Jenny Duffy Photography Blog

Wild Child :)

I've got a confession to make. If you've recently had a session with me and came away from our session thinking that your child was more rambunctious than normal, I think I know the problem....Me! My last session I was even getting the family dog spazzy and he ended up getting in trouble....oops! I know this because my sequence of images from a session give it all away.  

I'll let these images give you a better idea of what I'm talking about.

Here we are at the beginning of the session...

 

 

and now we are more toward the middle of the session....getting warmed up...

 

 

 

 

and  then they let loose and get crazy and be who they really are :) LOVE IT!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I can usually manage to get one good family shot before the real fun begins and we are rolling, running and laughing

 

I love my job!

I couldn't stop

smiling as I was editing these images. You know the kind of happiness that's contagious? Well...this family had it :) So often when a couple has little ones you can tell they're not quite as connected as they might have been before they had kids to preoccupy them. Not the case with this mommy and dad. Toward the end of the session we put the babe to bed and the three year old took off with his auntie to the orchard. We had a little time to shoot with just the two of them. I was refreshed at the connection and friendship I felt between the two of them. 

    Derk and Bethany, your boys are so lucky to have parents who love each other as I see you do! That's the best gift you could give them...the confidence in knowing that mom and dad love each other :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stay tuned for more to come....My list keeps growing of sessions and other stuff I want to blog :)

Shooting Dudes

Little preview of something I've been working on. 

Possibly more to come soon on the subject! You'll just have to wait and see :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

this last one's my fav. fo sho!

 

Happy Tuesday!

Baby Love

I'm short on words tonight as I'm anxious to join my family on the couch to watch Star Wars the Clone Wars, but here's a few delicious babies to entertain your eyes and give you baby fever!

These boys are cousins! I thoroughly enjoyed photographing them as well as listen to their mamas talk about their new baby boys and all that goes along with parenting a newborn while I snapped away :) 

I couldn't help but imagine all the trouble these two little guys are going to get into together in about another 15 months or so! 

aahh...fresh babies...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I do so love new little people!

"I hope my wife likes sushi, mom."

Is what he said to me as we pulled into the parking lot of our new favorite sushi place. Part of his remark made me smile and the other part made me a little sad as it was yet another reminder that my Sully is no longer a baby, no longer a toddler, but a boy. All too soon he will have graduated from being a little boy to a guy, dude or even...I don't know if I can type it...a aaa  Man. 

Sometimes I think about what my relationship will be like with him when he's grown. When I no longer have to tie his shoes (no, he doesn't know how to tie yet...is that bad?) or paste his rooster tails down in the morning. I look forward to having a cup of coffee with him and spending time in the kitchen with him. He's been talking lately of having a wife and just this evening as he was helping me make spaghetti he said he wants to be a dad. I guess I shouldn't be surprised by all of this talk of sushi, wives, and fatherhood. We have  made an effort to talk to our kids about their future, and at 7yrs old it seems his wheels are turning which is exactly what we want to happen :) Our hope is to breathe greatness into our children. 

 I thoroughly enjoy seeing my kid's wheels turn as they ponder their interests and realize all of the potential and possibilities inside of them. For instance, I just asked Cecelia what she wants to do when she grows up and she randomly throws her hands in the air and explains how she wants to be in charge of the ferris wheel at the carnival...great. It's different every time I ask her, but as least the process has begun. Hopefully, she will do a little more than her current dream of being a ferris wheel operator...just sayin!

Ryan has class on Wed. evening so it's just me and the kids for dinner. Tonight, the girls set up a smaller table in the kitchen for themselves and Sully and I sat at the big table. Sully had the big table all set for the two of us with a candle, dimmed lights and all. During a majority of the meal we talked about the restaurant he wants to own when he grows up. Actually, we talk about this during most dinner times. His restaurant is going to be called the Flying Cheese. There's going to be all kinds of cheese food on the menu, and his latest idea is to incorporate some sort of Flying Cheese inspired clothing line with t-shirts, hats and belt buckles! I love  hearing my son's visioneering,  and I'm quite inspired by his limitless ideas! 

sigh...love this kid!

 

 

 

 

  

one glorious hope for the future

This blog post is intended for our new launch team for the Daybreak Church Campus downtown Grand Rapids, but if you are interested in joining in our servant hood to the people of Grand Rapids you can contact me directly or contact the church HERE

Less than three weeks and counting before Daybreak Downtown is launched. Ryan and I have been overwhelmed with the excitement and passion of our staff. It feels so good to know we have individuals behind us who are eager and ON FIRE to spread the word of Jesus Christ to the people of downtown Grand Rapids and beyond!

Thank you for consistently meeting with each other so that you could get to know one another and build momentum! God has something specific in mind for each of you at Daybreak Downtown.

Be prepared to be pulled and stretched out of your comfort zones as you become warriors for Jesus! 

I'm so excited for this journey! 

Here's some of God's word I want us to rest on as we prepare for our glorious purpose!

Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other's faults because of your love.  Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace.  For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future.  There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God and Father, who is over all in all and living through all.

