The Beauty & Joy of LOVE!

Over the years, I've been witness to the amount of love and compassion my dear friend, Korin has shown our community of friends, some of which she has not even met. You have a baby, she'll help organize a meal train; you've had a loss, she'll offer a shoulder to cry on; your son has surgery, she'll hold your hand. She has been there for me, and many a dear friend, both in our most happiest times and in our sorrows. All while she has had her own struggles and challenges. Her capacity to give and express love and caring is admirable and astounding.
Her strength is an inspiration.

It is humbling to behold her love and delight shared between her husband and sweet daughter. And get a glimpse of the twinkling gem in her eyes, as she soaks in her daughter's affection...their warmth and tenderness is remarkable. There is no denying such a wonderful mother and how much she completely adores Ru. Their faces light up while playing pooka and discovering fish swimming in the water.

There is something that takes my breath away, to see a father, Ryan, so completely adoring his precious daughter. Sheer beauty and depth that brought tears to my eyes. One snap captured this...and it wrecks me every time. Breathtaking.

Thank you, Korin and Ryan for a fun morning and amazing shoot! Simply Beautiful! ~Nicole

Sweethearts & Miracle

There is something so sweet, and wonderful about a couple that has been together since high school. It's not something you see often these days, nor is it something most people expect to last a life time. Often when high school sweethearts marry, it's a rash decision, or a way to get out of a small town, or just young love gone crazy.

Ben and Rachel defy all of these stereotypes. They started dating when they were 17 and 16 respectively and when they had only been together for 14 months, Ben was diagnosed with testicular cancer. On the day Rachel graduated from high school when most teenagers are having parties and feeling invincible, Ben and Rachel were preparing for biopsies and hospital stays. What most people never faced in their lives, these two faced when they were kids.

Not only did they stay strong, they stayed together. Five years later, Ben is cancer free, they are happily married, and expecting a miracle child.

Again, defying the odds, and the challenge of fertility problems following cancer, Ben and Rachel prove to be a triumph of faith over fear, of hope over despair, of LOVE.

Written by my close and dear friend, Korin, Mamazen.

It was an honor to photograph such an amazing and beautiful couple. Thank you Rachel and Ben for the chance to capture the love you share with one another. Wishing you many blessings, I'm so excited for your upcoming birth. Warmly, Nicole

Robots Love Cupcakes

Early this spring, two moms began a home-based baking business, Robots Love Cupcakes, creating custom treats and sweets. This September, Joi and Amanda hosted a holiday tasting showcasing their pies, cookies and candies for their winter holiday menu...Not only do their sweets look decadent and delicious, but they are incredibly yummy! They are both very talented, knowledgeable and passionate about baking, which is an added bonus. You can find Robot Loves Cupcakes, here on their website, and also their holiday menu. Also check out their blog and facebook page for weekly specials. Your sweet tooth will be happy! :)

Music and Motion

A couple weekends ago, I met this beautiful family at one of my favorite parks to take photographs at. I'd only been there a couple of times and was looking forward to meeting them there. I had just met this family the day before, it was nice to talk about the ideas they had. What I love about shooting families are the ideas they come up with. Emily was great and asked me to try some specific shots. It's amazing when our visions collaborate and see that translated. Awesome!

Their daughter was super sweet, and I think she just might have performing in her future! She has quite the singing voice and loves to dance. She's such a doll! I think she even knew some songs I had not known...but she taught me.

It was a pleasure to visit and spend my morning with such a warm, sweet family. Thank you for a fun shoot! and bringing some funky ideas!

