Our Beautiful Mess

dave + kathy

lindsey — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 05:47:04 +0000

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!

fire fighter + nurse = love : )

cooper was born!

lindsey — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 21:25:20 +0000

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!

rhys lynn is born

lindsey — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 23:01:23 +0000

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…

kailaya is born

lindsey — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 00:50:45 +0000

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.

welcome baby lila!

lindsey — Sun, 03 Oct 2010 02:26:53 +0000

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!

dan + jennie + ben + ?

lindsey — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 22:09:12 +0000

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!

Silas Ethan Buoniconti is Born!

lindsey — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 03:58:41 +0000

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

the back bay

lindsey — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 16:50:32 +0000

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…

benjamin cole goodman arrived!

lindsey — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 23:07:28 +0000

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!

Brooke Goodman + ?

lindsey — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 23:31:55 +0000

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!