Monday, March 11, 2013

Jessica Shae + her lil' raspberry at 13 weeks : portraits // ft. worth maternity portrait and lifestyle photographer

Y'all've heard me spin the beginning of this tale time and time again...In the days of old, this girl was just one of my photography heroines. Someone I masterfully blog stalked. Then she was my mama-hen for a week when I was one of her first interns. Then {this is where things start getting fun}, we became friends. :) I remember one May 2011 night in particular that always makes me smile to think about....it was one of those late-night conversations that make sleepovers the greatest. She had just asked Rachel and I the typical question..."Any boy news to tell me about?" We giggled and teased like the girls that we are and then assured her there was nothing going on with us in that regard to tell. She just smiled. Rachel and I shot each other a look, smiled slyly, then asked, "What about you?" She smiled again...bigger this time. Unlike us, she had news. Big news. She had suspicions that a boy named Josh liked her. And, whataya know, she was pretty sure she liked him back. ;)
It wasn't long (like...seriously...barely a month) until"surprise surprise", Rachel and I got an email with nothing more than a picture...a picture of Josh and Jessica. Soooomebody was officially togetherrrr. Oh yeah. And boy, were they the cutest. :) It was the funnest thing to know that she was someone's girl. ;)
The months passed happily as we kept in touch with her and stayed overjoyed at how sweetly her lovely relationship with this Joshua fellow was going. :) 
We even visited her last February with a particular mission to meet this Boy of hers. ;) They were juuuust dating...so, ya know...all they wanted were casual, "We like each other" type pictures. Too bad it was freezing and halfway through poor Jessica was saying, "JOOOOSH! I'M DYING!" Therefore a few bear hugs were necessary. ;)
There was no shock when we heard that those crazy lovebirds had gone and got themselves engaged at the end of the summer. Pssssssh. Lovebirds these days...so typical. ;) For really reals though...there was SO MANY HAPPY FEELINGS on their behalf. I was so excited to see how the Lord was orchestrating their love story.
3 months later, I was privileged to be a guest at her gorgeously enchanting, breath-taking {literally...my breath was taken away, the wind chill had to be like 30 below zero that day...the coldest October day in Texas history possibly}, fairytale-esque wedding. Were there tears? Um. Shyeah. Of course. It was beautiful to see them join their lives together, pledging to each other that they would seek to love each other like Christ all the days of their life. :) :) :) 
Fast forward to January of this year...barely 3 months after that sweet day I had seen my dear friend as a bride becoming someone's WIFE...the bestest of best texts lit up my phone screen. It was a clever use of hint dropping...I started screaming when I hit the words "morning sickness." Screaming. Literally. And happy dancing. And happy weeping. What marvelous news. :)
All this sweet nostalgia is tied tightly around my friendship to precious Jessica. The thought of it all floods my mind whenever I think about her. The latest chapter in this story God is writing happened last week when Rachel and I went to visit her IN HER OWN HOME where she lives with, not just the Boy...but the Boy who is HER HUSBAND and also the FATHER of her LIL' RASPBERRY cause she's a MAMA! Yeah...epic. During our visit I got these shots of that tiniest of belly bumps...{she's really for reals pregnant I promise ;)} that makes my heart swell up a million sizes. God is so good. That's.just.that. :)
There are no words to express how much I love you Mrs. Sherrill; my dear married pregnant blessed friend and sister in Christ. Hugssssss. :) P.S. It kinda goes without saying but, I serrrrriously can't wait to meet that lil' raz. ;)
~Through Christ's Love 

21 comments:

  1. THIS. is. the. sweetest. thing. evah!
    These shots are STUNNING, and Jessica is flippin' gorgeous, and her little baby bump is the cutest.

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  2. so beauut, Allix! what did you use to process them? I'm dying here over the tones!!

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  3. Aw, these are so good! Your writing made me feel all gushy inside. Love love stories!

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  4. ahhh, these are beautiful! she's going to be a great mama. :) xx

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  5. Dawwww. Well isn't she cute. XD Awesome pictures, Allix! <3 <3 <3

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  6. ahhh, these are the cutest things ever. :) Jessica is such a beautiful, talented lady, and her + the boy are going to be the best parents to that little raz. ;) love these, Allix! great job! x

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  7. Oh so lovely my friend. The words, the pictures, everything :) Thank you for taking these! :)

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  8. Not gonna lie, this looks like me after Chipotle. But Jessica is obviously a LOT cuter. Love her little bump.

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  9. these are so cute. and so is she. love the lighting in these allix! xo

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  10. It's so fun to reminisce about our friendship with her :) :).

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  11. These are so stunningly beautiful and so sweet! You can just tell she is full of joy.
    You did a wonderful job, and I love your editing style!

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  12. :) That is all I can say! I am so excited for Jess and Josh! She is sure a special one! She is going to be a beautiful Mommy!
    XOXO, Anna Rose

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  13. oh my goodness. WAY too sweet!! :) love these so so much Allix!

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  14. OH goodness, the sweetest story and the most gorgeous photos!
    We're all so excited for Josh & Jess and their lil raspberry! Beautiful job, Allix! :)

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  15. so so so sweet. God. Is. So. Good.

    so so happy.

    ~Madi

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  16. Wow! You are getting to do maternity shoots for some pretty amazing women!

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Hey!! You're commenting!! You are so nice :) Thanks for making my day. :D