Christmas Cards. What will we do for Christmas Cards? Family portraits? It was an odd thought that struck me out of nowhere. How will I ever be able to take a family photo again knowing that our family will be forever incomplete in every picture we take for the rest of our lives?
It occurred to me not long after our 3rd son, Matthew John, was stillborn 10 days before his due date last May that, all of sudden, something so beautiful, so joyous, took on a whole new meaning. I resigned myself to the fact that it would be a very long time before we would be able to take family portraits again – – or ever. Needless to say, we did not send Christmas Cards that year.
But recently Brian and I asked ourselves how many years would we let go by without family pictures? It’s not how we wanted to honor the members of Matthew’s family that are still here on earth. The family that forever loves him, misses him, and knows he is a part of our family and hearts eternally – – no matter what the pictures show. This year we decided to take a step out together as a family, celebrating our two older boys and each other, while also honoring our baby boy in Heaven.
Drew and Owen had a wonderful time during our family portraits, and loved sending a balloon up to their baby brother in Heaven. They followed their small gift to their brother all the way until the sky turned white, and they could no longer track it with their eyes. They were their typical, silly selves throughout the afternoon and those amazing smiles are real, beautiful, and pure. They are our love and laughter every single day. They are the reminder that sometimes in the exact same place where life can break you, it can also bless you abundantly. For us, we were grateful to be able to capture our love, our hearts, and our whole family in a beautiful way again.
-Stephanie Lucot
I’ve been so excited to share this blog post. The day of this particular photo shoot, I was up until 1am editing (ON A SCHOOL NIGHT!) because I was so inspired by this beautiful family. I witnessed the varied emotions this family session stirred up and I wanted to show them the outcome which is…. well, it’s beautiful. It reaches a whole new level of beauty, one which isn’t achieved by my skill, good equipment, pretty backdrops and dapper clothing- no. This level of beauty is built upon love and loss and hope and strength. I am honored- utterly and completely- to have been able to provide the Lucot family with so much more than Christmas cards.