Till he comes home to you . . .

Words can’t quite describe how I feel for this family right now. . . It was my pleasure back in 2008 to meet them both for the first time at the Manti temple to take some pictures of them on a special day when they were to be sealed together forever . . . It was a beautiful and special thing for me to be a part of their day then. The next time I saw them, Calli had the glow . . . the pregnancy glow, but still wasn’t showing :) and we took some extended family pictures.

When she called me close to her due date to tell me that she would like a newborn session with her beautiful baby girl, I was thrilled, but it was only tainted by the fact that he wouldn’t be there. He wouldn’t be there physically to witness his new baby girl’s birth, but he would be there in spirit. My heart was truly touched then.

And now my heart is touched more than ever tonight. As I remember our latest afternoon to photograph this beautiful family, finally all together for pictures. It was a fun, wonderful experience, only tainted by the fact that he was going again (now is gone) . . . to serve our country across the seas. . . for an entire year.

When I was an army wife, I lived through this exact scenario . . . realistically in my head. It was awful even there. Even imagining what it’d be like. But now as I captured this family right before his departure, I looked at Calli and realized that some how she is strong enough to go through this. She is strong enough. She may not know it or see it . . . but she is, at least I saw the strength.

I have been more than honored to have seen this beautiful family grow, and to in some way capture the story that they’ve gone through over the past couple years. Thank-you Casey for being so brave to serve our country, and thank you to all of the men (including my husband who went before I met him) and women who serve this country. And as a wife, I want to thank all of the other wives and family members who sacrifice their husbands, fathers, sons, daughters, brothers, and sisters, and they go through the trial of waiting through a deployment for their loved one to come back home. You are my heroes. Because I really couldn’t imagine doing that myself, and I know you are stronger because of it. God bless you.

These brought tears to my own eyes going through a few of these pictures that I will share with you. I hope you will be touched a little by them too.

You are beautiful, Calli. Please send your husband this gorgeous picture of you, so he can do lots of bragging, and remember EXACTLY how beautiful his wife, who is waiting at home for him, is.

I hope these pictures bring a smile to your face, joy in your heart, and peace to your soul. Even though the time apart will be hard, it will go by faster than you think, you’ll be back together as a family, with more happiness and love for each other than you ever expected.