. Seriously. The list seriously goes on. I’m up to my nose hairs in edits.

(I don’t actually have nose hairs. That’s gross.)

You know how this feels, right?? It’s been a crazy season and while I am hoping that it will slow down a little bit, my inbox and calendar are telling me otherwise. BUT, now that the spring wedding season is almost over, I DO hope that I can catch my breath, clean my house and bake something.

Who am I kidding? I don’t bake.

But you know what I mean. RELAX a little bit. Even just take one nap. That would be awesome.

It’s been a fantastic couple of months. I am FOREVER grateful to all of the people who help us watch our boys so we can go work and do what we love. Gosh, I’m forever grateful. None of this would be possible without the help of many people. I’ve shed lots of stressed out tears this season, as I usually do when I’m under stress, pressure or intense deadlines. I’ve never laughed harder, slept less, and been more thankful in all my life.

So this Spring wedding season concludes our second year as Session Nine Photographers. We head into our third year, already with exciting news. Well, news I can’t share EXACTLY right now. But I CAN tell you that we have been asked to submit MANY images into a popular bridal magazine for publish!! We are stoked.

Gosh it’s been a lot of work. I KNOW you know what I’m saying. If you are a working mom (or even if you aren’t!), you know what I’m saying when I say that working full time and trying to be a good, present mom is HARD. It’s exhausting.

It’s worth it. I love it. The good, bad, stressful and exciting. I love all of it.

Here’s to June! May the Summer be as exciting as this past Spring was! With hopefully a lot more sleep in my future. HA!

working mom

We are shooting TWO weddings this weekend!! Have I mentioned how much I LOVE my job?? Ain’t nothin’ like shooting a wedding. Especially for two couples who both hired us quite awhile ago and the weekend is finally here!! How fun is that??

But that means I’ll need to put on my ‘working mamma hat’ for the weekend while these two go spend some time with family. I will miss these little monkeys for sure. But I am so ever grateful to have a job where I can still be me, get outside with my hubby, and focus on other things for a little while.

And I am SO grateful that we have amazing family who will always watch our boys for us.

Here’s a couple snap shots I took with my phone. Rider is officially sitting up now, so this was his first ‘big boy’ ride in the cart at Target. These two are so funny. I love them.

Here’s to working hard, getting outside and being CREATIVE. Seriously, it’s the best.

last night

Jason and I photographed a wedding last night and it was SUCH a fun wedding. The more I do this, the more I realize that I really AM in the absolute right career path for me. Photography is such a passion of mine and I’m incredibly blessed to be able to share and work with my incredibly talented husband. We have so much fun with our couples and the weddings that we have had the honor of photographing have all been nothing short of amazing.

Gosh. I just feel so lucky and blessed! Can I just say that?!

Here’s one picture I snapped last night. Once the ladies heel’s started flying off, I knew we were in for a good night! And I was right! It was such a celebration and that is exactly what wedding’s should be all about! To see more pictures of past wedding’s we’ve done or to check out our recent stuff too, please visit our website at www.sessionninephotography.com. And there’s info on our site on how you can hire us too if you’re interested!

favorite pictures lately

It’s a crazy season for us in our house. Not only did we just have a baby, but this is the busiest time of year for us for Session Nine Photography. Don’t get me wrong; we are SO grateful that God is blessing our business like He is. I am so blessed to stay home with our two kiddos and work at the same time.

But we are BUSY!

Since I had a c-section, my doctor doesn’t really want me working until I’m at week 6 or 7 post baby. I’ve done a couple family shoots, that lasted an hour, but weddings are pretty much out of the question. Weddings are one of my favorite things to photograph, so it’s been a bummer to sit out of the FOUR weddings we had this month. But I do need to heal and take care of myself and my family, so I haven’t pushed the issue. It’s only a season.

So Jason’s done a huge majority of the photographing for us this past month and he’s just doing awesome! I wanted to post several of my favorite pictures that we’ve taken as of lately to share with you what we have been working on. You can also check out our work on our website too. We have a few more posts this week that I’m pretty excited about too. So take a peek there this week too!

