ter vruggink

*brand new*

  meet Sam, highly anticipated youngest brother to Ben, Tom and Anna. He is about a week and a half old here, and what a delight. It never ceases to amaze me- the sight of a newborn baby. What a miracle. Congratulations to all of you!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

~what is this~ an engagement session?

Sometimes in life you hit the jackpot. Like we did when Lisa and Eddie moved in two houses down from us on our old block. We had no idea at the time that they would quickly populate the block, or that they would become some of our closest friends. We had some good times watching Eddie, in particular, adjusting to life in the midwest. Eddie grew up in the Bronx and one of our first favorite stories from Lisa was how he couldn't find the mailbox in the house (that's because it's outside) ;) Lisa puts practically every woman I know to shame when it comes to productivity...the woman can single handedly remodel a house. No joke. Probably in a day (with the proper child care- that is). They are great fun and have reminded all of us that we need to keep time for friends (and I'm not even going to tell the story of the bride and the breath mints...) So it's no surprise that when we went out for a family photo shoot we had a great time- despite several young personalities and a time crunch and oh, just hear me when I say you don't want to miss the last shot in this group!

 

 

 

 

 

Surprise! Twins!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Priceless! :)   (click on this photo to see it bigger)

oh baby girl! can you believe it?

I'm going to be a tease this morning, I don't have time to post the rest~ look at this beauty:

 

wait 'til you see her twin brother... ;)

One of my *best* girls

I just want her to know I love her and our 22ish years of friendship are some of my life treasures! I, for one, am glad she moved back to the states. Also I think this marks the first time we had a decent photo together...(thanks Ryan)  ;)

Don't know what I'd do without your advice Steph. No stray cats. I'm working on it. :)

 

What is it about editing that eats whole days? I get lost in it sometimes, just ask Todd. Good thing the housework is finished. I have several sessions I'm finishing, I'll try to share some here this week. I have THIS on repeat today, I am a long time Sarah MacLachlan fan and I think this one is particularly beautiful. It has been crazy busy around here, and I won't lie- I like it like that. Enjoy your day!

~maybelle~

 These guys let me bust in on their 11th anniversary to take snaps of them and their beautiful little girl! I'm so glad they did- thanks Bill & Emily, enjoy the sneak peek!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I love the shots I get when they think I'm watching the baby...

 

Check out the eye lashes on baby girl!!!

 

This is a little number I like to call "look at me with exactly the same look~would ya?" :)

 

 

 

Um, well we ran out of raspberries. Never a good thing.

 

We have plenty of coffee though, so no worries.

 

Guess who can put the hat on by herself?

 

Success!

 

 

~moved beyond words~

I received so many thoughts from so many different people on the images I did of Meghan Haan. I just need to express to everyone how much I appreciate your notes, e-mails, and comments. It is hard to know, as an artist, if you are striking the right tone if you don't get any feedback. Michele and I discussed the photos at great length when prepping for the shoot. We knew what we wanted to capture. All the same, I wasn't exactly prepared for the thoughts Tiffany had. It is always interesting to hear from someone who really *gets* it. Tiffany's 2 year old daughter had cancer. She has now been in remission for 13+ years!! Please read this:

Meghan's pictures are amaazing!! I wish I had some similar when my daughter was "doing cancer" !! I remember struggling at the time, wondering how I could possibly want to view images made while we were in hell, I was sure if we survived it I would never want to think of it again.(Ha, ha a little post cancer joke there!! There is no forgetting it!) On the other hand I was paralyzed by the different feelings I would have if she "didn't make it" Would I want the "bad" pictures? or only the ones from good times? Ick!! Now I wish I had them. They would have documented the enormous struggle and the victory over cancer that now seems difficult to put into words. We are proud of what we went through, cherish the gifts that cancer gave us and happily spread the word that cancer is rarely the end that you imagine it will be!!I wish everyone going down this path could have pictures like these!! Terri, I hope you will consider this a calling! Love you and best wishes to Meghan and her family.
Tiffany

Posted by: Tiffany Althouse | October 16, 2008 at 12:57

Original post HERE. Meghan's Blog HERE.

i.can.not.believe.i.did.this.

