Annual Foster Care Awareness Mini Sessions

If you haven’t guessed by now, I’m very passionate about foster care. Ever since we got involved my heart felt the need to serve in different ways to the foster care community. In 2020 I came up with an idea to do a photo-donation swap and it was AMAZING! All my mini sessions completely booked out both times!

Basically, foster parents and families get a call any time of day asking if they’re able to take a child who has entered the foster care system. If they say yes, foster families scramble to find ways to prepare for that child who may be in their home in an hour or a few days! That’s where the Blackfoot closet “The Village” comes in. Foster families can go pick out things that are needed for their foster kids. This can be gently used clothes, school supplies, diapers and wipes, baby supplies, toys, etc. All these donation go straight to the foster families and the kids who need them!

So I’ve decided to do something to help out. I’m doing a donation photo swap! Here’s how it works.

Bring a bag (or 2) of donations for the foster closet. Some ideas of donations are:
•New or gently used clothes newborn-18 years old
•Diapers
•Wipes
•School supplies (crayons, pencils, notebooks, lunch boxes etc.)
•Hygiene items or kits
•Toys! Used or new
•Baby items (strollers, cribs, diaper bags etc.)
Below is a list of all items accepted by The Village.

I’ll have my truck and we can put any items you want to donate in the back and I will take the items to the Foster closet in Blackfoot. In exchange you’ll get a 15 minutes session with at least 10 high resolution images and a print release! The sessions will be taking place in Rigby. It’s a donation and photo swap! Sessions can be couples, portraits or families up to 6 people! These sessions are extremely limited at this time since my May is already crazy booked but foster care is near and dear to my heart and this is one of the ways I love to serve and donate!

Monday, May 2, 2022
6:00PM - booked
6:20PM - booked
6:40PM - booked
7:00pm - booked
7:20PM - booked
7:40PM - booked
8:00PM - booked

Jace Dylan Peterson

Meet Jace Dylan Peterson

Jace is 14 months old.
He has the most beautiful blue eyes I’ve ever seen.
He’s, as my mom puts it, an “easy” laugh. He really does love being happy.
Jace has 2 sets of Grandparents and 3 sets of Great-Grandparents.
Obsessed with pulling out drawers and opening cabinets in the kitchen.
He started walking in September and it’s been my favorite new trick.
He loves to mimic anyone around him.
Music is his Jam! Baby Shark is his current favorite and he lights up when I ask google to play it for us.
People watcher all day, every day!
Waves and smiles at as many people as he can. No stranger danger yet.

Jace fits into our family so effortlessly. I’ve loved him since the moment I saw him sitting in that carseat in our front room. Becoming a mom was one of the most natural things I've ever done. I can’t even put into words how happy I am! I will do literally anything just to see that toothy smile and hear his contagious laugh.

We are not oblivious to the hardships and struggles adoption can bring. I’m not going pretend like adoption is easy or perfect, because there are conversations in the future that I’m not looking forward to. But today, my heart is full. I am so happy to call Jace my son!

Photos by Kendra Sue Photography. She is phenomenal and captured our family so perfectly.

Grand Tetons Engagements

June seems to be some one of the best months for sessions in the Grand Tetons! The weather we had for Alexis and Levi’s engagements was a literal dream.

Alexis had reached out to me ONE week before they were coming to visit Jackson and Yellowstone! They decided last minute they wanted to hire a photographer to do engagements since they were going to be in such a beautiful area. Levi and Alexis both attend Iowa State University and they drove the 16 hour drive to Jackson. We planned the session for the day they arrived to Jackson because it was the only date I had open before one of my own trips so we made it work.

I can’t tell you how grateful I am that it all worked out the way it did! We started at Schwabacher’s Landing to get a nice full view of the Tetons and moved into the park as the sun dipped down. The lighting and weather were seriously so dreamy!

One of my favorite things about shooting in the Grand Tetons is the even light in the park after the sun sets behind those gorgeous mountains. We saw elk and antelope during our time together which was neat! I realized I don’t know much about the wildlife and the different species in the Grand Tetons.

I can’t wait for all the travels to Jackson this summer. I have 3 weddings here and over 15 different sessions. And I’m so grateful for any chance I get to be here!