i knew of rachel before i knew her. in my photography world its like the six degrees of jonathan canlas as opposed to kevin bacon. i knew some people who knew him, who knew her through him, and it made me feel a little like i knew her too. but it wasn't until she gave birth to her little baby nova, and chronicled her birth story here (read it! so touching!)

that i fell completely and utterly in love with rachel and her perspective. from that point on, i kept my eye on her. you know the ways of internet stranger platonic romance don't you? you start to follow them on twitter, you're charmed by the clever things they say, you learn the names of their immediate family, laugh along at the retelling of their trip to europe, and secretly believe that if only they knew you in real life, you would be true blue friends. that was me and my rachel thurston fantasy.

when i wrote the infamous sick of it blog posts, i was overwhelmed with supportive emails. really. the internet taught me a lesson on the good parts of humanity in that crazy aftermath. rachel's was among the first wave. what?! her?! the one i always hoped would notice me?? she said she would love to have me out to photograph her family in long beach (which can i just stop and say how that touches my heart?!!). i wrote back something along the lines of, well, i don't know if you were serious or not, and you may not know this, but i'm supposed to be your new best friend, so i hope you were a little serious because i would love to come out....

her response still rings in my ears a little bit.

"serious as sin."

ha. so i did. and after i took photos of rachel, grant and nova, and got so wrapped up in their web of love that i almost couldn't stand it..... i spent the night. that's right. be careful when you hire ole' yan. you might get a bonus sleepover with your package.