Amanda and Todd were the lucky winners of my Mother's Day 2018 Competition! So not only did I capture there stunning sunset Maternity Session.. I also got to meet and snuggle their amazingly gorgeous bubba, Romy! I deadset have the best job in the world!!!

On the 24th of July I popped into the Sunshine Coast University Hospital to meet and snuggle this gorgeous baby girl.. not even 24hrs after she arrived!

Jasmine and Jamie.. well done...!!! Addison (all 6.3 pounds of her) is utter perfection.. 

I don't have rules for my sessions.. I let your kids lead me. If they want to cuddle we cuddle, if they want to move and play, we move and play.. if they need food then I am totally ok to wait and have a chat. My sessions come with no pressure because I want you and your entire family to be comfortable and feel completely free to be yourself. In the unposed, unrestricted moments.. that is when the magic happens... 
I love my job... and I love capturing your story! 

It's hard to put into words how difficult it is to lose a parent, even as an adult, it's so damn hard. I miss my dad daily.
He was my superhero, my protector, my go to when the world was too scary to face. My dad was the person to give me advise and to give me direction, he was the silly that made me smile... he ran beside my pony when I was little and held my hand as I walked down the aisle. He was so proud of all my babies (even when they drove him bloody nuts with the ‘bullshit chit chat’ haha) For my entire life my dad was my best mate and I truly thought he was unbreakable…

Then, 7 months after having my third bub, when Jason and I were planning to relocate from the Sunshine Coast back down to Brissy, to raise the kids closer to my family, he told me he would be ‘leaving soon’.
I couldn’t get my head around the words ‘terminal cancer’. I mean… how could it be ‘terminal’, this is my dad… he could beat it!!!

But he didn’t.

He told me the news on Father’s Day 2012… Father’s Day! Of all bloody days!
And then he checked out on the 28th of November, only two months later.

He had known for quite a while before he told me but he chose not to let me in on it..  I had just had my little baby girl and wanted me to enjoy getting to know her without the 'extra stress'.
As a parent I can understand wanting to shelter your child from pain and wanting nothing but happiness for them..
BUT as his daughter… who would have LOVED a million more moments to make memories with him… a million more moments to take in every little detail about his face, to memory bank the way he cuddled and the way his hair smelt and the sound of his voice… I was SOOOOOO angry at him!

By the time he did tell me, he was already so sick.. and his weight had started to drastically drop, so he, being the proud man that he was, didn’t want me to take photos of him looking like that.
He wanted me to remember him in his healthier days… and it wasn’t until I was collecting photographs for his funeral that I realised, there really wasn’t a lot of photos with him in them. A majority of his photo collection was of me growing up or him and I when I was really little. My teenage years were a collection of horse photos and my friends and then as I got older there were heaps of me and Jason or us and the kids... but there really was nothing much {or anything nice really} of me and my dad! 

This literally broke my heart… and by the time I realised… it was too late!

I would never have the chance to be in the photo with my dadda ever again...!!!

If I had known earlier, how important something as simply as a photo session with my dad could be, no amount of money in the world could stop me from doing it. I wouldn't have taken no for an answer, I wouldn't have cared if I was still carrying baby weight... I would of made it happen!

Memories with the people you love… they are PRICELESS!

To this day, almost 6 years later, I still long for my dad.
I still have days where the ache in my heart takes my breath away…
There is nothing I wouldn’t give for just one more moment, one more chance to see him, to adore him… to tell him how much he means to me.

So, with Father’s Day approaching, as my own heart gets a little heavier… I urge you… cherish your dad…... tell him your grateful, tell him you love him..... and capture your memories together!! 

Get in the photo!!!

​Bee x

​https://canceraustralia.gov.au/healthy-living/campaigns-events/lung-cancer-awareness-month