Oh, how I adore working with Backing the Blue Line!

Am I joyful supporting the police and their families? Yes. Amjoyful meeting so many new people in this line of work? Yes! But, WHY am I most joyful? Because this week I got to hold and photograph the tiniest and sweetest little newborn!

Miss Haven Joyce Helen came into the world just one week ago weighing 4lbs 15 oz. (Just ounces larger than my own daughter so many years ago.) Working with this darling newborn was like working with an angel. She lay so soft and still, simply allowing us to work. When we put on her parents beloved Green Bay Packers headband, she even cracked a smile. Now... how can you complain when this is what you do for a living?

Work? Yeah... right!

Congratulations to St. Francis Police Officer Stemme and his wife Katie on the latest addition to their family. Soon we will capture the family together with a proud big brother, but for today, I hope you enjoy some sugar and spice and everything nice!

PS. This session was another collaboration with my second shooter (and daughter), Caroline! It was especially sweet as for the first time she got to see how tiny she was when she was born. Caroline was the principal shooter on this session and did a great job!

When I first started working with Backing the Blue Line, I knew I would be spending a lot of time with wives as they supported their husbands in law enforcement and the communities they serve. What I didn't truly realize is how much I would come to enjoy seeing into that world and meeting the families they live each day to protect.

Recently, I traveled to Staples to spend time with Officer Maros and his family. What made this day absolutely perfect was not his beautiful wife Tina, or their incredibly sweet and lively children. But, instead at the onset of our 2-hour drive to get there, I got pulled over by the cops. I haven't been stopped since my children were babies, but on the very day I am to shoot my first law enforcement family, I was speeding through a construction zone and got pulled over.

It was almost comical, if not poetic!
(Fortunately for me, the officer gave me a very kind warning and let us on our way.)

As I move forward with plans for other work with Backing the Blue Line, I am delighted to have this outlet to support law enforcement families. Seeing Officer Maros in full uniform, I realized I suddenly became nervous. (That same panic when you see them in your rear view mirror... oh gosh, am I speeding? Did I miss a stop? Is that really a gun on his hip?) Then, I saw him get down on his knee and smile with his children.

That is when I understood what Tina meant when she said 'Sometimes, its justice. Sometimes, its just us.'