Rachel Ludwig Photography | Abbotsford Portrait and Wedding Photographer

I believe that every person and every family has a story to be told, and that those stories not only mold, change and grow that person or family into who they are, but they can impact others too. Everyone’s story is special, but…some stories touch our hearts in extra-special ways. I believe that photographs have the ability to help tell those stories. It’s why I do what I do. One of my goals with photography has always been to capture a piece of that story. They say a picture can say a thousand words, but I think they can say even more when you know a bit of the background info. Which is why I often write a bit (or a lot, as the case often is) of a preamble before I share pictures.

In this case, it’s an extra-special story. Five years ago, if you would have asked Jen & Ken what their story would look like today, I know they couldn’t have imagined where God would lead them. After years of desperately wanting to have children, multiple miscarriages and their resulting heartbreak, they didn’t know if the children they had dreamed of would ever be part of their story. But, since then, they have been blessed with not one, not two, but three incredible miracles. Three handsome, vivacious, busy, fun-loving, wonderful boys through the gift of adoption. Not only have Jen & Ken received these special blessings to raise and nurture, these three boys have been blessed with a healthy, stable and loving home and family. Isn’t God amazing? It just gives me goosebumps when I think about it all, and how lucky this family of five is.

As I sat with Jen during a feeding/cuddling break for Liam, we chatted, and when I asked her if I could share their story here on my blog, her response was “absolutely”. She hopes that the telling of their story would open the doors for others to experience the miracle of adoption.

Thank you for sharing your story Jen & Ken, and for allowing me to capture a small piece of that story for you.

I have to start with this storyboard of the big boys…they were totally cracking me up with their expressions.

My favorite family shot:

They live on the best piece of property…fabulous barns and great grass fields, a perfect location for pictures!

I love the vibrancy of these shots of the three brothers, and how it matches their vibrant personalities:

and a black and white one for good measure

Check out those big beautiful brown eyes, and that adorable little belly button

Liam was the first of their boys who joined their family as a newborn. He was just over one month (the other boys were around 1-year and 6-months)

when they got him, so it was neat to see Jen experiencing being a mama to a little little baby for the first time.

This little boy was all about his mama. The connection these two have was amazing to witness.

I love how he’s holding onto her finger and hand here

Katy told me earlier this week that she’s been obsessively checking my website when she’s at school to see if her sneak peek is up yet. So I figured I would put her out of her misery by posting a teeny-tiny sneak peek before we head out for the long weekend.

We found this most amazing abandoned house…and they totally rocked it. I think I was squealing with glee the whole time we took the pictures, not to mention the entire time I edited them. Fabulous grungy location + fantastic couple who are naturals in front of the camera = pictures that I love. Katy and Anthony…I hope you like these as much as I do! Thanks for being so easy-going and awesome to work with. More to come next week hopefully

I rented a Tilt-Shift lens for the weekend…and had fun playing around with it. This is one of the resulting images:

Katy has some of the best eye expressions. I was quite sad I missed the eye-roll she did during the ceremony!

Last one for now:

Marg stopped by one afternoon to get a few more pictures of Liam, and most importantly, some of her with Liam because we had run out of time during their first session. It’s amazing how much they grow and change at this age. He is 16 days old in these pictures, and I think he had already gained about two pounds from his original birth weight at this point…and you can definitely see it in his adorable cheeks and chin.

Liam is very intent and alert, and likes to watch people closely. He was quite fascinated with me and my camera:

I love the double chin and serious look. Check out his awesome arched eyebrows!

Someone is getting sleepy….yippee!

Decided to try out some cheese cloth shots…he reminds me of a Russian nesting doll all wrapped up here

Yep…we managed to get some sleeping shots in. Yay Liam!

I love it when they smile in their sleep! I could watch a baby and all his facial expressions all day long.

And some shots with mama…motherhood suits her, doesn’t it?

This one cracks me up…she’s going in for a sweet  kiss, and his response is “No kisses! Just feed me!”

One last shot…all wide-eyed, bushy-tailed and absolutely adorable

One of my favorite things about being a photographer, is that I get to witness and capture some of the most important moments in people’s lives. There’s a quote that says that when a child is born, so is a mother (and a family). It’s so true! Seeing my little sister Margaret become a mom, and Marg & Jake become a family of three, has been such a joy. It makes me so happy to see both of them so gracefully grow into their new roles as parents. Marg has said many times, with a smile on her face, that being a mom is the best thing ever, and despite all the nausea of pregnancy, the pain of labor, and the discomfort of recovery he was most definitely worth it. I couldn’t agree more.

A color shot to start it off…but as you’ll see, lots of black and white pics from this session.

I just love the classic-ness (is that a word? LOL) and touch of moodiness it gives these images.

So so adorable! I love how his feet are curled up together.

I love this sign of newness, the belly button…a lingering bit of his connection in the womb

The adoring parents…I so remember this, spending hours gazing at my new little one to memorize every feature.

One of my faves I think.

Most definitely long skinny Vanderpol feet (just like me and my kiddos too)

I always know when we are done when this face shows up. He’s adorable even when he’s crying!

I hope you enjoyed your sneak peek Marg & Jake! Part 2 to come soon with some shots of him and Marg and a few more of just him

A few weeks ago I, with my trusty travelin’ side-kick Hudson in tow, had the chance to go to Seattle and meet up with my great friend Traci. She’s a fabulous portrait and wedding photographer friend of mine who was in town from Colorado Springs. We decided to meet at the tulip Festival in Skagit Valley, which due to the late arrival of spring this year, turned out to be a daffodil festival instead.

The best part about meeting up with photographer friends is getting to be in front of the camera… check out the awesome shots she got! (and no…I didn’t plan to match quite so perfectly, but I do love how it looked.) Thank you Traci for a fabulous time together and for the awesome pictures!

Here’s a few of my shots:

Check out the air she got!

Traci in action with her new D3:

Isn’t she gorgeous?

And in between picture taking, lots of chatting of course.

(and this gives you a chance to see that mofo lens/camera combo Traci has going on!)

Meanwhile, the boys were happily sitting in their strollers and hanging out.

Or so we thought! Until Will decided to be a turtle and walk/crawl with his stroller on his back.

In between watching movies on Traci’s iPhone that is (talk about genius idea…I so need to load up a few movies onto mine for the kids!)

And to finish it off…a few Traci & Will shots.

Because every mama needs a picture like this….my favorite of the day.

More to come in the next few weeks here on this blog…(nephew) Liam’s newborn pictures, (another) Liam’s 6 week pictures, Jeremy & Julie’s engagement session and Katy & Anthony’s wedding! Stay tuned…