Operation Love ReUnited: The Madrid Family

A couple months ago I joined a wonderful organization called Operation Love ReUnited. It is a foundation of photographers who provide military families with free photography sessions when their loved ones are deploying or returning from duty. It is the most amazing organization of which I am so honored to be a part of. Having a loved one deployed over seas for months or even years is a very difficult thing for any family, but having the special time together documented in photographs is priceless and something I hope my OpLove families will cherish for years to come.

Without furthur ado, I present to you the Madrid Family. Mike has been deployed in Iraq for most of the year and in his absence, Jenn made it through her second pregnancy while taking care of her one year old daughter. Jenn is one of the strongest people I have met and I have so much admiration for what she and Mike are going through this year. Mike returned for a home visit recently to see his newborn daughter for the first time. Can you imagine how joyous that reuniting was? It was so sweet to see Jenn and Mike together with their two little girls, they are clearly so in love. Mike is gone again now but is set to return in a few months for a longer period of time. Here's wishing him a safe deployment, and a safe return.
For more information about Operation Love Reunited, click HERE

Jenn has a yellow ribbon tied around a tree in front of the house in Mike's honor, so we wanted to include this in some of the images :-)

Sweet Madelyn

Sweet Natalia

Love.

Maddie is so happy to see her Daddy again!

At the end of the session, we snuck in some pictures of just baby Natalia

Baby feet :-)

Baby Hayes 6 mo. Slideshow

Baby Hayes is 6 months!

In my book, Hayes wins the cutest baby of the year award. I could take pictures of this little pumpkin all the live long day! He is so smiley and happy all the time and has the best expressions. Every time I see him I secretly want to take him home (well I guess it's not such a secret since I tell his Mum constantly!). He kept giving me these little gems throughout our whole session. . .
Feast your eyes on this cuteness!!

Sneak Peek: Baby Hayes at 6 months

Do they come any cuter?? Hayes is the happiest baby you've ever seen! More to come soon. . . .

Ah, Life.

Oh, my poor blog. I am sad to say that I've abandoned it for over a month! Life has been busy busy as usual with work, photo shoots and a wonderful trip to the Canadian Rockies. The past couple weeks I have taken some "time out" due to a health issue and am happy to say that I'm back! I have so much to share with you all and lots of exciting stuff coming up. Keep checking back for weddings, baby sessions, an Operation Love Reunited shoot and hopefully some great images from visiting Phil's family in Australia (we leave in 8 weeks!). I hope everyone is enjoying all the fall colors. . . a great time for photo sessions! I am trying to pretend that this winter-like weather we're having right now doesn't bother me :-) Oh, what I would do for some Aussie sun here in New England!

Slideshow - Baby Levi

Jenn and Madelyn -- Maternity session

This past weekend I had the opportunity to meet up with Jenn and her sweet little girl, Madelyn. Jenn and her husband, Mike, are expecting their second baby daughter next month. Mike is in the Army and is current deployed in Iraq. They are anxiously awaiting his return for a visit in October. . .what a reunion that will be! Little Maddie is quite the little monkey, she is so expressive and fun to photograph. . . I can't wait for their family shoot in the fall when I can capture more of her! Jenn just couldn't be more beautifully pregnant. It was wonderful to capture her pregnancy and that special bond between mommy and daughter.

Enjoy!

Isn't Jenn Beautiful!




Sweet.





Jenn's family has this Ribbon tied around a tree in their front yard in honor of Mike.


I just had to add this shot. . .Maddie's not to happy with the camera here! What a monkey!

Baby Levi

This post has been a long time coming! Sweet little Levi was adopted back in May and couldn't be more loved by his Mum, Dad and two sisters. After spending weeks finalizing the adoption in PA, Levi was home and ready for his first photo shoot! These images were taken when he was 1.5 months old. What a little bundle of love!
Check out Bethany's adoption blog HERE.