{my joy}

a collection of both personal and professional...Tonya & Co. meets tonya joy photography...my love for my children and the journey to capture their lives in photos and words has inspired this blog...and my business...blogging the little pouts, big smiles, love found in the most {and not so} obvious places...delicately balancing & savoring the moments of their youth while following the creative passions I adore...relishing in the blessing of their little lives, sharing mine with you, and yours with me...life is beautiful..capturing that beauty...finding the joy (yours and mine)...in a word, in a song, in an expression, in the memory of your mind, and with a photograph.

my life. my love. my kids. my joy...this blog, with love, inspired by Ella, Ava, Mia, and Adam...thanks for stopping in...

{Thank you for your patience as my business at Tonya Joy Photography slows for a season. i am thankful for the blessing of tending to the every, precious, and fleeting moments of my childrens' young lives...}


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Kate and Wayne {married}

On June 20th 2009 a new family was created…

meet Wayne and Kate Hicken…

Kate said she waited all her life for what was to happen this day…and the day was beautiful. 

She was beautiful. 

All of her details came together with such classic grace and she was joined with family and friends to celebrate….

thier bridal party was ultra stylish and so much fun…

 

 Wayne joined by his groomsmen…

beautiful details…

(a shout out to my second shooter Gena for her gorgeous images and fabulous assistance…check out her blog for more images)

i am in love with the vintage detailing Kate created for her big day…

timeless beauty…

and a ring shot…

a little lensbaby action…

add in a stunning couple…

beautiful moments…

(kate and wayne so remind me of a old hollywood couple…they are pretty much gorgeous…)

and you have a two lives that now create one…and most importantly, they came together with devotion and faith…

a few reception details…

hope you had a beautiful honeymoon! Congratulations and have fun you guys!

Thank you for letting me document your day…

xoxo

Tonya

 

finding my voice…10 weeks

been a little quiet here lately…we have been busy…as children…parents…vacationers…photographers…and as a family…

 We are blessed to have Jason home for the summer school period and focusing on working one of his two jobs for now…the girls love having their Daddy home and I kinda like it too :)

The past 10 weeks have sped by and it seems like ages ago that Adam was born.  There are days that I feel like a child again…learning by baby steps the tricks to managing the busy and beautiful life of being a mother of 4 small children.  I sure have had some bruised knees as I have fallen a few times here and there as I learn the ropes of maintaining a good balance as a mommy to very young babes.  I just brush myself off and try at it again.  I am learning (well trying) to let my house stay messy…the laundry to pile (a little)…and that too much time on the computer makes my brain mush and my heart empty (can you resonate?)…

…and I am growing to love my husband more each day.  I am incredibly blessed and so thankful for him…from helping with our children, sweeping up messes, and reaching out to pick me up when I feel like I am “melting.” :)  Thank you Jason, I love you and appreciate you so much.  You bring me to my knees in gratitude for this life we are blessed with (4 kids in 5 years…who woulda thought?) and remind me of how important it is to remember always what is truly most important…our family…

…so in these 10 weeks I have brought a new child into the world…a soul so bright and good…I have learned to love my girls more…I have cried…I have laughed…and probably cried a little more :)

I have seen beauty behind and in front of a camera…I have fought baby blues…I am holding on to good habits and am trying to let go of bad ones (always working on this one)…I have seen my husband hold a son in his arms and found so much joy in seeing my girls love their brother…i have been reminded over and over again that it is the simple things that matter most…that time is the greatest gift…

…i have never felt so exhausted…*deep sigh*…but i have also never felt so alive…

there have been so many days I have lost my voice…and so many moments that breathe it back into me…

so here i am on my blog…i am finding my voice…again…with the still and timeless images like this one…

my son…how could you have only been in this world for 10 weeks?  how did we ever live a moment without you?

and this one…(he did his first ever oh so adorable giggle in this one…forever caught in this image…)

“TOUCHDOWN!!!”


 

 {these images are for you jase…sorry for the slobber on your good football :) } 

here’s to finding a voice…finding the voices that matter most…

the one in our heart that leads us where we need to go…

the light and little ones that tug on our bodies now …only to tug on our hearts later  when they soon will play only in our memories…

the deeper voices of those who love and support us…

and our own…

have a beautiful weekend

(off to bake M&M cookies with my girls…be back soon with some beautiful wedding images :) )

xoxo

Tonya

style & grace (a wedding peek)

shot a beautiful wedding this weekend…full of style, grace, and a bit of vintage charm…

Kate and Wayne were stunning…

more to come…

(we are of for a few days of vacation as a family…)
have a beautiful week…

happy father’s day dad!

