In 2006 when I graduated from Liberty High in Bakersfield CA I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. I wanted to be a marine biologist, or a geologist but I couldn't pass chemistry with more than a C-. I knew I didn't love math and numbers so I thought of something I did like to do - talk! I graduated from Cal State, Bakersfield in 2010 with a Bachelors in Communications, Marketing and Public Relations where I then fell into Bakersfield's cash crop industry - oil - as a Scheduler and Project Manager. Math. Numbers. All. Day. Long.

I hated it. I was at an engineering firm, responsible for managing the tasks, budget and schedule for multimillion dollar projects. Lots of numbers and math - ick! It was black and white. Ones and zeroes. Always striving to be on time and under budget, while making sure hundreds of designers and engineers were on the same page. No creativity was encouraged - or tolerated - for that matter.

In 2013 a layoff was coming and everyone knew it. As newlyweds, Chad and I were set with income when I was working, but if I had not been working we'd be in trouble. Everyone was hoping not to lose their job while I was hoping to (please!) lose my job. I was one of the top performers so chances of being laid off were slim to none. Nevertheless I said a sincere prayer to Jesus to get me out of there.

Against all odds my name was called. I celebrated inside. Shortly thereafter, my stay-at-home-house-wife bliss faded into the reality that I was jobless, broke and desperate to not have to go back to working for an ungrateful boss in the 8-5 grind.

That weekend my husband gifted me a camera with our savings, with the permission to pursue my creativity at all costs. I slowly studied the art of photography, marketed my services, and transformed from a doubtful newbie to a savvy wedding photographer. 

Four years later, I was booking the weddings I'd always wanted to photograph and even traveling to beautiful islands to capture weddings! As I diversified my business, I became a family photographer for feminine mommas who are madly in love with Jesus, their family, their home, Target and (admittedly) Starbucks. Hey, we all have a guilty pleasure right?!

Over the years, I've had the honor of helping mommas capture their littles while they're still little as well as the young love between themselves and their husbands. Together, we've frozen such a sweet and special time so they never forget.

...Oh, and hey, Chad…I'm being creative, doing what I love honey. ;)