We are a family of three on the journey of getting to know ourselves and our God. Our life is not neat and tidy. We are learning that it's ok to not always "have it together." Because, in the midst of daily life - the adventures and the mundane, the laughter and the tears, the discipleship and the diapers - God is there. And He is at work. God is lovingly bringing purpose in the chaos and redemption in the struggles. We invite you into our story. We hope to give you an authentic and honest glimpse of our life as we navigate one day to the next. It is our hope that you can relate to our story, and can better find God and grace everywhere you look. Welcome to Our Beautiful Mess.
firefighter and nurse, a classic combination. laughter, joy, and fun are the 3 words i would use to describe dave and kathy’s engagement session! we started the shoot at their home, and then went to the local fire house, which only seems right since dave is a battalion chief. i was not just a little enamored with the shiny red truck, chrome, and gear! i felt like a little kid, getting so excited seeing all this stuff up close! and the guys there were so hospitable, even offering to move the fire truck outside for us–thanks station 18!!! then we headed to the beach near la palapa restaurant (long beach) to finish the shoot. six months from now dave and kathy will stand on this exact same sand and become husband and wife! these two truly enjoy one other! my job was so easy, as they were such at ease with each other.
congratulations dave and kathy! thank you for allowing me to capture the compelling and inspiring connection you have. you put a smile on my face!
May 26, 2011 - 11:13 pmMichelle Walker - These are amazing pictures of these two love birds. It brought happy tears to my eyes to see how much they truly love and care for each other. You did a great job!! And to Uncle Dave and Aunt Kathy... We love you!!
May 12, 2011 - 8:42 amsuz - ps: is this in the spirit of the "beloved" movement?
May 12, 2011 - 8:41 amsuz - linds! these are amazing, amazing. i love your talent, your creativity, your gift. xoxo
March 25, 2011 - 4:22 pmDave - Lindsey, thank you so very much for your fantastic pictures and your very kind and true words. Kathy and I believe you trully captured our love, happiness and respect we have for each other and what our amazing life will hold for us, forever. You are what we were looking for in a photographer, someone we are comfortable with and we could have fun during the shoot, so we can be us. You have a great eye and I hope I wasn't too much of a chief throuhout the afternoon. My beautiful bride and I are very happy with you and your work. We will highly recommend you to our friends, family and co-workers.
March 25, 2011 - 1:06 pmAngel - I like the one with their reflection in the hubcap. So cool. So David Jay.
March 25, 2011 - 2:55 amKathy - WOW their love and happiness is BOOMING!! All I could think is "THAT's a wedding that is going to be FUN and a marriage full of laughter and happiness!" You did it again, L! You Captured REAL moments and love and gave it to them to keep forever! WHAT A GIFT YOU GIVE!!
no matter how they get here, every baby’s birth is a miracle! cooper john was born february 7th via c-section. and i was given the honor of photographing him meeting his two big brother. it is incredible to be invited in to be a part of such a special moment in this family’s life! to see the older brothers show interest and give love in their own special ways to their little baby brother was precious! this was just the first few moments of being a family of 5, and how beautiful they were! hope you can see some of the magic in these photos!
April 23, 2011 - 12:04 pmSarah - AAAWWWW! such a sweet family and that last one needs to be on a 30X40 canvas in their house!! :)
April 11, 2011 - 11:09 amabigail - amazing photos. You're so talented...
March 24, 2011 - 9:20 pmsuz - what a CUTE baby boy; he looks so very content in all the pics. as always, you did an amazing job. xoxo
March 18, 2011 - 5:40 pmAngel - You captured such precious, tiny moments so well, Lins. Cooper's family will be able to remember this special day for years to come as a result.
March 17, 2011 - 11:12 pmDane Sanders - Just beautiful.
you pronounce his name “reese.” isn’t that so cute?! baby rhys melted my heart when he made his arrival the night of february 9th. i just couldn’t get enough of his peel-y feet & hands and fuzzy skin rolls!!! his mama, kelly, had a natural water birth in her beautiful home.
each birth i attend amazes me in different ways. with this one, i was struck by how the laboring mother is so focused and almost in another world, and yet one second after the baby is born, she returns back to her normal self, talking, joking, and laughing. it was crazy to think that when i arrived there were only 7 people in the house, yet when i left there were 8!!! there is another person in this world! and i got to see his grand appearance! and this is my job!!! i am grateful and blessed to have been there that night and to have had the honor of capturing a bit of the miracle that i witnessed. see for yourself…
if you want to see more, you can watch the whole slideshow below…
March 15, 2011 - 12:29 amMom - Linz, WOW! You did a STUNNING job on capturing this birth. The pics are beautiful! What delightful subjects you had to photo, too. Congrats!
