The soft glow of sunlight peeking through a creaking gate. The sweet scent of spring flowers floating on the warm breeze. The slippery, dewy grass just after sunrise. The Rodriguez family joined me for a sunrise session at Boone County Arboretum that has etched itself on my heart. This blog is the longest and one of the most challenging ones for me to write so far, because I have so much emotion wrapped up in Diana + Patrick’s story and I want to do it justice, y’all! Patrick and I met at work and have known each other for nearly 4 years. I met Di and Finn(egan) two years ago for a family session with the three of them when I was first starting RMP (even before I was blogging sessions!).

Back in 2017, the Rodriguez family was actually the first family I sent my Portrait Session Style Guide to, and they showed up looking bomb! I had worked months on creating this content for my clients to help alleviate stress in planning and prepping for their portrait sessions. I felt like I had won the family session jack pot when they showed up that fall! With a little Finn at the time, we had a fun adventure of a session, looking at berries, popping bubbles, and playing peek-a-boo behind the trees at Rowe Arboretum. I immediately felt as if I had known Diana for years once we met. The level of caring and compassion she gave to Pat and Finn was something special to see. It came as no surprise to me that she is a nurse.

My mom is a nurse, too. I remember being a little girl and waiting up for her on the weekends when she would get home late. Sometimes, we would eat leftover spaghetti (with some extra butter) together or chicken salad and crackers, watching the Twilight Zone in our family room. She would be visibly exhausted, putting her feet up at the end of a long day. But she would still have so much passion for me and our time together. She poured her soul into our family. And she poured her soul into her work. Being a nurse is such a beautiful, exhausting, fierce, and vulnerable calling. It takes a special kind of heart to be able to do a nurse’s job. And Diana has one of those extraordinary hearts.

I had heard their exciting news, that they were pregnant, from Pat at work one day. He quickly followed up with another surprise. They were expecting twins!! I legitimately started squealing in the office. Di, if only you had seen my face!! Ah twins! How crazy! How amazing! How miraculous! 2 babies. At the same time! A few weeks after that, Di, Pat, and Finn did a little science experiment and announced that they were going to have two little daughters arriving with pink volcanic foam! So now, not only twins, but twin baby girls. Double the bows, double the pink, and double the love.

Before their maternity session, Di and I talked a lot about her experience so far, and I just have to shout from the rooftops how freaking strong she is! Being a woman is hard work. We are pulled in 10 different directions by work, family, kiddos, friends, family, and the list goes on. But we also have big dreams and goals for our lives. Maybe it is to be a momma, lovingly raising kiddos to make a positive impact on this Earth. Maybe it is to be a woman who travels across the globe, immersing herself in the cultures of the world. Maybe it is being a boss babe, who continues to learn new things on the daily and pushes herself to the next level over and over again. Maybe it is none of these things, and there is another dream tucked in her soul that she is too afraid to let out. Maybe it is all of these things.

But no matter what ‘maybe’ you are, know that every part of your life does not have to be mutually exclusive. You are so strong. You have all of motivation and drive to get to that finish line. Wherever and whatever that line might look like. Diana, pursing your dream of becoming a CRNA after Zoe and Sydney are born is gonna be hard. But everything worth having in life starts off as hard. And each day after becomes easier and easier. And you only get stronger and stronger. Your journey is going to be beautiful, and inspiring, and so freaking incredible. You have such a supportive husband, son, family, and friends who are rooting for you. And I am proud to say that I am one of those people, too!

After capturing all of the fun moments with this family, Di and I went off to take a few very special photos. Here is part of an email that Di had sent to me back when we were setting up their session.

‘I would really like to take a picture with my girls in my belly wearing my nursing coat. I want to show myself the vision of a person who can be a mother and a professional. I want to be able to show my children when they are older that people play many roles and that major parts of our lives are not mutually exclusive. I want my girls to know that women are strong in so many different ways.’

Guys. I legitimately had tears in my eyes when I read this. Di, I hope that the photos we took (they are all at the bottom of this post!) can be cherished by many and show others just how strong Di the nurse is. How strong Di the mom is. And how strong Di the woman is. I cannot express just how much love I have for your spirit. Di + Pat, thank you for letting me capture this moment in your growing family’s life. It is such an honor.

Rachel

P.S. I can’t WAIT to meet these cutie pies when they get here!

‘Finn, are you gonna be a big brother?’ ‘Give your sisters a big kiss!’