Kristine Atienza Photography's blog » l "Celebrating Moments of Love" l Orange County Children's Photography

Being a mom of an adorable little boy and beautiful twin girls, Jennie is always up for a challenge. So when she proposed that her engagement pictures be done on top of Mt. Rubidoux during sunrise, yes sunrise, I wasn’t a bit surprised. I still remember her email from way back when, Are you willing to hike? Hahaha! I can’t help but laugh at what I was thinking that  I was fit for a 2 mile hike! But I figured, if Jennie could do it, so could I!! And so began our adventure… Despite the early morning session, Jennie and Harvey were so much fun to work with! Harvey probably only had 3 hours of sleep the night before but his tiredness didn’t seem to faze him one bit! They were probably one of the easiest couples I’ve ever photographed… definite naturals in front of the camera, and I cant wait for their wedding on 10.10.10!

Yes Jennie is rocking those heels on a MOUNTAIN! lol!

This letter was written on April 7, 2010, the day that my grandmother passed away. It was addressed to our close family members.

—————

Dear Family,

This morning Ron and I were met with great emotional conflict as we mourned the loss of Lola and prepared to share the news that we were expecting our first baby. It had been our plan for the last week (just found out on Sunday), to tell the family of our wonderful news once we’d received the “okay” from our first ultrasound (this morning) confirming that the baby was okay and had implanted in the uterus (I had been having some bad cramping and was scared for an ectopic pregnancy).

It was a sad, sad day for us, but as the midwife showed us the image of our baby’s profile on the ultrasound screen, she comforted us with the words, “for a life loss, a new one begins… do you see the heart beating?“…. A beating heart was not something Ron and I were expecting this early on.  And the ironic thing is our due date is in November, Lola’s birthday month.

We share this with you because originally that was our intention for today… we weren’t planning on waiting past the *first trimester scare*, at least not with our families, and now more than ever, we’re not even worried about the first trimester scare because we know Lola’s strong spirit is with us.

We don’t mean to be insensitive about Lola’s passing, and we did contemplate about whether or not to wait, but we can’t help but remember the words that the midwife had said to us earlier this morning, that life always comes full circle. And atleast for us, it was very special because we truly found comfort in the midwife’s words …. (And again another ironic thing, I had a midwife (Lola’s profession), not an OB doctor doing my checkup)…. . We just wish Lola had known too, and it is sad knowing we were only literally hours late in letting her know. Regardless however, we know, she knows… And we could see her face light up, the blue twinkle in her eyes, the radiance of her smile, the warmth of her embrace, and the tickle from her “grandma kisses”.

We believe that her spirit is definitely in each and every one of us and with that, we find solace in knowing that she is in the loving hands of God.

Love you all,
Kristine and Ron

“great grief is the result of a great love for someone”

Meet Caitlyn! At the precious age of 1, Caitlyn has a great deal of curiosity. I’m sure the whole time she was thinking, “What’s this funny black box machine in front of my face?”, cause at times she’d simply just stare right into my lens. She didn’t care much for smiling, nor was she afraid, she was simply…. just curious..!

3 generations!

My favorite shot of Momma and Caitlyn…

Happy Birthday Caitlyn! May your inquisitive mind lead you to many great adventures!

As we walked around the famous Picture Beach, we talked about wedding plans. As Hector squeezed Grace’s hand and flashed her a smile, he looked at me and said, “it’s been a long time coming…” Ironically, they’re both from my neck of the woods in La Habra! Grace and Hector are high school sweethearts and have been together for about 7 years. Although times weren’t always perfect, they’ve managed to work right through them… and they’ve gotten to a point in their lives where they’ve realized–  if they could survive the past 7 years, they could definitely survive anything that marriage has to throw at them..

Grace and Hector will be tying the knot next July after Grace graduates from UCLA’s School of Nursing (Hollllaaaa!!)

Here are a few of my favorites from their engagement session with a few cameos with their “son,” Shane!

Grace has the most gooooorgeous green eyes! And apparently, that was the first thing Hector said to Grace the first time he saw her

Look at Shane! Strutting his stuff and looking all handsome! Grace said he’s a terror with strangers, but he managed to get along with Ron and I just fine!