It is always a privilege when my friends come to me for their family portraits but I always have the hardest time choosing pictures for the blog! I just want to share so many of the cute expressions and personalities represented because they carry that extra special meaning for me. I’ve been photographing the Ryals family for 5 years now. They are super special to the Grays because they were one of our first new friends when we moved here five years ago. I grew up here and had lots of friends built in but Dana was totally new to the area so we didn’t have “our” friends yet. Justin and Dana worked closely together while Dana was the Young Life area director and Justin served on the board. Leslie and I had our third babies at about the same time so we endured pregnancies and sleepless nights on the same timeline. It’s cool how you can always see in this family the expression of the love of God as they serve their community. I am always amazed, since I know how crazy life can get with three kids, that either Leslie or Justin have any time to volunteer with Young Life (or the other organizations they help out with such as The Way Church, Trinity Fitness and Meals on Wheels…) but they manage to build that time into life while maintaining a good balance for their family. This summer I was looking for childcare part time and when I asked Leslie if any of her friends might be interested she said she was! I couldn’t believe she would want to take on more children but it’s only 2 days/week and our kids play so well together (Lucy is now Davis’ private tutor, 2 weeks his elder.) So I guess its a good sign that we are at least half way through the summer and she hasn’t thrown in the towel yet! I know my kids have been truly blessed by the time spent with the Ryals clan!
I haven’t even told you about the girls and their awesome personalities but I’m thinking you might get the gist of that from the pics, enjoy!
No shortage of personality here. These little ladies are always ready to have some fun!
I think when a family has 3 or more of one gender, you can’t help but compare them to each other more than maybe you normally would. So it is even more fun to discover that they are all so different. I think if the girls were all working together on a movie set, Evie would be the director, Polly the star actress and Lucy the comic relief!
ring around the rosie… Ryals-style
super sweetness
Justin and Leslie started dating I think before they were old enough to date so it was probably called “going out” then.
Leslie’s a great mom. She used to teach elementary school and now teaches at home and knows lots of stuff I don’t know so she’s a frequent reference for me.
Dad’s with at least one boy in the family have a tendency to major on the boy stuff and minor on the girl stuff. It’s only natural and makes perfect sense. But dad’s with all girls either jump in with both feet or stay on the sidelines. Justin is all in and I love it!
He’s got some Hannah Montana moves you really must see. He’s also a great insurance guy at the State Farm office on Eau Gallie.
Need I say more?!
Big thanks to the Ryals family for their loyal support of AGP and to Lou and April for the use of their amazing back yard in this shoot!