the battle for life...Moms Who Click 10 on 10 project, Stephanie Marie Photographie, Nashville TN lifestyle photography

lean on me
when your not strong
and ill be your friend
ill help you carry on
for
it wont be long
til im goin need
somebody to lean on

please swallow your pride
if i have things you need to borrow
for no one can fill
those of your needs
that you won't let show

lean on me...bill withers

volumes are spoken in the chorus and verse of this song between the 2 of us...  if you missed the first volume of this battle, click when i pray to catch up.

i won't even try to lie, these images were not shot on the 10th of this month or even in the past 30 days.  i tried to use them for my February post, but couldn't edit more than 3, march i completely ditzed out for my post, so here we sit April and its time again for the Moms Who Click 10 on 10 project i dearly love and the battle for life is here finally to tell her story...

On Friday, February 7, 2014, I entered the room where I would spend the next 2 hours capturing my dear Ashley's last chemo treatment.  As I walked through the door at 12p,  I was short of breath, trying very, VERY hard not to cry.  Not to feel what my heart was aching to let out, not to break down in the face of an incredibly joyous event.  Well, in the words of Ana, I "let it go" the moment I sat down next to her.  My Ashley, already weak from her first bag of the treatment, looked me dead in the eyes with her brown eyes full of caring emotion & said are you ok? No, I most certainly was not.  I was not ok, and I was going to break down, so please ignore me while I selfishly let my eyes pour over because of my experience of pain, and sorrow and anxiety of cancer.  and oh you my dear friend lay there with poison running through your veins to kill the last of this horrible disease, weakened to a laying state, i tremble with the inability to maintain control.  however, after a 10 minute (so ok it wasn't the smallest breakdown) recoup we celebrated.  We celebrated how funny the drugs make you, how funny chicken tenders look to eat when you are forcing yourself to eat them, how funny it is that your sister has to help you to the bathroom, how much we F***ing hate that bag of poison.

 

We celebrated ringing the victory bell so hard it nearly came loose from the wall, we celebrated Jesus and his ability to walk us all through your battle.  We celebrated your girls and your mom and your sister and your best friend and we celebrated with tears and laughter and so much emotion I had to stop taking pictures to clear my eyes enough to see to put the camera down and embrace you and your new hope for health.  WE CELEBRATED YOU.  You, my dear Ashley, amaze me.  You are strong. You are smart. You are giving. You love. You seek love and you BELIEVE.  In you, in life, in GOD. 

 

 

I have been honored to capture Ashley's journey and her battle.  It has scared me, driven me to my knees and given me glimpses into life, I may have never experienced.  She is the epitome of woman.  Please continue to pray for our sweet Ashley as she continues her battle to recovery.  The road has many curves...

Follow the circle of lovely women celebrating life with the amazing Laura Bastien!

10 on 10 Moms Who Click Project, BEAUTY IS IN THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER, Nashville TN modern children's photographer...

Due to this AMAZING project I am honored have been invited to last year, I concentrated my vision of the project capturing the everyday beauty of our life...I had never seen our life with more open eyes, so much beauty was waiting just in my backyard, just in our living room, just in us...it changed how i saw the simple joy of life!
That being said...I did NOT ONE styled session with my kids ALL year! So, when our cherish Aunt Carlee came home after her 3rd week of her 2nd semester at Mississippi State with deep Auburn locks (normally a light brown, dirty blonde shade) I knew...it was go time!!! So we got all sussed up & studly and hit a spot I eyed on our way back from a Sunday drive the week before...

Follow our circle around and be inspired! The fabulous Kathleen Ries is up next~!

joyful. fun. life.
www.stephaniemariephotographie.com

10 on 10 circle, this photogs life in 30 days, Nashville TN lifestyle photography