Photobucket

I love digging through old photos and finding gems like this one…I am the babe in arms, my brother gary is sporting the coolest bowl cut on the planet, and my sister Amy is behind wearing a pretty sweet little bonnet…and that handsome man is my Dad…

My Dad is pretty much amazing…he is one of the most intelligent people I know…he is a physician and a lawyer…and has always worked hard for his family.  Dad, you are such an example of so many things to me…but I am most grateful for your wisdom and generosity.  I think this point in my life, I can appreciate those things most as I watch you and Mom give constantly to all of your children and grandchildren.  You both always put yourselves last…and most the time you probably never even get back to the point of focusing on yourself…before it is time to give again.  Thank you so much Dad for being the “papa” that my girls love so dearly (and Adam too!) and thank you SO much for loaning out Mom to all of us when we need a helping hand…I know you are giving too whenever she takes our kiddos to love and watch over so we can catch our breaths and regain sanity!  :)  I love you and I am thinking about you on this Father’s Day…

love you Dad!

xoxo

Tonya & family

*rockstars*

in honor of daddy, these little boys put on their best “rockstar” for a fun little photo session…

you see…daddy used to play for a pretty cool band (the Aquabats) and their mommy thought it would be a perfect Father’s Day gift to bring out the little rockers in his 2 adorable boys…

Jackson…

and Kyle…

I am dying over the details that Jill pulled together last minute to bring together all of Chad’s favorite things…and how cute the boys brought them all to life…

(Jill needs to by my stylist for all things boy…or anything for that matter…

she is incredibly talented and she runs a very successful graphic design business and has impeccable taste and is for sure a rockstar in her own right…she creates beautiful stuff…check her out here)

They rocked it!

Yes…her boys do model and act…they are pretty much gorgeous…

Jack has the most beautiful eyes I have ever seen…and those lashes…all I have to say is…”no fair!”

Kyle is a handsome little man himself…talk about a genetic jackpot!  So fun to spend a little time with them in front of my camera…

Kyle sure knew how to get his rockstar on…

his best KISS impersonation…only cute…

I hope daddy loves what you have created for him (I am sure he will!)

thanks for the fun little break today boys…you made me smile :)

(happy father’s day chad!)

xoxo

Tonya

baby bennett

this weekend I spent a couple hours with a cute little 11 week old babe and his mom…

meet Baby Bennett…

he is Hope’s second son and she contacted me to take some portraits to capture time…heaven knows how fast these babes grow…so i had her over while jason played with the girls & Adam in the yard and had a Mcdonald’s run :)

he kept his eyes on mom…

and shared a few smiles with me…

happy boy!

i am sure he is well taken care of…

by his beautiful mom…

(we tried so hard to get this little guy to sleep, but he didn’t seem to want to miss all the action)

I love this image…sweet little boy in the arms of his mommy angel…:)

thanks for bringing your little guy by Hope…he is a real cutie!

xoxo

Tonya

7 weeks…

today my little man turns 7 weeks…(he is smiling…i think it is because he knows he is king of the house…)

Adam is becoming so alert and I adore holding him as much as I can…

he is socially smiling…any mom knows what a treat that is when their baby starts rewarding them with a well deserved smile…(he looks so much like Jason)

and is getting so big!

i love you adam john…

xoxo

Mommy

summer’s kiss…

just a few fresh memories from our trip to grandma and papa’s before they go stale…

i love you girls

from

your

heads…

down to your

toes…

xoxo mommy…

(summer’s coming…and the fun is really gonna begin…)

:)

 

truth is…

truth is…

there is nothing better in this world than family…

I was so blessed to grow up in a large family.  I have 1 fabulous brother and 4 gorgeous sisters…I seriously loved having a big family (even if it meant sometimes I had to borrow the 12 seater van to drive to high school in…talk about embarrassment!).  I love the values that come from sharing and growing with many siblings…I know it taught all of us humility, selflessness, respect for eachother, etc…  I love how growing up in a large family has prepared me to appreciate what a bleesing it is to have the beautiful 4 kiddos that Jason and I have…family is everything…

 Last week, I while visiting my parents, I got to sneak out with my sister, Gena and her family…for some quick portraits…

A few minutes before our session, Jeff stopped in at a local western store and found these pink little boots for miss Emma…

look at her strutting her stuff in them…so cute…

one thing I love about miss Em’ is how excited she gets when we come to visit…she hugs all my girls and gets all talkative…she has an amazing vocabulary and expresses herself so clearly…it is pretty amazing…

these guys are just about one of the most adorable families on the planet…

Gena and Jeff have a beautiful start to a gorgeous family…and have been so blessed with Emma and Gweneth to love and watch over…

little Gwen is one of the cutest, chubbiest, most beautiful little babies…

she had just started making this face all the time…it is so funny!

oh…see, there she is doing it again..stinkin’ cute…

these girls can certainly count their lucky stars they were born to this woman…Gena is a beautiful mother who is both present and aware of her role in their little lives… 

love…

these…

images…

they speak for themselves…

love…family…beautiful babies…

truth is..there isn’t much better…

thanks for sharing your family with me…

xoxo

T
 

mi familia…

while visiting my family last week, I was so lucky to have my sister Gena take some photographs of my family.  We gave her about 10 minutes & lots of squirly little kiddos and she took a windy cold evening and turned into into a family heirloom for me.  She even took some pics of Jason and I together and I love that she could create some fun images of he and I to treasure…I know my kiddos will love seeing them down the road…

Adam was 5 weeks here…

me and my Ava..I call her “my child” cuz i think her look actually favors mommy more than Daddy… :)

Our kissin monsta in action…

Jason says Adam looks like his Father…I love that…

 

Love the sentiment in this one Gen…thank you…

my fav image of Jase and I…love his expression…

thanks Gena for capturing my family…we’ll book you again in a few months when I drop the baby weight!  :)

I got to snap some pics of Gena’s gorgeous fam…stay tuned..

xoxo

Tonya 

AJAXed with AWP