I am a photographer, but way before I was a photographer, I was a mother.  In fact, the whole reason I was drawn to photography was because I had all of these gorgeous “mommy moments” that I wanted to remember for always happening every single day that I just had to figure out how to save them.

I LOVE what I do, but this past year got a little out of control!  JMP grew way faster than I anticipated, but it came at a time we really needed the money.  We have been dreaming of buying some land to build on for a long time, and 2 months ago, all of our hard work and saving paid off when we closed on 17 acres of property that is just perfect for us in every way.  We couldn’t be more excited!

Now that we have the property, so many things need to be done!

BUT

In all of the crazy, I keep thinking “Our new home will be perfect to take more photos in!”, and then after a bit I started realizing that isn’t good enough.  We probably wont be in our new home for another 2-3 years. (getting this house ready to sell, selling it, moving, finding a builder, building a house, then moving again…)  Our 5th child will hopefully be born later this month (DD is June 30th so I am PRAYING she doesn’t come late. lol) and I refuse to wait until she is 2-3 years old to start documenting our moments again when it will be easy, because to be honest, with 5 kids I am pretty sure there will never be an easy time to do anything!

I have to make our own moments a priority!  NOW!!!

So here is the first month.  There aren’t nearly as many every day images as I would like but it’s a start.  My goal is to blog our own moments once a month over this next year and get a lot better about taking my camera out for my own family much more often. <3

 

Both of my girls love to color and draw.  Part of Lauren’s school work is to do a drawing lesson each day.  Emma came along after she was done and decided she wanted to do a bit herself. ;-)

 

I went to the most amazing photography workshop this past month.  In the airport on the way home I found a blue (his FAVORITE color) airplane with doors that open and close.  He has played with it constantly ever since.

 

Little hands with big imaginations.

 

“Mom, can I have some tap stick?”

 

A day on Lake Guntersville.  It was gorgeous. <3

Sunset.  My favorite time of day.

 

Waiting for the bats to exit their cave for the night!

These are getting printed ^^^ <3

 

She is trying SO HARD to not take naps any more…  Sometimes she just can’t help it though.  These sleepy days won’t last much longer…

 

Michael, my husband graduated with his BA this past month. Accomplishing this while working full time, taking care of us, being a fantastic dad to our 4 kids and now he is talking about getting his Masters.  Love you like crazy!!!

 

Every year in Kodiak, Memorial Day weekend was the time that they hosted the Kodiak Crab Festival.  Technically, it wasn’t anything special.  Fair food and rides (but they had to be small enough to fit on the ferry).  We always enjoyed watching the survival suit race and the Coast Guard drills, but the thing that made it special was the people.  The beauty of a small town is that you know just about everyone.  Even if it was raining (and it does that an awful lot in Kodiak), you would find people you knew out visiting with their hoods up to protect them from the rain.  It was always a weekend that we looked forward to.

When we moved to North Alabama, we knew we needed to find something to keep the homesickness at bay.  Photos of the festivities “back home” would fill our Facebook feed and we needed to stay busy.  When we heard about the Alabama Jubilee Hot Air Balloon Classic, we figued it was worth a try.  It was so much fun!  This was the 6th year we have been, and I have never gotten tired of watching my kids as they take it all in.  We still see images of friends in Kodiak roll across our FB feed, but we have made so many new memories with our new tradition, and they are our moments forever. <3

This was the first year our youngest was old enough to understand what was going on.  Watching her eyes get big as the first balloon rose from the ground, wincing a bit when the heat of the burners hit her face, covering her ears from the noise of the fan…  It was all new but so magical for her.  She has been talking about it with bright eyes ever since!

It was a good day <3

Overall, I didn’t pull out my camera enough this month…  I really need to make it a habit, but I took it out more than I did the month before, and that is progress.  Little victories right?

 

I specialize in “Family” Photography (Children, Newborn and of course Families) with a lifestyle and fine art twist.  I love this style blend as it helps me focus on showcasing beautiful connections while incorporating the imagination of the every day magical moments.

For more information about my packages click HERE.

To book a session call (907-942-2358) or email jenniMphotography@gmail.com
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