At 4:00 in the afternoon on February 26, 2009, Hunter and Christy Brown called to tell me that she was going into labor and I needed to come on over.  I immediatly rushed over to their home, where I would be photographing the home birth of their second child.  Little did I know, this would be one of the most amazing and truly life changing shoots that I have ever been on!

Hunter and Christy remind me a lot of myself and my husband Caleb.  From the way they interact with one another, to their parenting, and even the ways they eat and what they let their children eat.  Because of this, I felt an immediate connection with them.  I wanted to shoot this not only for them, but also for myself.  I have always wanted to have a natural, home birth and what better way to figure out if it’s what you want!  I told Caleb that it would be the best form of birth control for me.  Well, it definitely had the opposite effect! I don’t know who was crying harder when he was born, me or her mom!

Christy was absolutely amazing through the entire labor.  She was patient, calm, and I never once heard her complain about the pain.  Hunter  was exactly the same through all of his coaching, strong and supportive.  When Christy would have a contraction, Hunter would immediately stop everything and get around her.  If they weren’t near a couch or chain, he would rest his hands on his knees and Christy would lean on his back for support.  After about 4 hours of this, Christy would say something or make a sound and he would automatically lean over, it was too funny!  At one point they went for a walk outside and Christy went to say something and I saw Hunter go right into position.  Christy just started laughing, she was just going to tell him something! Even at the hardest part, they would stop and smile at each other.  Just thinking about it makes me tear up again!

It was so much more relaxing than being in a hospital strapped to all those cords.  The house was lit by candles and there was soft music in the background.  My favorite part was when she got in the shower.  It was just her and Hunter, the candlelight, and the sound of the shower to help her focus on delivering Colby….who has romance like that during 6 hours of full labor?!

Ok, enough talking.  Here are some of my favorite images, and don’t miss the slide show at the end!

To Hunter and Chrisy, thank you so so much for allowing my to be apart of the birth of your little angel.  There are no words to express how amazing that was for me.  There will always be a special place in my heart for your family.  I look forward to watching Colby and Kate grow.  Thank you for being such a blessing in my life.

And now for the SLIDESHOW! Enjoy the miracle of life….