Wife. Girl Boss. & Soon to be First Time Mom.

Yesterday was my 27th birthday, & I woke up this morning one year & one day older with a overwhelming urge to put down in black & white some thoughts, feelings, fears, & goals that have been consuming me lately. My hope in doing so is that in another year I can look back at this blog post, & see how much my life has changed, & how much I have grown personally, & in my business. So, hear goes nothing …

First I do have to admit I am typing with sweating palms from nerves and rosie cheeks of embarrassment. I am nervous to confront, & bring forward what goals I fell short to meet in 2017, & embarrassed to admit to them. But I believe it is the only way to face my fears, & start this new year off with a goal list I am even more determined to meet in 2018. This mostly pertains to my photography business memories by emz. I am so proud of what I have built in just the 4 short years I have been in the business of capturing, & telling  love stories. However there is so much more I want for my business in order for it to thrive, & meet the standards I set for my client experience. My clients are my number one priority in my business, I do what I love to do for them, & because of them! With that said, I want to take a moment to thank all my 2017 #mbecouples, & clients for one incredible year! It will never be enough to say THANK YOU for letting my be apart of the most important day of your lives. With every wedding weekend that came, & passed my heart grew fuller of love for I do as a career. That feeling is irreplaceable. With every kind word, thank you, & “I love our photos,” that was sent my way made me more driven to be better in the upcoming wedding season, & for that I am forever appreciative. Here is the embarrassing part – a goal I had set at the beginning of 2017 was to be more present on social media, & share with the world my client’s beautiful wedding days more frequently, as they deserve the recognition of  how amazing each one was! I promised myself I would keep up with this, & get into a work flow that allowed me to do so in a efficient way. But (and with no excuse) two pink lines appeared on a pregnancy test, & things for sure changed, & got that much more hectic! Luckily my first trimester when I felt the most tired, & sick was during a down time I had in my wedding schedule, but I only had the energy to use it for prepping for the first time MBE has had 8 wedding weekends in a row. The fall of 2017 (the beginning of my 2nd trimester) was going to be an amazing, yet full season, & now that I was pregnant I was feeling a bit overwhelmed, but so anxious to capture each wedding day feeling a heck of a lot less nauseous. After celebrating the first wedding of the 8, we had a scare, & found out I had placenta previa. It’s a scary phrase, & I heard it after the most terrifying night of  my life. The doctor’s appointment the next day is mostly just a blur of a memory, the only info. that really registered with me as I walked back out to my car was that baby was healthy, & happy, but mamma was supposed to take it very easy, & was put on slight bed rest. Obviously, knowing what my next 7 weekends/weeks looked like, that prescription put a bit of a wrench in things. So my goal was altered, & my main priority again was my client’s experience on their best day ever, & deliver images that would spark memories for a lifetime to come. I’m feeling pretty confident that I did just that, however it is bluntly clear that my social media game was not on fire the rest of the year. I have worked very hard this winter to create that work flow I crave to show off how awesome my #mbecouples, & their wedding days truly are, & how fortunate I am to be there sharing it with them. Starting by where I left off last fall. My client’s deserve nothing but the best, & I plan to follow through with that during this off season by sharing their days on the blog over the next few months leading up to Baby Stewart’s arrival!

So sorry not sorry, get ready for a overload of posts on FaceBook, Instagram, & the mbeBlog! I am so excited to let my clients, followers, friends, & family in on what I was so honored to be asked to capture during my 2017 fall wedding season! On November 16, 2017 Brad, & I heard the best news EVER! I was placenta previa cleared, & we found out we are having a sweet baby boy! After that weight was lifted off my shoulders, we celebrated with gender reveal parties, made our way through holiday celebrations, & then was able to focus on getting my social media work flow nailed down to be hopefully (with all fingers crossed) efficient, & enjoyable for 2018! I’m not going to sugar coat it, the personal posts are probably going to contain a ton of Baby Stewart & Lacie photos. (again sorry not sorry)  I also plan to let you in on some MBE behind the scenes action, & all the hard work Brad, & I have been putting into out home. (I’m only slightly obsessed with home decor!)

For now to get a little bit of a fix/update on the personal side of things, below are some fun, & exciting moments captured so far in the journey of growing out little family. Even with the downs, I have loved every second of being pregnant and I can’t wait to meet our little guy!

To wrap up this – insert cheesy clique here —> “new year, new me” “new adventures & goals” post – I need to say THANK YOU one more time to my clients for being so loving, supportive, understanding, & just down right kind! A huge THANK YOU to our parents for being a rock to lean on during this pregnancy, we would not be able to do with out you! THANK YOU to my out of this world amazing husband, you have continuously supported me running a business out of our home, & you have gone above and beyond to take care of my preggo needs. I can’t wait for you to be a dad! THANK YOU to all my friends, & family for being so excited for Baby Stewart, & of course for the crazy amount of birthday wishes I received yesterday!  I love you all! Here is to 2018!!