Cici, Christian and Makenzie: 3 families, 3 journeys...

cici and her mom jenny enjoying the early spring day at the park
http://colofisch.blogspot.com/




a group of friends sharing a common journey with grace and love


pam and makenzie
http://www.makenziesmiracle.org/2009/03/my-journey-to-healing.html


shauna and christian
http://christiansjourneyblogction.blogspot.com/2010/03/design-your-own-eco-friendly-trash-sack.html


makenzie and her amazing smile. (that smile stayed with me long after our photoshoot together)












penny, cici and jenny. penny and cici are identical twins



when i think of heroes i don't think of presidents, sports figures or musicians, heroes to me are people in the trenches fighting everyday battles with determination and grace. i think of ordinary people with extraordinary circumstances. today i think of these three families that i recently had the chance to spend time with.

cici & jenny, pam & makenzie and shauna & christian.

i think of how strong they are. i think of just how hard they fight and how hard their little ones fight. i think of the courage and love that surround the kids, the moms, and everyone in the families who pull together and fight everyday.

life is not predictable nor it is something to take for granted. but i do believe all of us will be tested within our lifetimes. some of us now and some later. for now...these kids are facing some major challenges. but the love that these mothers have for their kids is so strong that it can be felt as a power surrounding them. in fact, jenny's family adopted the simple philosophy as their theme: "accept the gift as if it were one you had chosen".

i had the honor of spending some time with these families and photographing them. i left my session with them feeling so happy to know them, so happy to see what grace it. so happy to learn how strong the bond of love it. and to see just how much we can accomplish when love surrounds and supports us through our struggles.

this is a group of fabulous mothers, fabulous kiddos and fabulous families. it is WELL worth your time to spend some time learning about their stories and contributing to their causes.

thank you for taking the time to follow their journey. please consider donating to the auctions and fundraisers for these families. it will be time and money well well well spent.

and thank you shauna, jenny and pam for showing us something we ALL need to learn sooner rather than later: grace under pressure.

lily, and family...

this picture went to my all-time top 5 on my website withing a day of posting it!












those sweet neck kisses...
































lily stole the show in this family portrait session. her smiles, and frowns, and those sunglasses! i loved watching this family interact and the obvious love that they shared. that love was quite palpable.

i didn't have to pose them at all...i captured them just being themselves. just how it is supposed to be.

it's very exciting to work with families who value that the simple moments and natural smiles are what the days of our lives are all about. and that today is a day to be treasured and documented.

mom and dad had a sweet chemistry. at times dad would just bend down and kiss his lovely wife on the neck. and that kiss would produce the fullest and most robust smile from his beautiful wife. and her dimples--they speak for themselves.

i loved meeting this family and left our session with a smile on my face. their fun energy stayed with me well into the night. and my face displayed a frozen smile the entire time i was editing the images.

i
love
my
job.

spring snow storm

when we moved here to colorado from good old dreary and dull PA i was shocked to learn that march was colorado's snowiest month. and year after year i have learned to believe that--especially during the spring of 2003 while recuperating from surgery and housebound during the blizzard that dumped over 26 inches to our neighborhood. and yesterday was no exception. but i must admit that i was skeptical of the weather predictions considering it was beautiful, sunny and well into the 60's hours before the storm (evident in the photos taken just an hour before the storm made it's way to denver).

the wind howled last night and the snow dropped like confetti from the sky--whipping and twirling as it fell rapidly from above. it snowed 3 inches per hour. the street was blanketed so quickly, so helplessly. the peaceful white against the dark night sky calmed me as i stood by the window watching. i loved the idea of diving under the covers knowing that our little world would slow down just a bit as the predicted 15 inches fell through the night.

in the morning, school was closed. we hunkered down and played the day away both inside and out. snowmen, snow forts, snowballs and hot cocoa all filled our day.

the boys love playing board games--so we did. all day long. and it was perfect. peaceful, fulfilling and so so sweet.