Erin and Jimmy E-Shoot Sneak Peek

I was stoked. I was scared outta my mind. I was unable to sleep for weeks for both of those reasons....and now...it's over. :) And I loved every second! A big THANK YOU to Erin and Jimmy, my very first engagement shoot couple (e-shoot for short!) I had the pleasure of a session with these two adorable lovebirds - they are so cute and good together. :)

Erin is one of those extremely special people that comes along, and it may have been an accident that we met so long ago (I don't think so!), but it is definitely some kind of divine hand that made us friends. Mike and I ran a CYO (Catholic Youth Organization) at our church about 13/14 years ago and we met hundreds of kids during the 7 or 8 years we were there. The last 4 years of our involvement, we met a super special group of kids that would still be our friends to this day. Erin is one of those "kids"!

I met Erin specifically one day, on a hike to Eternal Flame Falls in Chestnut Ridge park in winter (very cool btw) - it's a long hike into a gorge, and you have to do it in the dark to get the full "fire behind the falls" effect. So, we decided to go UP to get out, cutting our time back out to almost nothing, since our cars were right above us. The only problem is that it is just that - straight UP. In the snow, in the dark - crazy, I tell ya. What I remember most is that I decided to take the rear of the group, to help, encourage or catch anyone who needed it! Erin's cousin, Kelly started to show signs of panicking - she was so worried she wouldn't make it! So, one of my first impressions of Erin was that she fell back with me and the two of us painstakingly talked/pushed Kelly up that steep hill - all the way to safety and our warm cars!!! Since then, my respect and admiration for Erin has only grown.

After CYO was long gone, Erin was a lifesaver to us the first summer after we had the triplets. They were born at the end of April and those summer months, when Mike and I were on an opposite schedule, I would go to sleep at 6pm and leave Mike with three babies that suffered from reflux AND colic. The screaming was endless! Enter Erin and our other CYO "saviors" - Kristie, Beth (and Tim!) and Kelly. Those girls were there almost every.single.night for the entire summer - or at least one of them was, to help Mike bear the constant crying. We are indebted to them forever for that incredible act of kindness. I don't know if we could have made it without them. I can honestly say that I love them all as I do my own sister - you are family now! They still come over to be with the kids and help Mike and I go out on date nights here and there, even though they are busy with their own lives. :)

Now, our kids will have the honor of walking down the aisle at Erin's wedding as the ring bearers and flower girl - I only hope they go where they are supposed to! As a thank you to Erin, for all she has done for us, I wanted to take their engagement pictures for them - I hope you guys like them!

Here's a sneak peek - I promised to show them the rest before they end up here! Jimmy was an incredible sport, even suggesting poses toward the end - you guys rock! Looking forward to the wedding!

Yep, a flash would have made this perfect. Grrr. I still like it!

Soon!