hale family: just like family

hale family: just like family

this family has a special place in my heart.  

they are friends with my little brother and sister in-law. 

mike is a marine stationed at 29 palms. he and his wife met my brother and sister in law when they were all living in idaho and have been friends ever since.  i will always appreciate how they "took care" of my family when they lived away from us.  now that mike and chelsey are stationed here in california, we are able to return the favor.  

 

hale family, i have enjoyed our holidays and summer fun adventures with you cheers to many, many more!!

xoxo amanda

ps - chelsey, did you happen to notice how many pics that darn cat was in? he was everywhere. it was like "where's waldo?"!!  ;)

Sail Away....

Sail Away:  Veronica & Mario

Can't stop thinking about these two.  They chose to sail away on a cruise with their family and closest friends.  They were married at sea this weekend and will spend the rest of their time enjoying the vacation. I love that idea!!

I was fortunate enough to meet Veronica and Mario through my sister in law. And I'm so lucky that I did. These two are adorable and I thoroughly enjoyed our time together. They laughed and giggled our entire session.  It was cute.  It was freezing that morning with a light mist falling . And look at Veronica; such a good sport in her cute little white sundress. Mario always made sure she was "ok" and warm enough.  ;)

Mario shared the story of his proposal.  He described how nervous he was and how important it was that things went perfectly.  

Well Mario, we didn't see any deer during your engagement session. But we had a lot of fun and captured some great memories for you!

By now, they are officially Mr. & Mrs.  I am so happy for them.  Congratulations, you two!! Hope you are having a wonderful time sailing away this week.  

xox, amanda jane

my dear, sweet valentines

my dear, sweet valentines.  

I’ll be very happy
If you’ll be my Valentine;
You’ll fill my heart with joy,
And my day with bright sunshine!

By Joanna Fuchs

i was blessed with 2 sweethearts.  

they are the best gift my husband has ever given me. 

they are truly my sunshine.

one is 5 

and the other is 3.

my husband jokes about valentines day.  he believes we should show some extra love all year round.  i couldn't agree more.  

my goal is to show these two how much they are loved every day of the year.

nico & g,i love you both very much.you are two of the most special valentines i could ask for.  one of the things i love most about you is the way you love each other.  i get such joy out of watching you play together.  i am proud of the way you take care of each other. stay sweet. love always, mom xoxo 

danielle: a strength you didn't know you had

sometimes life throws you a curve ball and you find yourself in a situation you never thought you would be in.  you are forced to dig deep and find a strength you might not have known was there.

my friend danielle is traveling down a road she never imagined being on.  her strength and courageous spirit inspire me.  she digs deep and continues to move forward because of 2 very special reasons: 

reason #1

reason #2

i can only imagine how many times you might have heard the saying: "when life gives you lemons, make lemonade."  i can also imagine there are some days you would like to have those lemons with tequila and salt.  that is part of the cycle, i suppose.  

this image tells a story

my friend,  i admire your tenacious spirit. you have endured a truly difficult experience.  you are independent.  you are beautiful.  these last few months have been challenging but you have dug down and found a strength deep inside.  you will get through this.  continue to be the woman your boys can be proud of. 

typical brothers...  i love how this picture captures the big brother vs little brother

these boys love their mama <3

danielle, you are an amazing mother to your boys. they think you hung the moon.  i enjoyed our afternoon together and had such a great time with all 3 of you.  i look forward to  hanging out with  you again very soon. xox, aj

