Tired and Blessed: Embracing the Chaos

I’ve written this post three different times and I’ve scrapped it and changed directions because none of them fully expressed what I was feeling. This post is about my session with Destiny and her family.

Let’s start with the backstory.

I’ve known Destiny for a big chunk of my life. We didn’t always hang out in the same circles, but we had classes together and definitely got along when we saw each other. Once high school rolled around, I moved away, and we only kept up with each other through social media. I remember seeing glimpses of her life and all the things she was doing, including moving off and finding love. 



Years later, Destiny reached out to me when she was getting married. We had been talking about me flying out and possibly taking her wedding photos, but I couldn’t get my schedule to line up correctly. Since then, we would message randomly about the little things going on and the seasons of life we were in. I can still remember seeing her announce that they were having a baby.



The first time I got to capture Destiny’s family was beautiful. I got to meet her husband and son, and we got to catch up on how life was going. It was such a joy getting to reconnect and see her thriving. Fast forward to now. Destiny has added a beautiful daughter to the mix and has been running a successful business. I’ve been blessed to take their family photos once again. And I’m reminded of how beautiful life is; how you can find home wherever you are. She found her person and has been living her purpose ever since.

Now my feelings about the session… What stood out this photoshoot?

During this session, Destiny and I were joking about how much chaos these kids bring, but she said something along the lines of “As much as we complain about how hard the kids can be and how rough pregnancy is, we are blessed to be holding them.”

I don’t think she realized how much I needed to be told this.

This current pregnancy for me has been a mental struggle. Everything has been going great, and my little one is doing amazing. But I am tired. Actually, tired is an understatement. Exhausted is more like it. I have never been so moody in my life. I have complained nonstop. I have definitely not adjusted to the idea of another baby. Even though I have struggled with multiple losses in the past, it has been really hard to have a grateful heart.

But that statement really sat with me. We are blessed. We are so blessed that we have these wild kids. We get to experience life and grow with them. We get to watch them laugh and smile and learn new things. We are there to teach them, but they are also there to teach us… To teach us and remind us how to be patient, how to slow down, and how to enjoy something like it’s the first time. Even though they bring chaos, they also bring energy and liveliness. They bring happiness and fun.

So, thank you Destiny for being the voice of reason at that moment. You brought me back to reality and made me remember the struggle to get to this point. Thank you for reminding me that I can be tired AND blessed.

To all of you who read this fully, love y’all and appreciate y’all.

Also, I would like to give a shoutout to Destiny’s small business: Go join her page at the link below for all the cute things ❤️