Hi, I'm Ariel.
I am a small town photographer in East Tennessee. Photography is a gateway for me to use my artsy side and express myself. I began photography in 2013 and have continued to grow and learn each session I photograph.
So, enough of the boring stuff. Here is my story.
I started college in August of 2010. I had no interest whatsoever. I wanted to settle down and start a family so thats what I was focused on. I met my husband, Jimmy, in 2011, and let me just tell you...I thought he was a dreamboat! After we started dating we were engaged 9 months later and married in June of 2012. I had been diagnosed with PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome) when I was in my younger teenage years, so I knew it would be hard to conceive a child from what the doctors told me. Jimmy and I tried for about a year before we sought help from an infertility specialist. Thankfully we didn't suffer from infertility long and conceived on the first round. That's when God started to form Dawson in 2013. I had a normal pregnancy up until my anatomy scan. We found out something was wrong with Dawson's brain that the doctors didn't like so we were referred to a High Risk OB. We had multiple ultrasounds and tests done, and it was finally confirmed that he had a stroke while developing, causing him to have Hydrocephalus. The doctors told us that if he made it to birth that he wouldn't make it very long after. Devastated, we began praying. Being in the unknown is very scary. I was desperate and at the bottom. I begged God to show me if we were going to be able to bring Dawson home, if he was going to be able to breathe, or how long we were going to have him. That night God gave me a dream. I was sitting on our couch at home holding Dawson. So that is what I held on to and God settled my heart. Dawson was born in January of 2014. He only has about 10%-15% of his brain and many more diagnoses. But he is here. He is living and breathing and one of the biggest blessings I have ever received. He has been through many hospital stays and surgeries but I can firmly attest that those prayers that were prayed for him are the only reason he is here. God is good, all the time.
After much consideration we wanted to add another addition to our family. Once again we had to seek help with infertility. Little did we know that it was going to be a sassy little girl. Hattie Mae joined our family in August of 2017. Jimmy and I both wanted a big family but weren't ready to fully commit on trying again for another right away. But I prayed to God that if it was meant for us to have another that we would conceive on our own. Wasn't expecting Him to answer as fast as He did. We added another girl, Hallie Jo, to the clan in March of 2019.
As I sit in the hospital and work on this website I think of the importance of capturing those moments. The good moments, like my girls playing in the snow or taking a bath together. Dawson riding in his Jeep or carving pumpkins. And the hard moments, of Dawson being in the hospital or just wanting a family session because we don't know when that session might be Dawson's last. Those moments...are the ones I love to capture. The moments that mean the most. The moments that you will hang on your walls and show to your family years down the road. Those moments are the reason I love telling stories.
