Amanda
I would be lying to you if I said I wasn't tearing up while editing these photos. For those of you who do not know me personally, Amanda and I share a child. Amanda came into our lives several years ago and is another mother to my middle child, Juni. Just like many families, there is a strange, mixed-family dynamic involved here. Amanda's oldest two daughters are from her husbands previous relationship. She has a child, younger than those two but older than Juni, from a previous relationship and she now has another daughter with her husband (Juni's father). For those of you who lost count, that is FIVE daughters!
Co-parenting is hard
It hasn't always been sunshine and roses. It's never easy to watch someone else come into your child's life as a parental figure, but I have to say that Amanda has been amazing! One thing that I never have to worry about is the health, safety or wellbeing of the girls when they are in her care. Honestly I couldn't image Amanda ever even using the term "step" when talking about her role in these girls' lives.
"Herding cats"
Taking pictures of multiple children at once is far from easy. Someone is always looking away or making a mean face. My approach to this has just been to snap as many photos as I can and I ended up with over 500! Of course there will never be that "picture perfect" photo, especially since one of her precious girls wasn't able to be part of this session, but we still captured the connection that these ladies share.
Say Cheese!
Kids can be stubborn! Kodi (pictured above) is a sweet little girl, but has no idea what photography is all about. That being said, I was still able to capture some beautiful photos of this girl; some where she was smiling.
Get him!
Dad tagged along for this session. Of course, he wasn't the star of the show, but the girls all still included him by rubbing the mud from their toes onto his shorts. They had a blast poking fun at him!
Thank you.
From the bottom of my heart, I cannot thank Amanda enough. Not only has she fallen in love with three amazing girls that aren't her own, but she has also taken care of those girls without feelings of uncertainty. I couldn't ask for a better woman to co-parent with for my sweet June-Bug. She has handled her role with grace, poise and the most wonderful adoration for these girls. So thank you, Amanda. Thank you for the peace of mind each time our girls are in your care. Thank you for your patience with the children and with me. Thank you for the opportunity to capture photos of the love your share. Thank you for everything you do without expectation; without hesitation and all too often, without recognition.
