billi & lauren (and lana & seth): oplove|kittery, maine family photographer

billi is in the army.  she’s been in iraq for the last several months, but in july she had r&r scheduled.  the army gives certain people scheduling priority.  i would say billi was one of those lucky few, but it’s not really lucky that she’s missed half of lauren’s first year.  but that’s not what they were thinking about when i spent time with them.  they were rejoicing that they could be together for lauren’s first birthday.

i met billi & lauren (and billi’s best friend and her son seth, who flew up from fort bragg for lauren’s birthday soiree) in kittery on a HOT july day.

i’m not a mom, but if i were, i couldn’t imagine how difficult it would be being separated from my baby for a year. billi, thank you so much for the enormous sacrifices you’ve made (and are still making) to serve this country. i appreciate your service, and it was an HONOR to capture this time in lauren’s life. i hope the pictures can in some small way make the rest of your separation easier.

(if you’re a photographer or military family interested in documenting the unique struggles and rewards of family life and military service, check out www.oplove.org)