Illinois, here we come!

Spring is fast approaching and we couldn't be more excited. Although we love Winter in it's season, we're ready for the fresh breezy skies, blossoms all over the place and the warm, enveloping sunshine. And guess what? We want to get you out in all that loveliness so we can have the privilege of capturing your personality framed by the glory of Spring. 

These photo shoots would be portrait/lifestyle and very customizable to your needs. What we're saying is, these shoots are for you in whatever stage of life you may find yourself right now. We want the end product to be something that you can treasure forever, whatever that may look like for you personally. 

Basically, we mean that whether you're single, married, have kids, dating, graduating from high school, just madly in love, or enjoy being in front of the camera by yourself, we want to tell your story through our photography!

We have potentially 6 - 8 (hour long) slots available May 8th-10th in Salem, IL:

*UPDATED*

The evening of Thursday the 8th - both available slots booked
The morning of Friday the 9th - 1 slot available 

The evening of Friday the 9th - both available slots booked

The morning of Saturday 10th - only available slot booked

The evening of Saturday - 1 slot available

Here are some answers to some questions you may have concerning this:

How much will it cost?

Each session will be $100 (payment is due two weeks before scheduled shoot). We also require a $30, non-refundable, retainer fee that is due at the time of booking. This will go towards your final investment of $100 for the photo shoot. 

What does that include?

Two photographers for 1 hour on location of our choice. 15+ edited images, received digitally, with rights to print.

What if my children hate getting their pictures taken/can't hold still?
Don't worry about it! My husband and I have plenty of experience wrangling kids of all sizes and personalities. We love children, but also understand that they don't always act the way we may want them to, especially when a camera is involved! Overall, we hope that these photo shoots are fun and relaxing for everyone. We want to capture you + loved ones just being yourselves, even if that means chasing your rowdy little one around everywhere to capture the perfect shot. Bring it on!

What to wear?
First off, don't feel self-conscious about not knowing what looks good for photo shoots. It's something I struggle with myself! Here are some tips I've picked up from other people in my life:

-Don't have everyone wearing the same color, mix it up! You want your photos to be fun and interesting.
-But don't wear too many colors. Perhaps pick two main (neutrals) and add one pop of color?
-Rather than picking two colors that kinda, almost match (but not really) go with colors that contrast each other.
-Stay away from too many people wearing the same pattern (ex. everyone in stripes, everyone in plaid).
-Wear layers! Scarves, vests, statement necklaces, boots. It helps add interest to your images. 

 Basically, we want you to feel confident about yourself and wearing the right clothes is one way to  assist you in that. Hope these tips were helpful!

What if we have to cancel because of emergency/ weather/ sickness?

We totally understand if anything like this were to occur. No one we can foresee the future. In fact,

something drastic that we didn't anticipate could happen and we might have to cancel the trip ourselves, as much as disappointment that would be! In the event of circumstances happening outside your/our control, you would receive a full refund (minus the $30 booking fee) for your photo shoot. All we can do is plan carefully and pray God allows for us to come be with you all!

What's this about a giveaway?
Anyone who books one of these sessions with us will automatically be entered to possibly win a FREE 16x20 canvas print of an image that you choose from the shoot. Names will be drawn randomly from the list of clients after all the sessions have concluded to see which person is the winner!


To book your session please email me (Breanne) at: rodgers.breanne{at}gmail{dot}com

If you have any further questions or need more information, feel free to email me about that as well. 

Looking forward to working with you!

Jonathan & Breanne 

Week 20 - Family Visit

Besides a quick overnight visit from Melissa and Jason last year, this was the first time that any of my family had come to our neck of the woods. I was thrilled that some of them we're able to make the effort to be here  and I know all the rest of my siblings would have loved to be there as well; they were definitely missed! Family is hugely important to us and I'm proud that on my side and Jonathan's side we've had overwhelming support, encouragement and excitement, not only about our life, but now about the life of our child as well. 

My Mom, my sister Mel and her husband Jason drove up Tuesday evening and we had some time to kill so we took them to one of our favorite places to show new comers: The Antique Mall. It's basically just a huge warehouse full of (overpriced) antique everything. Occasionally, you can find a good deal but overall it's just a very interesting place to pass the time. Spending anytime with my family is interesting. We take lots of pictures, we're usually loud (sometimes awkward) and never boring. It usually ends up making for hilarious stories later. You know, the ones where you blush red and can't  breathe because you're laughing so hard at whatever it was someone said/did in public. And really? We  just honestly, not always perfectly or without conflict, enjoy being together and making the most of time we have. Long-distance changes your outlook on 'family time', trust me. Anytime together is just that much more precious….and fun!  

The next morning we took them to our local coffee place, Veloctiy Bike & Bean. For all you local people reading this, we highly recommend it! Delicious beverages of all kinds, wonderful thought-filled  service and just a great place to hang out. I know saying 'coffee is important to us' is such a cliche statement these days. But really, there's just something about having something warm + comforting in our hands to sip while we talk (and we talk a lot) and spend time together. To me, having good conversation over heartening food or drink is being able to make home happen where ever we might find ourselves. 