First- a little history. I grew up across the street from a little boy my age. Tommy. We were fast friends. We lived in a small town with almost no fences and lots of room to run. We knocked on eachother's doors to play constantly. Baseball and war and 4 square and me with my hair to my waist and him- always shorter than I. He remembers my Mom. Then he moved. Then I moved. Life went on. We lost touch. 24 years passed. Enter facebook! and suddenly we are *friends* again. :) And Tommy has been busy while I've been away. In fact while I write this he is headed somewhere in the air between France and Africa as head pilot extrordinaire. He has been all over the world and just loves to fly. Luckily for me he keeps a home base not too far from my home base AND (here comes the fun part) he decided to take Chloe and I on a lovely color tour to watch the leaves change FROM THE AIR! IN A CRAZY COOL LITTLE TWO SEATER AIRPLANE! It was one of the greatest things I've dared do in a while and I am happy to report that I did not, in fact, scream in his ear the whole way. I even got a little giddy when he did a Lazy 8 (right name?). Wow what a feeling. Chloe is at it again with the camera too~ several of these are hers!

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The next two Chloe did by herself while I was in the air with Tom- I think she's giving me a run for the money these days. Amazing!

 

I *love* this. There's one of us both smiling at the camera but this one makes me crack up. I love how I'm looking at him like a little kid. It made me feel like a little kid- the whole deal. Too cute.  

   

Also- it's important to note- I finally cut my hair AND he's taller than me now. :) Thanks Tom- I owe you!

a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...

his Daddy played football for Uof M. And here's the boy- all grown up and ready to graduate. Nice touch of them to bring Dad's jersey wasn't it?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

princess~frog

 

I'm having a hard time letting go of summer this year because of memories like this!

vibrant life

 

Meghan Haan has been blessed. Blessed with a loving family, a supportive community, and a stong spirit. Blessed with it all while required to fight Oosteosarcoma. A type of bone cancer. Her Mom, Michele, is a dear friend and let me just say this was not the year Michele and I had planned. We had big ideas. Creative ideas. You can find Michele's blog HERE. And then Meghan was diagnosed. And then we all remembered we were not in charge.

I have known cancer all my life. My sister and I were orphaned because of cancer. Cancer is not my friend. And Yet, well. Yet it is in large part why I remember to appreciate life. It is a large part of who I am.  Even so I did not expect it to knock at my friends' door. Not for her beautiful innocent Child. And yet- so much good has come. They have received so many blessings. AND I, I have been blessed with the chance to be in the community of her supporters. To be around Meghan is to remember Why. Why we're here, why to appreciate, why to grab life by the horns and just do it. She is a joy with a million dollar smile and a lot of giggles and we could not, any of us, be more proud of her. Or her parents. Or her siblings. We anxiously await the term "remission" now, praying all has healed. Michael and Michele keep a detailed blog on Meghan HERE.

These photos were taken a couple weeks ago on a sunny afternoon just in time for Meghan's hair to start growing again! :) I can't imagine what these images will bring to mind when they look at these in the future and try to remember this point in time. It is photography at it's best if you ask me. Capturing life that will never repeat and you don't want to forget. New babies. Toothless smiles. Children in all their joys and struggles. Life and relationships how they ARE. Right now. Today. Embrace it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

marijke

I love it when we can take photos in a place that is *special* to my clients. Marijke was not only beautiful and a joy to work with, but she has a heart for theatre (and dance) and has long been involved at the Civic Theatre here in GR, so our first stop location was a no-brainer! These photos really speak for themselves so I won't ramble today! Enjoy:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

meet ryan

3 months of joy for Mom and Dad and 2 big brothers!

