Personal: Pregnancy Announcement | Brookshier Creative Photography

I want to open this blog post by saying a HUGE thank you to my sister-in-law, Ariana at Brookshier Creative. This year she captured our family photos which was not an easy task since we have a toddler who hates the camera. Seriously, if my son sees a cell phone or a camera he instantly frowns/cries. I think I traumatized him with too many photos when he was an infant. Even though I do this for a living, I am terrible when it comes to organizing professional photos for myself. I have so much respect for my clients who are able to plan their sessions annually (teach me your ways)! Thank you again to Ariana who helped make these photos finally happen. I will love and treasure our images forever!

The reason we were inspired to get our pictures taken was because we recently found out that we were pregnant… Total surprise! Earlier this year, Trent and I discussed when we were going to start planning for our second child and we were hoping to try towards the end of 2017. Oops!

Trent is currently in med school and next Spring he starts his 4th year externships. He will be rotating at different hospitals every month for a year. I’m really proud to say he was accepted into his top picks. He will be studying at Seattle, Boston, New Haven, and all over Southern California. When we first started receiving acceptance letters, he was offered positions from a variety of states around the nation. I was ready to pack our bags and basically live in an RV since his schedule looked like we were going to be anywhere except home. However, we constantly prayed that God had plans for us in Southern CA and we are so excited that toward the end of his rounds, he was accepted into so many great hospitals near home. Seriously, PRAISE GOD! He had his hands in all of these decisions.

While Trent was planning/finalizing his rounds, I was busy scheduling weddings for 2018. In one month, I scheduled multiple Spring weddings along with a full paid expense trip to Bali. Trent only receives one week off next year and it happened to be during my wedding in Bali. He was going to join me and we were going to make an adventure out of it. We had so many exciting plans for travel and we were hoping that I would just be getting pregnant so that we could take Bryer all over and explore. He is at such a fun/easy age so we were looking forward to this unique quality time as a family of three.

A few months later, my family and I went on vacation and my sister and I were just about to go out and grab margaritas. I was just telling her about my life next Spring and how the only thing that could make it more chaotic was if we found out that we were pregnant. We went to a store and grabbed a pregnancy test for “peace of mind” and the results were instantly bold and clear… PREGNANT! I was so shocked and instantly started to cry. We look back now and laugh because she secretly wanted to celebrate, but had to act like she felt bad for me. It took me a couple of days to come to terms with the fact that I was pregnant. I took multiple tests, but each one seemed to get more aggressive and in my face about it… also, I never got my margarita.

In 8 years of photography, I have never canceled a wedding. Luckily, I found out early enough to give my brides lots of time to find a new photographer. They were all so gracious and sweet about the news. I even had one wedding on my exact due date. Our trip to Bali was towards the end of March so we had to back out of those plans as well. Trent’s rotation schedule was officially locked in so I became fearful of the thought of traveling with a toddler and a newborn. I was anxious to be constantly moving away without receiving any help from family and friends (while having my husband work at a hospital all day). I also realized that I would have to take time off work during my favorite season. I did not have the best attitude about my pregnancy because I was so stressed towards all the new life changes that I did not plan. I am a planner when it comes to the future… Bryer’s birth was planned almost to the exact due date!

Looking back, I am embarrassed by how selfish I was with my reactions. I know/follow so many women who confess their pregnancy struggles on social media. I am friends with those who have had miscarriages, I am close to families who have lost their child at birth, and I know a few women who are not able to have children. I quickly was slapped in the face because I was more concerned about my life plans and worried that a second child would “mess them up.” I didn’t take time to thank God for giving me the opportunity to give life when that opportunity is not given to so many. How lucky are we to receive his grace in our “me, me, me” moments?!

There is never a perfect time for big life changes. We will always find excuses– we don’t have enough time, money, security, stability etc. Timing did not seem perfect when I got married at 22 years old, or when we moved a few years later, and when we got pregnant with our first child. However, all of those hurdles and changes have shaped and blessed my life for the better. I am constantly learning that I need to stop discrediting God when he throws plans into my life that differ from my own. I am now learning (and trying my best) to trust that he knows what is better for my life. It might take a few years to have a better perspective towards why he answers certain prayers and closes the door on others, but I know that God’s plans will always exceed my own. I have experienced it many times!

We have a very busy life/schedule ahead of us. We will be working, moving, having a second son (two boys… whoa), renting out our house, living in Air BnBs, traveling, chasing around a toddler, and caring for a newborn. There are a lot of unknowns ahead, but if do end up turning into a crazy person next Spring feel free to organize a meal train or send a spa day my way. ;) If you made it this far, thanks for reading!