March 14, 2011 - 11:20 amKelly - Thank you so much, Lindsey! You did an amazing job and really captured our family's personality & the torture/joy of natural childbirth ;)
March 14, 2011 - 10:46 amdebbie elias - love it ... love it ... love it... Welcome to the world Rhys! What a great way to share & I don't feel like I misse anything! Congrats to you guys & miss you all! Can't wait to get back & hold my new baby and give my Aidan kisses! Don't worry Ev - I won't kiss you (too much LOL) Lots of love from us to you! Bisous a tous! Debbie ~ Kathy ~ Sophie ~ Georgie
March 13, 2011 - 10:01 pmAngel - We loved your pics and the slideshow (especially the tunes!). Lovely, lovely job once again, sis.
March 13, 2011 - 4:45 pmDeanna - Thanks for sharing Lindsey! so beautiful!!!! <3 Deanna
it’s been several months now, but i had the incredible honor of photographing another birth! kathy and my relationship was at first just professional, as she was looking for someone to help capture her 3rd and final birthing that would take place at their home; but quickly we grew to be friends. for those of you who don’t know kathy, this woman LOVES being pregnant!!! she loves the way she looks, feels, all of it! and her birthing was simply miraculous! her baby was 9 lbs 8 1/2 oz and presented forehead first (which, btw is not the smallest part of the head) and this woman’s only anesthetic was the presence of all her family and friends (it was the most well attended birth i have ever been a part of), the sweet touches of her mother and daughter and husband, and water! kathy, you rock! and kailaya couldn’t be more beautiful! to see the whole story of this home birth, see below.
March 11, 2011 - 11:49 pmsarah swegles - you are so talented, it makes me cry. i love every one of these pictures, so creative, sensitive, and a treasure for this family! love, love, love!!!! so glad to call you my friend! i can see your delight through these pict!
March 2, 2011 - 10:34 amGail Ann Lynch - So many amazing pictures, my favorite is that your son is always behind Daddy touching somehow - so precious!
February 26, 2011 - 10:04 amGina - Wow! So many wonderful moments captured! I swear you guys make the cutest babies ever!!
February 24, 2011 - 10:16 pmBob Kelly (Grandfather) - So tastefully sequenced. You got talent, gal! Thanks for the memories. Papa Bob
February 24, 2011 - 7:20 pmSharron - Couid not be more beautiful, touching beyond words! Lovc from Aunt Sharron and Uncle Denny, we love you guys!!!
February 24, 2011 - 4:52 pmBeth - What a beautiful memoir of this amazing time for your family! You are so blessed; the love shines through in each of these incredible photos. Congratulations.
February 24, 2011 - 11:23 amKathy - Lindsey, thank you for EVERYTHING you did to capture our amazing homebirth! You captured all the different aspects-- there were so many moments filled with happiness, gratitude, quiet, peace, love, intensity, sweetness, appreciation, and joy! You caught them all-- big and small and I cannot thank you enough for the beauty of each moment captured for all of time. WHAT A GIFT you have given me and my family!! I truly cannot thank you enough!! you are BEYOND TALENTED!! Being a mommy yourself with appreciation of the Gift of pregnancy and birth that God has given us allows you to see something special and capture it on film for the family thru the mommy's eye. It is truly amazing! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! And thank you for your wonderful ENERGY that you brought to my birth-- your support and excitement added greats happiness to my birthing time! Again, can never thank you enough for the gift you gave to me as a friend, as a fellow mommy and as someone who understands my love/appreciate of God's gift to us!
