Family
When Sara came to me with the idea of remaking some of her favorite wedding photos for their 10th anniversary, I was ON BOARD! It was so much fun! It has been such a privilege to watch your sweet family grow over the last decade. Your love for Jesus and each other is inspiring, friend!
HOW is my sweet Goosey girl 5? You are so full of life, intelligent, loving, and artistic. Your imagination is out of this world, and I love seeing you grow in your love for God and others. You were the answer to so many prayers - thank you for making me a mama!
I haven’t even blogged Julian’s first birthday, but here we are at a year and a half. Time. Slow. Down!! I tried to snag a few cute pictures, but in true Julian fashion, he had his own plan. I let him do it, and these are a pretty good reflection of life with Julian Guy these days <3.
There are few things sweeter than seeing your best friends have babies. Danielle is one of my longest and truest friends, and navigating college, heartbreak, forever love (yep, she introduced me to my husband!), becoming mommies together…it’s the best! She is one of the most selfless people I know, and she loves her people well. It was such an honor to be able to capture this special time with their new baby boy!
Baby pigtails, lollypop smiles…what could be better? This BIG SISTER is spilling the beans about the little sister joining their family this year! I couldn’t be more thrilled for the sweetest family.
Elizabeth has the biggest heart and has openly shared about her miscarriage last year. She has such a way with words, and having suffered loss myself, they spoke so strongly to me - I encourage you to read them below!
From Elizabeth:
“Matthew 14 talks about Jesus walking on water. Peter calls out “Lord if it’s you tell me to come to you on the water.” Jesus calls Peter to come. Peter gets out of the boat and he walked on the waves.
We know what happens next. Peter takes his eyes off Jesus and begins to sink. And I’ve always focused on that: the sinking.
But look what happens next, he begins to sink and he cries out, “Lord save me!” Immediately Jesus reached out and caught him. Immediately.
He asks Peter, “you of little faith, why did you doubt?” (I encourage you to read that again with the genuine and gentle tone of a loving father.)
We don’t get to hear Peter’s answer. They climb back in the boat and those who were in the boat worshipped Jesus.
There’s a lot of little sermons packed into this story, but I’ll point out a few things: Peter may not have had the faith to keep his eyes on Jesus, but he knew who to call when he began to sink. Jesus immediately rescues Peter. Jesus didn’t wait for Peter to figure it out. He didn’t let him suffer even for a minute to teach a lesson. He responds immediately. I’ve always focused on the sinking. On Peter’s shortcoming. But if you look at the last verse in the story, it is exactly Peter’s reckless faith that motivates everyone else to worship. Peter got out of the boat. He was the only one. And then he fell. And it wasn’t cute. But Jesus enters in. And you know what? Everyone else saw Jesus on display. And they worshipped Him.
I’m not strong enough to pick up the pieces of this loss. I’m not in a place to comfort anyone else because I’m freaking broken. But you know what? That was never my job. My job is to get out of the boat. To tell my story in all of its brokenness to magnify God’s glory. And to be honest, I’m not sure how those two things fit together right now. I’m learning to take a posture of grief while juggling everyday joy. I’m learning how to take opposing ideas— gratitude and longing, hurt/fear and hope— and hold them both in my hands. I’m learning to tell a story that isn’t finished. I’m learning how much of this is mine to carry and how much to leave at the feet of a God who is still a mystery. I’m learning more about a God who enters into this grief with me and sits in the hard places. And sometimes He doesn’t bring answers for me. Instead, he asks me if I’m going to continue to trust Him. Not for an outcome, but just trust Him. My flesh says “no.” But my heart sighs relief into the comfort it is to worship a God so big I cannot fathom. He’s so big. So much bigger than I knew. Big enough for my questions. He is my portion when there isn’t enough. He has met me with a peace that truly surpasses my understanding. He’s been there when I wasn’t sure I wanted Him. He is here. In the grief. In the mourning. In the brokenness. In my weakness. In the loneliness. In the dark night and there still in the bitter morning. In the unbelief. In the sinking.”
It seems like yesterday that Lauren got the call that she would be bringing home TWO sweet baby girls. I remember the emotions and excitement as she packed her things up from work. How tiny they were in their little Moses basket.
