welcome sweet baby corbin {A Birth Story}

"For you created my inmost being, you knit me together in my mother's womb." 

Psalm 139:13

I think that I maybe the only person who was excited that this little guy decided to stay a little past his due date. I had literally just arrived at my parent's house in North Carolina after 4 days of traveling from Michigan to North Carolina by way of Canada, New York, and Maryland when my sister called to say she was in labor and heading to the hospital. After a little bit of debate I was nominated family rep and quickly tossed my kids in the bed and headed out the door. When I arrived Gabi had just received her epidural and was starting to feel some relief. I was immediately amazed at how calm she seemed amidst the chaos that was swirling around her. Within just a few minutes she was ready to push and that is when things really got crazy. Corbin's heart rate started deceling every time Gabi would push and the doctors were very worried. As they started to prep her for an emergency c-section, she bravely looked at me and said, "it's okay. i'm okay. i'm not scared." As tears welled in my eyes I held her hand and prayed knowing that God was in control but scared out of my mind for my amazingly brave sister and sweet little nephew. 

Thanks to a cool-headed anesthesiologist who hung around in the room just to make sure that the epidural took the room was quickly calmed down and the OB allowed Gabi to try pushing again. Corbin was still not tolerating pushing very well but had moved down and with a few more pushes and a little help from the vacuum he arrived within just a few minutes with the cord wrapped so tightly the OB had to cut it before pulling him all the way out. He was quickly whisked away to the awaiting NICU team and we all held our breath waiting to hear that first cry. Within just a few seconds we heard that beautiful cry and new immediately that Corbin was going to be just fine. 

I am so thankful that my sister allowed me to be there with her. I was blessed to capture these images for them and I pray that they will treasure them for years to come.  

{coming soon} baby corbin

"no one else will ever know 

the strength of my love for you. 

after all, you're the only one 

who knows what my heart sounds 

like from the inside." 

so when i say coming soon, i mean coming really soon, like any day now! this beautiful mama is my younger sister gabi and i absolutely can not wait to meet sweet little corbin james because he will be the newest addition to our ever growing brood of cousins! i was so happy to be able to steal a few moments with gabi, brett, & my nephew ian on a recent visit home to north carolina. gabi is an inspiration to me for some many reasons and i am so happy to be on this journey through motherhood together with her.

as the final days of this pregnancy quickly come to a close i pray that you have a few moments to sit and enjoy this life growing inside of you. i pray that you can enjoy each kick, punch, and hiccup and even the heartburn, backaches, and swollen feet. i pray that you celebrate these days as you prepare for this new little life and all of the fun (and sleepless nights) that are to come. i love you so much and can not wait to meet this newest addition to our family. 

XOXO, 
your big sis

PS: If you could keep this little guy in until at least the 19th when I get there I would really appreciate it!! Not a big request right?

the coughlin-farrell crew

The sun comes up,

Its a new day dawning,

Its time to sing your song again.

Whatever may pass, and whatever lies before me

Let me be singing when the evening comes.

Bless the lord oh my soul

Oh my soul

Worship his holy name

Sing like never before

Oh my soul

I worship your holy name.

to say my soul was blessed after spending time with this beautiful family is an understatement. a few weeks ago my family spent 3 amazing days in one of our most favorites cities, pittsburgh with all of my husband's siblings and his aunt, uncle, and cousins who were in town visiting from denver. we had a great time exploring the city, taking in a pirates game, checking out the carnegie science center and even had a few minutes to squeeze in a much needed family photo shoot.  

thank you guys so much for inviting us to tag-a-long on your spring break vacation. we left pittsburgh with so many new memories, our spirits renewed, and hearts full. these moments we spent walking through the woods were some of my favorite of the week and i didn't want our time together to end. you both are amazing role models in marriage, in parenting, and in life. it was truly a blessing for us to be able to spend this time with each and every member of your family. here's to many more adventures together!

a measure of happiness

"we tend to forget that happiness doesn't come as a result of getting something we don't have, but rather of recognizing & appreciating what we do have. -frederick keonig

you may have already guessed that these beautiful people are also related to me but no that is not my sister although sometimes people think that we could be which is quite the complement. this is my husbands older brother ben, my nephews caden & abram and my amazing sister-in-law jessica. we had to brave a little rain and mud for this session but ben showed up on time (miracle upon miracles), the boys did awesome, and everyone (me included) had a great time hanging out. these guys are just fun!! we had a great time hanging out at their house in north carolina playing pool and ping pong and trying to soak up every minute of our time together. we hope that one day on this crazy journey of life we will end up neighbors but until that day we will recognize and appreciate every single minute we spend in the beautiful mountains of north carolina with family.

