Unexpected Friendships, It Takes A Village with a Little Love, and Kindness

I’m so excited to share this post! I want you to meet my friend Esther.

Esther and her adorable family hail from the city of Spokane Washington. How, you might ask, are you two friends, when you live across the nation from one another? Oh, simple… we met on a plane. lol. it’s true.

This is funny, Esther and I just chatted and tried to remember the date of when we met because I just remember the story but I’m not too great with details.

Esther and her husband sat just one seat cross corner from me as I was flying home to Arizona from Illinois on August 30th 2015. I did that flight a LOT because I still had weddings & lifestyle clients every few months for the first few years I lived out here. Most of the trips I had Mateo with me but I was no longer nursing and had 2 weddings and 15 family shoots scheduled in the 10 day trip and knew I could get more work done without him, let alone the stress of my schedule. So this particular flight I was solo and missing my baby incredibly. I had never spent so much time away from him and practically in tears missing him.

So naturally, when I saw a fellow mom struggling with a sad baby girl and a tiny newborn and a bunch of angry rude passengers, I offered my arms and words.

Usually, that’s creepy… I know! But I felt like she could use the love being surrounded by the glaring passengers because her sweet babies were naturally upset on a flight. Flights are hard with kids sometimes. It’s the luck of the draw right? Sometimes Mateo was the perfect traveler, sometimes there was just hell to pay. I had been in her place so many times and kind words & actions make everything easier and better.

Also, I felt like I’m was a harmless enough looking person. lol.

I’m so thankful that she said yes. Not only did I get to snuggle a sweet little girl while they settled when I was missing my own baby, but I met an incredible friend for life.

Once she was able to settle and I handed over her baby I succumbed to my natural inner weirdness and responded “it takes a village” lol. face in hands…. lol.

I don’t deny I’m sometimes socially awkward. Thankfully Esther didn’t think I was weird and we chatted for much of the trip. I discovered she too was a photographer! So we got to chat all things art and business as moms. We followed each other’s work immediately and stayed in touch over the years. It’s been fun to watch her brand develope, her work get published, and win awards. It’s so fun to watch her family grow and know that I was able to extend her kindness and in return receive her sweetness.

This year Esther & her family were planning a trip to Arizona and reached out to see if we could portrait swap. Instantly I was gleeful. We haven’t done portraits since my dear friend Jamie Grant did them on my birthday in August of 2016. So approaching 2018 I was feeling sad that I’m never in the photos with my family. So that was that. We planned a beautiful location, geared up, coerced our husbands (a bit reluctant until they met each other and had fun), and had the BEST day ever.

Here are the favorite images I captured of this darling, loving, and lovely family. Enjoy!

Esther is also a doula so her focus on birth photography goes hand in hand with her skill set and passions. I would love for you guys to follow her work here: Instagram, Website, Facebook.