One Year Later • Our Miscarriage

Today is a hard day. It marks a year since we miscarried our baby at 16 weeks along. Our full miscarriage story can be found here. I thought we would at least be a few weeks pregnant by now. Unfortunately, I don’t have that news. As much as I’m sad and even discouraged that we don’t have a rainbow baby announcement, I’m still just heartbroken about the loss of our child last February. But instead of making today a sad day, I started listing some of the amazing things that happened over the past year. Even though it has been a tough year, we still have been so blessed. Here’s just a few ways…

JayCee Photography was profitable and flourished in 2018. At the beginning of 2018, I turned down over a dozen weddings thinking I would be either too pregnant or needing time to adjust to being a new mom. So once I knew I was pregnant, I turned down weddings between June-October. Prime wedding season. Yet, after our miscarriage, I had a flood of inquiries in March and April completely booking up my schedule. It’s was a blessing for our family financially and for me mentally as a distraction.

I shot a wedding and vacationed in HAWAII! My good friend from high school Chris Shepard HIRED me to fly to Hawaii to document his and Amanda’s wedding. Their wedding was actually on our due date and I know I wouldn’t have taken any other wedding that date. But it was Chris and Hawaii. We had such a great vacation that week and Jake actually got time off for it which was a huge deal. We ate amazing food, snorkeled, laid on the beach, deep sea fishing, and got Henna tattoos. It was so good for the both of us since we really hadn’t gone on a REAL vacation just the two of us.

Jacob’s dream job! While we were in Hawaii Jacob got the call for a job offer to do what he’s always wanted - welding inspecting. He now works in Blackfoot working 4/10’s as a welding inspector and he loves it. He also really enjoys his 3 day weekends since he didn’t have many days off at his old job.

Close-knit group of friends. We’ve always had an awesome group of friends since we moved to Idaho. It was all of Jake’s buddies from high school. But I personally wasn’t “close” with any of the girls. I truly believe me going through our miscarriage brought me and Jake even closer to the group. I literally call them all my best friends.

Dream Car. Truthfully I would of never purchased a sports car if I had kids. But I needed something to make me a little cheerful on hard days, and my Mustang does that. Jake seems to appreciate my new love for sports cars too.

Time with family. I saw my parents 8 times throughout the year and my sister 4 times! It’s a pretty big deal getting to see my family since we’re all spread out now. But I love taking advantage of this freedom to see them whenever I can get the chance.

I’m grateful for the hardships and blessing we had over the past year. It really has shaped Jake and I into who we are today. And I’m grateful we can show empathy to those going through these struggles too.

Idaho Falls Woodsy Engagements

Sierra was working at Pizza Pie Cafe when Josh came in. In the words of Sierra, “I was smitten by him!” Sierra decided to tell her co-worker to tell Josh that he needed to ask Sierra out! And guess what? He did! Their first date was at Gravity Factory in Rexburg, which I must say, that’s a pretty awesome first date. After dating for about 2 months, Sierra made a few jokes about how Josh wasn’t allowed to fall in love with her. On one summer night while they were driving to go hang out with some friends, they were singing in the car. Josh told Sierra he loved her and the rest is history!

Sierra and Josh were a ball to hang out with during their engagement session! It was a pretty chilly day and as much as we wanted to go to the mountains, we decided to stay local so we didn’t get stuck in snow or too cold during their session. I’m glad we went to one of my trusty locations in Idaho Falls! I can’t get over this amazing forest vibe this hidden gem gives off.

I could hang out with Sierra and Josh everyday! Seriously, so kind and down to Earth. Not to mention totally themselves during their shoot! Posing was not required for these two. I appreciated how low key Sierra and Josh were. I feel like these two could have fun doing literally anything! We honestly were out just out in the snow having some fun, and getting a few photos in between it all. I’m counting down the days until Sierra and Josh’s April wedding! I cannot wait to document these two again!

Marissa + Josh • Snowy Idaho Engagements

Marissa and Josh met off of the mutual app. I can relate to clients who have met through social media or online dating because me and my husband actually met online! It was over 6 years ago before Tinder was invented so I it’s what I call a “sketchy tinder” back in the day. It worked out for us, so I love seeing it work out for my couples too!

Marissa entered my Giveaway earlier this winter and was the winner! When Marissa won she asked if she could use her session after Josh proposed as engagements, since they weren’t engaged yet. After Josh proposed, we quickly planned their shoot within a week! We headed to one of my favorite spots in Idaho Falls. I love this location because it gives off a forrest vibe, without us having to travel too far or worry about getting stuck in the mountains. These ever green pines always make the perfect backdrop for my adventurous couples. I also pulled out a lens I rarely shoot with for this session and I forget how much I absolutely love it! My favorite images from Marissa and Josh’s session are the one’s with Marissa leaning against the tree. I asked Josh to flirt with Marissa and did he pull through! We also had some of the best weather we’ve had in weeks here! It was a solid 38°F which felt like spring to all of us!