Love and Patience

I met this lovely mama Susannah, a few years back at a MDC family picnic. I remembered her as such a calm, patient mama, not knowing that she was thinking the same of me. That makes me smile. I felt so humbled to spend a morning with them at Mt. Tabor and go for a hike exploring one of the trails, taking deep breaths in of the beautiful surrounds. Mr. K is a warm, sweet and fantastic spirited boy, he kept me, us on our toes. I wish I could bottle that energy for myself. :)

We had some really sweet and snugly moments that captured her warmth and deep love she feels for Mr. K, that melts my heart...I hope she treasures these as Mr. K grows and she can look back at them and see the beauty of what they share. Thank you for a lovely shoot! xo~Nicole

September Family Sweetness

In September, I had the honor of having a photo session with one of my mama friends and her lovely family. It was also a nice treat coming back after my son's recovery and have photo sessions with friends.

We met up at one of my favorite places to shoot. The garden is beautiful with many, many roses and there are some of the most incredible trees, that remind me of something out of a Dr. Seuss book, with such personality. Their kiddos were so fun and filled with fantastic energy. Their oldest daughter had some great ideas for where we should take some pictures. I love that when kids light up with ideas! So sweet.

We enjoyed the roses and was tempted to slip our feet into the cool water of the fountain, but resisted (not a wading pool). Though we did make our way down to the water feature at the playground and a couple of them did get a little wet. It was a lot of fun, for me and I think for them too. Thank you for a fun morning at the park!

Sauvie Island Sunset

The other night as we were driving on the island, we saw this beautiful orange sunset. There was so much beauty to appreciate. I took a deep breath and snapped a shot. Beautiful!

Mama and Her Boys

Last weekend, I spent the morning with a lovely mama and her sweet boys. We played, we talked, and we captured! For me this is soo much more than creating beautiful memories for a family, it is a true passion and connection for seeing who they are and being able to share those moments. My hope is always to capture who they are and what they were hoping for, their playfulness, beauty and love that they share with each other. Thank you so much for letting me share a beautiful morning with you and your boys.

A Little Bit of Family FUN!

How exciting, my first unofficial first photo shoot back, after Madden's surgery!

I met a mama friend and her family at the park for our photo shoot. It was so refreshing for me

to get back into doing what I love. The fresh air, shining sun and even the raindrops were pleasantly refreshing. Not to mention the lovely family I was thrilled to spend time with.

Her children were so fun to play with, talk to and listen to their stories. It amazes me

how I am able to really connect with a family and it really personalizes our time together,

something really great transforms. When the kids come up to me and ask to have their picture taken, or show me the treasure they just found, it warms my heart. It was a lovely shoot!

Thank so much for sharing your time and family with me!

My Little SUPERHERO!

{Mr. Madden 27 days after surgery}

Last month, I took my son to the doctor, he had been sick with fifths disease. The rash was awful looking, not bothering him too much, but really quite painful looking. He was just not acting like our little boy. He wouldn't run, and would freak out if we lifted him up in our arms. He had symptoms of vertigo, nausea and vomiting. When he did run, he would grab his head in pain, then go lay himself down for a nap, this was not the behavior our little THREE year old. After many, many phone calls, doctor visits, labs, more phone calls, and fighting for my son, we finally had the order for a CT Scan. Hoping that this would rule out any causes, though it showed a large cyst on his brain, an Arachnoid Cyst. We would then be transferred to OHSU Hospital and our son was admitted to Doernbecher Children's Hospital. There we met the neurology team, who would be performing our son's brain surgery. We were then moved from OHSU to our son's room at Doernbecher. We would wait two days for the chief surgeon to return and he would be the lead neurologist for our son's surgery. In the two days of waiting, we kept our son busy in the play area, had guests up to visit, anything we could to distract him. We'd have nurses, interns, and doctors buzzing in and out of our room asking a zillion questions. Our son would undergo labs and tests and was hooked up to monitors of all sorts. The day of surgery came. The surgery was going to take about 3 to 4 hours. The waiting was hard, difficult, unimaginable. And more waiting. Four hours had past since we'd seen our son, we had received a call about an hour in letting us know our little boy was doing great. A couple more hours past and we saw one of the neurologists come out, the surgery was finished and the lead neurologist was finishing up. Finally, what we all had been waiting for was good news. The surgery went really well and the neurologist was optimistic that this surgery would be all that our son would need. My husband and I were able to go see him in post op, before he was taken for another CT Scan to see how the cyst was draining. Then we would meet him in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit. Our son would be in PICU for at least 24 hours, under close supervision. He made it through the PICU stay well, after those 24 hours we were transferred back up to our room in the Intermediate Care Unit. We would spend 3 more days at the hospital, having our ups and our downs. But we made it. And most of all our son was with us. We were released from the hospital and came home. Our son would be recovering for 6 weeks, no running, climbing, jumping, or any normal toddler behavior.

