As some of you know, I zipped across the country for a few days to my parents’ home for Christmas. We were lucky enough to all be together again for the holiday and had ourselves a lovely Christmas together.

My brother and I stayed up late Christmas day, talking about anything and everything into the wee hours, munching on cookies in my parents’ kitchen. We were startled when we heard pounding on our front door. Who could that be at midnight on Christmas Day? So odd… my brother answered and it was a policeman come to tell us that our neighbor’s house was on fire.

My brother and I asked the police man if everyone was ok, if they’d gotten out safely, and ran outside to see the house engulfed in unbelievably tall flames. My brother ran inside to wake my parents, and we ran outside again to stare disbelieving as the house smoked, windows shattered and as the roof spewed flames while firefighters worked tirelessly to put out the blaze.

Luckily, as I mentioned, everyone in the house escaped safely, except for their little puppy who perished in the fire.

The thing that rocked all of us was that this fire, this ruthless, oxygen-hungry, sky-scraping fire, could have happened to anybody. And does. Frequently. I’m not sure if the fire chief has determined the cause of the fire. I’ve heard everything from it being labeled as a chimney fire, to a Christmas tree fire (of the plastic sort) to faulty electrical wiring.

I’m sharing these photos today because it’s the one month anniversary of this night. The house has since been torn down. The family is doing ok…it’s incredibly tough on them of course, but they plan to rebuild on the old foundation. I didn’t want to post these photos immediately, because I wanted to give the family some privacy in the face of their tragedy. Their town is a small one, and word (and photos) travel quickly.

I’m also sharing these photos because seeing something like this…and feeling the fear that our own house would catch fire….really makes a person reevaluate what’s important in their lives. I’m so grateful to have family and friends who love me, a roof over my head, and food in my belly. Please, if these photos move you, tell your loved ones that you LOVE them. Today. Do it right now. And also please do you and your family a favor and check to make sure your smoke detector batteries are fresh and functioning.

Life is fragile. Don’t forget to soak it in and appreciate every day you’ve got.

-Kristine

I was lucky enough to be able to make the sojourn to Wisconsin for a brief visit over Christmas to spend time with my parents, my brother and some wonderful friends. It’s nice to make the trip since I grew up in Wisconsin, but my true home is Montana, which is where I was born. It’s why I’ve spent my entire adult life pursuing these roots, which I’m so glad to say have happily landed here for a good while now. But it’s always bittersweet to go back to Wisconsin, because, though I love it there, my parents dearly wish they were out west as well, closer to my brother and me.

However, my family always has a blast when we’re together – our actual location doesn’t really matter at that point.

One of our favorite things to do together is zip on out to a lovely cross-country ski trail located in the Blue Hills. I just happened to have my camera with me on one of our outings (sadly my brother had stayed behind to write essays for his grad school application – such diligence), and I figured I’d do an impromptu photo session of my parents since: 1. Skiing is their absolute favorite thing. 2. I love them. 3. We’re always sure to get some hilarious images when the camera comes out.

And hilarious they were! I’ll stop yapping so you can check out the images. But just a few more things: I’m so very thankful to have these two wonderful people as my parents. They live so fully and laugh so easily, and I’d like to think I’ve grabbed up those traits, too.

We were all shaken by my parents’ neighbor’s house fire on Christmas day – it burned to the ground and their lives were changed instantly. (They all escaped safely except for their puppy. :( ) More than ever it reminded all of us how fragile life is, and how important family and friends are. (I will probably post photos of the fire at some point, but right now it’s just a bit too fresh.)

I love you Mom and Dad. Thank you for being your awesome selves as always.

Thanks all for sticking through this long post. If you’ve made it to these words, take a moment and tell someone you care about that you love them.

Cheers,

-Kristine

During my quick trip I was lucky enough to photograph some super awesome portrait sessions – and this was one of them!

Monica and Shawn have been married for 5 years – happy anniversary, you two! They weren’t entirely happy with the photos from their wedding (according to Monica, the woman wasn’t as good as she had touted), so they wanted to get some nice photos done for their anniversary. And we had a great time! It was a bit cloudy, and the humidity was palpable (we were all slightly sticky), but what a great session!

Monica and Shawn were also super creative, too, and brought along a picnic basket and blanket for some of the photos – and of course a few delicious cherries to feed one another.

But here I am getting chatty – let’s get to the photos! Thanks again, you two! I’m so happy we were able to do this while I was in town. See you in Utah! :)

On the docket: a sultry, steamy boudoir session. You won’t want to miss it!

Cheers!

-Kristine