Time is a mystery. In one glance, you’re wanting to rush the seconds that make up a minute, so that you’ll get to the moment you’ve been waiting for, and in the next, you’re holding the hand of your son, wondering how he grew up so fast.

Hope. It reminds us that even in the midst of darkness, there is still a light. With all that's going wrong in the world, there are still many things right. And that expecting and anticipating beauty is not outrageous but it is actually brilliant. It gives us fire for the days to come. And it tells us that the things that God has planned are actually better than we could imagine and even dream up.

"There are these moments that when you’re sleeping, I sit back and watch you breathe. I watch your chest rise and fall ever so subtly as your lungs fill with breath and then release. I watch as your eyelids almost seem to flutter like rest is chasing you down and how you squirm just so as if you’re just getting comfortable. I watch you move and imagine that maybe you’re dreaming about slaying dragons or running fast or maybe you’re just dreaming of colours, of love, of us."

The day my life changed forever was the day I found out I was about to bring you into this world. I remember how my heart beat fast in my chest in anticipation. I remember images of your ultrasounds flashing in my mind and how I had pictured your little feet every time I felt you kick. I remember that as we got ready how there was this rushing, this flurry, this excitement mixed with unpreparedness.

There is something that happens the first time you hold your sweet baby in your arms. You’re never the same. You’re changed. Suddenly, your life shifts from being mostly about you to all about the little life that you’re now holding. And in the midst of such a radical change, you’re in love. You are completely in love. You would trade in the sleeping in and all those beautiful inconveniences, for the pure delight of knowing and loving this little one.

The other day, I held the sweetest newborn in my arms. It made me think. It is a beautiful and brave season to be newly born. You’ve entered the world and everything, literally everything, is brand new. Your entire life story is unwritten. It is completely for the seizing and the revealing; who you’ll be, what you’ll do, where you’ll go is undecided. It is to be written. The possibility of that is beautiful.

When was the last time you experienced something for the first time? Maybe a different culture, a new food, an experience that you’ve just never had before. And you know how there is that rush of energy and sometimes even fear that we get as we do something new, try something new, experience something new. One thing that I love about little newborn baby lives is...

Imagine you’re lying in the hospital bed, holding your precious newborn in your arms. You feel such a sense of peace, now that you’ve been able to see him or her for the first time. You can see they’re safe there with you, hear them breathe and watch them move their tiny little arms and legs. You’d love to shout it from the rooftops, to announce all those details, how much he or she weighed, or what day your long awaited baby was born on.

Children are unpredictable, and photography sessions can seem hard to prepare for. Clinton and Jill's session was so loving and genuine, even if sometimes little big brother Oliver wanted nothing to do with being photographed. Their newborn baby girl, Eleanor, was content and wonderful. To help my clients keep their stress levels down when preparing for a session like this, I’ve put together some helpful hints. Reading these over and following them will be sure to help you feel completely informed, and to reduce your stress levels before and during your photo session.

The birth of a child is remarkable. It is remarkable in conception, in anticipation, in pregnancy and in their arrival. Like a breath in these seasons, it is almost like you can just feel it, like you just know it deep inside, “This is remarkable.”…

You know that feeling when someone is truly gentle with you? It is almost as if they are full of this peace and kindness that invites you to be yourself, to be okay with where you are in life and to just breathe deep because it is good. Gentleness is something I strive for every single day in my parenting, my work, my play, and in my walk with God

There is this feeling you get. You can feel it in your soul. It comes when you’re watching a family play, like really play, with their kids. And if love could be seen, it would be bursting out of every single moment and every single interaction.It is this moment where all the busy is set to the side and forgotten and all that matters is the connection between family.