Its that time of the month again! I just LOVE being a part of this fabulous group of photogs, documenting OUR lives! 
Lucky for me, the group opened up to not only shooting on the 10th of the month this time, but to showcase our life over the last month...not going to lie, with Christmas season in full swing insanity and just life in general, I needed the room to post from the entire month! 
This month, London was chosen by Ally the Alligator to have a VERY treasured sleepover! Which means a lot.  It means my miss priss exemplified exceptional behavior in class...if you know my girl, this is a HUGE deal! 
I also had the honor of being the maid (or matron, rather, bc im married, but that just sounds too old for me! lol!) in my best friends wedding! We did her bridal session at the location of the wedding 4 days before and she truly left me speechless...it was an amazing experience...there is something SO wonderful about feeling utter happiness for someone you love so much...it will be a treasured experience for me!
Being the token family photog, I also got to shoot my aunt-in-laws (is that a thing?!?) wedding.  The 2nd for both, it was truly an eye opening experience getting to witness that we as humans beings will always seek love and happiness.  We strive for it and it was amazing getting to watch their union and their 2nd chance at true love!
Grab a cup of joe and follow the circle around to experience your own glimpse at some remarkable women starting with the uber fabulous work of Eva Creel Photography CLICK HERE!

10 on 10 circle, The last day of Summer 2013, Stephanie Marie Photographie Nashville TN lifestyle photography

Im not going to lie.  I had completely different images for this project this month. But...today was GORGEOUS.  Perfect weather and we went out to enjoy it and I realized...
It is officially our LAST day of summer 2013...tomorrow my baby girl starts Kindergarten.  My baby boy starts preschool...we won't have toddler toys in our back yard next year and we won't be the same size or age or innocence or anything we are now.  We will have grown and tomorrow we leave all the joys of summer behind.  we flex our wings and we grow...this momma is longing for the dog days of summer and sad over the reality that life goes on no matter how hard you try to hold on to every second...

To follow all the lovely ladies of the Moms Who Click 10 on 10 project, click HERE to experience the ever amazing Eva Creel Photography!!!

10 on 10 circle, shes my best friend...Franklin TN engagement photographer

"A true friend is one that knows you as you are, understands where you have been, accepts what you have and still allows you to grow..."

We met in 1st grade.  We didn't like each other.  Competition..ya know, its fierce in 1st grade...our paths didn't cross again until we were in 6th grade.  We went to church together and on that warm fresh spring Sunday, I didn't feel like going to Sunday school.  She was standing outside of our classroom and I said hey, wanna skip and go to McDonald's? You can walk from our church.  She looked me up & down, then replied thank goodness! Yes!

The rest is history.  She has been my strongest rock for 25 years.  25 years, can you imagine? I only lived on this earth for 9 years before my chosen sister was all mine for the rest of my life as I know it.  She knows everything, I mean everything, about me.  The good. The bad. The UGLY.  She has been my champion in my absence, my hero during my darkest hour.  She arrived at the hospital 3 minutes after I walked in to have my 1st child.  She rubbed my back as I went through a terrifying labor with my son.  She never questions my actions and always, always listens as I painstakingly try to figure out my mistakes.  She loves my clothes. She will meet me for coffee when we only have 10 minutes to meet before we rush off to our busy lives just to see me.  She is the godmother to both of my children and she braved a snowstorm to stand beside me when I got married.  I cried like a baby when I saw her in the 1st wedding dress she tried on.

She has taught me to love unconditionally.  She traveled across the country to sleep on my couch when I lived in LA.  She let my pug, the infamous Baby Tattles and I live in her 1 bedroom apartment when I fled to her house from LA, with broken dreams and a broken heart for 3 months...never complaining, only asking me to make her dinner.  In doing so, I set her oven on fire trying to make sweet potatoes...to which she laughed and called her dad (my 2nd father) and told him, he needed to get us a new oven so I could keep cooking for her. 

She loves my bacon and fried eggs.  She loves my jeans.  She allows me to be me and has never once asked me to be anything other than her best friend.

Now, he is her sunshine.  He makes her world spin.  He is making all of her dreams come true.  He embraces me and our relationship...and the craziest part about him and I?  We are both professional photographers.  He is AMAZING.  The winner of multiple Addy awards for his remarkable work with the National Guard.  He stands next to us and holds her hand, never stepping in between us.  He has embraced my family and him & I, we understand each other.  We understand her and our love for her. 

Now he will share all I have loved and I am beyond honored to stand next to them as they take their vows to walk hand in hand for life...

My April.  His future wife.  Their love...and I lucky enough to get to capture it...and know I will capture the rest for them, excitedly waiting for all that is to come.

April, thank you for being you.  For loving me and for being my hero.  I love you from the bottom of my heart.

