Jennifer Bowen Photography » Engagement, Wedding, Portrait & Family Photographer // Scottsdale, Phoenix Arizona

The third Mom I chose was Lorie. Here is the entry that was submitted:

Lorie is one of my dearest friends. She is also a great mother of three handsome boys. Lorie has a full house and is always running around taking them to swim meets, karate classes, carpooling to playdates, etc. Her household is always full of joy, laughter and fun. In addition to being a full time mom and having her scrapbooking business, Lorie is a great family historian. She always takes time to create beautiful albums for each of her sons and each book is personalized with their own stories and pictures.

Recently, Lorie’s husband was diagnosed with aggressive prostate cancer. Each and every day, I pray for her and I ask God to help this beautiful family through this difficult time. Even with this frightening news, Lorie continues to have a positive attitude and a smile. She looks at life with optimism and continues to cherish every minute as a wife and mother.

Over the years, I have shared all the beautiful pictures that you have taken of our family with Lorie. Every time, Lorie looks at them with excitement and joy, and even a teary eye. I think this will be the most beautiful gift that she could receive, to have the opportunity to spend an afternoon with her family and have some wonderful pictures as a keepsake of the amazing love that unites them and gives them strength each and every day. In Lorie’s words, “Life is short, I know we have all heard these words but just take a moment and celebrate those people in your life that you really cherish.”

One of the reasons I chose Lorie is because I felt she would really really appreciate this photo session. I know she has a lot on her plate and its been a challenge with her husband’s cancer and raising 3 busy boys. It isn’t that she is any more deserving than all the other Mom’s out there who run busy, joyful, disciplined and loving households (and her 3 extraordinary well mannered sons are a testament to her and Dennis’s parenting and love), but life is short and situations are thrown at us where we might not be able to schedule portrait shoots or have photos of our family interacting when bigger and more pressing things are going on. It truly was an honor to meet their entire family and I so enjoyed spending even that short hour with the Eshima’s. My thoughts and prayers continue to be with them.

I love this image

Mom and her boys

Dad and his boys

It was a long time coming for these two. They were supposed to get married in October 2008 and had booked me all the way back in 2007. Then Tracy’s dad became very ill after a sudden and serious health accident, where it was touch and go with him for some time. Once he stabilized, where it appeared he would fully recover with time, it was then that Lee’s father was diagnosed with cancer. Suffice to say, the wedding plans were put on hold so Tracy and Lee could focus on their families and getting their fathers well again. Obviously it was very important that they could be there to celebrate – and in the best health possible.

Fast forward to October 2009. Tracy and Lee were finally able to tie the knot at her uncle’s home in North Scottsdale and have the celebration they had planned for and looked forward to for so long. Lee is a stand up comedian in Los Angeles (it’s The Improv where Tracy used to work and originally met Lee), so he was a lot of fun to photograph. I had a hard time ever getting him to be serious in the photos UNLESS he was thinking about Tracy, his love, his best friend, and then he focused pretty exclusively (and seriously) on her :-) They were both so wonderful, funny, kind and just a real pleasure to spend the day with. I want to also add that they had Emily Edwards on hand, owner of Your Heart’s Desire wedding consulting firm and she was such a pro and a real pleasure to work with.

Here are some favorites from their big day:

LOVED their cake by Let Them Eat Cake. Flowers by Your Event Florist.

The many faces of Lee

They had each married guest bring a framed wedding photo of their own and incorporated it into their decor. Pretty cool.

Yeah! Both Dad’s made it, danced and enjoyed watching their children get married. Tracy’s dad Bruce on the left and Lee’s Dad Robert on the right.

Thank you Tracy and Lee for allowing me to photograph your beautiful wedding! I have no doubt you two will spend a long and happy life together loving and laughing a lot.

I recently learned I was selected as one of The Knot’s 2010 “Best of Weddings” by brides and grooms who vote for their favorite photographers or weddings on the site. Thank you so much for the honor for anyone and everyone who voted for me. This was a such a surprise and I’m honored to be selected!

I’m back from New York and have SO MUCH TO POST. We had a fantastic time and I’ll share soon some of the details and photos from our trip and experiencing NYC through a 4.5 and 7 year old’s eyes and several of the fun “girl” things we did. It was really a special trip to share with my daughter, and of course my Mom, sister and niece as well.

But first, I’m working hard processing client photos and shooting sessions since its the busiest time of the year for me. I have a lot of family holiday session shoots to post, as well as some adorable newborn portraits, children’s portrait sessions and a few more weddings to share. We are working overtime to process and get everything up for my awesome clients; please know its all coming very soon!

In the meantime, I’ll leave you with this image from New York City. I like each and every season for various reasons, but autumn is my favorite. I love wearing jeans and sweaters, I love the changing leaves, the crispness in the air…and the anticipation for my two favorite holidays: Thanksgiving and Christmas. There really was no better place for me to get a big dose of all of that than in NYC. It’s been several years since I’d been there and this was hands down the prettiest I have seen it (except maybe when it’s blanketed in fresh snow) with all the gorgeous foliage.

Today I’m taking my daughter to the big city for the first time. New York City that is. We have a girls trip planned with my mom, sister and niece and I am super excited to both see my family (my girls anyway) and show Jordan the hustle and bustle of big city life. I love NYC, always have and feel so alive there. I’ll try to blog some while we are there (if I actually sit down in front of a computer long enough while there) but will definitely share more when we get back. If you have any great restaurant suggestions, please do send them my way. Thanks!

istock image

The second Mom I chose for my May Mother’s Day contest was Tina. Tina, her husband and her son (Sonny) had a rough several months.  Sonny was born with a mild heart murmur, but they were told it was probably nothing to worry about and that he would likely outgrow it. He went through all of his first well-checks with flying colors. Then, at a routine appointment when he was 10 months, the doctor said his heart murmur was actually quite serious and that he required open heart surgery immediately. Can you imagine?

Here is the original entry:

I’m submitting my good friend Tina. Her first born son, Sonny, was born with a heart murmur. At his first cardiology appointment at about a week old, he was diagnosed with VSD (Ventricular Septal Defect). At almost 10 months he was also diagnosed with DCRV (Double-Chambered Right Ventricle) and was advised to be admitted into Children’s Phoenix Hospital immediately! Luckily, he had open heart surgery on March 11th to correct both defects. After Sonny’s heart surgery he unfortunately developed medical NEC (Necrotizing Enterocolitis) and had stomach surgery [second surgery] on March 22th. Finally he was released from Phoenix Children’s Hospital on April 14th. Although out of the hospital he is on a 24hr feeding tube and goes to physical therapy and speech therapy weekly. He continues to recover at home and is doing well in the love and care of his mom, dad, and grandmother. To add insult to injury, with the economy as bad as it is we had lay-offs and Tina was one of our valued employees that lost her job.

Tina’s talked several times throughout the year about setting up and appointment somewhere to get photos taken of Sonny, but just really has not had time lately to focus on that. With all that she and her husband have had to deal with, I know that a portrait session would mean the world to them. She’s talked about having a “healthy baby party this fall.” Your photographs are something they would cherish for years to come!

It’s not that Tina didn’t do what I think most Mom’s would do; drop everything and be there every minute for your child as he recovers from surgeries and setbacks. But I felt that while most moms happily go about their child’s first year and can plan photoshoots to capture all the milestones, that simply was not an option for Tina and her husband. So I wanted to give them that. I think we got some cute pictures of little Sonny:

Tina wanted a shot of Sonny’s scar, to show all that he has been through and what a trooper he is!