A little over three years ago, I met a lovely soul named Breshon during a graveyard shift at a job I previously worked at… little did I know what kind of friendship would grow between us as the years went by! During our shifts we’d talk a lot about life and God and different things that would come up–one of them was my thoughts at the time of becoming a wedding photographer. Her first words of encouragement: “When Isaac and I get engaged, you’re going to be my photographer!” (or something along the lines of that!). I remember being so in shock that she so instantly believed in me without even really seeing any of my work!
As time went by and we worked more shifts together and eventually left our old work space, Isaac popped the question and the next thing I knew, Breshon messaged me about being her photographer (view their wedding here)! I also got to photograph their engagement session (take a look at it here)! I was honored to find that she and Isaac loved working with me, and I had so much fun being able to bless my dear friend!
To give you a little glimpse of who Breshon is, I’d describe her as an incredibly passionate woman of God. She’s extremely honest and will tell you things straight, but out of love. She has a great servant’s heart and is one of the hardest workers I know. She’s a woman of true character. As great as Breshon is, it’s so awesome to see how great Isaac is, too! His love for Breshon and those around him is so evident in his actions and words. He has such a generous and giving heart, and he, too is a man of great character, too. In the car ride from the airport to their house with Isaac and my girl friends (they hosted us!), my friends’ first impression of Isaac was what a godly man he was–and the car ride wasn’t that long! They’re such a wonderful couple!
Breshon & Isaac moved to the island of Oahu in Hawaii a while ago and while we still stayed in contact, communication was a little bit more difficult! But thankfully through social media and the gift of texting, we still stayed pretty close! It was about nine months ago that I got a sweet text from Breshon with the news that she was PREGNANT!! We were both so sad that we lived so far away because I wanted so badly to photograph their next stage in life: their first maternity session! Never did I think I would ever actually be able to see her during her pregnancy, let alone photograph her during it! I haven’t traveled in ages! But God is so good, and due to a somewhat spontaneous trip I ended up planning with a couple of my girlfriends (view the Hawaii blog here), I found myself in Honolulu, Hawaii just in time to photograph her in her final trimester with sweet little baby girl, Gloria Noel! To this day, I still can’t believe I travelled to Hawaii and got to see these precious friends of mine! :)
So without further adieu, take a look at Breshon & Isaac’s maternity session!
I loved getting to spend time with Breshon & Isaac, and hearing how encouraging and uplifting Isaac is to Breshon during her pregnancy!
“Bre has done an exceptional job doing all the hard work to get Gloria to where she is now I don’t think there’s another person on this planet that do it as well as she did!” – Isaac
Breshon & Isaac got married in August of 2012! I asked them how married life has been, and this is what each of them said:
“Married life has been awesome because it’s like we were playing a level in a game and just graduated to the next level. God is giving us so much more of each other and it blesses our communication, intimacy, and prayer life as we prepare for Glo Noel” – Breshon
“It’s been awesome we have been doing so awesome loving each other adding Gloria to this bond can only be a blessing we are so excited.” – Isaac
After their wedding, Breshon had one of her favorite shots from her wedding turned into a canvas with their vows printed on top of it! One of the shots in her maternity session that she really wanted was one that showed this canvas since Gloria Noel is a sweet product of their marriage!
Part of their session was taken on the shores of Hickam Beach! Breshon looked absolutely gorgeous–she has such a beautiful pregnancy glow! :)
“Knowing that Gloria is on her way gives me butterflies (as if there isn’t enough commotion in my stomach already). I can’t wait to put a face to the person I’ve felt grow inside of me for the past 9 months.” – Breshon
“I’m seeing just how protective my husband is of his Queen Bre. Isaac goes out of his way to make sure I’m comfortable, and is saddened when there is nothing he can do for me about things like nausea or contractions. The most important thing my husband does is support and swoon over me. I feel so beautiful and perfect during this pregnancy. During my most uncomfortable moments I still catch him staring at me sweetly and actually thanking God for me , telling me how perfect I am, how proud I am making him, and what an honor it is for him to have such a blessing. I do still enjoy the food runs, foot rubs, and help putting on shoes! lol” – Breshon
Since it’s been a while since I had seen this sweet couple, I was encouraged and so blessed to see that their love for one another was just as strong as it was when I first met them! I also loved seeing that they could still make each other laugh as hard as they used to! :)
“I am so excited to see her face I really want to know what she is going to look like. I’m excited for us to teach our child the right and godly ways to be a young woman. This is going to be fun!” – Isaac
The name, Gloria Noel, has a special meaning behind it and I asked Breshon to share a bit of how it came to be:
“The short version of a long story (as short as I can make it) lol I kept the desire to name my first daughter after my awesome grandmommie a deep secret. One day in 2012, about 6 months into the first deployment we experienced as a married couple, Isaac emailed me “…if we ever have a little girl, you’d want to name her Gloria, huh?” I stood in my kitchen so stunned but at peace that God had given my husband that confirmation. Never have shared that with him, we both kept that name on the table, appreciating God’s telling us the same thing from different ends of the world.
After continuing our journey through the next few years, we arrived in Hawaii and months later became pregnant. Isaac immediately reminded me of what God had shown us a few years back about “Gloria”. We didn’t know the sex so we hadn’t jumped to any conclusions yet. Isaac then added a middle name for our “just in case” baby girl.
During the beginning of our marriage I struggled with hyphenating my last name. I have no brothers to pass on the last name, Christmas. Isaac felt disrespected by that being traditional and wanting Atkins to be the only last name I had. Understanding that through prayer and what God was teaching me about submission, I unhappily agreed to obey my husband. With all of that behind us, Isaac came up with the idea to give all of our children middle names that translated into my maiden name (Christmas). He then came up with the French translation, Noel.
As soon as we found out the sex of the baby was for sure a girl, Isaac simply said ” This must be the reason I couldn’t think of a boys name.”
As our session came to an end, we got to watch the beautiful Hawaii sunset, and I was just so excited for my beautiful friends and the precious child that they’ll be blessed with soon! :)
Breshon & Isaac shared with me a little note for you expecting mothers & fathers:
“My advice to new mothers: Everyone will always have opinions, but no one is helping you physically carry your child. Listen to your medical provider and your body. Learn to hear all advice but only take what you need.” – Breshon
“For future fathers, make sure you become flexible. Things might not make sense to you, but… …just be understanding.” – Isaac
CONGRATULATIONS ISAAC & BRESHON! I’m so excited for the both of you, and for little Gloria Noel! I just know she’ll be extremely loved and well taken care of! :)
Happy Friday!