I know you guys are dying to see some photos from your special day, so here’s a little preview for you:

So sweet to see the love Michael has for his new bride. He was SO giddy with excitement!

Karly’s dad wrote a very special song that he sang during the ceremony. Talk about amazing . . . it was beautiful!!

One of our days at the park, I was able to photograph a beautiful family who loves spending time at Disneyland and California Adventure . . . so much so that they have annual passes! Of course, it made perfect sense to do their family session inside the park and we all had a great time.

Could these boys be any cuter??? I think not!

Erin and I go way back and have been friends since high school youth group. She married a great guy and they now have four cool kids.

We spent the morning out at Celebration Ranch where the kids enjoyed being pushed in the swing (my oldest included). Celebration Ranch is such an AMAZING place. Check it out when you can and you should definitely plan on taking your family out there for some camping Memorial Day Weekend! For details www.celebrationranch.org/Celebration_Ranch/events.html

There was the threat of rain during my time with the Beatties, and it was pretty chilly, but we all had a great time. As you can see from the pictures, Bruce & Mary have some serious love between them and they stay cozied up while the boys ran all over the place (I won’t mention who was texting, ahem). There is just such joy within this family that I think it’d be impossible to spend time with them and NOT have a smile on your face! And no, Bruce isn’t extremely short, Mary is just standing on a crate.

One of my favorite pictures from the day!

Thanks, Beatties, for such a fun day! Can’t wait til next time!

Wow.

The expenses associated with having a child with autism are unbelievable. With the autism diagnosis comes so much information that it’s overwhelming; too much to comprehend. There are a lot of unknowns in the world of autism. There are also many blessings.

One of those blessings is the (sometimes rare) smile on a child’s face.

Last summer, one of my good friends told me she had few pictures of her son, Blake, smiling. We’ve known Blake since birth, a buddy to our oldest child. We’ve seen this family endure many trials. We’ve loved them and we’ve prayed for them. We’ve also seen the love they show others and the blessing that they are to others. Blake is such a sweet little man, with the most beautiful eyes and lips you could ever imagine on a boy. Oh he is such a handsome guy! So when Traci hired me to take their photos, I was truly honored. This is what my work as a photographer is all about:

I still love looking at these pictures of Blake. It makes me smile just to see him smiling.

So, in honor of Autism Awareness Month, I’ll be offering FREE mini sessions for any child on the autism spectrum. This offer is for the month of April and includes a private 20-minute photo session and one 5×7 print of your favorite image. The photos will be taken outdoors, where your child will have freedom to roam and be comfortable.

Limited sessions are available, so please contact me to schedule your appointment!

They were such good sports and played along with my dorky idea.

And my favorite so far!

Congratulations, you two. I can’t wait to meet Ava!

Then I started reading about kids with cancer. Kids who are in the hospital more than they’re at home. Kids who undergo horrific treatments all in the hopes of reaching remission. So, in 2006, I donated blood for the first time and lemme tell you, it was a piece of cake!

People need blood products for many reasons . . . liver disease, hemophilia, surgery, physical trauma, severe infection, sickle cell disease (along with other forms of anemia), and people undergoing treatment for cancer/leukemia.

Only 38% of Americans are eligible to donate blood and of those, only 8% do. That’s only about 3 out of every 100 people.

My friend Sara organized a blood drive in Roseburg last week and I was able to tag along and document the process.

Here’s Sara after the iodine prep which is done to cleanse the skin. (Notice the look of fear on her face) She squeezes the ball in her hand to get the blood pumping in her arm, which makes the donation go smoothly.

Here she is as the needle is inserted into her arm. She was too busy chatting with the phlebotomist to notice it was “that time”.

Cracking jokes with the rest of us . . .

This is the bag that holds the blood as it’s removed for donation.

The final product . . . The Gift Of Life!

And check out what you get as a “thank you” from the Red Cross.

Here’s Sara filling out her “donor satisfaction survey”.

And because it’s one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen, I thought I’d post a pic of Sara’s shirt!

Pretty funny, eh?

The donation process takes about 45 minutes, with the actual donation taking about 10-15 minutes. While I was there, there was talk of a donation speed competition and one of the men set a new personal record for donating in under 5 minutes. (Seriously, people time it and compete with others? whoa!) I was loving it!!! There was no fear about any part of the process, just kind people chatting about their everyday lives while helping to save the lives of others. One blood donation can save up to 3 lives–wow! check out http://www.redcrossblood.org/ for more information and to read about eligibility requirements.

Please consider donating blood and giving the gift of life. You’ll be glad you did (and you’ll get free cookies and juice too)!

Here’s a little excerpt describing what Celebration Ranch is all about: “By providing the opportunity, activities, and information required to connect young leaders with their natural environment, we can help to uncover and empower the next generation of creative and environmental innovators”. Crea is collaborating with her in-laws, the owners of this heaven-on-earth property, and they have some great plans for the ranch! They have teepees out there for the kids (my own kids FREAK OUT with excitement when they see them). Beautiful ponds, amazing views, and vast serenity. They have plans for various art classes, fishing, archery, conservation, and even cross-fit training! The focus of their programs will be on children, with the ultimate goal of involving families and the community. How awesome that such a place will exist just minutes from Roseburg?!?!

Here’s Crea and her adoring hubby, Troy. Who, incidentally, used to jump over me on his BMX bike when I was a little kid (one of the downfalls of being the only girl in the neighborhood).

The Willis clan!

Don’t these boys look like little models? Theo and Mose, you guys rock!

Thanks so much for sharing the beauty with our wonderful little community. I can’t wait to get tons of people involved in Celebration Ranch!

Here is the nomination letter I received from Kathi Kinnan:

There is this awesome family here in Camas Valley (not so far from Roseburg) who would make perfect candidates for a family photo giveaway. They most definitely cannot afford it. They began as a blended family in a little shack that could be a poster house for poverty in America. I doubt they even ever grumbled. Instead, they went about their business giving to the community time and time again: dad on the school board and mom coaching girl’s volleyball and basketball, and both very involved in their church.  They came together as dad and his two boys and mom and her two boys; all boys around the same ages.

A couple of years ago mom lost both her mother and father in the same year, quite coincidentally, and she was able to purchase a double-wide trailer for the family with the little money she received from the sale of their home. They parked it right next to the little shack and moved in.

Not long after that, or before it, I don’t really remember the time-frame, one of dad’s boys was in a football accident that required an x-ray. That x-ray changed their lives. The boy was diagnosed with bone cancer. The boy went through chemotherapy and had many hurrah moments, but then the cancer moved to his lungs. Their faith is strong, but their road has been longer than I can even imagine to this point. Because of the many trips back and forth to Portland for chemotherapy and checkup after checkup, dad has been unable to work as much as he would like, and his work is sporadic anyway.

A couple of weeks ago they made one of their trips up for a checkup where another couple of spots on the lungs were found. The boy is now 20ish and has decided on his own that he no longer wants chemotherapy. They have ordered an expensive juicer with some left over “Make a Wish” and community monies, and are currently looking at a couple of clinics (one of which is in Mexico) as a possibility, in which some serious fund raising would need to be undertaken–but no doubt would be accomplished.

The boy’s name is Dennis Wolfe. His father is Richard Wolfe and step mom Amy Wolfe. They are a most deserving and humble family who remain positive and hopeful. This family would make fine subjects for your artwork, of which would quite nicely fill their home.

Please consider this family in your holiday give-away. I love them so much.

Congratulations, Wolfe Family!!!!!! I can’t wait to set up your photo session and spend some time with the 6 of you.

And thank you to the family of judges who made this tough decision, you are SO appreciated and loved!

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