a mother's love

a mother's love. this mother is tough.  this mother is strong.  this mother has a huge soft spot for her two kiddos. how could she not?  they adore her.  (as they should.)  and she lives for them. watching this woman with her children was incredible.  spending an afternoon with them was FUN! i felt their connection - deep in my core.   it made me want to be a part of their little club. i found this poem and it reminded me of you, holly: a mother's love: a mother's love is something that no one can explain, it is made of deep devotion and of sacrifice and pain, it is endless and unselfish and enduring come what may for nothing can destroy it or take that love away... it is patient and forgiving when all others are forsaking, and it never fails or falters even though the heart is breaking... it believes beyond believing when the world around condemns and it glows with all the beauty of the rarest, brightest gems... it is far beyond defining, it defies all explanation, and it still remains a secret like the mysteries of creation... a many splendored miracle man cannot understand and another wondrous evidence of God's tender guiding hand. photo taken by Dina Conover photo taken by Dina Conover i loved being a part of your three-some for an afternoon.  i can't help but smile every time i see you since our time together and a hug is always required. (even you, liam!) they have burrowed a special place in my heart.  i laughed so hard with them; belly laughed so hard that i almost peed my pants a couple of times. my good friend, dina conover and her daughter allie-cat were with us for this comedy hour.  you can see some of dina's handy work above. i didn't want our time together to end.  can we do it again soon? (bailey is probably nodding her head "yes" & holly is rolling her eyes at me- she hates having her picture taken) holly, bailey & liam - thank you for letting me capture these moments with you.  i enjoyed every minute and look forward to when we can laugh together again.  i will never look atthe mcdonald's mcrib sandwich the same way.  nor will i be able to go back to this spot for a shoot and not stop to remember what an incredible honor it was to be with you that day.   i love what we captured and i smile every time i look at your images.  i hope you do, too.   lots of love to you, xox amanda jane

the best compliment: tell a friend or 3

the best compliment i could ever receive when it comes to my photography is for someone to refer a friend.  i was lucky enough to experience this during the holiday season. i was also lucky enough to meet a group of amazing new families that i can now call my friends.


this all started with my friend, marisa and her family.  i blogged about her and their adoption adventure in october.  marisa's son plays baseball and she spoke about our session with a couple of the other moms.  i remember her telling me: "i hope it's ok, i gave your number to some of the baseball moms on cameron's team."  ok?  ok??  are you kidding?!!  thank you SO much!  about a week later kim called.

marisa & family

friend #1


"hi my name is kim, i am a friend of marisa's.  we saw her pictures and were wondering if you would do some for our family."  my heart raced.  this was such an honor.  these people were calling me to do their pictures!  i jumped at the opportunity.  i liked kim immediately.  when we met for our session together i instantly warmed to both her children.  it turns out her husband i knew some of the people from high school.  such a small world!

kim & dean

such a fun family to hang with for the afternoon!

kim and you family -  you all were so great! so patient and willing to do whatever i asked of you.  the best part of the day for me was when kim told me about how they used to go to an indoor studio for their photos.  she said "not anymore. this was way better!"  i love that our time together was as fun for you as it was for me!  i look forward to another fun afternoon with you and your family soon. XO 

these kiddos were such fun and i loved every minute with them

friend #2

about a day or so later, my phone rang again and it was michelle.  she explained how she knew marisa and kim and wanted to know if i would do pictures for her.  this was awesome!  i was overjoyed and excited to get her family a spot on my calendar.  the weather in november was a little soggy, but we managed to sneak in an afternoon session at the galleano winery in mira loma.  

brock is a heart-breaker in training

michelle & family - thank you for chancing that rainy afternoon with me.  we had a great time, didn't we?  i am so glad we were able to meet. i had a wonderful time with all of you.  brock - you're such a good sport; always willing to pose and be the perfect model.  morgan - your sass is super.  i love it and i love that we captured some of it in our pictures.  wishing you all a wonderful 2012 and i am hopeful i get to see you soon. XO

check out miss morgan, she is all sass

friend #3


that same week i heard from devin.  she was part of the baseball crew and wanted in on a photo session.  i was in heaven.  i could not have asked for a more beautiful family.  mom and dad are gorgeous and have 3 adorable boys that kept myself and my assistant, sandra on our toes.  they even brought their two grandmas in for some of the fun.

when do parents with 3 boys ever get any time alone?  rarely.

this little angel playing peek-a-boo

 a striking couple - they were sure to have handsome boys!

devin and family - you all were incredible to photograph. thank you for giving me the opportunity. 
i loved what we captured for your family.  your boys are all so handsome and were such good sports during our time together.  the two grandmas were super cool to hang out with, too.  these boys are lucky to have some strong women in their lives and a really cool dad.  hope the new year is good to you and hope to see all of you real soon. XO

such a cutie -  i had to showcase his shiner. it's what being a boy is all about!

these boys have two of the coolest grandmas around!

i was fortunate enough to have had a busy holiday season for photo sessions. these are only a couple of the sessions and more will be posted in the coming weeks.  in addition to the photo sessions that were scheduled, the best part of the holidays was seeing the cards come in the mailbox with pictures i had taken.  what an experience. i loved every one of them!  XO aj