Lifestyle & Wedding Photographer

Hi my name is Danielle &

I am far from perfect. My life is messy, weird, and a little crazy at times. My husband and I have had some amazing adventures figuring out who we are and what we're meant to do in the process. Right now our winding road has taken us to Tennessee where I get to stay home, teach and raise two (with another on the way) wonderful boys. This blog used to be more photography focused but like everything it has changed over time. I still love taking photos - there is something special about capturing memories, feelings and beauty. I've taken a small break from booking photoshoots and clients to spend more time enjoying the beauty around me with no agenda. Now that you're here and I've sort of introduced myself, stay awhile, read some posts and check out my pictures.

Thanks for stopping by. . To stay updated on posts check out my facebook page Facebook

Dec 15 2013

A Christmas Video – Made with Love

Luke 2 – Christmas 2013 from James Kanka on Vimeo.

Dec 02 2013

The Shape of Things

I’m feeling huge these days, and for good reason! While I am running out of clothes that fit comfortably, I am also reminded of the beauty and blessing of it all. Just last year at this time I was mourning the loss of a pregnancy . Today I am celebrating and giving thanks for our little growing peanut – who is quite the active little guy.

When I was pregnant with Eli, I had James take a photo of my very large baby bump. The other day I was thinking about this photo and decided baby Kanka #2 needed one too. Now if only choosing a name were as easy….

The first photo is me pregnant with Eli at 37 weeks pregnant.

The next shots are of me pregnant with baby boy Kanka #2 at almost 32 weeks.

Nov 22 2013

Life Lately…& a bazillion pictures

Okay maybe not a bazillion – but definitely a lot! But first what we’ve been up to:

We closed and moved into our first home -yay!!! (No pics yet – just visualize a charming 1950s fixer-upper)
I caught a virus and was sick for 4 weeks. I injured/fractured a rib in the process. It was truly awful, I would not wish the experience on anyone- ever.
My dad came to visit, helped us move, and worked on the house with James
I suddenly began to get better after a month of feeling like a horrible useless blob – just in time for halloween!
My mom came to visit and help with Eli so James and I could get more home projects done
James’ parents came to visit and brought some of our things from Virginia- including a sweet little camper
My belly is getting larger by the day and baby boy seems to be doing well. I’m somewhere between 31 and 32 weeks. Random people have started making all kinds of interesting comments on how I look like I could “pop” any day – oh the joy of unsolicited comments….
I’ve killed way too many spiders/bugs and raked way too many leaves to count…
We’re slowly starting to make our home feel more settled – only a few more boxes to unpack…

As I type this I’m looking around our house and thinking of all the unfinished projects left to do – of all the things I want to get done before the baby comes knowing it probably won’t be. But, I’m also thinking about all that we have right now, all the people we love and all we’ve been blessed with – and my heart is so full. I’m thankful for all our blessings!!!

And if your eyes have glazed over reading my bulleted list – below are the absurd amount of photos that have accumulated over the past few months. And yes, yes they are mostly of Eli :-)

While my dad was here we managed to get out to the zoo for one day of non-house project fun.

The below pic is probably one of the only pics you’ll see of me from my sick days – I’m sure I coughed up a lung right after this photo was taken.

We have a TON of trees in our new yard – which means LOTS of leaves – and lots of FUN for Eli :-)

The weekend before halloween I was finally beginning to feel better and we headed out to the pumpkin patch for an afternoon of fall fun.

These pics and his expressions crack me up! They had a tiny play village and he couldn’t get enough of it – he could have played here all day!

Yes, the pretend outhouse was he favorite part….

There was a hay maze for the kids – he was too fast to catch. And too excited to stop for a picture – these were the the best we could get. Can’t blame him – it did look pretty fun!

Below is proof that my child is like everyone else’s – he didn’t want to take a picture with me :-)

Of course he’s all smiles for daddy though ;-)

Eli had so much fun at the pumpkin patch and it made my heart so happy watching him dance with joy – running around checking out all the things to do at the pumpkin patch. By the end of the day we had clearly worn him out and yet he did not want to leave – nor take any more photos.

Cutting the pumpkin was quite exciting too – Eli was thrilled to use the pumpkin carving tools. He wasn’t so thrilled at the pumpkin guts though….

Halloween day we had awful weather. Lucky for us most of the surrounding communities rescheduled trick-or-treat for the next evening. Eli and one of his best buds Anna went trick-or-treating together. It was a beautiful and fun evening! Eli was a fireman and Anna a dalmatian – they made the most adorable pair!

The next weekend we had a fun fall get together with our small church group – the weather was crisp and lovely. We took a bunch of pictures and had fun just hanging out with each other in the park. (I forgot to ask if I could post pics of the rest of the group so I’ll only share a couple of us at the park.)

Thanks to our friend Elisa, we were able to get a pic of all 3 (4) of us :-)

The next set of pics are from my mom’s visit. And yes, I force all my guests into a photo shoot if the weather and sun are just right :-)

I’m loving all the smiles in these photos – Eli had a blast in the leaves with Grammy!

Sep 06 2013

Exciting NEWS!

“Every good and perfect gift is from above…” – James 1:17 (NIV)

Today we got to see our baby – it was amazing! You all may be wondering why I’ve waited so long to post our news? While we’ve been overjoyed to tears from the start of this pregnancy – I honestly felt a little timid to post about it given my previous pregnancy losses. So we decided to wait until after our 20 week ultrasound to officially announce the baby. While we don’t have a name for this precious child yet, we already love him dearly. Eli is thrilled to become a big brother and can’t wait to meet him. Eli was especially exited about the idea of sharing a room with his brother and wanted to immediately “teach him to make toot noises with his mouth!” Love it!

A few weeks ago (yes my belly is even bigger now!) we headed out to the Carnton Plantation here in Franklin, TN to snap a few photos. It is gorgeous out there -especially in the warm evening glow. Check it out!

Aug 15 2013

Adena & Eli

What could be more adorable than these two? Sometimes you just need to dance and play music in the sun – with ribbons! Hope you all are having a lovely thursday :-)