{Madden and Mommy with a furry visitor, picture taken by my lovely apprentice Miss Daphne}

Our follow up was this last week for the incision check. That again went well. As long as our son continues to act like our normal little boy we won't take him back in until his MRI scheduled for October. Hopefully that will show that his cyst is draining and absorbing into the surrounding tissue as it should. If so then he will have another MRI one year post op. On the other hand, if it isn't draining properly then he will most likely need a shunt. We are hoping and praying for him to just need this one surgery that he already went through. So please, keep our little boy in your thoughts and prayers.
This has been such a difficult time for our family, our son has been through so much in his three years. I'm so proud of myself for fighting for the health of our child. This has definitely been so traumatic. And it is our hope that he will continue healing and recovering well. We've had the most wonderful support from our community of family and friends. My dear photo families, I thank you for your patience and understanding, and am looking forward to our upcoming photo shoots. Thank you all, from the depths of my heart.

Warmly, Nicole <3

{Family}

I love looking through my lens, being able to intimately connect with families,

and seeing their face light up when they are playing with their sweet child. There is

something honestly magical about catching the sparkle in their eyes.

It is truly an honor to share that with a family and warms my heart to

see generations spending time together, while I capture the joy, wonder

and delight in their moments.

Celebrations

What fun it was to capture this beautiful and fun family! Me and my kiddos

were honored to celebrate this sweet little boys birthday with him.

Happy Birthday Xan!

Mother & Daughter

This weekend I spent some time with my dear friend

and her daughter at the Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden.

The garden is so beautiful... This little girl is so sweet and spunky.

So fun to be around! Thanks for a lovely afternoon!

Sister & Brother

I had a wonderful time with these two beautiful kiddos! I am

amazed with how much they have grown over the years I have known them.

Truly a joy to photograph these sweet children!

Doctor Korin

Recently, my dear friend, Korin and I had a photo session for her

amazing business inside her home. Korin specializes in Chiropractic Care

and CranioSacral Therapy for the whole family. This was a wonderful opportunity

to capture the special environment she has created for her patients.

Truly something special, you'll feel right at home. As a mom, I love

being able to go to a doctor's office and being in an environment

where my kids can be kids.

Thank you Korin!

Cuteness!

Here are some of my favorites

from a recent shoot.

Such a warm and fun family, I adore them. So cute!

Daddy and His Little Girl

What a great time I had with Kent and Callie. My first shoot was amazing! Callie was so fun to follow around and explore the park with. Such a sweet dad and daughter!

Beginnings

Photography has long been a passion of mine, beginning before the birth of my first child, that passion grew once he arrived. Now being a momma of four, I'm renewing my passion and on a journey to create my passion into something that I can share.

Currently I'd like to offer an introductory photo shoot, for $40, this would include a one hour session, a digital copy of your portraits, up to 40 photos, including 15-20 high resolution/edited photos.

We would meet up at a park or a place of your liking, I would follow you around and go to work capturing the moments.

Cousins are Cool!

Need I say more? They both love to be photographed,

and I love all their little ideas for pictures. So much fun!

With Friends and Tulips

In Woodburn there is a festival each year, the Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival, and this year was my first year. We planned a photo shoot/friend play date. The tulip fields are an amazing, incredible sight to see. Completely breathtaking! Here are some of my favorite shots.