Winter in the Cascades :)

Okay. So please, please keep in mind that this is my first attempt at compositing photos. But when I saw the image of this fireplace in Luxe magazine, I couldn't help but immediately think of this photograph I took of Lake Wenatchee. (Winter in the Cascades is such a beautiful time!) Putting them together just seemed.... natural. And even though I'm fairly certain that photography is no longer going to be a part of my future, because of fun photos like this it will always, always be a cherished hobby.

________________

"As you grow older, you'll find the only things you regret are the things you didn't do."
-- Zachary Scott

Libby: Lifestyle Portraiture

It's on her arm. Scrawled in black ink. A tattoo that says:

Saved by grace.

And Libby is. Pure and absolute grace.

Her dreams are simple, yet enormous. And they're full of grace. Her one desire in life is to get back to Africa (where she recently lived for a year and a half) so she can spend her days basking in that awe-inspiring country while helping others achieve and realize their dreams.

To achieve our own dreams is amazing. That feeling that comes with seeing a dream through to fruition is intoxicating - there's almost nothing like it. But to have a dream that also inspires others to achieve theirs? Well, there's just nothing better than that.

______________________

"How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world."
-- Anne Frank

Sneak Peek: Libby

__________________

"Gracefulness has been defined to be the outward expression of the inward harmony of the soul."
-- William Hazlitt

Fun with Nora :)

When April responded to my plea for help with a design project at school and offered up her daughter Nora as a model, I was ecstatic. (Okay, more than ecstatic. I actually did a little jig when I got her message.) Because really, Nora is just about as cute as they come.

I've had the privilege of shooting Nora once before (click here for those awesome images) and was thrilled to have another opportunity to capture her amazing spirit. This little gal absolutely belongs in front of the camera. I mean, seriously... Just take a look. :)

___________________

"Always jump in the puddles! Always skip alongside the flowers. The only fights worth fighting are the pillow and food varieties."
-- Terri Guillemets

Sneak Peek: Nora! :)

_____________

"Growing old is mandatory; growing up is optional."
-- Chili Davis

What Makes a Mom?

Am I a mom?

No. At least, not in the traditional sense.

But in the untraditional sense, I am. A mom.

My daughters have fur. Four legs. Floppy ears. And tails.

And yes. I am their mom.

Okay, most "real" moms out there are probably snorting into their coffee cups right about now. Her? A mom? Children are so much more different than pets. She's not a mom. No way. No how. And the kicker? She didn't go through ten/eighteen/thirty-six hours of labor like I did!

So what makes a mom? Over the last few years, I've had to think long and hard about this question. Tense times with my own mother has left us estranged - we haven't been in each other's lives for nearly six years now. And that fall out (of which there were many over the years, truth be told) makes me wonder just what, exactly, makes a person a mother? In, you know, the traditional sense.

Warm. Kind. Nurturing. Compassionate. Understanding...

Those words float immediately into my head.

A mom is someone who will never - no matter what - turn her back on you. Who loves you unconditionally, wholly, and without judgment - until death-do-you-part. Unlike a spouse, a mother doesn't have to take an oath, because loving you is just in her blood. It's a part of who she is. It's a connection that she cherishes and never, ever lets fade away.

I am a mom. I supported my girls when they were young and wobbling little puppies. I got up at three o'clock in the morning when they had to go outside. I've sat through bouts of sickness, cleaned up messes from said sicknesses, petted away fear, taught compassion, celebrated their victories, and cuddled needing hearts.

I researched medical therapies, struggled through let down after let down, and experienced sleepless nights when Molly got sick. Four months of sleepless nights. I felt a sickness of my own when I realized she couldn't be saved. And I sat right there with her and held her head in my hands when, at last, the needle went in.

As a mother, I still feel that loss. That unbearable emptiness. Even today.

So yes. I am a mother. In all the ways that truly matter.

I know from experience that family isn't always related to you by blood. Sharing a common lineage does not always a family make. And biology? Biology most certainly doesn't determine who your family is.

But love does. Compassion does. And where those two things exist, there exists a family.

________________

"The bond that links your true family is not one of blood, but of respect and joy in each other's life."
-- Richard Bach