Since you clicked on this link, I'd love to share a bit of my life with you~
It has always been a dream to capture imagery of people and relationships to cherish for generations. Family, connection, personal confidence and beauty of humanity has always been a deep-seated feeling in my soul.
I grew up in the sweet little town of Woodstock, IL and had the most wonderful childhood. All the beautiful memories of staying out late in summertime catching lightening bugs and playing ghost in the grave yard with the neighborhood kids and making mud pies during the day. I loved the McHenry County Fair and the Woodstock Square. Woodstock IS hometown USA and I love it.
My mom stayed home with us for a long time. When I got into high school, I had the opportunity to see my sweet mom get up early to study as she went back to school to become a nurse. When I was born, I was an army brat. I lived on military bases for the first couple years of my life. I even lived in Panama! When I was about six, my dad became a police officer in Woodstock. One of my memories is when I'd be walking to school with my friends, he would swing by in his squad car and drive us to school. That always made us feel special. My mom and dad went to every swim meet they possibly could. If my dad was on duty, he would drive up and make a stop at the swim meet, squad car, uniform and all. Fortunately, my younger sister, Justine, and little brother, Marshall, were also swimmers. I was on the swim team from the time I was 8 until 18. I swam in high school, too. I was also a cheerleader. I feel that's kind of who I am in life...a cheerleader.
After high school I went to Northern Illinois University and then...life just continued on. I have shared a few photos of my family~They mean the world to me.
This picture right here is why, in my opinion, photos are so important. When one of my amazing colleagues, Michele Celentano, captured this photo for us, I had no idea that my mom would only be on this earth for five more months. My mom felt like a queen that day. I will never forget how much fun she was having. I gave my kids each a 5 x 7 canvas of it for Christmas in 2018.
Photo Credit: Michele Celentano Portrait Photographer
Meet my precious kiddos. Micaela, right in the middle of the photo, is my oldest and is getting married in August of 2021. How can that be? Brings tears to my eyes. I couldn't ask for a better husband for her than Austin, who you will see in the next photo. She is graduating from Arizona State University in December. Woo Hoo! Put herself through school all on her own. To the right of Micaela, is my youngest, Nina. My littlest is 20! She's passionate about humanitarian efforts and is a student at Northern Illinois University. It is so fun to hear her views of life and the world. She is a little ray of sunshine for our whole family. To the left of Micaela is my son, Jax. What an entrepreneurial spirit he has! At 21 years old he runs his own tuxedo rental company out of his dad's bridal boutique in downtown Grayslake...so if you need a tux for anything...I got a guy! Nico, tops off the diamond. This kid of mine is all heart. He cares deeply about people. Nico is a YouTube content creator and video editor and podcaster. He also has quite a following on YouTube for creating recap videos of the show Critical Role.
Photo Credit: Michele Celentano Portrait Photographer
This is my love bunch! Austin is in here of course, as well as my honey, Matt. Each one of us brings something so unique to the family. We relish in family get togethers and not a gathering goes by without talking about Star Wars. It's quite funny. Jax hasn't watched many of them so it's kind of a running joke when we all start talking about it. He has seen IT and Breaking Bad though, so in those conversations we all get in on the conversation. I love them all so much and can't imagine my life without any one of them. Matt has been my biggest cheerleader and has been by my side through so much.
Photo Credit: Michele Celentano Portrait Photographer
My puppers and Halloween kitty...aren't they adorable? Ash, Matt and I call him our first born, is a malamute mix. When we got him, "they" told us he was a pomski....ummm, does he look like a pomski to you, hahahaha! Joey and Bear are my two little teddy bears. Joey is looking so regal in this photo and Bear Bear just loves to chill. He is our very own therapy dog. He just loves hanging out, cuddling with someone and lil' Duffy is the teeniest little pup that I ever did see. Smokie is our sweet little Halloween kitty. He loves to blend in with the Halloween decorations and seems to know he "fits the part". Our newest addition is Ana Maria. A photographer colleague of mine, shared a post on FB from a friend of hers that needed to rehome their gorgeous husky pup. We lover her sooo much! HER EYES!!!!
I love life and am so excited to be on this earth and get to do what I do~ XOXO
So this is my story....
Let me capture yours~