Special Holiday Session… The Hobson Family

The final scheduled session of 2014 & I couldn’t have dreamed of a more perfect way to finish off the year than with a special holiday session! Oh my… where do I even start with all the ways that I love & adore this one?!?!!! Beyond the fact that I smile & get mushy every time I look at these images, there is special history behind these particular clients as well…

My dear friend from college, Tara & I have managed to stay in touch over these almost 20 years since we graduated (oh goodness, can it really be THAT long?! we are certainly not THAT old 😉 )… with holiday cards then loosing each other through moves for a while and then finding each other again thanks to social media (yes, I am sincerely thankful every day for social media, for this very reason!!). One day she mentioned to me on Facebook that she wished I were closer to do a session with. So, hoping & thinking it would be so cool, but not really expecting anything, I let her know we would be in Pennsylvania visiting my Mother-in-Law for Thanksgiving & I’d of course be thrilled to capture her family!! Next thing we knew… my family was in Pennsylvania, snow was falling and her family was driving 3 hours to come meet us… the morning after Thanksgiving no less & she had hosted their Thanksgiving too!

My mother & brother-in-law graciously watched our kiddos so that my hubby could come along to play assistant. And off we went into historic Gettysburg! It was a 30-something degree & very windy to boot, kinda day – what troopers they all were!! You’d never know it from how well they did! As you can imagine when you see the images below, I was also thrilled to pieces when they came out all ready to go… what a phenomenal job Tara did on their styling!! Love, love… um, yeah…. head to toe, each & every one and everyone together… L-O-V-E!!!

Tara & I have only gotten to see each other once ourselves in all these years, so not only had I not seen her hubby since the mid-90’s but I’d not yet had the opportunity to meet their girls! They aren’t such little girls any more either… they are bright, delightful personality filled, very different & oh so very beautiful young ladies! In addition to thoroughly enjoying their personalities while together, as a photographer you spend a good bit of time looking at your clients features up close… I was just in awe as I edited through these images – all 3 girls have the most beautiful freckles & eyes!!

The oldest… so personable & easy to chat with and quite mature for her age, holding her own at dinner with her mom & I. She’s a total natural in front of the camera & well… let’s just say, despite it still being a few years away… heck yeah, I’ve already put in dibs on wanting to be her Senior Portrait Photographer if they want me!!! 😀

Miss perfectly in the middle will make you work a little harder for her to open up (& as that kinda girl myself, I can totally appreciate that!). Once she does – oh, how she shines! I quickly learned how much she loves kitties & how wonderful she is with little ones… within hours of meeting, my 4.5 yr old pretty much worshiped her & thinks they are BFFs! 😉

Then there is the youngest young lady of this crew. OMGosh is she sweet & so personality filled! She’s a spunky lil’ gymnast & drama club girl… and I can totally see soaring in both! She just makes me smile “.”!! 😀

But what is a family without it’s base? Tara & her wonderful hubby, Jake, have been together as long as I’ve known her and if I can count correctly (LOL 😉 ) are due to celebrate their 20th Wedding Anniversary soon! After all these years, they are just as adorably in love as I remember them & I would guess even more so! I got completely goosebumpy when Jake (yes, the husband… proactively… on his own) asked me toward the end of the session to get some shots of him & Tara in the bridgeway… some looking at each other & some kissing. I coulda melted right there! SOO sweet!!!! It is quite obvious how much he adores all 4 of the beautiful ladies in his life!

My dear, Tara… you & Jake have built such an amazing family over these years, with much to be proud of!! Thank you for liking my work so much that y’all drove all that way to trust me with your precious memories! Thank you for the genuine respect you have for my work and time as my profession & not just a friend with a camera. I’m beyond pleased that this worked out & that beyond the photos – that our families got the opportunity to meet & while short, spend such a fun time together! I hope y’all love these images even half as much as I do and smile as you enjoy them for many, many years to come… remembering this phase of your beautiful journey together!

Love y’all! … Jen