A family portrait in a difficult season

This Family Session with this dear friend was good & hard & I’m grateful my friend Jamie invited me to photograph her beautiful family on this chilly but gorgeous night (& by night we mean 3pm). I have photographed Jamies’s family for the last few years but this year was different. They lost Andy. I cannot really type much meaningful to sum up that loss so I will not try. But as Jamie shared, Life must go on. And part of that was this photo session.

Jamie’s words sum her right now up best,

“So this is me right now. I’m 37 and I’m a widow. This is not what I planned.

Lately I’m realizing how most things in the last several years aren’t what I planned.

I miss my husband AND I refuse to stop living. My babies need me, my friends and family need me.

When Roxanne sent me this image of myself, I didn’t cringe.

I can see the change in my face and eyes– the depth of grief and pain.

But you know what I see more than that? I see joy and strength. I see a grounded women who is finding a new way in this chaotic mess of a life.

I’ll never stop missing him, I’ll never not cry. AND I will choose to move forward. I will choose to run hard after Jesus and live deeply and richly.

And sometimes I will curl up in bed and binge watch Netflix and feed my kids cereal for dinner and not return text messages and forget what day it is.

This is me. This is my right now.”

“So here’s the thing. I have incredibly talented friends; Roxanne at Hawa Images is pretty much the only person I trust to capture my people and this year is no exception. Thank you for your sisterhood and being our family. And for these beautiful images to capture the pain and beauty of our right now.” Love you more than tacos Jamie. xoxo, Rox

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

•