A Blessed Holiday

Our family had an amazing and memorable holiday. We went the day after Thanksgiving to get our tree. What a fun outing. The weather was great for tree hunting. We began at The Red Barn Tree Farm in Orting.The whole family jumped on the train and headed out into the woods to find the perfect tree.

We ended our day at Snowshoe Tree farm... It was so much fun to tromp through the woods in search of the perfect tree. I think there was a light shining down on the perfect one... at least I think I could see that light in my girls eyes when they chose their tree.

We tried to conserve some of our energy for the end of our day when we wrote letters to Santa. It was so fun to stand back and watch the concentration of a 5 year old as she tried her best to explain how good she has been and how much she wanted a "water baby". On the opposite side of the spectrum, it was really entertaining to watch a 3 year old carelessly draw and scribble on her letter with all the confidence in the world that Santa would come through for her with a stuffed unicorn. Candy canes and a fresh tree on top of the car ended a great afternoon.

A few weeks later we went to see Santa. We rode the Santa Train at Point Defiance in Tacoma. It is great, you hop on the train (ONE dollar per person!!!) and spend as much time with Santa as you need... sing carols...get rosy cheeks... and then head in to the cabin for hot cocoa and cookies to warm up afterwards.Christmas was white here... it was beautiful. We rarely see a white Christmas here in the Northwest, and it did make travel a bit of a challenge, but what a fabulous time we had celebrating with our family and friends. We filled the month with gingerbread houses, shopping and snow globes, kindergarten concerts, pine cones and sledding, snowmen, holiday music, Santa and mistletoe, tree decorating parties, candles, making and wrapping gifts, stockings, nutcrackers and cocoa in reindeer mugs.... and most importantly the Christmas story. We have been blessed in so many ways, but this year all of these little things have meant the most to me. If you have time in the next few days, write down a few memories that you made with your family or friends. Tuck your memories away in a Christmas box before you put all of your things away.... it will be fun to see if next year and for years to come.

Merry Christmas From My Little Monkey

OK... so have you ever checked out the career builder site for Monkey Mail? Well, my kids, especially Olivia is addicted to it. They love to select their characters, dress them and send messages to our friends and family who are not close by. Here is my Olivia... she turned three in September and she LOVES Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. So here it is.... Olivia singing Rudolph for you! Merry Christmas! **CLICK HERE**

The Holiday Special Was a Hit!

Hello!!! I have not done a blog post in almost a month! I can not believe it. Phew... it has been a busy few months for me. I can not wait to share with you all of the great stuff that has been going on around here. The Holiday Special was a hit! I have had nearly 25 families participate in the holiday special. What a surprise. It was way, I mean WAY more than I thought would ever have. I would love to thank all of the families that have let me into their homes and have allowed me to take up their precious time during the busy holiday season. What a privilege it has been to meet all of you, THANK YOU!!!

In the middle of all of the holiday sessions I had a wonderful surprise. I was asked by Me Ra of Me Ra Koh photography to speak at one of her fabulous photography workshops. I can not wait to tell you about it. It deserves a post on its own, so I will say no more! I know I have said this before, but if you have not checked out her blog.... you have got to do it! It is amazing, even if you are not a photographer, you will enjoy it. She is a real person who is willing to share real life (the good and the bad) with you honestly. Check it out.

Here are a few teasers from a couple of my recent sessions.... I will share more soon.

I hope you are having a great holiday season as we all prepare for Christmas. If you live around me.... lets hope for some snow!

More images to come soon!

A Blessing Delivered

Do you remember this gorgeous mommy to be? I had the opportunity to capture some beautiful shots of her one month before she gave birth to her sweet little boy. Click **HERE** if you would like to see some more of Brie's maternity shoot.

The past few months have been pretty busy for Sara Montgomery Photography. I have tons of new photos that I would love to show you. Be patient with me!! One of the greatest honors I have had lately has been invitations to come to the hospital to photography newborns within their first 24 hours of life. Here is Kason, Brie's adorable little boy, in the hospital just one day old. I think it is so important to capture these shots. These babes change before your eyes when they are this young... and there is just something sweet about seeing those tiny little ankle bands, the little hats, and seeing them all bundled up. What a blessing Kason is to his parents!

Kason is about two months old now, and I went out to their home to capture some shots of the entire family. I was excited to see what kind of a young man he has grown into in the past two months. What a beautiful family!!!

