• The main reason to go on bed rest, is because with twins, mommies have a 50% likelihood of going into preterm labor. I have known a bunch of women who didn’t do bed rest and continued to work, and ended up having the babies 2 months earlier than they were supposed to. I don’t want my boys in the NICU for two months!
• I was stressed out at work. Teaching nearly 200 students can be exhausting. I was getting cramps and minor contractions, so I knew I had to leave. I miss the heck out of my students and it is very weird to give up control over my precious classroom to another teacher, but I keep telling myself it’s for the babies. This time has made me realize how much I love what I do.
• I had to go pee all the time! With over 2000 students at my school, it was getting hard to walk to the bathroom during passing periods, when there was a deluge of kids scrambling to class. I seriously have to go to the ladies room every 30 minutes and the long walk was getting exhausting. One of my boys sits right on top of my bladder and lets just say, it was becoming uber painful.
• My right leg goes numb about every 10 minutes. The same little one who sits on my bladder also is sitting on a nerve, so if I am standing for even the littlest bit or walking around to monitor students, my leg goes all tingly.
• I didn’t want to go into forced bed rest at the hospital and be given all sorts of crazy medications. I would much rather relax in my own home and let these babies incubate.
• And I am huge! Even though I am having twins, I am currently measuring at full term if I were having just one baby. I can’t believe I have three months to go!

So for those of you mommies who are out there that are facing the same predicament as I am, there are some fun things to do that can keep you entertained. People keep asking what I do all day, so here it is:

• Read all the books you have been meaning to read. I am in the middle of two books, one book about being a mom to twins, Ready or Not…Here We Come by Elizabeth Lyons and a fun literary fiction book called The Children’s Hospital by Chris Adrain.
• Watch chick flicks. So John and I never watch these sorts of movies, as we typically watch Oscar sort of stuff or documentaries like Wasteland. Since I will soon be outnumbered, I have to get my girl movies on.
• Learn as much as possible about photography. I am truly always seeking ways to improve my craft, so things like Creative Live  or Clickin Moms have been a great resource for learning. And I figure I am going to take a million photos of my babies, so since my strengths lie in Senior and Family portraits, I need to brush up on my newborn skills.
• Hang out with girls friends who are stay at home moms. Every day I try to schedule a social time with one of my girl friends. So they either come here to the house and we sip lemonade on the porch or I go over there and we chit chat while the kiddos are napping.
• Work on my business. Once the boys come,  I know I will never have time to do all the fun things I envision for my website and business, so I am trying to seize the moment and tie up any loose ends now.
• And of course, nest and get things uber organized.

To end the post, I figured I would post a sneak peek to my maternity session that my dear friend Treacy Mize did of me. More on that to come next week, but for now…..

The Heftman family has come to know God in a whole new way, thru the suffering of breast cancer and all it entails. We were originally going to do a senior portrait session for their graduating daughter, but after hearing the circumstances of what the family was going thru, I knew that this session had to be dedicated to capturing the whole family. And it was going to be a gift in honor of losing my grand mother to cancer.

This family has clung to God and to the notion of hope, allowing them to get thru each day. I am reminded of one of my friend’s favorite verses, Zephaniah 3:17:

“The Lord your God is with you,
the Mighty Warrior who saves.
He will take great delight in you;
in his love he will no longer rebuke you,
but will rejoice over you with singing.”

In this gorgeous Fullerton location, we all knew God was with us. The birds were singing, the green surroundings spoke of growth and new life and their love was just flowing with gorgeous smiles.

In a beloved fashion, I lead Nikki & Mike thru some flirtatious questions and got some adorable loving portraits. 

Hanna & Alyssa are seriously the cutest set of sisters. With Alyssa going off to Hope University next year, I think Hanna is going to go thru some serious withdrawals. Thank goodness Alyssa will live close enough to come home to do laundry and talk about sister stuff.

How cute are they? 

Strength in relationships is often gained when you overcome a challenge together. I know that the strength of these three has probably quadrupled over the past six months. And I love this picture, because it’s all about mom and her girls.

Prayer is at the center of Nikki & Mike’s marriage, and it’s because of having this solid foundation in God, that they can celebrate 18 years of marriage and hopefully many more to come. 

There are lots of great photos in this session, so you have to check out this gorgeous slideshow. Happy Mother’s Day Nikki; you have a GORGEOUS family that just exudes love.

When I committed to the wedding, I wasn’t pregnant yet, but many months later, I am HUGE! So I had a whole team of excellent photographers at my side to capture the day. A special thanks to Jen Disney, Holly Pendergast and Blackbird Portraits for taking rad shots and helping me capture this beautiful wedding.

Jaqueline and Michael have been dating for a long time and really do make quite the couple. Silliness abounds in their relationship and their love for each other just seeps out of them at every moment. Their wedding took place at the Clarke Estate in Sante Fe Springs, which really is a jewel of the area and served as the perfect backdrop for them to commit their lives to one another.

After everyone was all ready and done up, we headed off for the first look and then some romantic photos in this beautiful location. They were troopers, as we later found out, there were lots of spiders abound. Isn’t Jaque just adorable! She has the most adorable smile. And then the big event happened in this lovely veranda location, which was very Romeo and Juliet inspired. While Jaque’s mom was bustling her dress, I got these quick portraits in the perfect window light. Girl, you are just gorgeous!Always flirting these two! I pray your love for each other is everlasting and that you always continue to make each other laugh. 

And see a lot more pics in their wedding slideshow.

Here is a sneak peek of their awesome day. More to come soon….

