We loved you before we even knew you, even when there was just a hope for you, we loved you.

November is National Adoption Awareness month. It comes right after October which is National pregnancy and infant loss awareness month. These 2 things tend to go hand in hand. Sometimes when there are too many losses or when things have to happen because of the losses, the ability to have children naturally is unavailable to the family or out of financial reach. That is where adoption comes in. There are over 100,000 children just in the US in the foster care system waiting to be adopted.

This weekend I had the pleasure of photographing a new united family as their adoption finally went through after 3 years. Let me introduce the Booker family.

R. Booker, C. Booker and G.M. Booker are so happy to officially be a family of 3. Mom (R. Booker) describes the family as close knit and affectionate. R. Booker is spiritual, silly and a people person. C. Booker is the “best dad ever.” and G.M. Booker is silly, affectionate and bubbly. A perfect mix of mom and dad. Their favorite thing to do together is family outings and game night.

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For their session they choose a cowboy/cowgirl theme to go with the fall weather. They also had personalized shirts to represent the special moments of the session and becoming a permanent family of 3. The shirts read “Already Booked” (dad), “Booked her” (mom) and “Booker here to stay”(daughter).

R. Booker said about the session, ” Fall is our favorite season and coming together and connecting to share forever memories was my favorite part. I also liked the location.”

To help raise awareness of adoption to give other parents hope that they to can find their forever family through adoption, they wanted to share their story: R tells who it all started. She had 3 losses 2 of which were ectopic and ended up with both tubes removed making having a child naturally close to impossible. At first they were unsure about adoption but then became more open to the option. They became foster parents to start and decided to adopt when the moment was right. It took approximately 3 years but they finally got their little rainbow baby. They hope to adopt again in the future and R is still hoping that she can have her own child as well but right now they are just living in the moment of enjoying their little girl.

They brought G.M home when she was around 14 months old. “I cried, she was absolutely adorable and we immediately gave her love and affection.” -R said about the first time they met their soon to be daughter. She doesn’t regret their decision to adopt and says their home is filled with so much joy ever sense G.M became a part of it.

When asked what advice she would share with other parents looking to adopt she said “Go for it, so many kids need a forever stable home even if its just to foster; family is everything to us. Know your reason for adopting. Develop patience and love the kids for who they are. It can be an emotional roller coaster with the most amazing reward at the end. Hang on tight, it’s truly well worth it!”

I couldn’t have said it better myself. Although, I have never adopted myself, I hope to one day in the future. There are so many kids out there that need a home. As you sit around your dinner table this thanksgiving season, think about those kids who don’t have a home or table to sit around and maybe consider looking into adoption or even fostering to adopt. It will only change your life for the better the way it did for the Booker family!

Thank you R, C and G.M. for letting me capture your very first official family session I look forward to many more and watching you all grow closer together as a family.

Here are a few more pictures from our session:

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