Family First...

The holidays are upon us... in reality today is Tuesday, but in life the workweek is just about over... time for family begins. And so in that spirit I want to introduce you to 3 spectacular families; these are couples who, once they began having children, gave up their normal office dayjobs to turn their homes into workplaces that allowed them to actually be home. While shooting these 3 families I was consistently impressed by the togetherness that they exhibited... they each gave me grand inspiration for my own future. Read the stories at WNC Magazine here.

Meet the Scales (above), Cate and Ben and their kiddos. Cate is an interior designer, and Ben is an attorney and a fantastic musician. They both work from home so that they may be close to their children, and close to each other... The benefits of such a lifestyle are powerful, and let me tell you, the Scales prove it. They treated me to an impromptu bluegrass concert in their living room and they are all quite talented. The picket fence doesn't make it "perfect", they do... perfect.

Meet the Hammonds (above), Mary Ellen, Jim and their son Sidney. Together (yes, Sidney too) they run Milestone Press. They've got terrible jobs! They hike and bike all around the Blue Ridge and Smokey Mountains then write and publish guidebooks. A fantastic family with a fantastic home life. They raise chickens, harvest honey, and have created a perfectly wonderful and envious existence for themselves. Kudos!

Meet Lupe Perez and Monroe Moore (above). As a costume designer for Mars Hill College, Lupe took paternity leave after the adoption of each of his 3 children, but he soon realized that wasn't their perfect solution. Raising kids is in his blood, so in 2007 he began a new career at home as a tailor. A super fantastic and wonderful family, they also have bee hives and one of the best tomato gardens around. The kids were my personal photo assistants, and I've never seen folks laugh so much... Awesome.