I sent Irisa over to my Pinterest to check out some outfit inspiration and I got so excited when she busted out these mint jeans. So cute!

One of my favorite things about living in Fullerton is photographing my clients in Fullerton. There are so many random alley’s that provide a plethora of gorgeous backdrops. And Irisa, you look stunning against all of them!And then we headed over to one of my favorite trails in the hills of Fullerton and caught some beautiful light and natural backdrops. And as you can probably see, Irisa looks stunning!Irisa, I wish you luck in the future. I am so honored that I have was able to photograph you during this exciting time in your life. May your future endeavors be blessed. 

Last week, John and I flew to rural Illinois to spend some quality time with my family. My dad grew up in the middle of cornfields and lots of kids running around (seven siblings!). He comes from a big family and one that until now, I haven’t made a point to go out and visit. It’s been way too long since I last went to see everyone. But with two kiddos along the way, we thought that it was necessary to start pouring energy into my family, even the ones that live far away. It’s important to know where you came from, so you know where you are going.

One of the main reasons we went to Illinois was to photograph my grandparents. They have been married for 65 years! They met in high school and started dating when they wanted two of their friends to go to prom together. They thought if they went together, their friends would go together. After prom, my grandparents kept dating and at 19 got married. Seven kids later, hundreds of acres tended to, lots and lots of grandkids and great grandkids, my grandma and grandpa, have a lot to be proud of.

One of the things that have always impressed me about my relatives, on both sides of my family, is that they live for a really long time. Until a few days ago, both sets

of grandparents were all still alive. (My grandmother in England, just passed away at 92, only a few days ago. May she rest in peace.) With this in mind, I wanted to make sure that I photographed my grandparents, as a part of my families legacy and to pay homage to this incredible couple. They have made such an impression on all of us kids, as there is NO divorces amongst the whole family, including grandkids. Isn’t that amazing!?

So in the way I photograph other couples, I photographed my grandparents Beloved Style. I asked them all sorts of questions as we took pictures, asking them to look back and reflect on their 65 years of marriage. I was laughing so hard and touched by how they are so sweet with each other and still flirt like crazy. I pray that I was able to capture their timeless love and that these pictures are cherished by our family for years to come.

II have fond memories of my little brother getting John Deere tractors as Christmas gifts, so I had to photograph them in front of a big tractor. Your love is a inspiration to us all. Thanks for always loving me and inviting John and I into your lives for a brief moment in time. I wish we lived closer so I can wean lots of wisdom from you guys. I love you grandma and grandpa! 

Here is a sneak peek of one of my favorites….and more to come in a few weeks! I can’t wait to show off how gorgeous this young woman is! Whew

I am at 20 weeks, so I just passed my half way mark, as with twins, 38 weeks is full term. I am keeping my fingers crossed that I can carry these boys that long and don’t have them early.  I seriously pray everyday that I will deliver at full term. Three years ago, I would never believe it if someone told me that I was going to have twins, but God surprises me all the time. His plan is so much bigger and better than my feeble ones.

Here is a picture of the boys, via ultrasound. The bottom one was moving tons, so it was hard for the technician to get a good photograph. He was too busy kicking his brother in the head to pose for the camera. Ha! I think we are in trouble all ready.

We met up at one of my favorite locations up in the hills of La Habra. It has majestic views that sort of remind me of the hills of Ireland, while also providing a super cool urban backdrop just foot steps away. The day was gorgeous, but super windy and a bit chilly for cute spring outfits and prom dresses. But these girls were total troopers and had a blast in front of the camera. Enjoy the images!
This is Brittany and she is a Junior at Troy High School. Sweet and kind, Brittany was positively radiant in front of my camera! Brittany loves to sing in her Vocal Ensamble and volunteer at St. Jude, which makes Brittany an overall stellar human being. And then she put on this gorgeous red gown and bam, she just shined! Fierce and exceptionally beautiful, Haley is Junior at Yorba Linda High School. She really knew how to work the camera.
Haley is super well rounded and is multi talented. She loves art, music, animals, fashion and anything having to do with the ocean. But what impressed me most about Haley, was how she was so mature she was for her age.
And Haley, you have got great legs and this dress totally compliments them. Work it girl!A girl after my own heart, Grace is a competitive swimmer and is a Junior at Fullerton High School. Being super involved with dance, water polo, swim and ASB, I don’t know how this girl carved out 3 hours for our super fun shoot! Thanks Grace!I love her pink dress and how it was a perfect compliment to our urban backdrop. Grace, you are simply stunning!
Sequoia has a joy that just radiates! The boys at Fullerton High School must go crazy for her perfect smile and darling personality.
But the boys are probably more intimidated by her wide range of sports ability! This girl is strong! Look at those arms!But then Sequoia has a soft side, which she showed me in this darling pic. When she is not practicing her black belt in karate, she loves to volunteer with animals. And Danielle, oh Danielle! You are simply gorgeous! This Fullerton High School Junior must create fashion trends at her school, because seriously I wanted half her wardrobe. Danielle is super active all year around, as she is a swimmer and plays soccer! But to top it off, she is a farm girl at heart, working alongside steers and pigs. Future Farmers of America, watch out for this gorgeous farmer! Danielle, I think this is one of my favorite backdrops of the afternoon and you worked it perfectly!
I had so much fun with you girls! I am so glad that you are the special ones that are going to represent my brand and help spread the word for Amber Fox Photographer. Thanks for not freezing to death in your darling outfits and for rocking it in front of my camera. 

There are so many great pics of these beautiful girls that you have to check out the slideshow!