It has been a WHIRLWIND of a few months for us since the new year started. We took our “babymoon” to Morocco & Portugal in the beginning of January, officially became licensed foster parents in February, got our first placement a few weeks later, and within days of welcoming baby E into our home, orders were made to self-quarantine due to COVID-19 and everything REALLY changed. Amidst all of those major life happenings, both my paternal grandparents died in February (Grandma to Alzheimer’s and Grandpa peacefully in his sleep a couple of weeks later), and I was pretty seriously bitten by a dog on a run and had to get the rabies vaccine (it’s NOT fun, let me tell you!).

So … why do I share all this?

Well, this blog serves a couple of different purposes. First and foremost, it shares the beautiful love stories and wedding days of our incredible clients. It also shares updates about our personal life — especially in the off-season when I have more time to write about these things! Something SO special to me about the blog is that no matter how long our wedding photography business exists, the blog will forever be a place I can come back to … to remember. To relive. So I want to both share our work AND document our personal life!

… now back to the beginning of this post and our whirlwind of a year. Needless to say, Caleb and I are convinced we have experienced every emotion under the sun in the past four months; sometimes, it feels like we feel most of them within one DAY! Something we always knew to be true about ourselves but have never experienced more tangibly than now is that we are made to be in community. We miss our families, our friends, and our clients SO much. While there have been a lot of unexpected gifts of this very unique season, it has also just been really hard. A few updates below …

Life with E

E has brought SO much joy to our lives. She turned six months two weeks ago and seems stronger and more beautiful than ever. She is SUPER talkative, still sleeping / eating like a champ (she is now eating solids and loves them – the girl loves to eat in general!), and is just plain HAPPY. Her joy is contagious. Simultaneously, it has also been really hard to be at home with a six-month-old every. single. day. We recently realized that we have no idea what it’s like to be parents in “normal” life and not just in a global pandemic. Let’s just say, we can’t wait to find out!

The 2020 Wedding Season

A lot of people have been wondering how we’re doing with all the unknowns of the upcoming wedding season. It has been tough, to be honest! I think the hardest part for everyone involved is that no one knows what is going to happen, or when. It’s hard for brides and vendors alike to plan or prepare well when you don’t know what is coming, what will be allowed, when, etc. We are taking it ONE day at a time. Our hearts truly go out to all couples trying to plan (what is still) the best and most exciting day of their lives. We are doing all we can to love and support our beloved clients through this very challenging season.

Staying Sane in Quarantine

Things we’re doing EVERY day to stay sane while being isolated at home:

• Moving our bodies (we personally choose to each do this alone)
• Getting outside no matter what the weather is like! We usually take at least one walk with E and Vivian
• Split our weekly work days (one of us has E in the morning and the other in the afternoon) and taking the weekend days off from work
• Have intentional alone time together 3-4 nights per week after E is in bed; one night we plan as a “date night” and get takeout from a local restaurant
• Video calls with friends or family 1-2 times per day

Restarting our Newsletter

Lastly, as I mentioned in the beginning of this post, Caleb and I have never experienced in such a palpable way how much we long to be connected to the people in our lives. We deeply love each other, Vivian, and E … but gosh, all the other relationships in our lives are SO important and enriching as well.

We were talking a few weeks ago about how we can stay connected with others even when we’re physically apart, and one idea we thought of was to restart our “newsletter.” I write newsletter in quotations because I’m not sure if that’s exactly what I would call it but, alas, it’ll do for now.

What used to be a marriage newsletter we sent out once per month with discussion prompts for couples will now become a … personal life update, things we’re loving & doing, business & foster care information, etc … kind of “newsletter”! We’re really not trying to define what it will be because we don’t know for sure and we don’t want to put it in a box. All we know right now is that we will be sending it out once per quarter and we hope it is a way for our clients, family, friends, and supporters to stay connected with us and updated on our life … no matter what is going on around us!

If you are interested in signing up to receive this newsletter once per quarter, you can do so here!

We LOVE you – thank you for being here and for reading.

Ending this post with the biggest, longest (yes, awkwardly long) hug full of hope, love, and peace <3