 Then it was off to lunch, where I had a spectacular surprise waiting for me. My oldest sister Beth had drove in eeearrly that morning from Illinois to come celebrate the day with us! I was so thrilled and grateful that she braved the road with her two littles to be there with us. I can't say enough how much we enjoyed sharing the joy of this day with everyone who was able to come. Once again, we found ourselves laughing and catching up over food. I can never get enough time with these humans. 

Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of us at the hospital when my family and Jonathan's family we're all there together. I'm all for capturing what happens as it happens but sometimes there's just too much excitement going on to be behind a camera. And really, at times I have to tell myself 'Put the camera down, enter into this moment and enjoy it!' And that's what we did. 

At the hospital, right before we headed back, the excitement/nervousness was tangible; at least for me. Jonathan's mom was there, my mom and two of my sisters were there and everyone was so happy for us. The only feeling I can compare it to was the day of our wedding. Just like that day over two years ago, something incredibly miraculous was happening for us and our family was there to support and visibly show us their excitement. By being there like they were, we felt incredibly loved on. I can't wait for our baby to experience the kind of genuine devotion waiting for him on both sides of his family when he gets here. 

Our technician for the ultra-sound was great. She helped coordinate bringing family members back and forth to see Pickle (only three people were allowed back at once) and was very careful not to reveal the gender to us the entire time. We had so much fun watching him twist and jump around and even wave his hand! The last time we got to see him, for some reason, it was the image of his hand that struck my heart the most. And this time we watched again as he opened and closed it multiple times. I feel Jesus allowed me to see that as a gift to this new mama's heart. I want so bad to connect with my child, to know him and let him know me, Jesus understands that. And it's the little things right now like his big kicks in the morning, Jonathan being able to feel him too, and that little hand clasping open and closed so clearly on the monitor that helps me to feel that connection. 

After that appointment I'm incredibly relieved to report that everything for him was totally normal. Everything! He's healthy and developing beautifully (Oh, praise my Heavenly Father for His tender mercies!) Here are some pictures from his ultrasound. This is the part where you pretend like they are very clear and detailed images where you can definitely make out his features, ha! I will say that Jonathan says he has my chin and Mom says he has my nose. Score for me! 

As this post is getting rather lengthy, I'll be sharing the pictures Melissa took of our reaction when we found out he was a boy in a separate post. If you have time, you can just keep scrolling down once you finish this post to see them! However, I'll end here with some shots of us just hanging out together in the hotel room. It was a beautiful way to end the day. Wrestling Gracie, soothing Mason and letting them feel Pickle kick. We were exhausted, had messy hair and tired eyes but we were happy and together. I can't think of anything better. 

Thank you all a thousand times for celebrating this week with us! We love you to the stars and back (because the stars are a lot farther away than the moon, and that more accurately describes the amount of love we have for you all.)

Come back soon, you bunch of crazies, you.

Week 20 - Gender Reveal

"It's delightful when your imaginations come true, isn't it?"

-L.M Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables 

Until I saw someone else do this, it never really occurred to me to put an emphasis on getting pictures of our reaction when we found out what our  child was. I'm so glad we made this happen because these images are invaluable to me. Thank you Melissa for braving the frigid cold to preserve this for us!

People asked us all the time, "What do you think it is?" Jonathan said over and over again that it was girl, I didn't know what to say except, maybe boy? Maybe it's because that's what I wanted. I'm being honest. All along, I had a slight preference for a boy. I've just always wanted a firstborn son. Not that I would have been the slightest disappointed by a girl. In fact, picturing my husband (Lord willing in the future) having a relationship with a little girl of ours makes me swoon. I want that and would have loved that now. So please don't think I would have not wanted a girl, I mean…c'mon people.

Aaanyway, here are the pictures. As you can see, we were thrilled beyond belief. I screamed out of pure joy and Jonathan couldn't stop smiling. It was the best ever, ever ever.

And then Mel took a few shots of all us together. These are the first  maternity shots that I actually have with Jonathan and they're right after we knew we were having a son. Wow. And really, I just realized that this is our first family photo shoot. *Excuse this hormonal mama as she goes and cries for a few minutes*

It's all just so good...thank You, Jesus! 

So there you are, come this July little Boy Rodgers will be making his big debut and we can't wait! Thank you for walking this new adventure with us. All the support on social media and excited texts and phone calls have blessed our hearts a hundred times over. We appreciate it all more than we can say. 

Dear Pickle,

We found out you were a boy this week! It's was amazing! You were already precious and wanted by us but this has just engraved you even deeper into our hearts. Your dad is so excited to have a little buddy and I'm already falling in love with you (I'm head over heels, really). I wish I could show you now how much you are loved. You have grandmas and grandpas and aunts, uncles, cousins and friends who are just so incredibly excited to know all about you. Hurry up and get here so you can experience all this wonderfulness for yourself. You are one blessed little boy. Dad can feel your kicks now, and he loves it! Sometimes he won't let me get out of bed so he can spend more time with you. Yes, he's already that crazy about you. I just can't believe I now have two amazing guys in my life. Jesus has blessed me abundantly more than I could ever ask. 

We're thrilled over you little guy, I  just can't say it enough. 

Love, 

Mom & Dad