Hi, I'm Valerie, and these are my boys

The days are long, but the years are short.

You're right in the thick of parenting your kids, with days that are often long and far too busy. Still, you can't help but notice that they're growing up way too fast, and you want so badly to remember those precious moments of their childhood that sometimes get forgotten in the busyness of day-to-day life. Your 4 year old's sassy smirk...your 7 year old's gap-toothed smile...the way the toddler curls into a ball and sucks his thumb--you don't want to forget any of that. But every time you think about having family photos done, you think about your kiddos being their usual, slightly feral selves, and wonder if it's even possible to have authentic, memorable, gorgeous photos that reflect your family's personality and love with all the unpredictability that kids bring.

I get it.

I'm here in the parenting trenches too. I started taking pictures of my own kids in the midst of a really difficult season where I had four little ones and one more on the way. Every day seemed endlessly long and difficult, and I wanted desperately to focus on those small sweet moments that so easily got lost and forgotten in the craziness and chaos of raising a houseful of children. I'm a mom of six now, five of them boys...rowdy, adventurous, slightly feral boys. No matter what your kids do, mine have likely done it too. Probably multiple times, with a few twists and "improvements" thrown in. So I won't bat an eye at any kid antics, and I have a few tricks up my sleeve to get some great pictures of your family even if your kids are being, well, kids.

They love each other so much. for a minute anyway!