joyful little family.

it's a beautiful (extremely) crisp day here in upstate NY, and for once, it's going in a productive direction. :) ever since the move i've felt like there are always four to-do lists i'm juggling that have at least ten items each on them and the past 6 months or so i've just been doing what it takes to live up to my commitments and try and put a hot meal on the table at the end of the day. but- thankfully- my work travel is no more, our apartment is FINALLY looking mostly unpacked, and stuff is getting done. it's mid-afternoon where we are and i've got sufjan stevens playing softly in the background and my little son or daughter is kicking me every so often with soft little jabs to my ribs and side. approximately 13 weeks left to go before we meet this small person and although i can no longer bend over to pick something up off the floor :) i'm getting more and more excited every day. i've always been passionate about families and kiddos and now that i'm in the midst of having my own it seems ridiculously amazing and surreal. i do not take these blessings for granted and thank God everyday that i wake up and have this little bean growing steadily inside me.

thinking back to this past year in oregon, before we left to go east i had the opportunity to photograph some amazingly beautiful families. today i'd like to show you a few photos from my session with michelle, cale, and gideon. they're one of those couples who i've had the privilege of following/shooting through engagement, wedding, pregnancy, and most recently, with their baby boy. doesn't gideon have the most amazing smile, just like his momma?! i'll miss wonderful, supportive west-coast clients like these who have been an absolute joy to work with.

michelle and cale- thanks for trusting me with your memories these past several years! your family is a treasure. :)

a bummer of a tale that has a silver lining.

do you ever have a situation that (frankly) sucks, majorly sucks, and somehow even in the middle of it all you can think is that somehow you have confidence this stinky sitch will push you into something better?

here's my current plight: the company that i paid for building my website in 2009, which has also hosted my website these past three years without a hitch, never invoiced me for hosting this year and purposefully or inadvertently (can't get a straight answer, go figure) sold what was formerly my website domain to something or someone else. yup! nancy-noble.com is no more. unfortunately. and i was none the wiser until a lovely person attempting to refer to me to a potential customer told me my site was down.

oh by the way? this particular site-building hosting company has an "F" rating with the better business bureau and about a jillion angry customers who have told their story all over the internet. of course i had no idea until i was one of the jillion, but gosh, this isn't really a big surprise with that knowledge of how they've handled tons of other customers. it's unfortunate because i was placing a lot of trust in them and now the website which was the foundation on where my business was built isn't around anymore. and there's nothing i can do about it that i know of.

so, for the past week and a half i've been up to my eyeballs in emails and phone calls attempting to try and a) find answers and b) retrieve my domain. no luck.

all that to say: this isn't the first situation i've been in that's been a heartbreaker of sorts (this is on the lighter end of heartbreak, don't worry :)) that, in the end, has been a motivator slash a shove in the right direction. i've been wanting to change a few things about my business for some time, and i think this will push me into better things.
and in the meantime, as i brainstorm for the next strategic move which will probably be the same and different, all at the same time, i will:

a) be blogging and also be around on this facebook page- i'm not going anywhere.
b) be booking weddings and families like usual. know a bride or a family to send my way? send them to look at my work here, for the time being. as always, i can be reached here.
c) be looking on the bright side.

i'm excited. stay tuned.
and be prepared for me to actually be extremely motivated to keep talking with y'all. :)