Monday, June 9, 2008

This is a must read...





I received a phonecall a couple weeks ago from a girl named Jamie. She heard about me through someone at her work who I do pictures for. She explained that she just had a baby (the baby was only 5 days old) and that her husband was coming home on a 4 day pass from the Army to see his new little girl for the first time that upcoming weekend. Jamie wondered if I possibly had any time to fit them in for a family picture while he was home for his short visit. Without hesitation, I absolutely said yes and looked forward to them coming over.

I got to meet this amazing family.... Dustin (the daddy), Jamie (the mommy) and Emmalie (the newborn little girl) on Sunday June 1st. I must admit that whenever I do military pictures....I always feel a little flutter in my stomach - because I am photographing a SOLDIER. The word Soldier, to me, means a hero - someone willing to give all he/she has for the greater good of others. So on this day, I got to photograph a hero and his beautiful family.

Dustin is a Combat Engineer for the Army. His job is route clearance - he looks for road side bombs and disables them. He is leaving for Baghdad, Iraq sometime very soon and will be gone for about a year.

Dustin, Jamie, and Emmalie.....I was seriously, seriously so moved by you. I was so honored that you chose me to photograph your family. Thank you to Jamie - for being a wonderful mommy and a school teacher.....two professions that don't get enough recognition. And also, as Dustin said....you are an amazing woman for having a husband in the military. Thank you Dustin - for being a Soldier for me & my family and the rest of the world.....you and your fellow military people really are true heros. And thank you baby Emmalie - for coming into this world and blessing us with your sweet love & innocence........and thank you for sharing your mommy & daddy with the rest of us, because what they do for a living is so important.

God bless our Soldiers. Please keep this family in your prayers as Dustin departs for Iraq very soon. And thank you again Dustin, Jamie, and Emmalie for having me do your pictures. Can't wait to see you all again!


6 comments:

Jane said...

What a neat story, Brandi! I will keep all three of them in my prayers. We absolutely need to support the families of those folks who put their lives on the lines for us every day.

"The Verhulsts" said...

Wow! Words can't express...

Anonymous said...

Brandi-
first let me say how wonderful it is to see a little bit of what you do each day-your work is amazing and I could never tire looking at all your pics! Thanks for sharing your blog with me!
Secondly-your pics of Dustin, Jamie and Emmalie are gorgeous-a beautiful tribute to a new family!
And my thoughts echo yours precisely in regards to military families! May God watch over Dustin as he leaves his family to protect all of us! Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Kari

Mama's Ramblings said...

The picture of the little baby in the hat is amazing. You always have creative ways of capturing the beautiful moments that children bring us.

Anonymous said...

Brandi,
Thank you for your appreciation for our soldiers. My fiance is serving with Jamie's husband and it is great hearing positive feedback like that. The pictures you took of their family are gorgeous. From what I've seen, Dustin and Jamie truely are great people and you've captured that in your photography just wonderfully!

Gauthier Gang said...

Brandi,
This is an amazing story and your pictures are beautiful. I work with your uncle Joe and he shared your blog with me.