This family and this session hold a special place in my heart. I know Linsey from our old MOPS group at church. My boys and her girls kinda grew up together running around the church hallways and playing together at the playdates that were really more for the moms than the kids. As young moms it gave us something to do. A reason to get out of the house and be around other adults. Now I look back on those days with much appreciation knowing that I had a tribe of mommies to get through those early years of motherhood with. Little did I know that I would walk away with wonderful memories, AND a dear sweet friend.
That friend goes by the name of Linsey Outlaw, but don’t let her name fool you. She’s no “outlaw”. In fact, she quite the opposite. She and her husband epitomize the family dream. They fight hard for their family unit and as you can see in these photos they all really truly love each other a whole darn lot.
So now you know why this family is so special to me, but you also need to know why this session was special too! You see, Linsey’s husband, Evert, had just returned home from being deployed – again. He has been in the Air force for 18 YEARS (no lie, this dudes baby face is paying off!) and he was sent to Puerto Rico just before the holidays. Despite the fact that we had already scheduled a session this past fall, we weren’t sure if it was going to happen or if Evert was even going to make it home before Thanksgiving/Christmas to be with his family.
Well, judging by the fact that I am writing this post and have photos to show you then you can probably put together the fact that Evert did indeed make it home, and we were able to squeeze a session in at Walker Ranch Park just in time for Christmas cards to get sent out.
Speaking with Linsey through the whole process of Evert’s deployment and her not knowing when he would return, made me realize the amount of stress she goes through every time her hubby is sent away. Getting a glimpse of what these military families go through when a loved one is gone is no joke. It made my heart so happy when I heart that Evert would be home and with his kids for the holidays, but it also made me think about all the other families that go through deployment and miss their loved ones so badly. I am so thankful for all the service men and women and what they do to protect us. We wouldn’t have a country without them! So I really feel strongly about doing a little something special for our military men and women. I’m more than pleased to extend a 15% military discount to all military families. Thank you so very much for everything that you AND your families sacrifice!