Taylor and Levi are going to be first-time parents in just a few short weeks. To be a part of this nervous excitement and their journey to being a family of three is just such a blessing. When I asked Taylor to share her love story with me and the story of when she first realized she was going to be a mom, she shared that it wasn’t the most “romantic… definitely not a love story that would get its own movie or anything…” but I would totally (and respectfully) disagree with her! Her love story is sweet and different than the typical love story, and I am so excited to share it here!

Taylor and Levi met in the Air Force. They joined the same day, graduated the same day, and went to the same tech school in “the middle-of-no-where Texas,” but never really connected until months later when they were both at Taylor’s favorite bar, Coyote Ugly. Due to their time in the Air Force, they shared the same friends and actually started hanging out every weekend. It didn’t take time for them to click and begin hanging out alone. Taylor was heartbroken when Levi received his orders to transfer to Arizona, but they decided to give a long-distance relationship a shot. It not only worked out but during one of Taylor’s visits to Arizona, the two lovebirds decided to take their chances in Vegas and decided to get hitched! In fact, she sent out a group text to her parents and asked them, “on a scale of 1-10 how mad would you be if we got married tonight?” Short story short, she became Mrs. Hitson that night in Vegas. Romantic? Yes! They didn’t need to plan a wedding and spend thousands of dollars to celebrate their love, their trip to Vegas was just perfect for them, and that is truly what matters.

Just like their romantic and unconventional love story, their journey to becoming parents was just as sweet. Taylor was completely occupied with moving across the country to Arizona, getting settled in their new home, and traveling back and forth to the East Coast for a wedding and family events, she didn’t even notice that she was late. She was feeling a little off and wasn’t liking her birth control, so she went to the doctor to discuss having it changed. Her new doctor ordered that she get a pregnancy test done before adjusting her medication, so on her way home she stopped at the Walgreens and bought a handful of at home pregnancy tests. She couldn’t believe it when they all said positive! She wasn’t sure what to think at first, they had never discussed being parents, and they had just moved into their new home together. The next morning, Taylor just couldn’t wait any longer and she woke Levi up and asked him to go look under the sink where she had the positive tests hiding. She broke down in tears. The unknown was scary and the journey ahead of her brought up all kinds of emotions, but when Levi found the tests reading “positive,” he turned right around, wrapped his arms around Taylor, loved on her and asked why she was crying. Taylor never thought she would have children, she didn’t think she was ready, but now she is beyond excited to be able to experience the happiest feelings of her own childhood all over again but through her son Karsyn’s eyes. She is ready for her baby boy to make his arrival, and even though emotions are high, her pregnancy is about to come to an end, and a new chapter of her life is about to begin, this two parents-to-be are so ready for baby Karsyn to make his arrival!

Working with these two was just beautiful. Levi clearly loves Taylor, truly and deeply, you can see it in the way he looks at her; and I am honored that I was able to capture that during this season in their lives. I am so glad they decided to not only have photos taken on the East Coast where Taylor is from, just like us, but also with the beautiful lighting of the desert! It seemed like the perfect location to celebrate this sweet time of anticipation for them.