Valerie & I first met years ago when she was in her sisters Wedding...I remember her telling me she had been a Photographer for JCPenney's & all I could do with giggle...
The Larsen's positively adore our JCP Holiday sessions every year!! (I know this so pains my fellow Family Photog-friends out there)
With our matching purple hair + photography backgrounds? We just 'clicked' & soon became friends on Facebook - sharing stories about our babies + our love for all things feathered, scaled & furry, too!
We had tried, unsuccessfully, to find time to take Family photos last year - but, knew this year it was a must!
With little Mavis growing so quickly & Daniel now getting ready to start his next round of chemotherapy in just a few weeks? Time was of the essence - rain or shine (in this case? - freezing temperatures that had just set in & an icky cough going around) - THIS Session had to happen.
Valerie told me she didn't want anybody else to take these photos - that they very well could end up being their daughters' memory of her Father...
To be honest, I couldn't really even talk to them much about it during the Session because this Mommy gets way too emotional - and, I knew I would just stammer & cry through it...
I have since shared all of my feelings with Valerie in an Email...as it is so much safer to shed a tear there then it is in person...but, one of the things I wanted to share with her was a story of my own from recently.
One I didn't share publicly because I didn't feel, at the time, that it was my story to share...
It touched her perhaps even more deeply than it did myself & it so re-confirmed my commitment as to why we do what we do as Photographers - I felt compelled to share it now :
Recently, I randomly sent a woman we know in the community pictures of her + her husband dancing in embrace (she's a singer & had gotten him up out of his chair) who had passed away from Cancer last year - wondering if she had ever seen them - since they were actually taken at a mutual friends Birthday party & I wasn't sure if he ever shared them with her!?
In fact - she had never seen them…!!
They were the last photos taken of her husband - he passed away just 6 wks later...
I just happened to send them on his actual Birthday...& on the same exact day she was returning home to Lake County - - to see her home & animals that were all totally taken by the Valley Fire…she had nothing left. These are now her only photos...(I had taken a bunch of portraits of them, as well)
I lost it.
I have always believed in Fate - and that 'everything happens for a reason'...this threw it right back in my face...
It reminds us all just how very important every day truly is - to embrace every single moment before they are gone...I see the blessings in these moments...in all of the photos that I am so beyond honored to take for the Families we get to work with. Honored to have taken these...
How totally ADORABLE are these socks!?! ...donated by Sock it to Me to help spruce up Chemo any way possible...
I'm done, guys...put a fork in me...
...for all the words that don't need said...
My heart & strength goes out to this adorable + fun Family - as they brace & embark on the fight of their lives...please...if you want to know more about Valerie & her Family - - they have started a GoFundMe (click for link) page & would love to share their story...! xo SEE YOU GUYS AT THE WEDDING!!! (wink wink)
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