A very special session

i love what i do and would never change it for the world! i meet so many wonderful people and give them the gift of memories :)
Please read this touching story below of a family that i had the pleasure of creating some memories that will last a lifetime
Thank you Wunsch Family for choosing me to take these. xo


Julia Grace
Some of you may know that we are pregnant with our second child and on the first of February we discovered that our baby has anencephaly.  This is a fatal diagnosis and the baby will be unable to survive outside the womb.  In this condition, the neural tube never closes and the baby has no forebrain or cerebrum although the brain stem is present.  In this condition, the top of the skull also never develops.  It is a neural tube defect in the family of spina bifida, but more severe than that condition.   



We have named our baby girl Julia Grace and I will be carrying her full term, or for as long as she is with us.  I know that so many who have learned of our situation are heartbroken for us, and so often no one knows what to say or do.  So my purpose in putting this information out there is to help you understand a little bit of what we are going through and how we are approaching the situation.



I decided that it was important for me to be open about this, I am a little over halfway through the pregnancy and the thought of so many people around me knowing what is going on and trying to ignore my growing belly is just too much to bear.  Our choice to continue the pregnancy was in acknowledgement that Julia is a person.  She may be limited in length of life and capacity, but we want to honor her as our daughter.  When you acknowledge my pregnancy and my Julia, you honor her, and I appreciate that.  Please know that it usually helps me to talk about her.  It helps me to know that people care about her.  I find that I am rarely offended by anyone’s heartfelt sentiment or honest questions about what we are going through, even if what is being said might not seem entirely appropriate.  So if you feel like you want share something with me, please do.  And if you have no idea what you could possibly say to me, just pray for me when you think of it.  No one can solve this problem or mend my broken heart other than God himself, but I do treasure the encouragement and kindness I receive from others.  



I  needed to write this because I intend to continue being a part of all the life that is going on around me.  I still want to come to events, I still want to celebrate the birth of other children.  And it’s much more challenging to do that if I feel like I am marked with an unspoken tragedy.  I have some great days and I have some terrible days.  So if I’m happy, just go with it.  If I’m sad, just go with it.  The truth is that Julia is a blessing and God continues to give me incredible peace, but even that does not allow me to circumvent the process of grieving for her.  



I appreciate all of your prayers, please continue to pray for us in whatever way you feel led to do so.  I know that God has the power to heal her.  I also know that if it is His desire for Julia to go to heaven to be with Him, then that is exactly where she needs to be.  My peace, healing and comfort do not ultimately depend on whether or not she is healed.  My Jesus is the only true source of those things, independent of circumstance.



Thank you for reading and thank you for praying…