I go to church with Henry and Mary.
These are selfless people of faith. They waited for this precious gift, this lovely baby boy for over a year and a half. And they did it with patience. But not without struggle.
I remember sitting on a friend’s couch and chatting with Mary at a birthday party last July. It was the first time she told me about the long process of getting pregnant. The tears, the doubting, the worry, the frustration, the heartache, the fear. Tears welled up in her eyes, but with a “But ya know, it’ll happen when it’s supposed to happen,” she took a deep breath and didn’t let them fall.
Almost a year later, I sat on the same couch at the same friend’s house. But this time we were gathered for Mary’s baby shower. Women prayed for her and there wasn’t a dry eye in that room. Henry and Mary have served others for so long, rarely highlighting their own difficulties. Each of us in that room had been on the receiving end of their kindness at some point. Their baby was more than an answer to prayer. He was and continues to be a symbol of patience and faithfulness. Simply put, it felt great to see great people receive the things they most desire.
When they asked me to take their maternity photos, I knew we were going to have a very fun, but very unique session. Henry specifically said, “None of those weird poses.” Henry, I hope I didn’t make you do too many weird poses.
They invited me (and my husband) over for dinner and I treated it as a normal evening. A normal evening with a huge camera. They were great sports about it all and I feel like these photos very much capture their everyday lives right now. Mary may be pregnant, so they still cook and grill and set the table and go on walks and get ice cream. And according to my photos, she apparently stands in beautiful light against a green backdrop too (I couldn’t resist getting a couple posed shots).
You two are going to be EXCELLENT parents and raise one cool kid. Thank you for trusting me to photograph this special time in your lives. I hope these photos can always ignite the feeling of anticipation you both had when we took them. Congrats and we all can’t wait to meet him!
Mary, you are gorgeous, friend!
The pics are amazing as usual! And I love the story, also as usual.
Beyond that… I am really rather jealous of the amazing looking grilled sweet potatoes, which we can’t get over here period! 😀