{Kimberly + Adam} Couple #3 | Photo Session Giveaway

Here is the third entry for the Couple Photo Session Giveaway .

Thank you so much for your entry, Kimberly! I'll be posting the voting poll after our deadline of May 30th, so please be sure to return to cast your vote. Good luck.

Dear Charla,

My pictures of adam and I are, somewhat unique to say the least.. We have pictures I took of adam and the kids, pictures of the kids and I, but essentially, our only pictures of "us", are the ultrasound pictures of our baby due in August. With Adam recently joining the Navy, and my being busy with the kids and life, we just haven't made time for turning the camera around on ourselves.. Now to get to Adam's and my story, you'd have to be aware of the precursor to it. My ex husband. As he also plays a big roll into why I'd love to enter and be in the running for a photo session with you.

My ex husband and I met while in high school, but didnt start dating until after, and then we got married up in san francisco. The only good thing to come out of our marriage, was Savannah and Dylan. Their dad was in the coast guard, and eventually we moved from San francisco Ca, to a small small small town called massena, Ny. Small town life was not for either of us, but it started to affect martin in other ways.. When my son was 4 weeks old, martin snapped in the most unthinkable of ways, and shoved his thumb in dylans mouth hard enough that it tore his tongue away from the underside of his jaw, and he also fractured his leg. Martin's excuse was that he was "sick of hearing the colicky baby cry." Unexcusable, and had i known the man i married was capable of doing that, I'd have never married him. Dylan was in the hospital for two days, I had martin arrested and charges pressed against him, and he spent time in jail as well as recieved a dishonorable discharge from the military later on. The night the incident had happened, February 15th 2009, Child Protective Services became involved and took both savannah and dylan into foster care, for 19 months, until i threatened to file a lawsuit. CPS's justification in doing so was that they believed that even though i was in the shower and unable to hear what was going on on the other side of the house, that i should have known what was going on or was going to happen, and tried to allege that i "failed to protect" my child. After 27 months of legal battles and several thousands dollars of my money, and my mother and step dad's money going towards legal fee's for an amazing lawyer, I finally won my case against CPS, all allegations were dropped against me, and I have sole custody of my children, with the rights of their father pending termination in a matter of just a few weeks. After years of feeling like there was no end in sight, my and my children's personal nightmare ended.

Adam I met in the middle of that nightmare. We had friends in common, talked a bit, started dating.. And somewhere in the 8 months we have been dating, he turned into one of my best friends, and I really don't know what I'd do without him. He's been my shoulder to cry on, my person to kick back and have the most fun doing absolutely nothing at all with, and the love of my life. He's accepted savannah and dylan into his life, as well as the responsibility that comes with having kids, as he had never had any experience with kids prior. He has made major adjustments and sacrifices in his own life, to be able to work himself into mine, And i don't think he will ever quite understand just how much i do appreciate that of him. He provides, encourages, and most importantly, Loves. We have our rough patches, as does every couple, because we both have alot of learning and adapting to do, but we both stick with it regardless, because we love each other.

I would love for a chance in this contest because I feel that having a picture of adam and I, and all three kids, would be the perfect symbol to the beginning of the rest of our lives. We aren't planning on a marriage anytime soon, we don't need rings to show our commitment, But our first family photo after finally being able to move back to california, and start the rest of my and adam's life together, would be a rather nice reminder of just how far we have come.