Just an average weekend with my family. Except in 5 years, or 10, and even long after that, these documentary images of who we are as a whole will be so much more than average...
Viewing entries in
Your Life Within
NEWBORN SESSION.OKLAHOMA CITY/EDMOND NEWBORN PHOTOGRAPHER
Everything is better with Ben.
His new, little life has magnified yours in every unimaginable way.
Your happy home? Happier.
Your perfect family of two? Full and familiar with three.
And love as you knew it?
Knew nothing before Ben.
He was brand new and barely 8 pounds, but you trusted me to hold him, my hands to comfort him, and my vision to turn his delicate details into artistry.
Weeks earlier, though swollen and spent and almost full-term, you relied on me to reveal your beauty amid this swift season of motherhood.
And then, when you feared chaos and crying (because, TODDLERS), you counted on me to connect your crew among your pack of personalities.
Your favorite parts of the past year: PRESERVED.
By choosing me, you trusted me, and sharing your story frame by frame is a privilege you'll never see me take for granted.
Thank YOU.
LIFESTYLE SESSION.OKLAHOMA CITY/EDMOND CHILD AND FAMILY PHOTOGRAPHER.THE PLANT SHOPPE.
Starting and sustaining a small business is not for the weak.
Neither is becoming a parent to a premature baby.
Both are so fragile and in need of continuous care. Absence of attention to any vital detail could be detrimental, sinking the chance of success.
Or survival.
Sales, expenses, and profits. Weight, temperature, and heart rate. Every day, multiple assessments are taken to measure for growth, and every day, you pray for any improvement. Even the smallest of signs.
Baby steps.
The toughest part of all? The part you’re convinced just might break you? Waiting. You’re forced to be at the mercy of time, and being patient suddenly seems impossible.
And there’s no one more knowing of all of this than Jen of The Plant Shoppe and Chad of Bent On Creativity.
When Memphis’ birthday came 10 weeks early, the uncharted waters were rough and dark. Overwhelming. The NICU became your new normal while the hours at the shop were unusual and sometimes, unknown. The shift in priorities was absolutely necessary, but just when your strength started to waver, you became aware that you’re far from alone in this fight.
Gift by gift, the grace washed in. Promises of prayers poured in while sympathetic customers or strangers who simply loved succulents offered up good vibes and patient understanding. Local small shops bared big hearts by joining forces, raising funds and donating sales in support of one of their own in the most selfless style.
Oklahoma City rallied for your boy, your world, and proved there’s no greater community with compassion more genuine than ours.
So here’s to Jen, Chad, Memphis, and the city founded on fellowship.
This is community.
This is OKC.
And this, a true labor of love.
IN-HOME LIFESTYLE SESSION.OKLAHOMA CITY/EDMOND FAMILY & CHILDREN PHOTOGRAPHER
“We had our second date here," she said. “It was in the bathroom I stared in disbelief at those two little pink lines and then paced these floors while counting contractions.”
“Kate took her first steps here.”
Home.
So many pieces of our lives happen at home, adding up to an entire collection of memories we’ll remember well past our childhood. It’s ultimately the environment where you’ll raise your children and help embed their favorite pastimes of hide-n-seek, blanket forts, and messes that stretch across the entire kitchen.
These memories from home are what live on long even after you’ve moved.
How many years ago was it when you arrived home, sunburnt and happy, to congratulatory cards and wedding gifts piled high on the kitchen table? Sadly and far too quickly, the honeymoon was over, but it felt SO good to finally be home. Together.
Home is where your marriage would begin, blossom, and eventually grow into your family.
What do you remember most about your firstborn? Is it the song you whispered as you paced the living room floors in the dark hours of night, bouncing her back to sleep in your arms? Or maybe it’s the rocker in the corner of the bedroom where you stared for hours, mesmerized, and memorized every feature of your baby.
Unbeknownst to visitors, the middle couch cushion has been flipped over to hide spilled juice. The walls, which acted as crutches to your teetering one year old, have been repainted in areas to cover those tot-sized fingerprints. Outside, your driveway is a museum of chalk art that will take many rains to fade the rainbow-colored dust.
Your home is your haven for laughter and for tears. It’s your refuge for anger, grief, arguments and make-ups.
Your home is alive with life and growth.
Realize it. Remember it. Get proof of it.
Because guess what your kids will relate home with?
You.
Get your very own Life Within session here.