 

They had this great idea to build a house to accomodate the growing family...which has worked out wonderfully except that the house decided to be finished right about the same time Ryan wanted to arrive! You all think you're busy? hmm. :) Mom and Dad added some cool features to the new house. One of my favorites is in the front office. Tthere is a compass built into the wood floor which does, in fact, point North. I can just see the boys playing around with this over the years can't you?

 

 

 

true love...

mikhail~ 21 now and I just love this snap from Alaska where he's wearing his necklace from Africa

 

They train photographers now to leave "room" on all sides of your photos when shooting. You can crop them, or zoom in, later in photoshop. (vintage editing was done in PS) It's a great idea. Gives you so many more cropping options. Thing is- I forget all the time. I trained on film and I shoot with my eye, like I did here. It's a little bit problematic. And yet I'm proud of it. I do something else wrong too- I shoot goofy. It's a snowboarding term for putting the wrong foot forward. But I think it applies. I shoot upside down when I turn my camera to take a vertical shot, which is most of the time. It renders the extra button on my battery pack useless. It, too, is problematic. Thing is- it's like learning how to walk all over again to try to change it. I have always turned that direction and I know everyone else is going the other way but... well, it is what it is and I am on the path to self acceptance here! Yup- my 'no-room-leaving-goofy-shooting-self' is moving on and loving my own work for what it is. mine. :) Listening to this today. Fill Me Up and She Was Doin' Fine are my favorites so far. (give it a minute to load) Take care of yourself and those around you today. It's a short life.

uh-oh

 

Sometimes having children at such different ages results in a scheduling conflict, and this is most apparent to us when we travel. We were together as a family visiting Kail (Mik) at college over Labor Day in Houghton, MI (yes-people- that's in 'da UP) and staying in his apartment. Sunday morning Sawyer and Cade woke at the crack of dawn and Kail and Chloe were still out cold, so Todd and I threw on our jeans and took our sleepy selves out with the 2 little ones to hunt for a coffee shop. (Remember that scene in Family Man where she says "JACK- strong coffee!"? That's us in these situations.) We love to find an early morning local coffee shop and wander and talk and luck was with us this day. I slung my camera around my neck at the last minute, as Houghton is old, and interesting, and beautiful, and we were right on the lake. We let the kids run around and play with the rocks and then Sawyer sat down and started posing!!! Seriously- Todd and I looked at eachother and said "uh-oh" She started turning on the charm and modeling for me just like that! I did not pose her or do anything at all but take the snaps and she just kept at it telling me "Mommy I like this fashion!" (her shirt- a hand-me-down from Kyra, her jeans- hand-me-down from Ellie) Clearly she has been absorbing what Mommy works on during the day at the computer! Be careful what you say to Todd about it- he's still in shock about his first daughter growing up, I'm not sure he can take the second one. So here they are- baby girl growing up and going to Kindergarten:

 

 

this is life with Cade. there are no words...

i told her momma

if this was my daughter I would want this printed 16x20 at least! 

who am I kidding? I want it anyway! It's SO precious, and so HER. I hope they always think of Ella like this when they look back on her being 5 years old.

Part of the reason the above shot is so precious is because Mom is an Artist as well. She might be as good as Ella- we'll see. You can find her HERE. I also love this series of snaps of the family in their kitchen, to me they represent all that is good in daily family life. You can see one of Holly's paintings in the background. She was cracking me up because she paints some pretty sizeable paintings but was sure she only wanted small family photographs on the wall. I'm betting she'll change her mind. ;)

 

Steve and I share a similar background in that we were both orphans.  As that is not very common, at least where we live, it brings me special joy to document him with his family. There is nothing as heart-warming to see as a long term relationship still going strong. Let me just say- I didn't have to work hard to catch the looks they give eachother. :) Also- you can find him HERE. 