However, he's given each one of us a special gift through the generosity of Christ.  That is why the Scriptures say,

"When he ascended to the heights,

he led a crowd of captives

and gave gifts to his people."

Notice that it says, "he ascended."  This clearly means that Christ also descended to our lowly world.  And the same one who descended is the one who ascended higher than all the heavens, so that he might fill the entire universe with himself.

Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church; the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers.  Their responsibility is to equip God's people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God's son that we will mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ.

Ephesians 4: 2-13

Be praying for the specific area (or person) that God wants you to influence through Him downtown, and be prepared to move because when you ask for stuff like this He will answer full on!

Above all I hope that our staff has an overwhelming attitude of love towards each other. If we can keep that at the fore front of our minds in our dealings with one another we will be successful.

I want you to know that my specific role is to be your servant and encourager! You should know I have a rather lengthy background in this area. I was a cheerleader for 10 years....just sayin!

I conclude with some images of our fiery group.  The eagerness and desperate desire to do God's work in this room was SO apparent. Thank you faithful servants! You ROCK! Here we are in our holy place. Pew Campus downtown GVSU! Woot!

 

 

and a few more images because, well....I like pictures.

 

 

 

 

and lastly, your fearless and sometimes goofy leader...nuff said :)

 

FIRE UP CHURCH!!!!

Beautiful Brisk Morning Seshie

Here's a peek at a session I had an hour and a half ago. How's that for a fast photographer! Boom! ;)

It's always fast and painless when it involves delightful kids like this!

 

 

 

These kids seriously melt me!

Laundry Loitering

I have a serious problem when it comes to doing the laundry. It doesn't help that my washer and dryer are in my half dingy basement, and to make matters worse the sun just came out which makes me want to stay upstairs and away from my laundry debacle. 

My behavior reminds me of my college days when me and a few of my sorority sisters would hop in the car and drive to the Discount Den at WMU for a fountain pop and a cigarette (yes they sold individual cigarettes). It was the best diversion to studying among many other things we did in college that I want to forget about! No, I take that back....I don't want to forget!  College was fun! LOL! The plan was always to start studying after we hit "the Den"....mind you our trip usually took place around 10 or 10:30 pm. So studying usually didn't start until around 11 or 12 if at all.

So here I am with the same behavior patterns as a college kid... except I'm not contaminating my body with caffeine and nicotine. Instead, my diversion from laundry consists of fall colors, hat's, a beautiful blue eyed 5 year old, and blogging which makes me much more ADD than the Discount Den ever did :) Oh! and never mind about the caffeine too because I'm on my second cup of Caribou dark roast which makes me feel muy groovy. 

Well at least by putting laundry off, I'm accomplishing one of my goals for this fall, and that is to continue to take pictures of my kids...even during busy times.

Here's the result of procrastinating and having fun......

 

and the laundry still sits :(.......

 

Time to go hole-up in the basement! Nothing like airing my dirty laundry...literally :)

Until next time!

~ Greatest Importance ~

To say we're busy right now during this season in life would be an understatement. We've been forced to really focus on our priorities and carve out time for those important things this fall. This means actually writing in our calenders "family time". It's so easy to let that one go, isn't it? 

We've taken a bit of an unconventional route for our family right now. We don't have our kids signed up for a bazzillion seperate activities, but instead have kept that extra time to do stuff with all five of us. We know that all too soon these experiences with the Duffy5 are going to come to an end as our kids become teenagers and would rather hang out with friends than go to the pumkin patch with brother and sister and mom and dad. 

We were able to go to the Post Family Farm on a beautiful Tuesday afternoon after Sully got out of school. Oh, my, gosh! It was absolutely perfect! You see, we haven't had the quintessential fall experince as such since we lived in steamy hot south Tx. for the last three years. The best you can get down there is sad soggy version of a pumpkin from Home Depot :(

The tractor even pulled the hay wagon we were riding in right smack in the middle of the pumpkin patch! I wanted to jump for joy as I watched my kids tug and pull at the pumpkin they had chosen because it was.....still on the VINE! 

The sky was that perfect fall deep gray blue, and the smell of the hay and mud from the tractor tires...sigh! I'm so glad to be home! 

We were on the hunt for the biggest and best pumkins in true Duffy fashion (go big or go home) :) Of course when we loaded back on to the hay wagon, and I had a brief moment to look at everyone else's pumkin selection we had by far the biggest and most obnoxious pumkins on the wagon...go figure!

Here's some images from our day yesterday. It's cool to think my kids are finally old enough to make memories they will remember into adulthood. 

 

I realized after getting into the hay wagon I was totally dressed like a city slicker....I'm really not that polished! I promise!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The experience wouldn't be complete without donuts and hot cider!

 

 

 

 

Yay for fall and the things that are of GREATEST IMPORTANCE....Duffy5!!!

{ colorful 3 yr. old }

What is it about three year olds? They all seem to have that extra glimmer in their eyes. More to come of this spunky little man...

Stay tuned!