Lucy - Birth story
Lucy's story is a beautiful example of God's faithfulness. Kevin and Melissa have two spunky, adventurous boys and a couple years ago found out they were expecting their third child and all seemed right with the world. Little Everett was delivered on July 12, 2013 at only 14 weeks.
Sometimes we don't understand why things happen, how, or how we will go on. Melissa and Kevin were such strong examples of leaning on Christ in the hard times, and who knows how many lives were touched by watching how they handled it? I know mine was.
Psalm 34:17-19 When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles.The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all.
Then began an 8 month time lapse in the struggle of conception and the day finally came when the pregnancy test was positive, but only a few weeks later Micha was miscarried March 21, 2014. Very soon after, it seemed like everyones prayers had been answered when Melissa was a little surprised to find out she was pregnant again and at the ultra sound saw not one, but two precious little heartbeats winking at her. I remember her calling to tell me about it and I made a lot of squeaky noises and then broke down into a mess afterward because it seemed perfect. Lose two, gain two. A couple months later the call came that Melissa was delivering her little girls. Karis and Karov were born June 17th, 2014 at 11 weeks.
Melissa has a blog where she occasionally writes about what's going on in their lives, and this is an entry from right after the twins' birth:
Our sweet twins were born last night at 11 weeks. Karis & Karov, named for God's faithfulness and His nearness. Four babies with Jesus now. I miss them all desperately. My heart and my world are in pieces but somehow my anchor still holds. Because of my unchangeable God "we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us. We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain" (Hebrews 6:17-19)
To me the world seemed silent. I normally wouldn't write anything about my own feelings in a blog post but I'm not just Lucy's birth photographer, her mother is one of my closest and dearest friends. Kevin and I have been in the same worship band together for almost 5 years. I love their family, and each loss was heartbreaking to watch them go through. You want to help, to say the right things to comfort them, to somehow fix it... but you can't. There is such comfort in knowing that the first thing those babies might've seen when they opened their eyes was Jesus' face, and that someday the Rogers family of 9 will all be together.
I remember talking to Melissa over coffee one night and she said she would think that her heart would be done. That God would take away her desire for a child if she couldn't have any more. That she wouldn't go through this pain again. But she still had hope somehow and believed that there was still a child for her to hold in her arms and watch grow at the end of all of this.
It wasn't long before pregnancy #4 was under way! Fast forward to a little over two weeks ago- Melissa's contractions had started late Saturday afternoon but stopped after dinner. They got ice cream and rented a movie and went to bed. She woke up at 2 with contractions every two and a half minutes. They clocked them for a little bit, and then headed on to the hospital to check in and get set up. They texted me at 3:30 to let me know they were there so I could head that way as well. At 4 a.m. she was at 4cm, her water broke at 5am and she was at 8cm, at 5:30 Dr. Nelson was there and at 5:39 Lucy had arrived! It was a very fast labor, and Melissa managed to do it all with no epidural or pain relievers.
On June 28th, at 5:39 a.m., we watched as miss Lucy made her way into the world. She wasn't thrilled about it, but every heart was full and each pair of arms were anxiously waiting to hold her.
To me, the next set of images are my favorites that I might have ever taken. Knowing their story, feeling the relief and thankfulness that a new chapter could begin, and seeing the absolute rawness of life, motherhood, pain, and joy.
They weighed Lucy, cleaned her up a bit, and put her back where she belongs.
The boys were staying with Melissa's parents that night, so when they woke up they were able to Skype from the living room to see their new little sister.
St. Mary's keeps boards in the hallway where they write the names of all the babies born there in that year. We found all 3 the girls' names.
I was so excited to have Lucy back in my arms only 4 days later for her newborn session. She was a total champ - and then she got hungry ;)
Kevin and Melissa,
Thank you for letting me be a part of such a wonderful day. For letting me hold Melissa's hands while she labored, occasionally dispensing ice chips, standing in the corner crying like a baby, and photographing one of my favorite days in the history of ever. I love you guys, I love that little girl, and I can't wait to watch her grow up in a home where Christ is so central both in suffering and in joy. Thank you for blessing my life by painting a picture of what it looks like to fall into His arms.
-T
