I am totally in love with our new home out in the Franklin countryside! I love the lines of trees, the winding country roads, the wildflowers and the way the golden evening light pours over all it as the sun sets. I’ve been eyeing the field across the street from our house for the past couple of weeks as I go on my walks. It’s covered in yellow flowers right now and the scene is just breathtaking! It’s the kind of place that makes me want to create something. It calls to my photographer side like nothing else!

Brian and Kristin are dear friends, fellow industry professionals, and former wedding clients. That makes them the trifecta for creating a desperate need in me to make sure have beautiful images of their gorgeous new family. They say the cobbler’s son has no shoes and this is too often the case with photographers and photographs of their whole family together. We had in mind to correct that for these guys sometime this year, but with a view like this, there was no time like the present!









Brian and Kristin – we’re lucky to have you guys. :) Your family makes me smile. I feel so honored to have been allowed to capture your life at its many milestones these past few years and to have been invited in as your friend for the moments in between. Thanks for coming out to play with me in the field the other night! I hope you enjoy the results!

xo,

Mel

Hey there! We hope you all had a wonderful Easter holiday! We spent ours with loved ones and good food which is my very favorite way to spend time.

We had plans for casual brunch and an Easter egg hunt for the kids, but the weather was entirely too gorgeous to pass up and so was the shade of the beautiful tree in our front yard, so brunch became a rustic garden party and feast on the lawn. Any excuse to break out the vintage linens and hammered aluminum is a win for me, and we love a great party! A short walk down the street to gather wild flowers, a few trips next door to steal seating from Sean’s grandparent’s front porch, a little ironing and it was on! I love a good old South dining experience. :0)

Here are a few of my favorite photos from our Easter celebration.  Voila: garden party!













This year was especially fun too because Seven and his little friend Violet are old enough now to really understand the whole concept of presents and an Easter egg hunt. Seven about died when he found his Thomas the Tank Engine basket and he loved running through the yard gathering eggs. For him, it was all about the search and the candy didn’t matter. Violet’s approach was the opposite: find an egg, sit down and eat all the candy, and only then do you move on to the next. So funny. :0)




The eggs were scattered for the little ones, but some of the young at heart partook in the candy search as well.




And finally, one of my favorites – sharing the spoils afterwards. :0)


It’s a challenge at times for us to take the time to break out the “big camera” and document our life, but I’m always so glad when we do. What had already promised to be a beautiful day turned into one of my favorite days of all time. I don’t think it could have been any more perfect. I’m so glad we have photos to remember it with.

Thanks for looking!

– Mel

 

My how life can change over the course of just a few months! Right before New Year’s this year, we were parents to an only child living in a townhome in the city. Now we live in the country as a family of four. It has been a wonderful crazy journey — one that we’re still adapting to, which is why we are just now formally announcing to the world that 6 and a half weeks ago, our daughter was born.


Serai Claire McLellan came into this world on February 23rd at 9:06am, weighing 7 pounds and 7 ounces – a fitting homage to her brother. :) I’ll spare you all the details, but her entrance was a bumpy one and after uterine rupture and an emergency c-section, we were so relieved to have her here safely. Modern medicine is a wonderful thing and we can’t say enough about the tremendous staff of Vanderbilt Hospital. Our daughter is with us because of them and we are so grateful.

It’s funny to me how a person who can’t speak or really express much of anything we understand can be in your life for only a moment and you can’t imagine life without them. Their presence stretches you in every way possible and yet you love them without end. You hold them for the first time and you already love them every bit as much as everyone else you love most in this world. Babies have amazing power like that.



If we are friends on Facebook or Instagram, you’ve already seen tons of photos of our new life with Serai. In case you’ve missed all the action though, here is our life as we currently know it – a sweet, chaotic, lovely mess in one big chaotic, and thus totally fitting, blog collage. :)


Serai my love, you complete our lives in ways that we didn’t even know needed completing. I’m so excited to have a little girl to do all the mother-daughter things in life with. Your brother loves sharing his favorite things with you and helping take care of you. But maybe my favorite thing is how every evening your daddy holds you and talks to you  about how you’ll dance together at your wedding as he soothes you to sleep. We all love you so very much. Welcome to the world little one.

Xoxo,

Your mom