February 4, 2011 - 6:05 pmP.L. de Avila - You captured those moments so beautifully and tastefully. I felt as if I was there. What a special family! Thank you for letting us share in this blessed event.
i got a chance to do my first newborn photo shoot last week! maybe it’s because i have a baby of my own, but i just never grow tired of taking pictures of wee little ones. so far, my favorite type of photography is birth, with newborns coming in a close second.
you must admit, this family makes the most beautiful, bright eyes children! lila’s brother luke, wasn’t afraid of the camera and thus managed to steal (more than) a few pics of his own! their was such a sense of peacefulness in this home! i was so happy to be welcomed in and given the opportunity to capture some beautiful moments for this lovely, growing family!
meet the steele family! dan and jennie, along with their little cutie, ben, are anticipating the arrival of their baby girl sometime the beginning of october. last sunday we met at the back bay and took advantage of the california beauty there by capturing just a glimpse of the miracle of pregnancy. it truly is one of those everyday miracles! there is a little person inside that cute round belly – a person with emotions and a soul and tiny fingernails! it’s just wild, if you really think about it!
October 2, 2010 - 2:01 amJenny P. - Love the pics! And I got to admit I started to chuckle when I saw the feet pic - of COURSE you have one of those included!! :) Love it
September 23, 2010 - 10:00 pmsarah swegles - linds - was so excited when i clicked on your site and saw something new on! you are so creative, love these shots, friend!
September 23, 2010 - 5:12 pmStacey - Beautiful shots again Linds.
Where are Baby Angelina pics???
September 20, 2010 - 8:37 pmBrooke - Lindsey,
I love the warm lighting. I really like the picture of the 2 parents swinging their son inbetween them. Also like the shots close-up to the belly, especially against the palm tree. Love the one of her lying in the grass, with bright blue eyes! Great work Lindsey!! You are SO talented. Can't wait for you to take some pics of us soon.
several weeks ago, i had the privilege of photographing another birth! i was introduced to deanna through our midwife, bj. who knew we had so much in common: both biola grads, pregnant, and using the same midwife. deanna and her husband brock have been married for 3 years. get this, at the same time she found out she was pregnant, he was finding out that he would be deployed to afghanistan for 15 months. when they both saw each other that evening, they had a lot to talk about. wow, i cannot imagine that! obviously, brock was unable to make it to the birth in person, but he was able to be there remotely via skype! that’s why the black macbook is in a lot of the photos! it was amazing, actually! deanna says that most of the time when they talk via skype, the call gets dropped every 5 minutes or so, but during the birth and afterwards (about 4 hours) the call only was lost a handful of times! what a blessing it was that he could be a part of that special day that ethan silas made his way into the world. deanna did an AMAZING job!!! it was so inspiring to me to watch her confidence in her self and her support people (side note: emily, deanna’s neighbor, drove deanna to the birth center along with her first child who was 5 weeks old! the little one slept through the whole birth! and emily was such a strong calming presence – both to deanna and the rest of us in the room! i was so glad that emily could be there to encourage and support deanna!) below is a tasteful slideshow i put together for deanna and brock that they are allowing me to share with you
October 14, 2010 - 9:13 pmKristen Mortensen - The slide show is beautiful! You attention to detail is amazing. This slide show definitely shows what a wonderful experience birth is.
July 21, 2010 - 11:08 pmkathy - you are truly amazing!! You capture ever little detail and moment to tell the whole story and beauty of the births you attend! You give a gift like no other to these families and this one was so unique and yet you showed how the daddy was really there and how much joy the mom got from that connection. And just the whole birth! I am so impressed by your work, your eye, your HEART for capturing the moments that are true, deep and special to a family, esp a MOMMY's, heart! AMAZING!
July 17, 2010 - 5:56 pmkrystn - Lindsey- you capture the most special moments. You have such a wonderful gift. I need to stop crying now.
July 10, 2010 - 2:48 pmsuz - linds, you've done it again. well done! captured such a significant time in a mother's life. i teared up the most at the shots of the dad looking on at his wife and son after the birth. i loved the wrinkled hand pics, such a sweet baby. oh, this encourages my heart and makes me early long to hold my sweet baby Kate in my arms very soon. xoxo
July 9, 2010 - 12:13 pmBrooke - Lins the pics you take are so good- I don't even know these people and yet I'm interested in their story because of how you've captured them! This is my first time to your website- great job here you two- and of course, Shelby is ADORABLE :)
July 8, 2010 - 1:50 pmDeanna Buoniconti - Thanks for sharing Lindsey! I totally cried while watching and I've seen these pictures a million times. They are beautiful and we will treasure them forever!
