"I almost died giving birth...twice."

"I tried for 8 years to complete my family. I was told I should just be happy with my one child, that I was selfish for wanting more, that I was too old... and I finally got my happy ending through IVF at the age of 45."

"I was told I couldn't have children."

"I raised my own siblings and have dedicated my life to breaking the cycle of abuse."

"My 15-month-old baby boy was killed by a caregiver."

"I felt like my brain was on fire."

"I started my own business and shifted to homeschooling my children in the middle of a global pandemic."

"Mother's Day was always  painful for me as a single Mom because no one thought to celebrate me."

"My daughter came to me and told me she wanted to end her life."

"It's a constant battle of not being enough at work, and not being enough at home."

"I actually miss the sleepless nights and the early mornings when we just cuddled together. It was hard in the moment, but now I miss it. No one really prepares you for that."

These are parts of the many Motherhood stories I have heard over the years. These are only a few of the inspirational people I have met who set me on the path to this project, Stories of Motherhood.

As a photographer living and working in Orange County I have seen a lot... I wont say I've seen or heard it all because that's just not possible. But I will say that I have heard stories that have moved me to ugly tears. I have cried with my family portrait clients, I have celebrated with them and most importantly - I have documented their lives in such beautiful and meaningful ways. I built my business as a wedding photographer and we quickly became a sought-after studio in Orange County capturing more than 100 weddings annually. I built an amazing team of talented photographers and three years into it, it was my turn to plan a wedding!

In that time, my sister became a Mom for the first time - making me the worlds most proud Auntie. I fell so deeply in love with my niece that everyone who saw me or knew that I spent a whole day with her every single week was like "When is it your turn to become a Mom!?" The more I heard that phrase, the more I came to resist it. I took care of my niece for 10 hours every single Tuesday ( #tuesdayswithadalynn ) and got a real hard glimpse of what Motherhood would be like and while I loved her endlessly... I also grew to love and appreciate my "me time" and started to think that maybe I wasn't meant to be a Mom. MAYBE... I was just meant to be the worlds greatest Auntie.

Then she gave birth to my nephew... and now I had two kids for 10 hours every Tuesday. I was pretty content at this point with auntie-life. Luckily for me, my husband was on the same page. We were "maybe" going to become parents... or "maybe" we'd buy a boat. We just weren't totally sold either way.

Then one day it hit me. I think it was the first time my sister booked a "first" experience for my niece and nephew that I wasn't invited to go on with them. She didn't exclude me intentionally, or to be mean or anything like that... it was just HER life and HER family. Realizing I wasn't entitled to experience all of their "firsts" was a bit of a gut punch.. or a reality check, if you will. I thought, "Well, shit. Maybe I should have my own kids if I want to revel in every single experience..."

I sat with that for a few weeks and it didn't go away. The thing was, I was still on the fence about becoming a mother. But what was hitting me so hard, was that I was also still on the fence about NOT becoming a mother. I started to imagine what my life would look like if I never had my own children... and truth be told, I realized I was itching for the weekend Mom's club at the soccer games, the vacations... and weirdly - THE GRANDCHILDREN I could potentially have one day. I am laughing out loud as I write this but it's true - if I wanted the opportunity to be a Grandma some day, I needed to become a Mom. Still quite on the fence, I somehow managed to talk my husband off the fence and we decided to start our family.

I could go on for ages and tell you my entire story - but maybe I'll do that in parts. For now, spoiler alert - I was fortunate to have two healthy pregnancies, zero miscarriages, zero infertility battles, two PERFECT daughters three years apart. My pregnancies were not a walk in the park. I didn't love being pregnant... but I loved what my body was able to do. I had the most excruciating breast-feeding experience I've ever heard of (just try and top me, I dare ya)... and as a Mom I have faced a lot of loud battles, and quiet ones too.

I wouldn't trade one ounce or one second of my experience or this life I have built for anything in the world. There is nothing I am more proud of than being a Mom to my daughters, literally nothing. Watching my niece and nephew came close to preparing me, but still NOTHING could prepare me for this adventure I am on. No one could have expressed it to me (although my Mom and my sister sure did try) or said anything that could have even come close to helping me grasp what Motherhood would be like or feel like. But I know, that without a shadow of a doubt, any of the Mother's I know have a deep connection to one another, and a deep understanding of the battles we each face. Our battles are different, but the sisterhood of motherhood binds us like NO other sisterhood could. So even if we don't experience all of the same things - we just "get it" in a way that no one else does.

This journey lead me to open up so many more doors in my photography business. While I still love being a wedding photographer, I developed a deep connection to photographing families in Orange County and all over Southern California. The importance of capturing and documenting our lives as Mothers, our connection to our children and the journey we embark on when we become Mothers has become undeniably monumental to me. I will say, too, that it isn't just about photographing families or photographing Moms with their children - but making sure it's done in a way that truly shows the bond we share, the love we exchange and the authentic personalities that are within us and our children... AND preserving it. SorryNotSorry my friends, but if you want to work with me - you're going to learn to appreciate the value of print, of wall collections, and of albums you can hold in your hands and flip through with your children and grandchildren. Because what an absolute waste it is to leave them buried on a hard drive somewhere, or shared once or twice on social media and then forgotten. Our memories are priceless and they deserve to be preserved and held in our hands.

ALL of these reasons - and all of the incredible stories I have had the privelege of listening to along with all of this passion has lead me to this extraordinary project that I am creating this year: Stories of Motherhood. I'm taking this experience beyond the family portrait session and creating not just a VIP portrait experience but also - a Gala showcase. If you haven't yet read enough today and want to dig deeper, you can read all about Stories of Motherhood in this article by SuccessXL.

My Mission? To EMPOWER Mothers to be seen, and celebrated and to TREAT THEMSELVES to something truly remarkable, because Mothers are truly remarkable. Your story deserves to be told, you deserve to be honored, and you deserve to connect with other extraordinary women. I may be biased, but I don't believe there is any better Mothers Day gift for this year, than participation in Stories of Motherhood. Dads, Partners, adult children - give your Mom the ultimate Mother's Day gift this year and submit her to be a part of this by clicking HERE . Moms - don't wait for someone else to celebrate you... celebrate yourself, give yourself this gift. You deserve it... and I love you!