It seems they have a little fun together doesn't it? :)

We went to the college campus where they met as it holds some strong bonds for them, and it was a great choice. We talked about a shoot at the farmers market as well since they are committed to healthy food and they prefer to eat local. We didn't make it there though, how about next time guys? ;)

Connor is a cool kid, and one of Cade's best buds. Cade says he knows "EVERYTHING" about computers. Plus he loves baseball and sailing and he plays the guitar. Man- what else is there? ;)

Remember this:

yea! That was them too! :)

 

beach house time

We have been camping with a group of friends for 16 years and we're still at it!!! Well, okay, we wimped out this year when the campground was full and went to Angie and Charlie's cottage. Lucky us! We had a wonderful weekend with a lot of sun, beach volleyball, beach soccer, swimming in Lake Michigan, fierce Uno competition, cribbage lessons, scary stories by the fire, alarm clock shenanigans, Scrabble etc. Everything summer is about. The hardest part about it all is that these 3 little babies nursing by the fire pit:

Sue with Kyle, Me with Chloe, (Mikhail behind me), and Angie with Taylor:

Are now these little babies:

Holy smokes how did that happen???? Anyway- the beach soccer crew:

Teams:

They kept adding people to the fun and played a LONG time:

water water water

Uno round one:

oh man! Here come Sue's stuffed burgers:

Jesse dealing with a little burger inadequacy:  ;)

Volleyball girls:

Just chillin'

Charlie got up early with Sawyer and taught her to make her own hot chocolate with whip cream and everything! What a beautiful morning. What a guy. :)

Uno again:

enter cribbage stage right:

Since no one else in this group has children under high school age it is a bit of a stretch for Cade and Sawyer but they did great, even got to sleep in the cupboard under the stairs just like Harry Potter! It was the sweetest thing- Cade read Sawyer to sleep. Volleyball guy:

 

beach baby:

Daddy's sleepy beach baby: (this might be my favorite shot of them all)

BTW, that is THE most comfortable chair in the world. Serious.

And the group photo, minus Todd, Angie and Sawyer who were at the water again. Todd likes to call this shot "Papa Smurf" in honor of Charlie- back row center.  We will really need Mik home for next year's get together, and SOMEBODY tell Pat & Christine it's not the same without them!

Also, photo friends, everything taken with the Rebel XT, family camera. I wasn't working after all...

I was relaxing with my BFFs.  

UPDATE: I SO did not cut Dan off on purpose in that last shot! lol. Sorry honey! I'll e-mail the better one.

superhero 2.5

 Tynan's 2 year old photos (2 1/2 to be more accurate) included some serious super hero action that is going to make his superhero loving Daddy proud! Makes me want to go back to Saturday morning cartoons in my footy pajamas and watch Superfriends. You can practically see the gears going in his little head while he's thinking about this, who needs vocabulary? 

A plot is formulating:

Some serious strategy discussion:

work it, work it:

Don't give up:

Success! :)

And a couple of little Mr. Handsome without the support staff. I know 2 year olds are a handful and a lot of work but man they're CUTE when you don't have one!

oh the sweetest of gifts

come in the smallest packages don't they? It really is all about the little moments in life, you know? This little guy Hayden just made my day:

this computer is going down

It's a problem when you reach above 95% capacity isn't it? Consequently I am spending the day dumping everything possible to the external hard drive, but the problem with that is I get so distracted! It amazes me to look back at old work- I have SO many beautiful photos that I never get around to posting, or that I am "going to come back to" or that I just accidentally forget about! Here is a little beauty in her Daddy's arms that I never posted:

you all know you wish you were french

 

boy, we will miss her!

yael naim new soul clip

When I first heard this and I just wanted to sing "me too! me too! me too!" :) It's definately on our summer blender disc. I'm telling you- when it's me, it's every possible mistake...

did I mention...

that I'm LOVING this summer? oh, and this is me this weekend turning into a mermaid: