baby belly: Liz and Jason

"My friend, you will be wonderful. You will be tired and emotional and overwhelmed. There will be times where you might ask yourself what you have done(don't feel bad about it.. Totally normal). But then, in the middle of all of the chaos and sleep deprivation and sore nipples, when she is curled up in your arms, you both will look at her and look at each other and the love will fill you so high it will pour from your eyes. And you will know that all is exactly as it should be. My friend, you will be wonderful. "

Life is made for making mistakes. We make mistakes to learn. To truly be living our lives means to be growing and learning and stumbling from time to time. Our friendships are built for this, we are built to learn from each other, to support one another in tough times, and to share in our joys and sorrows together. My friend Liz is a incredible woman. So, naturally she married a incredible man. I have learned so much about friendship and love and courage and determination from these two. But you want to know what I think the number one lesson I have learned from my 25 year friendship with this girl is? Life is funny. Laugh. Laugh at yourself. Laugh at your mistakes. Laugh at others' mistakes as well, for they are just stumbling around this life as we are. Life is to be taken seriously, but only some of the time. Without the ability to laugh, what would it be??

Thank you Liz for teaching me this valuable lesson over the years, and of course to you as well Jason for joining in and exemplifying the ability to be sensitive and serious, as well as lighthearted and funny. And thank you both for inviting me to take these photos of you at this incredible turning point in your lives. May you both teach your daughter all of the ins and outs of life, love, responsibility and kindness, but may you(as I have no doubt that you will), teach her about the importance of laughter in this silly life.