Matt and Emily are some of the most amazing people we know. They are loving, adventurous, super down-to-earth, and oh, so genuine. Kelly first met them while in college in Minnesota and then they headed to grad school in North Carolina. Since then, they have literally traveled the world: Ireland, England, Jordan, Egypt, Kenya, Israel, Czech Republic…

Around nine months ago, while in Jordan, they found out Emily was pregnant with their first child, after six years of marriage. Over time, they learned their little miracle of a son had conditions making him “incompatible with life.” Advised to terminate the pregnancy, Matt and Emily chose instead to carry their son and allow room for a miracle. They started praying for one day with Jacob. On April 20, 2012 Jacob Bradley was born, silently, into this world.

We are so honored that Matt and Emily let us photograph the day when family and friends came together to celebrate and remember Jacob’s life. This was one of the most difficult and heart-wrenching – yet – most powerful, and hope-filled stories we have ever photographed and compiled. We hope it speaks truth into your life.

If anyone who views this is going through a similar experience, Matt and Emily highly recommend the book I Will Carry You.

Lyrics to “After the Storm” by Mumford and Sons can be found here.

Part of our inspiration to create images and tell stories that matter: The Don’t Give Up Project.

AN UPDATE:

Matt and Emily welcomed their daughter, Anabelle, to the world on April 8th, 2013. They write, “While we rejoice deeply (and rightly!) about this news, one of the things that we have learned by walking through Jacob’s life and death is that there is a lot of invisible hurt that is prevalent beneath the surface in many lives around us centered on the issue of children and fertility. As we approach the one-year anniversary of Jacob’s passing we are evermore reminded to stand in solidarity with those who are hurting in these areas. So many stood and continue to stand alongside of us, and we know the beauty of the Body through times of suffering, so we find ourselves compelled to try to seek sensitivity to these issues even amidst our joy. We are so grateful for the chance to share our good news so as to invite you to ‘rejoice with those who rejoice’ but it is not without acknowledging that there are those who are silently stinging as they receive a reminder of a blessing that is not yet theirs. We want to simply say that we understand some degree of that pain and we weep with those of you who are weeping particularly in this area of your lives.”