I drove up to the Huleis Family home at 8:15am as agreed upon on a mid-September weekday morning. September in Minnesota can go several ways in regards to the weather. Luckily for us, it was a warm “Indian Summer” kind of day with the gorgeous morning sun shining down on our faces.
I parked near the house at the top of the long drive and was promptly welcomed by Mr. Huleis (Rommy) with a great big smile and an adorable little curly haired, diaper wearing boy hugging his leg; his name is Jesse, the youngest of the 3 boys. Rommy was getting ready to head out for his work day but planned to stay for a few family photos. Shortly after I grabbed my items from the car Terri-Leigh came out, still in her pajamas with a huge smile on her glowing face. “I’m still in my pajama’s so just let me know what you want me to wear,” she said. I was completely taken off guard by that, most sessions I have ever done Mom’s are usually stressing about “what to wear” days before the shoot, hair and make-up and so on. I immediately felt comfortable and happy with the direction the shoot was about to go. Relaxed, wild, and free.. no fuss – just as I’d hoped for! So I told her to go put on something comfy, maybe a long comfy dress, and off she went while Rommy shouted, “You should put on that one red dress!”, to which Terri quickly replied with a smirk on her face, “Rommy, not for this.” The two of them were as adorable and obviously in love as could be.
While we waited for Terri to come out, which was only minutes later, I snooped around for some gorgeous light which wasn’t hard to find at all and tested my camera settings on little Jesse who was very curious about me. It wasn’t his first time in front of my lens although he would never have known that. I had met Jesse a year and a half ago when I photographed him as a brand new baby, which is where I first met his Mother, Terri-Leigh. From that point on we had friended each other on Facebook and I followed her adorable family and their story ever since.
I was instantly inspired by this amazing women. Her words resonated with my Mama heart and she often reminded me to live in the moment with my little ones exactly when I needed the reminder. The energy and careful planning she puts into making sure her boys, Sam Maverick (4), Asher Wilde(3) and Jesse Rebel(1.5), live a “wild and free” childhood seems so effortless. I read her many posts about wanting land someday where she could grow vegetables and herbs of her own while watching the boys run with the chickens and the goats. I knew that she wasn’t one to just “talk” about doing something, but I could sense she had the drive to actually make it happen, she was just waiting patiently for it all to fall in place. Sometimes, we all need a sign or something to tell us to stop waiting, to act now. That message came crashing down on Terri last February when she was diagnosed with Cushings Syndrome which left her with a benign (thank God) brain tumor that was causing some alarming symptoms and effecting her daily quality of life. This was it, this was HER SIGN that her dreams could no longer be on hold, not for one day. Let’s get this brain tumor out and make things happen. Once she was rested and on the mend, that is actually what Terri and Rommy did, they set out on their journey and “found home” at Found Home Farm, where pants are optional, dirty little feet run rampant, and love is bursting in every corner. A place that dreams, quite literally, are made of.
“Life is beautiful but short and I’m grateful for the wake up call. Each day of recovery hurts and my life right now is a juggling act of pricks pokes and constant medication – but it’s life… LIFE! I’m alive and living amongst some of the most wonderful people, making my dreams come true.” – Terri-Leigh Huleis
I fulling recommend following Terri’s IG account and Fbook page:
IG: MyFoundHome and Fbook: www.facebook.com/FoundHomeFarm
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