It is with great excitement I announce our final dates for an amazing photography project we are calling “Adoption Across America”. For the next couple months we are traveling across the nation to share stories of adoptive families for the purpose of encouraging others to consider adoption for themselves. If you’ve been following our personal story you already know that 8 months ago my husband, oldest son and I traveled to China to bring our little boy home. The last year or so has been the most difficult but most amazing time for our family. Just about a month ago we submitted our application to go back and bring another child home. As we wait for the day we are to be united with our child I wanted to take the time to encourage and share the amazing stories of adoption across the country. We will be driving from Pennsvylvania all the way to Southern California along the route listed below. If you’re near one of the cities (or in between) and would like to be included in the project please contact us at studio@aforgetmenotmoment.com
When my first child was born, I bought one of those fill in the blank baby books that you recorded all the milestones and “firsts”. You know what I’m talking about: first outing, first tooth, first foods, first vacation, first explosive poopy diaper that had mommy running out of the grocery store with awkward yellow stains on her shirt (oh wait, not that one…). I started keeping up with it, but then eventually came to the conclusion that I had a pretty good memory and would probably remember all that without having to write it down. Several years later, several kids later, guess what? I DON’T REMEMBER!
Mommy, the moment’s are so fleeting! I want you to remember the way your child’s hair stood up in a Mohawk no matter how often you brushed it aside into a part. The way you smiled down at your sweet darling as she surrendered to your breast, her little fist wrapped confidently around your finger. The way those two little baby teeth poked through her gummy grin as she stared at you with ever-learning eyes. The tight grip around your neck as you spun in joyful circles round and round the living room just to hear that belly laugh one time more.
More importantly, I want your child to know the persistence with which you pursued her, the smile you gave her, the security she felt from your grasp, the lessons you helped her learn, the willingness you had to help her feel the bliss of pure fun! When your child is older, wouldn’t it be amazing to give her the opportunity to see the fullness of which you embraced motherhood?
This is my mission! I want you mommies in front of the camera! I want to capture how you relate with your kids, so you can both remember and discover all over again how your relationship began and evolved. I am offering you, yes YOU, Mom, the opportunity to capture the “now” moments. I am now booking Mother’s Day Minis. And, when you pin this to pinterest, you will be entered to win a free session. Pin it to win it!
Sisterhood is such a funny thing. My sister’s birthday was just a while ago and I wanted to send her a special birthday wish. As I was thinking about what I wanted to say to her, many things went through my head. Overall, I was just thankful that we get along so much better now than we did when we were children. Sure, we played Barbies together, we created imaginary families, and I distinctly remember dressing up in gowns from our costume chest and taking turns being the bride dancing at her reception (usually to a record, yes record, of Disney movie songs). While one sister was the bride, the other sister was the groom. Now can you see why we didn’t always get along? I mean what little girl would rather be the dude than get to twirl and captivate in a gorgeous gown? Fighting ensued. Even as we grew past the make believe stage, we were so close in age and in school that we even argued about who could be friends with whom, who could wear the striped shirt we both owned on what day, who could spend more time in the bathroom on picture day. Oh I cringe just thinking about all of that.
But now we are both moms. We really bonded over that! We have different parenting styles, but just laughing over the hilarious things our kids come up with or commiserating with each other over the grass and the dirt constantly being dragged in from our gangs has given us newfound respect for each other. I have always been thankful she has been my sister, but today I am thankful she is my friend. I wish these beautiful young sisters a friendship that spans across adolescence and deepens in adulthood!
“A sister is a gift to the heart, a friend to the spirit, a golden thread to the meaning of life.” ~Isadora James
I don’t know about you, but I felt like spring was never coming this year. We had such a long winter filled with illness after illness that the sight of warm weather and sunshine was very exciting! We really lucked out with this session too because we had actually planned to have it the week before. It ended up being quite cold and so we rescheduled. Lucky for us, the azaleas really came out and we had a beautiful 65+degree day. What a better way to celebrate the love this family has for each other! We’ve been watching these girls grow up for awhile now and what a blessing it was to see them again!
I love to see parents who are “new” at this whole thing. I mean your first baby is just so special and it makes me so happy to see them taking the important step to get images of their family together during this very special time in their lives. This little girl is truly daddy’s little princess. You can see clearly how much love this couple has for each other and how much love that have for their beautiful little daughter. I hope you enjoy these images as much as I enjoyed capturing them!
