Kevin, Shannon, and Beckett

Jeremy told me I could be the guest blogger for this post since this family is near and dear to my heart. (This is Jeremy's wife Robin, by the way). I got to tag along on this shoot last Saturday afternoon with the Kramer family and I had so much fun watching them interact with each other. I met Shannon a few years ago when she interviewed me for a receptionist job. We had just moved to Austin and I had given up on finding the perfect job because at that point I just needed to work. Little did I know then that this company would be exactly where I needed to be- a perfect fit for me at the time. I remember talking to Shannon in the interview and thinking, "We would be friends in real life!" She was so much fun, so full of life, and super down to earth. I was offered two other jobs that paid more, but I took the one with Shannon mainly because of her. Sounds crazy, but I just had a gut feeling that it was the right place for me.

Shannon quickly became a friend, even though she was my boss. I always looked forward to seeing her stop by my desk in the mornings and tell me some funny story about her son Beckett. Not long after I started that job, I found out I was pregnant with twins. The entire office was so supportive of me...I could easily understand why I felt like I should've taken that job. When we had our twins, we found out that our son was very sick and the doctors weren't sure he would pull through. When it comes to that time in my life, I have very vivid memories of things people said and did for us. It's one of those situations where you find out who your true friends are, and Shannon will always be counted as one of them. She was on the phone or the computer constantly wanting updates on Estlin. I remember one time she called to check on him and Jeremy and I were driving into the hospital parking garage to go see him. It was the toughest day, I think, because the doctors had just called with a very negative report. I can still almost hear what Shannon's voice sounded like (not to be weird or creepy :-)). It was just so assuring. She said, "He will be okay. He will be fine, Robin. He will. Okay?" I'm well aware that she was not convinced of that, but it is exactly what I needed right then. Then, in typical Shannon take-care-of-everyone mode, she asked if I needed for them to pay for our parking bill for the garage. Then she asked if people from the office could come up and donate blood to Estlin. Just going back to that time puts me in tears immediately. I will just never forget the way she was there for me.

So there you have it-my sappy explanation of why this family is important to me. :-)

Hope you enjoy the photos. Aren't they just so darn cute? Beckett was a little ham. He really knew how to work the camera. What a cutie.