July 7, 2010 - 11:50 pmanneliese - since birth is also at the forefront of my mind everyday...i want to watch this video again! but its like i torture myself because i will for sure cry. lindsey, great shots. you really captured the event. momma, you are wonderful & your baby is beautiful.
July 7, 2010 - 5:53 pmAshleigh (Gaebel) - Lindsey, this is amazing! What a gift you have...and quite a gift you've given this beautiful family. The memories they have through your pictures are priceless.
on wednesday, shelby and i met up with sarah (nugent) sweggles for a walk and then lunch. we trekked in the wild flowers at the back bay and had fun watching shelby explore snails, the dirt, flowers, sticks, etc. and trying to keep up with her as she ran. she told us herself, “i have a lot of energy!” if we could just bottle that up and sell it, we’d never have to work again . here are some pics (of shelbs of course) from our exploration…
June 1, 2010 - 12:32 amjenny - love these pics, lins! Shelbs is growing up so fast and turning into an adorable little girl (what happened to baby shelbs?! time flies I guess). Can we get together soon??
May 1, 2010 - 11:38 pmsuz - the yellow flowers are amazingly colorful! they add so much to the photos. and of course, it doesn't hurt that her outfit compliments nature. what a sweet girl! glad you had a great time. wonderful pics as always. xoxo
what an incredible experience i has this past tuesday! on 4.6.10, i was able to witness little benjamin cole goodman make his way into the world! it was a home birth and was attended by 2009 midwife of the year, bj snell {she’s my midwife too}. the process was so beautiful and peaceful! and brooke did such an amazing job! she was so centered and calm. although i have seen many births during my nurse’s training, i think this was my first natural birth, and definitely my first home birth! there seemed to be such comfort and ease in being at home. even big brother jonathan and big sister kate got to see their little brother’s arrival. what a moment! i feel honored to have been given the opportunity to capture some of the beauty of benjamin’s birth day! congrats, goodmans!
November 26, 2010 - 2:31 amSarah - these are beautiful and so well done! They will cherish them!
April 18, 2010 - 9:54 amsuz - the slideshow with music was unreal. i was in tears. such amazing pics. i love that you could be there. and selfishly, i hope that my girl comes before yours so you can be there to photograph her arrival. :) xoxo
April 13, 2010 - 11:39 pmkrystn - Lins, you captured the most precious moments. Brooke looks so beautiful and Justin looks so proud. Miss you all,Krystn
April 13, 2010 - 4:06 pmKelly S - Lins... these pictures of Brooke are so beautiful! I love checking your site to see what's going on and where life it taking you three...almost 4! :)
Much love,
kelly
April 11, 2010 - 10:47 pmanneliese - what a beautiful birth! these pictures are very reassuring & encouraging for me to look through...in fact, i've looked through about 4 times now! :)
April 11, 2010 - 8:20 pmJen Disney - Those are so great! That little girl's gentle touch is just the sweetest thing I've ever seen! I could almost feel it.
April 10, 2010 - 5:31 pmangel - Oh my goodness, Lins. I started looking through your pictures and totally got tears in my eyes once I got to the one where the baby finally came. Wow, did you ever tell story.
on sunday, i had the honor of taking some maternity pictures for my good friend brooke! we knew each other from youth group back in high school, but we became true friends when we were in a couples bible study several years back. she’s now pregnant with her 3rd. we went to a beautiful park in laguna niguel and snapped these shots. her baby boy is due the beginning of april and i am so excited because she invited me to come and photograph her birth! i can’t wait to meet little baby boy goodman! thanks brooke for giving me the opportunity to capture a bit of your beauty, for the chocolate chip banana pancakes, and for the mommy encouragement!
April 12, 2010 - 9:23 ammaureen - Brooke is a beautiful woman inside and out...what a incredible job showing that in photos.
March 30, 2010 - 10:00 amanneliese - these are so perfect! i am excited for our session :)
March 30, 2010 - 7:22 amsuz - linds, these look fantastic! and another birth shoot, huh? looks like you may be on a roll. i look forward to both our sessions. :)
March 27, 2010 - 7:19 pmwes - Awesome Lindsey... those are fantastic.
March 27, 2010 - 1:19 pmHannah - Amazing, Linds! I love your work!
by lindsey
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