‘You may say I’m a dreamer, but I am not the only one’
Hello everyone! Well, here it is! The News. Those of you who have kept in touch with me over Facebook already know about this update, but I thought I should finally share here, too.
If you’ve been with me for awhile then you know that my little family has been through some hard times in the past few years, and I shared part of our story last year with A Story in Six Words. The response after I opened up about that was overwhelming, and I’ll never be able to thank you all enough for that opportunity to share our little boy with the world.
Today life is on its way to being very, very different. As I sit here typing this, my 30 week fraternal twin babies are happily kicking each other in my belly, and if all goes as planned (*knock on wood*) we expect to bring them home early in the new year. We’re taking it all a day at a time, but today they look amazing and life is very, very good.
What this means for all of you fine people! Well, until a little earlier this season it didn’t mean much of anything. I had work scheduled until mid-November and was happily working through a very busy fall season with the best people in the world. Because I know I say this a lot, but my clients really are the best people in the world. I love you all.
Unfortunately I received a diagnosis of SPD (unstable/separating pelvis – it’s about as much fun as it sounds) and this severely limited my ability to work as planned. I was able to reschedule portraits for the new year, and thanks to my incredible network of peers in this industry I helped my wedding clients find new coverage very quickly after my diagnosis. While I’ve jumped in to take last minute work for other photographers in emergencies before, this was the first time that I’ve had to draw on these resources myself, and I feel very fortunate to know so many incredible people who were willing and able to take over.
Back to a more personal note. Over the last couple years I decided against taking maternity and newborn sessions while we were dealing with our own struggles. It was hard to pass up work that I normally love doing, but I fully believe it was the right choice, and I’m very glad that I made that decision. I’m so thankful for how understanding people have been about this – just further proof that I work with amazing people. You might have noticed a maternity session from earlier this fall, a newborn session from last week, and there will be another newborn session later today. I waited until it felt right to go back, and I’m happy to say that I’ll be happily taking these on again from here on out. From the bottom of my heart, thank you to everyone for giving me that time. I’m so grateful.
Now for winter/spring requests! I’m officially off duty until late spring. I recently did two newborn sessions (they’re much less physically demanding than most of what I do!), and I think that’s all she wrote until I’ve had these babies and had a chance to recover a little. If you’re looking for a session, please feel free to get in touch about late April/early May. I’m really excited to get back to work, and I’m already just about fully booked for weddings next year. 2014 is going to be amazing, and I can’t wait to capture all of your beautiful moments for you!
Much love,
Jill
P.S.: And for good measure, here’s what 30 weeks with two giant babies looks like. You can probably see why my mobility is so limited at this point, especially with the SPD. Hi. I’m big.
