When I spoke with Stephanie on the phone a few days before her next Watch Me Grow session (and also a few days after the worst natural disaster to ever hit our city took place…Harvey, I’m looking at you), she expressed apprehension about moving forward with our session at a time like this.  I completely understood where she was coming from.  I too have been feeling so much over the last week.  There is so much destruction and loss for so many around us. You almost feel “guilty” doing anything else but showing up in some way to help people every day. The need is there and will continue to be there for a very long time.  And we will continue to show up in whatever way each of us can.

However, in the midst of such tragedy, I feel strongly that it’s ok and even more important to show up in the moment for our own families.  We need to feed our broken hearts with laughter, snuggles, quiet moments, and love.  We need to appreciate our blessings and pour gratitude out on our loved ones.  Even better if we can document those joyful, loving moments and display them in our homes. Those pictures will remind us on those harder days what will always remain….love for each other, appreciate for relationships, and hope that there will be better days ahead.

You may remember seeing this family quite a bit on the blog over the last few months.  I first met them early last spring for their maternity session. Then I got to witness Logan’s incredible birth and literally saw him take his first breath. That was one of the most amazing honors I’ve ever had.  We saw each other again a few weeks later for his newborn session.  This past weekend I caught up with them and saw how much he’d grown…(and believe me, it was a lot)..in just 5 months.