I was welcomed to Josh and Marissa’s home for their family photo session a couple weeks ago.

They live in a beautiful home on 5 acres with their 3 horses, 3 dogs, 2 cats,  2 gorgeous children and another one on the way!

When I arrived for the session, Marissa had been busy getting everyone ready, and then she had to get the horses prepped and ready, with Josh’s help, they did their best to gather all of their troops and we set off on our photo adventure!

Now, I’ve photographed plenty of kids over the years, I’ve also photographed the family dog and even a few horses…This was my first experience trying to get all of these together and happy for a photo. Add in the incredibly chilly temperature and you can see that we had our fair share of potential challenges. I joked with Marissa that if I ever think my life is busy, I will just remember their daily responsibilities and that will pretty much push any room for complaining off my table! 😉

Busy? Yes, this family is plenty busy. But, they truly are so blessed. They live their life together with lots of love and plenty of laughter along the way. If you can’t laugh about the chaos, you’ll never make it through it!

Was our session filled with picture perfect photo opportunities? Heck no, but none of my sessions ever are. That’s not how life goes, especially not with children (and pets). But, I think that’s what I love the most about my job. Capturing families in their element and documenting their life as it happens in front of my camera.

When our session was over I know that Josh and Marissa were thinking it was filled with more mishaps than moments. But, in all honesty, given all that we had to work with and that there were some less than willing participants (ahem, dogs) – I think it was actually quite successful. Definitely plenty of happiness and love to be captured amongst these guys!

Roden Family – I enjoyed getting to work with ALL of you guys and get a sneak peek into your lovely life!