A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of photographing one absolutely beautiful family! My dear friend Kristy (who you might recognize from her senior portraits session you can see here) told me the wonderful news that her and her family would finally all be reunited a couple months back and she said they really wanted to hire me to have a family session!

Now I was extremely thankful and honored to photograph their family session! I was ecstatic for a couple reasons. For one, I absolutely love Kristy and her family! I met them all at her graduation from Biola last year and I was so blessed with how loving and kind they all were and I was thrilled to hear that they’d be together again but for a longer season of time! Secondly, I adore the newest addition to their family, little Chloe! She’s so adorable! :)

So why was this reunification such a momentous occasion for the Lee family?

I think my family would agree with me that we have been so blessed with the gift of God’s grace. We’ve been physically separated for 8 years due to God’s calling of my parents to serve in ministry in Singapore, and needless to say, it was a painful time for all of us. But in the midst of the difficulties of our separation, we have found God’s grace to be incredibly evident. He’s graced us in nurturing a closeness in our relationships with each other, in my mom’s freedom from cancer, and finally, in my parent’s sweet homecoming to us after all these years. Even more, we have slowly developed home within all of us. Meaning, no matter where we are, we’ll always be home when we’re all together. 

– Kristy

Their story as a family is incredibly encouraging and amazing to see. Of course this separation had effects and difficulties at times, I’m sure, but seeing them all now together and their love and support for one another through it all is truly beautiful and a testament of God’s grace to me. Knowing Kristy pretty darn well now (she’s definitely one of my besties), I am always blessed to see how close she is with her entire family. Their encouragement, and support is definitely evident!

The Lees traveled quite some ways down to Anaheim because Kristy and I were attending a retreat there! Two additional special friends, who are practically part of the family already, also came! Both Kristy & Amos’ significant others attended this shoot as well, which was super sweet! :D

 

We ended up choosing Downtown Disney for the location of their session, but stayed within the hotel because it was pretty crowded and there was a wedding going on!

 

 

Little Chloe was a little tired when she got into the shoot, so making her smile was a challenge, but later on in the session that little frown turned right upside down and she was super silly! :)

 

 

 

I wish I got a photo of our friend Jessica who assisted me on this session! She was dancing sillily behind me! Haha!

Mr. & Mrs. Lee are two of the kindest people I’ve met. Since the time I photographed Kristy’s senior session, she has been so encouraging and so supportive of my photography! As Kristy and I are dating two best friends (which is how we ended up becoming best friends), she would share with me advice her parents gave her over the years as well. I remember being so blessed to hear about her parent’s marriage!

My parents have been married for 33 years! And every year I’ve witnessed a continuous love for each other that I deeply admire. Their constant care and sacrifice to place the other before themselves is a testimony of how Christ has loved the church. I’ve heard this teaching countless of times at the very beginning of marriages at weddings, and my parent’s loving relationship with each other for 33 years and counting is a truthful example that this love exists not only in the very start of marriage, but is continually growing more fiercely with each year that passes.

 

 

 

 

 

I really love how sweet this shot of them came out! :)

 

 

 

 

Little Chloe loves her grandparents! :)

 

 

 

 

Kristy’s siblings, Jeremy and Annie are also two super sweet people! I remember meeting them at Kristy’s graduation as well! They were so friendly and welcoming to me and the friends I was with to watch Kristy strut across that graduation stage! :)

(They also encourage me in my love for Chloe! HEHE)

 

 

 

 

Let me just say that it’s been in my experience that babies typically don’t like getting double kissed on the cheek despite how cute it can be! Haha!

 

 

 

 

But Chloe LOVED this!

 

 

 

 

I loved these moments between Annie and Chloe! :)

 

 

 

 

This is Amos and his girlfriend, Catherine! I also met Amos at the graduation, but I met Catherine on the day of the shoot! She was so fun to meet and it was really easy to get along with her! It was so cute seeing how silly they were with one another! This entire family, really, is so fun to watch as they interact with one another! You’ll see some of the bloopers and silly moments at the end! ;)

 

 

 

 

Now this is the couple I’ve known the longest among them all. Kristy & Danny. It’s definitely always fun watching these two interact as well. HAHA! You’ll definitely want to see their bloopers at the end, also. :)

They’re such a silly couple, but also a very loving couple as well. It’s been a blessing getting to know them both individually and together, as well. :) I met Danny through John in the Christian fellowship we were in throughout college, and I thankfully met Kristy through Danny! :)

 

 

 

 

Ah, my siblings. Jeremy, Annie and Amos are the three people I can have the most fun with. I really can’t express how much I love us in words. We unwaveringly support each other, rebuke for the sake of the other’s growth, and constantly pour incredible amounts of love just because we want to. We fit so well together in our humor and personalities that every moment spent with each other is simply a ride of laughter and just good time fun time. GAH. I love us! 

-Kristy

 

For those of you who know Kristy, I’m sure you can agree with me that the last statement she says in this quote is one you can vividly imagine and hear her saying. HAHA!

I took some of just Jeremy, Amos and Kristy because they wanted to remake a photo from their childhood, which you’ll actually see down below! :)

 

 

 

 

We moved on to take some individuals of this lovely family, as well! :)

 

 

 

 

Oh Chloe! SO cute! :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now for the moment many of you who know the family were probably waiting for! The Lee’s are so silly! I’m so used to seeing Kristy’s silliness, but it was awesome seeing where she gets it from! We had so much fun on the shoot! Check out some of the behind the scene sillies I was able to capture during the shoot! :)

 

 

 

 

This is the photo the Lee siblings wanted to retake of themselves! It’s on Kristy’s fridge but I forgot to photograph it to show you all what the original looks like!

 

 

 

 

 

This is a scale from left to right or right to left of expressions! Chloe helped Annie get her expression just right! HAHA

 

 

 

At the end I got a special hug from Chloe!

 

 

 

 

Yes, I squealed a little (okay a lot) when she gave me one! :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Friday everyone! :)