I just realized I don’t think I ever posted the maternity photos that accompanied this session, so I’ll have to dig those up too because they feature this girl’s adorable big brother.  For now, it’s all about baby sister.

That was no more apparent than when I met two little boys, who reminded me why I am a photographer.

When Shelly Dolen contacted me, she had just given birth to twin boys. They were 25 weeks old. Skyler was 1lb. 7oz. and Keller was 2lbs. 3oz. Even though her babies were critical, fragile and fighting for their lives, Shelly wanted to remember them just as they were. So, I was invited to photograph them at 27 weeks old.

Skyler was getting an ultrasound, so I photographed Keller first.

Skyler was having a tough day when I met him. He was getting an ultrasound to look at his kidneys and the blood in his brain.

11 days after I took these photos, Skyler lost his battle here on earth. My heart broke when I heard the news.

The strength, courage and faith that Skyler’s parents have had through all of this is inspiring, to say the least. While they mourned the death of one of their sons, they had to stay strong for their other son who was still in the NICU fighting every day.  I’m happy to report Keller was just cleared to go home a couple weeks ago!

You may have noticed things have been quiet on the blog as of late.  There’s a reason for that.  In January, as I was setting my goals and resolutions for the new year, I realized I hadn’t been spending enough time with my kids and husband.  While I was doing a decent job juggling two jobs and two kids, it was coming at a sacrifice in each area of my life.  So, I vowed to re-prioritize a few things and unfortunately, my photography business didn’t come out on top.  I decided to take a brief hiatus from my business to focus on my family, to photograph and enjoy my loved ones, take a photography workshop and pursue personal projects that include giving back to families in need, like the Dolens.

Meeting Shelly and her two precious boys put everything in perspective for me and reaffirmed that taking a step back to slow down was the right choice.

I’ve enjoyed my time off, but I am slowly starting to dip my feet into the water again.  Be back soon with another blog post!

*This session was done as part of the Pictures of Hope Foundation.

I’ve spent the past month reconnecting with my family after a very busy fall and when I was organizing my computer files, I realized I had only taken a handful of pictures of my kids between September to December.  Those three months fell into some kind of black hole that I will never get back.  And as someone who loves to document, I am feeling some serious mommy guilt over it.

So, like so many parents, one of my goals this year is to document my kids more.  If I didn’t take out the camera on this day, I wouldn’t have captured this adorable moment.  They are the details that I want to remember.