Coming Soon! {Big Sister Isabel}

piglet to pooh: how do you spell love?

pooh: you don't spell it you feel it! 

recently our family took a trip back home to north carolina to see my husbands baby brother tie the knot. we had an amazing trip and i am finally getting caught up on a few sessions i was able to shoot. this is my oh so beautiful sister-in-law Evie, my sweet little niece Isabel, and uncle baboo. we had perfect weather, perfect light, and the perfect family. evie is due with a baby boy right after christmas (stay tuned for lots more shots of this little guy) and we could not be more excited to head back to north carolina in just a few months to meet him.  

Back to School Minis

It’s that time of year again, when everyone is heading back to school, donning their super cute new school clothes along with fresh school supplies, a new lunch box and the excitement of meeting new friends or catching up with some old ones.  It’s also that time when we as mothers we realize just how old our babies are getting. In honor of this milestone I am offering you the opportunity to get some school photos! The kind that you actually want to frame in your house and send off to grandma.  

Mini sessions are only offered a few times a year and are designed to be creative and fun! If you have been wanting to try out custom fine art photography now is your chance!  

survival {essence of now}

"remember you are not managing an inconvenience. you are raising a human being." kittie franz

i know i have been MIA for a few weeks so i thought that this might be an appropriate post to kick things off again. i have been busy this summer raising human beings which on most days has looked something like wrangling a very precocious toddler, answering endless questions from a very inquisitive almost 4 year-old, visiting family and having a revolving door of visitors to our house, surviving without power for 5 days in july, growing our first garden and transition our family to "real food", and trying to keep cool all while hopefully remembering to feed the dog {most days}. 

as this summer winds down i can happily report that we survived. if you know me well you know that i am not the biggest fan of summer (that may be an understatement) but i am happy to report that we did not only survive this summer but we flourished. the kids and i have enjoyed endless adventures and on occasion we have even let daddy tag along. i hope to post some highlights from our summer adventures soon but in the mean time here is the essence of now....

the key to my survival in the morning. every morning. iced coffee.and most morning it doesn't look this cute.

surviving the library with a toddler. who does not understand "shhhh..." any tips?

i have loved every minute of summer but i am eagerly anticipating the cooler weather, shorter days, and ease of routine that comes with the return of fall. stay tuned for highlights from our summer, some exciting news from the business side of things, and fall/holiday specials.

endless love {mr. & mrs.}

come let me love you

let me give my life to you

let me drown in your laughter

let me die in your arms

let me lay down beside you

let me always be with you

come let me love you

come love me again

- annie's song, john denver

i'm fairly certain this song was sung at my parent's wedding 33 years ago today and before today i don't think i had ever read the lyrics. what a beautiful song and what a beautiful love you they still share today. thank you so much for loving each other through the good and the bad and everything in between. 

i love you. 

and this is what they have to show after 33 years of marriage, 4 kids, a son-in-law (and adding another one in march), 3 grandkids, & 4 grand-dogs (3 of which are still living at home). 

Happy New Year (oh and a Merry Christmas too!)

Although the holidays are long since passed I still wanted to a moment to thank everyone for a fabulous 2011. Thank you for welcoming me into your lives, into your homes, and into your families. I have learned so much in just the few short months since launching my business and I am grateful to each one of you for trusting me to tell your story and capture your memories. 

{family photos courtesy of the amazing Amy Noon Free}

Growing Up...

Dod & Doda|Maryland Lifestyle Family Photography

"Happiness is having a large, loving, caring, close-knit family in another city." 

George Burns

I think one of my favorite parts about being a photographer is being able to capture the ones you love the most in front of your camera. Isn't that how most of us get our starts anyway? Dod & Doda are my husband's beloved aunt & uncle and we have been blessed to live only an hour away from them for the last year but sadly they have decided to move to California in search of warmer weather year-round. Liam has grown quite fond of them both as you can tell and we are just heartbroken that they are leaving but are excited for them as they embark on this new adventure.


Godspeed. We will miss you.