Who knew. If you talked to me four years ago, I was just wrapping up high school and I told everyone and anyone that I was going to travel the world with my camera. Never had I thought that I would be a new mom in that time frame.

Never had I ever considered marriage. Never had I ever considered being a biological parent. Never had I ever considered settling into a home right out of college (or sooner!).

Now don’t get me wrong, just because I had never considered any of these as a part of my future, does NOT mean that I regret where I am now or what my new priorities are. Simply put, things changed. My dreams changed.

I still strive to be a photojournalist, but I realize I can do that here in the Black Hills. I don’t have to travel the world to tell stories when there are plenty around every corner and just at my finger tips.

noun.

a woman in relation to her child or children.

verb.

bring up (a child) with care and affection.

For now, though my goal is to be the best wife, mother, and role model I can be while raising a family and working toward my business and professional goals. And let me tell you, there is nothing more exciting (yet intimidating) about putting aside the professional goals you’ve worked toward your whole life for a new unknown path.

Let me tell you a little about myself and how I became a mom.

When I uprooted my life and moved more than ten hours away from home to the beautiful state of (WEST RIVER!!) South Dakota, I knew no one. Three weeks into my new adventure of college, I met Isaac. I definitely wasn’t looking for love, but God knew what was best for both of us. Crazily enough we started dating a week after meeting and we haven’t stopped creating memories since.

The first “official” date we went on, Isaac was helping me with my astronomy class. For someone who grew up in the middle of nowhere Iowa, I wasn’t very good at spotting constellations. Isaac took me up to the side of Lookout Mountain right outside of Spearfish, and after we observed the sky for my assignment, we sat on the mountainside for hours.

Neither of us wanted to leave that moment, so we continued to make up excuses for not climbing down and returning to reality. After quite some time, Isaac finally decided to make the move toward home. We stood up and before our descent, Isaac asked me two questions: if I would be his girlfriend and if he could kiss me. It was like something straight out of a movie, every girl’s dream for their first kiss and relationship.

I left that night as the happiest woman alive and probably extremely giddy if I am being completely honest. A year and a half later, we returned to that spot on the mountain where he then asked me to be his wife.

Fast-forward to last fall, fall of 2020.

Everyone was having a rough year because of the pandemic, but that didn’t stop Isaac and I from having the wedding of our dreams or from sharing good news with our family.

It was only a few short weeks before the wedding that everything had changed. For the better. I found out that Isaac and I were going to be first-time parents. I was going to be a mom.

When I confirmed with the OB, I made plans with Isaac to go on a special date. It was the middle of the week, and the start of his work week, so I almost certainly expected a ‘no’ from him. He surprised me once again, and I met Isaac that night at the mall.

See, as a photographer, I LOVE capturing moments in time. This one was no different. However, I couldn’t make plans with an actual photographer because Isaac would have known something was up. That being said, our photographer for the night was the photo-booth on the east side of the mall.

I had time to go to JC Penny before Isaac arrived, and I bought some onesies. I shoved them and the pregnancy tests in my purse, and we took a really cute photo in the booth. Isaac was ready to leave, but I convinced him to do one more. To say he was shocked is an understatement. The photos say it all!

And I guess that’s the story to now.

The short story anyways. I could probably write a whole book with all the gory details and the ups and downs along the way, but if you subscribe to the blog you’ll get the bigger picture eventually.

Being a mom isn’t going to be easy. Parenthood is no cake walk, but I couldn’t be more excited to be a mom. I am thrilled at this opportunity, and I continue to put my faith and trust in God along the journey.