"This is our first deployment together. It was tough but we made it through. It had its good and bad days. I think the toughest part is having our daughter. Darius left when our daughter was 2 weeks old. He has missed all her 'firsts' and all holidays she has been around for. He has basically missed her whole first year. It was hard for him to not be able to see all that each day and it was obviously tough for me being a first[time] parent on my own dealing with work (military), school, her and other things as well. It has brought us closer together even more I believe though, even if it was a tough road."  - {Courtney S.}

When Courtney first contacted me in April about photographing this Navy homecoming here in San Diego, I was so excited and honored to help. Military homecomings are some of my favorite moments to capture. The emotion, the excitement and the stories. I love to tell the story with the photos I capture, as storytelling is definitely a passion of mine.

As I got to know these two and their new family of three, I became even more invested in their story as it is so very sweet and heartwarming. As you can see from the quote above their little girl was only 2 weeks when he left. These two met and fell in love in the Navy, but this is the longest (286 days as I found out!) they have been a part so far. However, as just an observer, I can tell you how clearly evident it was the immediate bond between father and daughter that was there even after all the time a part. And well, as you will see in the photos below, the emotion between mom and dad was just as evident.

Grab a tissue, or two, I will freely admit I've shed a tear or two going through these. Even the local news station and newspaper saw something special about this story. Here is their story from that day , in photos, enjoy!

Love & Blessings ,
Anna