As my family prepares to move west in just a few weeks, my weekday schedule between weekend weddings has been jam packed with family sessions for so many of my beloved returning clients and friends. I am SO thankful for all of these families who have wanted to squeeze in one last session together before I relocate!
The McCartys are one of those families, although they are friends first. I first met Melissa through a mutual friend at church just months after moving here. She and I were both pregnant with our second, due just weeks apart. We got our girls (whose birthdays happen to be 2 days apart) together for my daughter's very first Tennessee playdate. And so began a friendship between our families that I have no doubt will last for our lifetime.
Our girls were 20 months old when they first met. The rest of our children have grown up together since birth. We have walked together through the joys and trials of pregnancies, newborns, parenting, marriage, job changes, and now moving. Melissa has seen me in every state, from my highest highs to my lowest lows. She has made herself available when she has her own home full of children. She has graciously accepted help when she is exhausted herself. She is flexible, humble, steady, strong, and sincere. She never speaks ill of anybody, and she also doesn't sugar coat truth.
This woman is a mother, wife, friend and leader who I aspire to be like. And she and Drew are raising four amazing children who are a beautiful reflection of the two of them and their patient, Christlike parenting. This family is a gift in my life and I pray each of their children will grow up to understand just how blessed they are to be a McCarty.
