:: brandi - warrior princess ::

I truly believe that people come into your life for a reason. Sometimes it's not apparent at the time, and sometimes it just smacks you upside the head. I met this fierce woman through a program which matches up photographers with families going through a cancer battle. I got paired with Brandi and I couldn't be more thankful. She is truly amazing, as is her adoring, supportive husband and their Miss Independence three year old daughter. Brandi exudes positivity and strength. If I didn't know she was sick, I wouldn't know. She is sweet and loving and happy and in the past year has been in a battle for her life. I asked her if she would mind sharing her story...an increasingly common one...so that others can be inspired and know they're not alone. Here's her story, in her words...

"On October 22 2018 I received the call that all my tests came back positive for breast cancer.  I was 37 years old and my daughter was 2.5, no family history and all genetic testing was clear.  I was 1 out of 8 women who will receive this diagnosis due to environmental conditions. It was a whirlwind of calls and appointments scheduled and on November 22 2018, I had a double mastectomy surgery to remove the cancer as well as a lymph node dissection to be sure for clear margins. On January 3rd 2019 I started my first chemotherapy treatment along with 5 more after that every 3 weeks.  I completed my treatments in May but would then go on to 28 days of radiation and finishing out 2019 with two targeted infusions. I will receive my last infusion on Jan 9th 2020!  

Your life and experience and expectations of how things are supposed to be really does change and it alters every aspect of your life.  Your health is something that should never be taken for granted and even though I am what I think to be one of the "lucky ones", the rest of my life will be filled with appointments, a hopefully manageable level of anxiety and fear and an overwhelming amount of faith and grace to be able to live my days I was given to their fullest."

One of the things I've learned over my many years is that you never know what someone else is going through. Most people don't live their lives with full transparency. It's not our business to know everyone else's, but it is our responsibility to be kind and giving and loving to those who cross our paths. Everyone is dealing with something in their life. Everyone. 

Thank you, Brandi, for sharing your story. I am beyond grateful to now count you as a friend and, even though I've not known you long, I'm so proud of your courage and strength. 

Here we are again...a new year, an apology for being so out of touch, and a new post. So...Happy New Year, sorry for being out of touch, and here are new pics for you :)

I felt as though this was an important one to share. We tend to take for granted those families that are constantly being pushed to their limits for our wellbeing. Families that are so much stronger than we can ever imagine. Children that have to say goodbye to Daddy or Mommy for sometimes a year at a time. This was the case last Monday. A family saying goodbye to Daddy for at least a year. Can you even imagine?? During this deployment, there were 20 men who left. That may not seem like many, but to those families and friends, it's the whole world. 

The day before, we went to the airfield and took some family pics. Sadly, this is not the first time I've taken pics for this family before a deployment. They are WONDERFUL and I'm so lucky to know them. 

and then...Deployment Day

this is Daddy's 3rd deployment, and little man's first

really look at this picture...these children are much stronger and more resilient than most adults

he didn't want to let Daddy go, even when it was time to prep his ride

the big helper

the bravest of the brave

one last selfie before it's time to take off

those last hugs are the hardest

military parents are parents to everyone, not just their own

Daddy's ride

she is the BEST big sister

they are sisters of circumstance...brought together by a shared experience

Daddy waving goodbye to his loving family. Please keep them all in your thoughts as they are about to embark on one of the hardest years of their lives. 

:: OH BABY ::

It's been a while since I posted...as usual. I have a lot of shoots to post, but I'm going to just talk about one couple for right now (prepare for a ton of pics though!). Meet Bethany and Chad. I met them about a month ago after a dear friend of mine/their realtor gifted them with a few sessions with me. Bethany was about 8 months pregnant when we met and one of the most beautiful pregnant woman I've seen!! They are just the sweetest, kindest people and I am SO lucky to have met them. We clicked instantly and I knew this was going to be a special shoot.

During their shoot, they mentioned that they'd been toying with the idea of having someone photograph the birth of their first child, baby Eli. She was kind of on the fence, and I've never done anything like that, but I told her that they are HER pictures. If she doesn't ever want anyone else to see them, they don't have to (spoiler alert: she's going to let you see them!). Deciding to go ahead with it, I was suddenly very aware of where my phone was at all times and whether or not the volume was high enough to wake me up. With a due date of September 15th, I've been on call for the last few weeks. It turned out that Friday, September 9th, was the day. My phone rang at 4:15am...they were headed to the hospital!! I ended up waiting until about 1pm to head to the hospital where I'd stay for the rest of the day. To say that this woman is a trooper is an understatement. She got her epidural which unfortunately only blocked the right side of her body, so she felt everything on the left. It was a long afternoon and she was getting pretty tired and you could see the shift in her when things got really tough later in the day. But even with that shift, she was still her sweet, polite self. I've never seen anything like it. By about 6:15pm she was starting to push. Again...super tough, but during the down times she was chatting and smiling and making sure everyone else was okay. Her son wasn't there yet, but she was a mom for sure. The hospital staff was wonderful and Chad was SO involved! After about an hour of pushing, Eli's heart rate was starting to fall so it was time for her to reach deep and bear down. And that she did. She was a ROCK STAR and got that boy out, Chad basically catching him and placing him on her. The relief on her face was so telling. It was absolutely one of the most beautiful things I've ever witnessed. I can't thank them enough for allowing me the opportunity to be a small part of their most special day. Something I will never, ever forget.  

 Welcome to the world, baby Eli. Born 9/9/16 at 19:19, weighing 8lbs and 19.5 inches long (apparently 9 and 19 are his lucky numbers!!)