Me.

I am:

a wife.

mother.

daughter.

sister.

friend.

christian.

artist.

Most of all, I am just me.  I juggle many hats but my true passion is photography.  I never dreamed this is what I would be doing.  If you would have asked me ten years ago where I would be now, I would have told you that I would be working as a nurse and maybe have one child.  But God had a different plan for me.  

I met my husband when I was fifteen years old at the same pool I take my children to now.  I was a lifeguard there and still remember the day I saw him.  I was smitten when he showed interest in me, but was intimidated by his good looks and "wild" lifestyle.  We became friends at first and that friendship grew into much more.  We have been together ever since and I can honestly say, I married a wonderful man.  He has supported me and made me a better person.

When I was 20, we had our first daughter.  It was a bit of a shock because we were both so young and I did not know anyone who had children my age.  It was hard, but it was the best thing that ever happened to me.  I knew at the time I was enjoying every moment of motherhood, yet,  I still did not know what my future held. I had not finished college and just assumed I would go back to school one day and finish my nursing degree.  We decided to have another child and three years after our first daughter was born, we welcomed another beautiful little girl into our lives.  

The Christmas before she was born, my mother bought me my first SLR camera.  It was a Canon Rebel and it used film.  I went out and bought some black and white film, put some white sheets up in the living room, and did a little photo shoot with my girls.  I had so much fun taking the pictures, but figured they would look like every other picture I had taken and the heads would be chopped off.  I got back the film and much to surprise, they were beautiful, and I was hooked.  I kept that camera and eventually bought a little point and shoot digital camera, but still used my film SLR for most portraits I took.  I started dreaming big about how much fun it would be to start a photography business then, but those were just dreams that I never thought would happen.

We welcomed yet another beautiful daughter into our lives two years after our second daughter was born, and she made me feel complete.  We felt so blessed to have three healthy children and as they grew older, I started to think about my purpose.  I mean, being a mother was the best thing that had ever happened to me, but I wanted more. I felt like I was just "mom".  I had no college diploma, and at this point couldn't imagine going back to school. And that is when I started to dream again.  I told my husband that I thought I would like to start my own photography business.  Remarkably enough, he just said...and I still remember, "well, let's do it".  I felt so nervous and prayed about it for a long time.  I just didn't know if I was cut out for it and was afraid I would fail.  After many, many months of praying and self-reflecting, I made the decision. In November of 2009, I bought my Canon 7D. I spent the next four months studying, reading, practicing and a lot more practicing.  In March of 2010,  I began portfolio building and I haven't looked back.

I have come a long way in such a short time. I look back a year ago at my photography and I can almost laugh.  I have learned so much over the past year and feel like my photography is better than ever. I still have so much to learn and I have big dreams.  

I thank each and every one of you who have helped me and supported me along the way. There are so many.  I feel extremely blessed to be doing something I love and I feel like I have found my passion.  I can honestly say that I feel fulfilled and have the best of both worlds.  A career that can grow as much as I want it to and a loving family whom I wouldn't be here without.

Last thing I want to say is. Dream big.  Find your passion and follow it.  It doesn't have to be anything grande or spectacular, but find something you love.  

Many thanks to my friend Denise who is a fabulous photographer in Louisa County, VA.  We met virtually only a couple of months ago, and I feel so connected to her already.  I can't wait to see what our friendship has in store this year ;)