It’s been a good season for us, although incredibly busy. And even though I haven’t been able to photograph as much these past few weeks, it’s still so amazing that we get the privilege of working at our art to provide for our living. It’s something I won’t ever take for-granted.

one highlight from my week

I’ve been slightly MIA this week on my blog. And it’s because I’ve really had a hard week and I feel like complete poop these days. I hate being the pregnant lady that just complains ALL THE TIME, but it is what it is. And if one more person says, “Well, at least you’re almost done!”, I might just scream. Yes, I know I’m almost done. But 3 weeks feels like an eternity when you’re uncomfortable and unless you’ve carried more than one child, I’m not sure you fully understand how I feel since I’m dealing with extreme uncomfortableness that usually only comes if you’ve been pregnant more than once.

So there it is.

It’s been a difficult week, for more reasons than one. Reasons I don’t really feel like talking about, frankly. Everything is fine, don’t worry. It’s just been a long, emotional and kind of draining week for me. So I’ve cried A LOT and tried to keep up my normal routine and getting Cruz out of the house everyday. It’s hard to get out of the house these days, but sometimes it’s harder to stay home with a toddler. So it’s worth the extra effort, even though I feel like lying down every time we go somewhere. But in the midst of this difficult week, there HAVE been some amazing highlights! It hasn’t all been bad, even though I definitely just did paint it that way.

Last night, we had a SUPER fun photo shoot planned that I’ve been looking forward to for a few weeks now! Recently, I’ve connected with Steph and Joy who are the co-founders of the Scottsdale Mom’s Blog, which is an amazing blog that connects other mom’s together from the area! I recently went to their Mom’s Night Out and they actually asked me to photograph the event! It was SUCH a blast! It was so much fun to get out with other mom’s, eat yummy food, drink wine (not me, don’t panic) and just be women for the night. Steph and Joy have such great hearts and love connecting with people and getting others connected to one another. I’ve completely enjoyed getting to know these two women and love watching their network grow and become something that is so cool for so many moms in the area!

Jason and I thought it would be so fun to do a girly shoot with these awesome women to say thanks for giving us exposure and for having the huge hearts that they have. So last night, we had the biggest pleasure of photographing these two mom’s with each of their little girls! Steph and Joy’s daughters are 6 weeks apart, and they are the CUTEST little girls ever. So we headed up towards Pinnacle Peak Patio in Scottsdale, noticing the dark clouds all around the mountains, but not really super concerned about it. We’ve only ever had to cancel one photo shoot since we’ve become photographers due to the rain- it just always clears up! But as we are heading up that way I get a text from Steph that says:

“Is it raining?”

My response:

“No I don’t think so!”

It wasn’t raining YET, where we were, so I just told her that I didn’t think the rain would be an issue and we can always shoot quickly if we need to. The sky was SUPER dark and it did look like it COULD rain, but it’s Arizona! You know how it goes if you live here. It teases us all the time! Dark clouds in the sky, and no rain for months. I know it’s monsoon season, but I just figured that it would hold out until we were finished because it always usually does. Nope. It didn’t hold out. We stepped out of the car and it was sprinkling and very windy. I didn’t really think that it would rain harder than the sprinkles, at least not until after our shoot. Not sure why I thought that. Probably because I’ve lived in Arizona all my life!

Well, it ended up raining pretty hard, cutting our shoot short. But we were able to get some awesome shots of the four of them and I can’t wait to showcase them here and on our Session Nine Photography site, once they are ready. We also brought Cruz with us, which we typically try not to do these days. But these two awesome women didn’t mind in the least and Cruz provided some pretty funny entertainment! He was such a flirt with each of their girls! And he proved (once again) to be ALL BOY and LOVED playing in the rain and puddles. He calls the rain “Weeeee!” so he just ran around shouting “Weeeee!!” and pointing at the puddles on the ground. HA! These pictures don’t do justice to how crazy his hair looked after the shoot. Between the humidity and the rain, he was a mess! A cute mess, but a mess nonetheless! And check out how RED his hair looks! HA! I did not edit this picture to make his hair look super red. But it was wet and outside in the right lighting and all his little redheaded hairs just popped right out!

We had a blast with Steph and Joy. So consider this a ‘Coming Soon’ post for the pictures from the shoot. These lady’s looked amazing and each of their girls are simply adorable. It was such a fun photo shoot and the unexpected rain (and cooler temperatures!) made this shoot unpredictable, fun and we had to get super creative. It was a little crazy, but it was such a highlight of my week that I just had to share.

