family pictures with deanna sammons!

okay, so it's that time of year again. i LOVE this time of year because...it's time for family pictures!!! j has hated hearing those words come out of my mouth every year for the last umpteenth years...but. this time was different...let me back up... so i found deanna sammons earlier this year, and fell in love with her work. i knew i wanted her to do our portraits this year, but with the house selling, and business booming, and us being crazy busy with life in general, i didn't know just how to approach j with it, and make it sound fun, relaxing and worthwhile. it took a *bit* of sweet talk, a WHOLE lotta begging, and a *dash* of guilt trip ( a girls gotta prove her point on the importance of family pictures, and how we will enjoy them years from now ), but he finally relented after he figured out that in the mess of all the chaos going on in our lives right now, i was NOT backing down on this. that whole "pick your battles" thing came into play. it was one i was determined to win, and he's one lucky fella that he realized it sooner rather than later. ;)

anyway, to j's surprise, we had a FABULOUS time! ( the kids and i always have fun with it, j tends to tense up...he's still after all these years of having a camera stuck in his face, not used to it ), but it WAS relaxed, fun, and EASY! we had lots of laughs, snuck in a few *kisses* and really enjoyed being out in a beautiful location, *together*. the kids warmed right up to deanna, who was GrEaT with them, and i ended up getting some of the most incredibly beautiful shots of our family. she was awesome, and i feel really captured who we are, and our family. these pictures i feel show the real us. how we live, and the closeness we share. she somehow has an insight into our family, and the pictures prove that. so, here are some of them...enjoy! i'll put more up later!