It’s hard to believe these blessings are THREE. We cherish our friendship with y’all and are so thankful to be part of your lives.
You know how people always say to the first child, “you’re going to be such a great big brother/sister!”? Well, it couldn’t be more true of this sweet boy. I have been blessed with such amazing friends. Trina is one of the kindest, joyful, genuine women I know, and it shines through her son Jackson as well. Baby brother is going to be so loved!
I have known Brooke since we were babies, and it’s such a blessing to walk with each other and navigate motherhood! She is such a ray of beauty, poise, and grace, and with her high school sweetheart now has two precious boys. My heart could explode at all of these smiles and love for this new family of four!
I love when I can repurpose some outfits and tie things we’re learning together. While we don’t celebrate Halloween, we did have fun playing dress up with some costumes we already had (see Julian’s wild one birthday) after Taylor Grace and I finished reading Beauty & The Beast, the original classic version. I had no idea how different this was from the Disney version I always knew!
Perfect late afternoon light, a heart-stealing little boy, and a stunning expecting mama in a purple gown. Day made! It is such a compliment when a photographer chooses you to
HOW. How in the world is my baby already ONE?! I thought 2020 would crawl, but it flew by faster than any year yet. I blinked, and here’s my wild one. We had a low key “into the woods” celebration for our wild man, and it was exactly what my heart needed.
I know I say this every year around this time, but my nephews are SO stinkin’ handsome. And can you even handle that toothless grin?! Their parents are basically models, so we always have a good time. Love y’all!!
This girl. Quarantine life isn’t her ideal because she LOVES people. She loves to love. But we made the best of celebrating her - filled her day with her favorite things, made a cake together, and stayed up late! The slow down 2020 has caused has been refreshing…now if only I could find a way to get time to slow down!!
Having babies with your best friends is such a blessing. Allie and I met in high school and reconnected our first semester at NCState. We then lived together the next 3 years and have been besties ever since. True friendship is that regardless of distance and time, you are always there for each other. I love doing life together and that four of our five babies are only months apart. It was such an honor to capture such a special time for her - I love these girls to PIECES.
The beach holds a special place in the hearts of my family. There’s something monumental about a baby’s first visit - that first time they get their toes in the sand, see the waves, splash around…eat sand ;) We’re in for it this summer! The first of many trips is on the books!
I couldn’t have asked for a sweeter family to hop back into family photos after my maternity leave! I love watching these sweet boys grow up and their hearts grow even bigger - seriously, they are just the sweetest!!
It was both magical and crazy stressful through the Christmas season, but we’re so thankful we had this sweet little miracle to celebrate with, even if it was all night!
From our family to yours, we wish you a wonderful Christmas and that you remember the reason we celebrate - our Savior being born! Happy birthday, Jesus!
We’ve perfected the self timer
While I was pregnant with Taylor Grace, I had a fun time taking a picture with the “baby is the size of a ___” fruit or vegetable each week. I looked cute every time I went to the grocery store so I could hunt for the perfect produce and get a nice picture. This go round, 1) I don’t care to look cute most days (SAHM of toddler, no makeup or desire, you know the drill) and 2) I thought it would be fun to involve Taylor Grace to get her excited and learn about baby growing.
I have to say, it has been more fun than I expected! Seeing her excitement, watching her grow as our sweet baby grows, and hearing her pronounce (and want to eat) everything has been a blast. Was there some fruit throwing? Sure. But there sure were a LOT of giggles!
Grow baby grow! We’re so close and can’t wait to meet you soon!
It also became a tradition that Taylor Grace had to take a picture of Mama first. I mean, photographer’s dream?!
Here are a few favorites…because, I know I’m biased, but…she CUTE.
Pretty excited we made it to 39 weeks to get a cute pumpkin picture…perfect for our October baby :)
I mean, have you seen a more picture perfect family? These friends were TROOPERS on a hot “fall” morning and gave me a fun glance into what life with two will be like before I know it. It was such a privilege taking pictures for you, Kaitlin! Love watching your sweet girls grow more previous each day.
