This weekend was a wonderful one and we have the Meza family to thank for welcoming us into their lives! Let me back up a tad into how I became involved in this Welcome Home Ceremony. As you know, social media is amazing for connecting with people, especially in the photography industry. Whitney and I have been in touch via Instagram for quite some time now (I’ve particularly been smitten with the photos of her little one, he’s seriously the cutest!) The other day, Whitney posted a photo with a little story attached, explaining that her husband was serving in the Army and while deployed, their son was born. This bit of information was totally new to me and boy, did it tug at my heart strings. I knew we had to connect and chat further and although I’ve taken a step back from family sessions, I just had to take photos of their family once Chris got home because, well, they deserved to have those memories. Long story short, he was planning to arrive back on U.S. soil a week later in Madison, and their wedding photographer that they hoped would be there could no longer make it. My jaw dropped and knew that the man upstairs conducted this whole thing… goosebumps, yes!

Whitney tells it better than anyone, “It has been 562 days since he left home, in those days I seen my husband maybe 30 days total, we found out we were expecting, he left for deployment, had our son two weeks later, spent a month in the NICU after being two months premie, wrestle those long nights functioning on limited sleep, somehow made it through and welcomed home him finally after 10 almost 11 long months. We are finally a family. We are so glad you are home daddy. Love you.”

The first of their many many many family photos together, the first day Chris meets his son and their first day as three! Welcome home, Chris!

SO much to be thankful for! Happy, happy day.