Baby Howe | Announcement and Gender Reveal

Joel and Lea, two dear friends of mine, are expecting their first little one November of 2015. I am overjoyed for them! Joel and Lea actively tried to conceive for three months, in March they found out they were 4 weeks along. It will be one full year from they month they decided to start trying to the month that their bundle of joy arrives. Lea shared how the process of trying to conceive was maybe different for her than it might be others. She lost 25lbs before they decided to start trying. She also said it was hard not to let it bother her that other people were announcing on social media that they were pregnant, while it's all she wanted and still wasn't.

I remember the day I got the text that they took another test and this time, it was positive! They were over the moon. Not many days later we ventured out in the scattered-rain-shower day and grabbed some pictures to announce this amazing news.
A few weeks later friends and family gathered round as we excitedly awaited the reveal of what the gender would be. This gender reveal party wasn't quite as traditional as some, Joel and Lea themselves did not know what they were having it was going to be as much of a surprise to them as it was to us.




Lea's very clever sisters on the other hand did know and they had quite the plan for the day. Once all the guests had arrived cupcakes were passed out, and Joel and Lea took a bite, much to their surprise: some cupcakes had pink and some had blue, of course some of us thought maybe they were having twins, but it didn't take long before the laughter of Barb gave away that she wasn't going to make it that easy.

Next they were given balloons and inside one a piece of paper. Joel explained that while they were at the doctors office the baby was so squirmy that she had to write down a percentage of that she thinks the baby is...

 ...Barb later explained that since ultrasound tech knew that it was going to be a surprise she thought she would add a little more mystery to the suspense.

I am so excited for these two and cannot wait to meet Dakota James. 

Rosie Posie Photography by Brittany Hymes

Taken November 2012

Rosie Posie Photography by Brittany Hymes all started with a passion. I, Brittany, on the right in the photograph, have been taking pictures as a hobby since I was young, but as a business hobby for almost five years now. The name Rosie Posie was recently the official registered name given to my business (after just being my first and middle name, Brittany Rachelle, while I tried to find a name that would stick), I felt I would never get tired of hearing the name of the lady there on the left, my sweet Grammy Rose. My grandmother passed away three months before I got married and that was very difficult for me. We always joked about her having nine lives because it seemed year after year we got that scary call from my cousin who lived with her that we better get to the hospital, she would be on a ventilator when we got there, as usual her congestive heart was causing problems and we were all so scared, time and time again she fought through like a trooper but we always feared the day she wouldn't. Not long after her 86th birthday we got a phone call, not quite as panicked as usual but the diagnosis seemed to be worse. We all gathered at the hospital, and you could tell she wasn't sure why we were all there, each time someone new would walk in the door, "well what are you doing here, is everything okay?" I lived at the hospital those few days, slowly she slipped away, and it got to the point where she wasn't functioning much on her own, her breathing wasn't her breath but rather a machines air filling and emptying her lungs. One night while taking my fiance home I pleaded with God, asking him if He was going to take her to please allow me to be there with her. On Sunday March 3, 2013 the machine that was breathing for her turned off. They said with the shape she was in it would be just minutes. All of us gathered round and just held on to one another. 15 minutes passed, 45 minutes, and hour and a half, she just kept breathing faintly. One thing you must know, my Grammy was from Buckhannon, WV, and there wasn't a thing my family would do that good food wasn't involved. My cousin had ordered some pizza to be delivered at a certain time, it had arrived around the two hour mark. The room started to empty as family went out to eat. Myself, my fiance and my uncle, her oldest stayed. It wasn't long after the room was emptied she opened her eyes, my fiance just happened to look up and saw her looking at him, he nudged me. I looked at her, and she was looking at me, I stood up and took her by the hand and started running my fingers through her hair, I kept telling her it was going to be okay and that I was there, moments later she took her final breath. My fiance went and got the family, as we all gathered together my cousin Sara said, "it's just like Grammy to make sure we're all fed! She had to make sure we were eating before she could go."

I miss her every single day and I love that I have found a way to honor her always. She meant so much to me and I feel weird having my first post be about the end of her life rather than the amazing memories I have with but that moment will always stay with me. A life fully lived coming to an end with family and friends close by. Family is so important, and while some families are divided through though times, our family thrives and grows stronger. The cliche I wouldn't be where I am today is so true, without my Grammy Rose.

All of this is in honor of her.