So check back soon for updated pictures on these two mammas and their beautiful girls. It was such a fun shoot- we just had a blast! Thanks ladies for being so awesome! It was our pleasure to photo you 4 and we can’t wait to unveil the pictures to you!

*Steph’s on the left with her daughter Nora and Joy’s on the right with her daughter Reagan. Cuteness abounds!!

feeling good

Gosh I turned a corner in this pregnancy! And it was about time! I have always felt pretty good and I am blessed with healthy pregnancies. More importantly, I’m blessed with healthy babies. My doctor has told me multiple times that things couldn’t be healthier with him and for that I am eternally grateful.

But I’ve had this looming fear and struggle with my body image this pregnancy. I gained so much weight during my pregnancy with Cruz, that the thought of that happening again is slightly terrifying. Even though I’m trying to relax about it, enjoy it and just take what comes. Even still, I’ve felt pretty frumpy this time and having a hard time finding clothes that fit since I’m apparently carrying Rider pretty high.

BUT!

Jason surprised me for my birthday and took me on a shopping spree for clothes that actually fit the right way and clothes that I could feel pretty in! What a guy, huh?? So we went to dinner and then we went to several stores and I was just allowed to splurge basically! To top it off, EVERYTHING I tried on felt good on and it FIT for the most part. So I had a very successful shopping trip, leaving with two pairs of pants and no less than ten tops to go with. Then, he let me get all new makeup! Gosh. I came home that night just feeling, well… pretty! For the first time in a long time I actually felt pretty! Jason is the greatest person to go shopping with because his style is fantastic and he’s honest. Plus, who doesn’t want their stylish husband helping pick out clothes for you and then telling you that you look good in the things you’re trying on? It was a really fun night and we had a great time together. So now I get up in the mornings excited to get dressed and do my makeup and I haven’t felt like that in a while, if we’re being honest here.

THEN.

I went to my doctor’s appointment this morning. I’m now going every two weeks, which is freaky to me because that means that we are only weeks away from meeting my second born child. 8 weeks to be exact. Whoa. We go through the whole process of the appointment and I dared to ask her how much weight I’ve gained through the entire pregnancy. The past couple appointments I haven’t kept track so I wanted to know what the tally is at now that I’m eight weeks away. And she told me that I’ve only gained 27 lbs so far and she doesn’t see me going over 35! Music to my ears because I gained 54 lbs with Cruz. I am aware I still could gain a lot more in the next 8 weeks and that’s ok, if that’s what needs to happen. But to hear that I’m almost 31 weeks pregnant and under 30 lbs was exciting to me for sure! So needless to say, I’m feeling great right now. New clothes, new makeup, positive numbers on the scale. And for the first time in a long time, I actually FEEL pretty.

AND.

Last night we had a great photo shoot with an adorable family. Before we met up with them to photograph them, Jason, Cruz and I went about an hour early and he snapped some belly pictures of me. And we did a few family shots too. It was really a great time and the first time in a LONG time that I actually wanted to be photographed. I wanted to leave a little sneak peek here of one of my favorite pictures that he took. There are so many cute ones and I’ll definitely be sharing them once we edit them.

So I just had to post all this because so much of pregnancy (for the pregnant person) is left feeling huge and hot and sweaty and frumpy and uncomfortable. It’s completely refreshing to have a few days where you just feel amazing and pretty and not so fat. I’m enjoying these few days of feeling good because who knows what next week will bring in the self esteem department.

weddings

I won’t post all the pictures we posted on our site here, but I did want to post a few. Jason and I photographed a wedding back in April and we completed all the edits this past week! We are very, very proud of the work that we did and I wanted to share it with you here!

I love photographing weddings. It’s hard work, that’s for sure. Especially while being pregnant! Ha! But I love that it’s such a big and important day for a couple. I love that everything is beautiful. I love that there is so much LOVE in the air. I love that a wedding usually always reflects the couples individual style. And what I love more is being able to spend time with our clients and get to know them through the process. It’s so gratifying to watch people you would consider friends as they say their vows to one another.

And they’ve asked us to capture it. Wow.

It’s so amazing to be able to pay very close attention to our work in post production. To be able to collaborate with Jason and to put something together that genuinely tells a story. I just love it, the whole process from beginning to end!