Follow the circle round and round and prepare to be amazed by THE AMAZING MICHELLE...http://bit.ly/YLfLx9

10 on 10 circle Pop turns 57...Nashville TN lifestyle photographer

So this months 10 on 10 fell on my dear old Dads (aka POP) 57th birthday.  Of course we celebrated with steak dinner, complete with my fav, Chocolate martinis, twice baked potatoes, learning to yo-yo (POP is the bomb yo-yoer...Nana is quite the champ holahooper), playing the crazy Ethel chase and a lot of love all around...if I've learned anything participating in this project is to love the imperfect, capture the real and just let the rest fall into place...

Follow the photography REAL life awesomesauce with the uber fabulous Erica May Photography HERE!!! She WILL NOT disappoint! Plus, doesn't everyone LOVE a confession...

10 on 10 photography circle project, Nashville TN lifestyle photography

its the time of the month again for the fabulous project i am SO blessed to be a part of, the 10 on 10 photography circle!  follow the circle round and round and get ready to enter the lives of the fabulous photogs who spend so much time capturing others, capturing their own!

you can find last months circle HERE!

so a lil narrative, if you please...

we LOVE art.  obviously.  but really, london is obsessed.  like having an art party for her 5th birthday party at the end of the month obsessed.  painting is her fav, but anything glitter is a close 2nd, then markers of course. however, she doesn't love me shooting her (i think bc i literally abused her when i was learning to shoot!) so we shoot the details of her, her messy hands bc thats how art happens, her on the side of my house hand collage (can you see me?) and her paper plate "mural."

trace loves the camera.  he wants to show me everything, he wants to look at me with his oh so smouldering eyes and he wants to paint and pass out eating "fuit snakes." yes, that says snakes.  hes 2 although he looks 5 and ya know, i'll miss mispronunciation one day!

of course the infamous baby tattles always wants in on the action, she loves to paint and the evidence is on my carpet...inside.  ummm, crayola, washable, what? she of course loves to pose and let the world embrace her beauty!

yes, i know i could fit another toe in between my big toe and the one irregularly spaced next to it, but the angle and crazy amount of flower weeds intrigued me...so here is another month, in our chaotic life, just living the dream...

please keep clicking through our circle and visit the uber fab Kim by the Sea with the link:

http://www.kimbythesea.blogspot.com/2013/03/10-on-10-march.html

 

 

10 on 10 project, our life...Nashville TN lifestyle photography

To be quite honest, when I was invited to join this circle of amazing women I was slightly intimidated...is my work good enough to keep up? what will I shoot? what if its a nasty day? what if my kiddos keep up their normal routine and no matter how many tricks i bust out, they act like little monsters?

well true to form here in middle TN, it rained...and not just a little bit.  it poured ALL day long.  had it been a session with a client, I would have most definitely rescheduled.  then, i remembered an article i read in the child issue of Lemonade & Lenses.  It was written my a mother about shooting her children in their everyday routine.  not picking up and trying to stage anything...just letting them be themselves.  To learn to love grain and imperfection...

last week was one for the books.  we found out tuesday my father in law was diagnosed with lung and liver cancer.  small cell cancer.  the smartest of all cancers that literally "runs" from organ to organ trynig to escape chemo.  wednesday he was not having a good day at all.  we sat at the hospital staring at each other and him willing ourselves to find something to talk about.  thursday the aggressive chemo plan was set out.  friday he received his first treatment.  friday my sister in law and i headed out to tour Mississippi State University as our last tour before she declares who will get the honor of educating our smarty pants for the next 4 years...we almost didnt go.  but, i could tell she more than any of us NEEDED to get out of town...

so sunday rolled around and we were all exhausted.  mentally, physically and spiritually.  i woke up and dreaded the day.  it was nasty, i didn't feel like shooting.  but i figured, what the heck? embrace was the message right? so, i left my inhibitions behind and didn't ask the kids for anything.  it was going to be a stay at home day anyway, so i just put my camera on my desk and told myself i would grab it when i felt like it...and so i did. during breakfast and to witness the "gravy" train before naptime...grainy and dark, kinda like all of our moods, those little angels lifted my spirits with their inability to let anything other than joy lead them in their everyday journey...

Follow all the amazing in our circle HERE to witness the beauty that is Kristina Rust Photography!!!