The Bray family
September 2020
Clackamas, Oregon
Something you may not know about me is that since I was eleven years old I’ve been [inconsistently] writing a book. It’s constantly being reformed and will probably never actually be finished. But. I wrote this really awesome character named Erin. She’s this really epic, dark-haired beauty assassin-type princess. I was eleven, of course she had to be a princess. And I’ve always held to that, through all my reformations. The funny thing is, I'm about to present to you pretty much the real-life Erin. I remember seeing her at church when I was a little kid, back when she was still in the I.D. program, and thinking, "Oh my gosh. It’s her." She looks pretty much how I imagined my character, and heck. Her name is Erin. Now, I don’t know about the assassin part. Because let's be real, can you ever really spot an assassin? However, I’m pretty sure I’ve got her tagged for the princess part. So it was funny for me to run into her years later and do her family portraits.
This leads us to the best part of this story. I don’t remember the last time I was so enamored with a family. Mikey and Erin's children are simply lovely. Well behaved with big smiles, full of laughter and playfulness. They love being outside almost as much as I love taking pictures.
And let me just give a shout out to their parenting skills. Talk about awesome parents. I’ve probably known them personally for a grand total of two hours. And in that time I watched them display what true love looks like, what compassion looks like, and how to pray for each other (when your brother is quite literally crying and experiencing hurt). How to ask Jesus for help, and how to praise Him for the beautiful sunsets that He paints. Watching them love each other... this family unit is worth emulating. I am so honored to have taken their portraits, to have captured some of the love. I hope they cherish these moments forever. Because that little girl? Soon that little princess is going to be all grown. And she’s going to be able to look back at these pictures with tears in her eyes and say, “Yeah. I know my Daddy loves me so much." That young man is going to be a grown man. Having a great role model of strength in his father, a courageous example set before him from his mother - he has every chance to go out into this world and be a Light. Be a hero. He’s going to treat women right like he watched his dad do. He’s gonna lift others up as he’s watched his mom do. I watched him tenderly love his little sister. And I watched little Emmy stare up at him with her big dark eyes in admiration. That right there makes my year, basically. Pause in that moment with me.
I watched a mother's love as she gently brushed her daughter's hair back. All the beautiful moments. These beautiful days. I’m so excited for everything they’ll be, I’m so excited for time to slow down so that we can savor this fall, right now. I hope you enjoy them with me.
Dear family, keep pressing on. Keep fighting the good fight, keep playing and laughing, keep dreaming and working and loving and praying together. Your compassion sets you apart.
Love, Sarah
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