Brie seems to be a natural at motherhood. She is wide eyed, elated, calm, and thrilled with each little coo. She is doing a fabulous job at rolling with the punches and not letting the little things get to her. Even when Kason filled her hand with a wet little gift during the shoot she only laughed.There is something so sweet about seeing a first time dad spend time with their new child. They become so soft, so amazed and so proud. This daddy is going to do a fabulous job! Kason, your parents adore you. Keep letting them gaze into your sweet eyes.... let them hold your soft hands....And please, please for the sake of your momma... keep on sleeping as much as possible!

Pumpkin Patch Fun!!!

The fall weather we are having is completely amazing! We had our second annual trip to the pumpkin patch for a photo shoot a couple of weeks ago. What a great time we had. I think I probably had the most fun. We did this event for free.... no charges... and for me that meant a great day. Sometimes I miss just taking the photos without any expectation of the subject or of me. I had a blast and we got some great shots.These two girls had a blast! Ava (on the left) had so much fun with her buddy from kindergarten. These two have so much fun together. They see each other at day care, at soccer and in school. Watch out for this pair!

I think that one of the things that was most popular this year with the girls were the "little boo" pumpkins, sweet white pumpkins, which we now have all over our house, inside and out! Every time I looked over my shoulder I caught one of my girls loading some type pumpkin in our wheelbarrow.... usually these little boos! There are so many emotions that you see at the pumpkin patch. I just laughed as I watched these brothers crack each other up....

Here is another common site.... seeing kiddos contemplate how they are going to get the largest pumpkin available...I absolutely love this shot.... the classic pout! What a cutie in her purple fall coat!Check out her sister's beautiful blue eyes.... Our family always has so much fun at the patch. If you and your family have not made it out to a pumpkin patch yet, maybe you can go this Sunday. The weather is supposed to be great and it is always fun. If you do not make it out this year, then maybe you can come next year for our 3rd annual pumpkin patch photo shoot! Here is one last shot of my two pumpkins together!

The Pop, The Sweet Smell and The Memories!

Is it the innocence? Is it the sound of the pop? Is it the sweet smell? Is it the mixing of flavors? Is is the giggling? Is it the smile that it brings? Is it the kisses? What makes this so important to me? How can something as simple as lip gloss mean so much to me? I remember using this kind of gloss when I was a girl. I can remember how it felt on my lips when I rolled it on. I can hear the pop of the lid going on and off. I can remember taking it out of my backpack to show my friends as we would laugh and talk. Now today, I see my girls doing the same thing. It is hilarious to watch the girls put it on. They use quite a heavy coat and they are sure to include a large radius around their lips. Even though it looks a bit ridiculous, I can tell that they feel beautiful and special. That is a wonderful emotion to be able to see on their faces. Now they have even become gloss mixologists!I know it seems silly, but this lip gloss will always be important to me. It will always remind me of my childhood, and more importantly will always remind me of my girls. I can close my eyes and smell the lip gloss, I can feel their sweet kisses, listen to their giggles, and hear them discuss how strawberry and "banilla" should go together... I never want to forget any of it!

I hope to always have a tube of lip gloss around, something so simple and so small that can evoke intense emotion and memories for me. I hope if you have not found the "lip gloss" in your life that you take time to find it. It is there.... even if in your bathroom drawer!

Barefoot Twirling in the Grass

All right, I have to say it again, I loved this shoot.... these sweet girls are close to the age of my own girls, and I hope to have photos like this of my own kiddos some day. These girls had beautiful delicate dresses that their Southern Grandma had sent them. We were so lucky to get this shoot done on about the last sunny day. When Zach and I bought our first home we met a great couple two houses down who we had a lot of fun with. Both of our families moved on to new homes, had children, and grew apart. I was thrilled to reconnect with them and have the chance of shooting their girls with their mom. These two girls looked just beautiful in their dresses, and I loved seeing them with their mom, happy, laughing, and secure in her touch.Look at those eyes!These are the things that I want to remember about my own girls forever... the dancing, the secrets, the giggles, the goofy and silly bond that make young sisters the best of friends.
Walking holding hands, twirling and dancing barefoot in the grass... what a life. I can just imagine it... the way the breeze lifts your hair off of your neck, the cool grass on your feet, the air filling your dress to princess status... is there anything that little girl loves more? Thank you girls for a very fun afternoon. I hope your parents keep these photos forever and will look at them when you are all grown up and be able to remember your silliness, your smiles, the way your hair flips, your spirit, and your giggles.