Life I've Seen

Lots of Smiles Closer! Catching up…

Jon & Kelsey — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 20:48:10 +0000

Happy summer! Time to catch up… I have been bad about blogging the photos I’ve been shooting to help raise funds for Justin and Meredith to bring home our niece, Mia. I’ll share a few from a couple sessions from this summer! I really enjoy getting to visit with the families and also step outside of my normal job/duties to shoot photos.

Talk about the cutest expressions! Little Gracey Krauth, our friends Chris & Karen’s daughter, is the sweetest 6 month old! I have the privilege of taking photos for Gracey’s 3, 6, 9 and 12 month milestones. It’s amazing how much she has changed in just 3 months and I can’t wait for the next stage! Enjoy this sweet smile…

I first worked with the wonderful Stavnes family back in October. Their family is passionate about adoption and orphan care and family! Their adorable son, Elijah, was adopted from Ethiopia. I had a large group to work with that afternoon for sure… Amy’s brother’s family and also her Mom and Dad all came out for a big family shoot. In addition to trying to round up 6 kids and 6 adults to all simultaneously look at the camera, I also did individual family shots of each. Enjoy a few of the favorites…

One Smile Closer :: Jill + Joe

Jon & Kelsey — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 18:09:13 +0000

A dear friend of mine thought of such a sweet idea… to help contribute to the One Smile Closer adoption campaign and also give her friend a wonderful baby/maternity gift at the same time! (Thanks, Megan!) That’s how I met Jill & Joe. : )

Jill is quickly approaching her due date, yet she was such a trooper to brave the elements and meet me outside for the afternoon. These two are such a sweet couple, and I’m excited for them and this new adventure that they’ll soon embark upon! Congratulations y’all! Here are a few of my favs…

One Smile Closer :: Forest + Bonnie

Jon & Kelsey — Thu, 25 Nov 2010 22:56:17 +0000

Talk about an adorable couple! These two have been married for 10 years and they share such a fun and unique connection with each other. They both share the same love of flying and are currently pilots! They added their lovable pup, Cooper, to the family earlier this year, and it was a joy to spend the afternoon snapping some lovely photos of them all. You guys are the best!

Thanks to you two for the donation towards the One Smile Closer campaign to help bring home our niece, Mia Grace, from Ehtiopia!

Here are a few of my favorites from the day:

One Smile Closer :: The Luchts

Jon & Kelsey — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 04:38:19 +0000

This was a special shoot because I was able to take Silas’ 1 year old pictures last year! Troy and Amber adopted Silas from Ethiopia about a year and a half ago and are currently in process to adopt a baby girl from Ethiopia as well. Be sure to visit their BLOG to read more and follow their amazing journey to “Silas’ Sister.”

Troy and Amber have also been a great source of advice and encouragement for Justin and Meredith, and we all appreciate them very much. Thanks for your donation and helping us get One Smile Closer to our future neice!

Here are a few of my favorites from this adorable family:

One Smile Closer :: The Stavnes’

Jon & Kelsey — Sat, 02 Oct 2010 18:49:03 +0000

I was connected with the Stavnes family through our friends Amber and Troy, who have and are currently adopting from Ethiopia. Amy and Paul recently came home with their beautiful son, Elijah, also from Ethiopia! I am always so thankful to hear each unique story from families that have made the choice to adopt. I found out that Amy is an avid blogger and has a fabulous blog about their adoption journey, which you can check out HERE.

This family of 6 is so sweet and we enjoyed capturing a few photo moments on a beautiful Sunday morning. Thanks for letting us be part of this special time for your family! Your donation towards the One Smile Closer campaign for my brother & sister-in law’s adoption fund helps put them one step closer!

One Smile Closer :: Birthday Boy & Girl

Jon & Kelsey — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 21:32:39 +0000

Mixing a 1 year old and 2 year old with 96 degree heat at 9 AM makes for a fun photo shoot! Ha! Adorable Caleb and Olivia were born 12 months apart and celebrated their 1 & 2 year old birthdays this month. Happy Birthday! Meredith and John came with a plan to quickly get shots of them both, and with Meredith’s mom’s help, it all came together. Woo Hoo!

Also, I wanted to let you know that my beloved bro and sis-in-law are in the process of adopting a baby girl from Rwanda and have come up with a great fundraising idea called One Smile Closer. Check out more about their adoption journey and the One Smile Closer campaign HERE. We’re joining in on the campaign and donating anything made from taking photos to the One Smile Closer fund! Thanks to Meredith and John for being the first to sign up!

It was so much fun and I hope you enjoy a few of my favorite shots…

Four Legged Friends

Jon & Kelsey — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 22:04:23 +0000

Our good friends, the Perrigos, have animals galore on their farm… dogs, cats, guinea hens, chickens, horses and goats to name a few! We (minus the animals) are all on the Son Valley Ranch board together, and the Perrigo’s horses will be our Ranch horses for the kids to enjoy. Jon and I hung out at their house a couple months ago and snapped some shots of the horses and other animals for the SVR website, to be updated soon.

Skye is amazingly smart and such an awesome dog. I loved catching a shot of her with the big sky in the background. Here are a few shots from that day…

Already 6 months old!

Jon & Kelsey — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 17:44:44 +0000

Cutie pie Siena Rose is already 6 month old! Jon and I love any time we get to spend with the Knoll family, and can’t get enough of this special family!

Here are a few fun shots from our March outdoor shoot:

Beautiful on the inside and out!!

Fam-o-four!

Jon & Kelsey — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 14:36:09 +0000

Jon and I just love Meredith, John, Caleb & Olivia!

Mer & John added Caleb and Olivia to their family within a 12 month span! So, needless to say, they’ve had their hands full with two little ones and adjusting to being a family of four. We enjoyed hanging out a few weekends ago to snap some family photos. Here are a few of my favs:

I have to brag on my friend Meredith. I mean, look at this pic… not only is she beautiful, but she’s such a caring and unique woman! Thankful for you.

YeeHaw!

Jon & Kelsey — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 17:24:31 +0000

A couple weeks ago, I snapped a few photos of the Dills in their backyard. It was a quick 15-20 minutes, but when you’ve got such beautiful subjects, it makes it easy!

Here are a few to enjoy…

Eric, Chelanie, Zaden & Zaylee