Eric&Jolene // Cleveland, TN

I am a story teller. Always have been. My best friend, Leah, even threatened me (quite seriously) in the ninth grade that if I ever quit being a story teller, she would stop being my friend.

I miss her…

So the story of Eric&Jolene is beautiful and I’m so happy to know them better. The funny thing about Eric&Jolene is they are some of the first people I met after I moved to Tennessee. One night, when I was still dating Andy, we went to some friends’ house for a “game night” and Eric&Jolene were there! And I never forgot them! I saw them regularly coming through Starbucks—getting their iced-triple-grande-one-pump-vanilla lattes—and Eric works out at the same gym that I do, and we’d chit-chat from time to time. They’ve been together almost eight years and they’re approaching their one year wedding anniversary while baby “Sylas” appears quite cozy inside Jolene’s belly! (There’s a baby in there! Isn’t that crazy?!)

Eric&Jolene are such a special couple. I love how difficult it is to stereotype people anymore. A loving, committed couple expecting their first baby who work with people who have special needs—Jolene has served one-on-one for a girl with cerebral palsy for seven years! And Eric works with a man who is a quadriplegic. And they love tattoos.

Jolene&Eric—Thanks for being so willing to take pictures with only six days left of your pregnancy! Thanks for trusting me even though I’ve never done a maternity shoot on my own before! I had so much fun! You both crack me up and I can’t wait to hang out with you guys again!

Okay! I just have a couple more things to say and then I’m DONE! First of all, I can’t tell you how nice it is to work with people who have a great sense of humor. If there’s anything I want to convey to readers/blog-stalkers, is that I like to have FUN! I love to laugh and goof around with the people I’m shooting. As much as I want this to be my business and part of my daily life, as soon as it’s no fun anymore, I’ll walk away. Life just isn’t worth it unless you love what you do and you can laugh through the process! And even though I still work at Starbucks and the economy blows, I know that eventually, my time will be my own and I can spend all of it doing what I love.

So there. I said what I needed to say… Now what do you think of Eric&Jolene? Rather, how much do you love them?! Because I know you do! I LOVE that they play together, even after eight years! I love that Eric painted Where the Wild Things Are on the nursery walls before they knew about the movie! I love how at peace Eric&Jolene are and the little glances they give, like they’re speaking some silent language only they can understand. Spending a few hours with them made me think really hard about how genuine and compassionate people can choose to be and how blessed “Sylas” will be to grow up in that environment.