Not gonna write a lot today-not feeling well. I’m ok, but just not up to talking about photos and photography and being sick and my family nitty gritty and all that. Amelia has been sick for days and then the stomach flu was in our house. But here are some beautiful portraits of the most beautiful family!

xoxo stacey

So this sweet boy I met through an organization that I volunteer for as a photographer, The Tiny Sparrow Foundation.  The foundation connects families who have children with serious medical issues with photographers that are willing to do free portrait sessions for them. I know, you have all heard me whining about being sick lately, but as someone who grew up in a house where all five of the kids had crohn’s, I know that medical bills add up and there is NO extra income for custom photography.

It makes me so happy to have a talent that I can share with other people. How fortunate am I that I can give a gift like this? I feel like the lucky one getting to meet you guys!

So, Noah has Cerebral Palsy. He is doing well, but can’t hold up his head and it is hard for his eyes to focus. He love Elmo. A lot. He has the most beautiful crystal clear eyes. And his favorite thing to do is swing, which is why I am posting this happy swinging photo with dad.

To read Noah’s mom’s blog, go to http://noahsmiracle.blogspot.com/. You can also donate by going here. I just donated myself. $1, $5, $25 , whatever! I know that at least 300-500 people read my blog every day, so even a dollar from each person would make a huge difference.

They have stem cells from Noah’s little brother, and need to save up enough money to get the medical treatment that he so desperately needs. The sooner they can do the procedure, the more likely it is that he will improve. So, if you can, a dollar or two? It could make the entire difference in Noah’s quality of life. Go here to donate.

Anyways, I am feeling much better! I think my new therapy is working. We shall see. I still am on predizone and a ton of other meds and that is really hard, especially in the mornings, but overall I am doing much better.

xoxo stacey

This is one of my sweetest families. If you have had an in-home proofing session with us then you have seen the beautiful album from when Mom was pregnant with Scott and Riley had just turned three years old. Then, 6 months ago I had the honor of doing baby “socks” newborn photos. I LOVED those newborn photos, I hope dad is over the fact that we put babylegs on his baby boy in his birthday suit.

Anyways, update on health. I felt awful yesterday-almost just went into the ER. But took mega doses of steriods and felt better this morning! Life is good! Get me on some new experimental drug and let’s go. I am ready to be healthy.

Can’t wait to photograph 21 month old Lincoln tonight! It is a beautiful day in Boulder and perfect for photos. Here are his newborn photos if you are curious, wasn’t he the sweetest? Look at that face! Those eyes! His expresssion! Can’t wait to see him again after all this time.

xoxo stacey

A sweet family. Perfect Boulder night. Mac (the baby) was not so happy but I think we got him smiling enough.

Things are ok here. Getting a little bit better day by day. 60 mg of prednizone. So yeah, fun but no fun. Update tomorrow, hopefully I am feeling super well by then…

So, this weekend, the weekend I have TWENTY mini sessions in Boulder, Co, is going to be cold, snowy, and rainy. How the heck am I going to reschedule that many photography sessions? Kellie, my awesome super office manager, will handle it all and make it all right, so don’t worry. She will contact you. Don’t worry. We’ll find another date….

Well, I *need* start with happy news again bc things are not so easy right now. I have been doing all of these incredible, beautiful, photography sessions ever since Ms. Barb Uil came into town and taught me everything she knows. I am so inspired to use light, and love, and just LIFE to express who my families are. I am a good portrait photographer. Meaning, if you want a perfect photo of your kids close up, or far away, or a family picture where everyone is happy, then I am your go-to girl. But I want to be more creative, and make things more fun, and that is what I did with this shoot.

So the not happy news is that they looked into my belly today and found only really bad things:( My dad has’ crohn’s both my sisters have it, and both my brother’s have it. I have always been the one with “mild” chron’s, and now it is severe. Stupid old woman evil witch disease.

Happy news again? I have like 50 shoots planned in the next two months. LOVE photographing, no matter what. I have outsourced everything else, so no stress there. Just taking beautiful photos of beautiful families. Love it!

xoxo stacey

News first-I booked up all my Boulder mini photography sessions so I have opened up October 5th, October 12, and October 22nd. Email me asap if you want to book a session, you can read all the info here. Some will be at Wonderland Lake in north Boulder, one will be at Chautauqua in south Boulder. Either way, we will get beautiful, amazing photographs!

Barb Uil (aka Jinky Art) is just magic. She is my most favoritist photographer, blah, blah, blah, I have said this 8 million times on my photography blog. But really, these photos are beautiful and stunning and sweet and magical. I love them. I can’t wait to move in to our new home so I can put up beautiful big canvases. I still am in awe that she photographed my family. And really captured who we are. For sure.  I strive to be half as good of a photographer as her. As always Barb, I love you! Thank you!