Julie and Luke’s wedding was an amazing event. It was such a fun wedding!! People danced, drank and celebrated. Here’s a few of the pictures that were my favorites from the day. To see all the pictures, please check out our Session Nine Photography site. I love being able to create memories for people. This is my job?? Are you kidding me?? Wow. What an honor.

dear cruz,

Mommy and Daddy have been so busy this month. May has been the one month looming on the calendar that overwhelmed me just from looking at our calendar. We managed to photograph 4 weddings, a good amount of lifestyle sessions, a boudoir shoot and a birth. Each of these experiences and photoshoots are things we are extremely grateful for, so there’s no complaining out of us! But it’s been a very busy month.

To top it off, we moved this month. And that means, we had to find renters, fix up and clean our home in Gilbert, find a new place for us to live, pack, move, unpack, and get settled. Mommy took one trip to California for work. Daddy took a trip up north for work. All of this, with all of our photo shoots AND the edits that are piling up all happened within the same four weeks of May.

In the blink of an eye, May was over.

I’m telling you all this because I’ve been away from you a lot this month. I know there are a lot of mommies out there that go to work every day and are away from their babies and children much more than I am away from you. And I’m thankful that we’ve found a way for me to be at home as much as I am with you.

But since I am a full time stay at home working mom, and due to the industry I’m in, it does require me to be away from you some to work and to run our business successfully. This is so good for mamma- to have her own dreams, aspirations, achievements, goals outside of being a mamma. I see and understand that. I value it immensely too. But like every other mom out there, I’m also flooded with guilt from being away from you so much at times- even though I know you are always in good hands, taken care of by people who love you so much and who would never hurt you. But I still struggle with guilt from time to time while I’m away and working.

Or even if I’m in the same room and working.

I feel like no one prepared me for the amount of guilt that every mom feels at times. And I know it’s Satan, just trying to make me feel like I’m a worthless mother and that I’m not making good decisions for you. That I’m never spending enough time with you. That you’re growing up too fast and OMG, am I missing it??

It’s these thoughts that are very overwhelming to me. And I know I’m not the only one.

So while it’s on my mind, I wanted to make sure I wrote you a letter to remind you that no matter how busy we get, no matter how much we work or don’t work, you and your brother will always be one of our top priorities. You are always on my mind Cruzer. Dadda and I are always thinking about how we can make a good life for you guys and how we can provide for you and take good care of you. Mamma doesn’t like being away from you. But when I start to feel guilty, I try to remind myself about how truly blessed and lucky I am. I get to work at home with you there on most days. And while it does make for crazier days and weird working hours, there’s nothing I’d trade for it.

I try to remind myself that it’s good for me to have some space; to have my own thing that’s completely separate from being a mom. And while I do love being a mom more than anything, I do feel like there is a good balance in my life. Once I’ve had a crazy few days of work, it’s actually refreshes me to be a better mom in some cases. When I write it all out and read it over, it makes me feel like I have nothing to feel guilty over! Which is true, but every mom experiences it on some level and at some point.

Just remember my little man, when mamma has crazy busy days or months with work, you, dadda and Rider are always at the top of my thoughts and priorities. And always remember how God truly blessed me beyond words with the ability to work from home at something I love as a career more than anything I’ve ever loved as work in all my life.

When guilt creeps in your life, push it out. We have so much to be thankful and grateful for.

I’ll remember that too.

I love you forever,

Mamma

the crimmins

We have loved meeting the people at Scottsdale Bible Church. We are making friends there that we know will be friends for a long, long time. Tanya and Casey are no exception! We met these two at SBC because they are both leaders in the High School ministry. We quickly discovered that we clicked with the two of them perfectly and have had a blast getting to know and hanging out with them!

Tanya is pregnant with their firstborn son, Isaiah and is due to deliver on June 9th! It’s always so much fun to photograph couples who are on their first pregnancy. There’s a sense of such excitement and anticipation over the unknown. Tanya and Casey are both incredibly excited and cannot wait to meet their little man! We hope he gets here soon!

Congratulations Tanya and Casey! We can’t wait to meet Isaiah and for all of our kids to play together soon. You guys have been amazing friends to us, welcoming us to the community and into your lives immediately. You both are such a great example of what it means to be true servants and have embraced us fully. For that, and many other things, we are thankful for you both and your growing family! Thanks for allowing us to be a part of it!