Kayla & Her Girls
Dearest Mae,
I'm speechless. These are breathtaking! It's almost okay that I'm not wearing make-up. All kidding aside, you have truly blessed me. I will cherish these photos forever!
Motherhood has asked more of me than I ever knew I was capable of and continues to demand that I be better than my best every single day.
Mae has an incredible ability to put anyone at ease (even my shy, slow to trust toddler). This compared with her eye for what makes a scene beautiful, makes her the best at what she does.
You're such a delight, Mae! Thank you for this beautiful gift.
kerlyn & her boy
I met with sweet Kerlyn last month to document her son's birthday.
It was cloudy, and sticky, but this family made everything oh so sweeet.
Kerlyn, thank you so much for trusting me with these memories,
“From a young age I had dreams to be so many things, but I remember very distinctly one afternoon as pre-teen, my father asked me what I wanted to be. To which I replied, I wanted to be a mother more than anything. He didn’t think that as weird as I felt admitting it, he said it was an important job, and he greatly admired my mom and his mom.
During my pregnancy, I never felt that attachment like I thought I should. I loved my baby, but I felt ashamed for not enjoying my pregnancy. After he was born, he spent a couple days in the NICU and all the days ran together. I didn’t have a moment alone with him and I hadn’t yet had that connection. On top of the worry, I felt even more guilt. After being home, he still wouldn’t latch but I eventually was able to get him to nurse again, and I was so happy. I was finally able to enjoy a moment with my baby and the beginning of motherhood. I’ve experienced more emotions, and have learned to deal with my internal struggles differently as a mother. I feel like I am complete as a mom and wife, even if it’s never perfect, it’s my beautiful mess.
I first met Mae at one of her mini sessions, I wanted so badly to capture our breastfeeding journey in photos. Mae had this natural ability to make me feel comfortable and vulnerable enough to share my feelings and emotions of being a mother. When I received my photos I was beyond the moon, I loved them all. A few months after our mini session, my son developed a nipple preference and our nursing journey ended. I am forever thankful to Mae for capturing those moments in such a beautiful way, her talent shows in every photo.
When my son came up on his first birthday, I came to her again for our family photos and to capture the changes in our breastfeeding journey. I exclusively pump and she was so open and happy to get those moments for me. I am so glad I will have these memories to look at on my walls, to show the love I have for my baby and my husband, and to remind me that when the dishes aren’t done, when I’m lacking hours of sleep and when things aren’t so easy, THIS is what it all is for! She captures perfectly the way I feel about my family.”
Amber and Her Loves
"I am at this wild place where I have a 15 year old and a 2 month old and just about everything in between. Where I have learned so much, enough to know that having things figured out isn't going to happen, even with Seven, enough to appreciate the minutes and the days I have with each one, and enough to give myself a time-out, apologize and let it slide when I totally screw up this parenting thing. This babygirl is our last, and the one before her never made it into our arms, so there are some bittersweet moments for sure, there is some grief, but goodness Ivy is so much peace and joy. It's wonderful really, my kids are awesome people, they are fun to be with, damn funny, mostly caring, each one so different, all of them mine (if only temporarily). And we are a blended family so there is that oddness, they have a dad but he is kind of only a parttime dad, so God gave us Joe and he is the best Papa ever, he loves us so well. It is one of my greatest joys watching their relationships with him."
"So I guess this is where I'm at right now... the moments don't feel so fleeting, with the tinies or the teens, the moments feel precious to me, sacred even, but I don't find myself wishing they'd stay little forever or anything like that. I find myself enjoying them as they mature, and try and fail, and succeed, and make new friends, and learn new things, and grow... It is incredibly lovely to watch my babies become who they are supposed to be."
