alicia - family session

if you read my personal blog, you've heard me talk about alicia before.  our lives were intertwined for so many years that it's almost hard to pluck out the details of when our friendship began and how we became so close.  carpooling to school, sitting at the piano for hours harmonizing to hymns, getting the jeep stuck in the mud, a cappella choir trips, prom, and that "friends forever" song she tried singing (but cried the whole way through) at the senior send-off sunday when i was about to move away for college -- those are just tiny snippets of the countless memories that flood my mind when i think of my sweet friend.

but now we're both grown.  the day came when we traded prom gowns for spit-up covered shirts, muddy jeeps for car seats, and carnegie hall performances for quiet bedroom lullabies.  in many ways, our lives are so much richer and fuller than they were all those years ago...but it sure would be nice if we could live in the same place again and share all these blessings together.

with all of that said, i gladly spent a precious morning taking pictures with alicia and her family out on her grandparents' farm while i was in moultrie last weekend.  she's married to her high school sweetheart, brandt, and they have one of the cutest little guys i've ever seen in my life.  meet harrison...

i asked brandt and alicia just to play with harrison like they would if they were at home, and they put on such a fantastic show of love, family, and fun.  i think that the photographs speak for themselves...




after knowing alicia since she was a tiny little fifth-grader, it warms my heart to see her in the role of mommy.  it's a role she handles beautifully.



i've also known brandt for ages.  in fact, before they started dating, alicia developed a bit of a crush on him when brandt and i were the leads in our high school musical during my senior year.  he's a man of many talents -- he's a musician (on several fronts), a teacher, a husband, and a dad.  but he's also a soccer player and he has, without a doubt, passed the fútbol gene on to his son.



i mentioned that we shot our session out at the farm, right?  well granny and big daddy are something to see.  she's as spunky as any 16-year-old i've ever met, and he's an amazingly hard-working 80-year-old farmer who runs that place with such determination and pride.  they invited us to stay for lunch after we were done shooting, so josh and our little people (who had come down with me for the weekend) drove over and we enjoyed what my sweet husband told granny was one of the best meals he's ever had, and i absolutely agree.  you just can't beat sitting down together at a huge table to eat vegetables that were grown on the very land on top of which you rest.  i know i asked a few sessions ago if somebody would buy me a hayfield.  i'm just going to go ahead and ask for a whole farm now.




alicia, you know i love you dearly, and i'm so thankful that i was able to spend the day with you and your wonderful family.