The Announcement.

& I know what you are thinking---No, we aren't pregnant but it does have to do with family, my family---more importantly, these three.

& although this decision has been a very difficult one, it also has been one of the EASIEST decisions that I have ever made. That we have made. And that is because I KNOW I am doing the RIGHT thing for me, my husband & those two beautiful little boys.

These two boys have been our everything for the last 4+ years. They have been the reason for so many decisions that we made. They were the reason behind why Oliver Beckett Photography was created. & for the last couple of years Oliver Beckett Photography has been such a BIG part of my life. It has been a creative outlet for me & I have learned so much about myself through the art of photography. I have met so many wonderful families, captured so many wonderful moments and milestones along this journey. I mean, it basically started from a friend asking me to take a few pics of their little one and from there it grew to one shoot every other week to now being around 4 shoots every weekend. I look back over the last couple of years and I am just so amazed by the LOVE & SUPPORT that family, friends & clients have given. There has been so much encouragement from those same people & from dear friends who are also photographers. I have seen my images hung in homes, used as birth announcements, Christmas cards and so forth. There are no words to describe what Oliver Beckett Photography means to me & I can't thank those who stood by, encouraged & entrusted me with their family photos, enough.

& that is what makes this so hard--the last couple of weeks I have done a lot of soul-searching & have decided that changes need to be made. I can't do it all. As much as I would love to be able to say that I do or put on a show that I can, I can't. I am not the type of person to give less than 100% to whatever task or job is in front of me but that is exactly what is happening right now. I am a WIFE, a MOTHER, I work full-time (travel 25-35% of the time) & a photographer. Life is busy. I work during the weekday, come home to my family, edit for a few hours after the boys go to bed and then do photo shoots on the weekends. Sure we still do dinner out as a family, we attend birthday parties, I was able to pull together cute Halloween costumes BUT there have been a lot of things that I haven't done. I didn't take my boys to a pumpkin patch this year. We didn't make Halloween cookies. We didn't take walks around the lake as often as we should have or even visited the zoo. Most importantly, I haven't gotten my camera out and captured my own boys since Halloween and before that it was our lake vacation. I haven't blogged about OUR life like I use to & I miss it. So I am not going to allow it to happen any longer. & that is the part that makes this decision so EASY to make.

Oliver Beckett Photography will be closing its doors--so to speak. I will not be taking on any additional clients and sessions going forward. I will still honor all those who are currently on the books & those who are already enrolled in my Watch Me Grow package. I will still probably post pictures from time to time on the Oliver Beckett Facebook page---I mean I do have cute boys, my friends have cute kids and I have some pretty adorable nieces and nephews & I am going to have to get my fix some how--keep the passion alive. Ideally, I'll do a shoot here and there, maybe throw in a mini-session in October or something but all on my own watch. All on my own time.

I don't want to miss my kids growing up. I want to give them 110% of me, as often as I can. I want to be able to pick up and take off for a weekend trip to the lake spur of the moment. I want to wake up this summer and tell my boys that we have NOTHING going on and we can do whatever they want to do for the day. I want my husband to enjoy BBQ competitions, to go to Royals games. I want to sit at home on a weeknight on our patio with my husband while we watch reruns of Modern Family without having to edit away. I want my FAMILY. I need my family. & I know this is the BEST thing I can do for myself and for my boys--all three of them.

So yes, this was a very hard decision but as you can see, the EASIEST ONE I have ever made. Thank you to all those who I have already spoke with about this & for all your kind words of encouragement and support. You will never know how much everything, EVERYTHING, you have said has meant to me.

Lastly, these last few years, Oliver Beckett Photography couldn't have existed without my husband. He has been my biggest supporter, my biggest advocate & really has been the backbone to our family. Babe, if you read this, thank you. Your love for me and our family has meant the world.

So tonight, as I write this, I don't have a frown on my face, in fact I am smiling ear to ear as I think about all the adventures our little family will be having in 2014!