So, news on the being-sick-thing. I am definitely surrounded by loving, supportive people who want me to heal and get better from this chron’s (autoimmune). I called my mom crying yesterday and she jumped on the first flight out there. That is a GOOD mom, right? I have a procedure tomorrow and hopefully we will find out what is going on. I saw a naturpath today and and plugging away with my awesome acupuncturist, Kate, but I am up to 40 mg of predizone (steroids) and ug, that SUCKS. Send me some good healing-belly-energy if you have some to spare.

xoxo stacey

ps. happy jinky art photos of my family are really helping me feel better:) Nothing like beautiful photography of your own family from your favorite photographer to make you happy.

pps. Thank you mom, Luanne, Natasha, Kate, Kellie, Adam, Rich, and Arturo for being such a solid community of support for me. It means everything to me to be supported.

Another good day. And not so good. I got to photograph three gorgeous families and I am sooooo happy with the beautiful photos I got. Bad, bc I just am still sick, and want to not be. This is a shoot from a month ago, I am so behind! How sweet is Sasha? 7 Years old’s are so easy compared to two year olds.

Anyways, four more mini photography shoots at Wonderand Lake in north Boulder tomorrow. Sooooo many blog posts to come!

Yeah, well I have not been blogging because my HARDRIVE CRASHED. Yeah, that is like the most devastating thing a photographer can say. I *know* all my photos are backed up, but I don’t KNOW it yet bc I can’t see them yet. So I am in an uneasy in between place right now. I just want my computer back. So sad.

And I have been sick, sick, sick. Yeah, I have crohn’s disease. Such an ugly name. I wish it was Sunshine Disease or something more happy. But a crohn is an old woman-evil-witch, right? So I have old woman-evil-witch disease, and it sucks. I have so many emotions around it, but mostly I am sad and mad. Sad, that I can’t love my babies in the way they deserve right now, and mad bc it is a stupid disease that they don’t know anything about and they can’t cure it and it is just stupid. And it hurts. And I can’t smoke pot to help it like they suggest bc I don’t like mj. It makes me feel weird and paranoid. But, on the upside, I DID gain 55 pounds when I was pregnant with Amelia, and I have lost the last 15lbs in 4 weeks. So I am looking good. I am thin now. I am trying to eat lots a fat though to not lose any more. So now you know my life. It is what it is.

I have about 30 mini sessions booked. It is nuts. I am opening up a few more days if anyone else wants to book a mini session. I am SO looking forward to just going out in nature and photographing loving families. That is a good day, to me.

xoxo stacey

ps, Amelia’s stomach bug is gone but I *hope* i have it and it is not my evil old woman disease.

pps. Christian, my computer guy, just told me at 8:30pm that my computer looks good. There is some program that has to run and then it will be fine. Give me some good energy for it to run again!

pps. do you LOVE this picture? So sweet.

ppps. I just want to let you know that I let my acupuncturist filled my belly button with salt and lit it on fire today. AND-I feel much better. So go-fire-belly-salt. Fire belly salt rocks. Thanks Kate. I love you.

One week of total awesomeness. Miss Barb Uil, Jinky Art extraordinaire, came to Boulder to hold two fabulous three day workshops (at my house, no less). We did so many amazing photo shoots. Many of them involved my family, with a VW Bus. And lets say that there was also an awesome field of sunflowers involved. We photographed so many families, children, babies. It was all so sweet and I learned so much and am SO inspired by it all.

I worked with Barb on figuring out how to move my business from just doing family portraits, which are great and all, and I love doing them, and I love my clients and I LOVE my client’s kids, and I love producing beautiful images that they will cherish for the rest of their lives. BUT, I want to create stunning works of art. I want my personality-my brightness, my joy, my nurturing spirit, the passion I have for families connecting and loving each other-to be the center of my work.

So, what I am saying is yes, I am still going to be photographing families and children and doing everything I do now-I am just going to get more creative, have more fun, and let my personality shine through a bunch more in my images. You’ll just have to wait and see. Trust me, it is going to get good!

So, after saying all that, these photos were from one of the very simple shoots we did out in a field with two very sweet children. At workshops, what happens is we set up all these shoots, and then you have like 15 photographers all trying to photograph one or two kids at the same time. It is hard, because you don’t get a lot of eye contact  (the kids have no idea whose camera to look at), but it is a fun experience and I got a few sweet ones of these two.

SO many more blogs posts coming about the workshops, and SO many shoots of my own from the last month still need to be blogged. So check back often, I will *try* to blog every day. Going to try and catch up on emailing and calling back new client inquiries! I know I have been MIA this past week and I am SO sorry! If Amelia takes a nice long nap today I *might* be able to catch up. If not, I may have to call you tomorrow. Crossing my fingers for one very sleepy toddler today though.

xoxo stacey

ps. update. 2:16pm. Amelia is NOT asleep. I am ignoring her whines on the monitor and AM answering phone calls, so call away if you need to chat!