Memories of Love

 

I lost my grandma Lucy one week after Mother's Day.  It wasn't unexpected and we knew the end was imminent, but that didn't make it any easier.  I'm glad that my son's have many memories of her and I don't want them to ever forget her.  More importantly, I'm glad that I made a point during the last couple of years to photograph Lucy as much as I could as well as documenting her last few months for our family.

My youngest son and Lucy had a special relationship.  He was her 'baby boy'.  When she was at her crabbiest he would sing for her and make silly jokes, getting a giggle and smile out of her when no one else could.  When she was dying I told him he didn't have to go to the hospital to see her because I knew how difficult it was, but he insisted.  I'm doing it for her, he would say, tears in his eyes, she needs me.

I had been trying to come up with ways to somehow use my photos of Lucy as sort of a memorial to her when the opportunity came to get a canvas print from Hello Canvas. I knew immediately what I was going to do.  I showed my son all the pictures I had taken of Lucy over the past couple of years and told him to pick his favorite one to be used.  When our package arrived only 5 days later, we couldn't wait to open it.  I don't know who was more excited about it, me or my son!  Once it was opened, we propped the canvas up and stood back and looked at it in awe.  It immediately brought tears to my eyes.  Mama, my son said excitedly, MeeMaw would be so happy!  Not only would Lucy be happy, my son is happy and that is everything.  Thank you, Hello Canvas, for your help in keeping the memory of Lucy alive, just as it should be.

What about you? Do you do anything special with your photos to remember those that are no longer with us? Please share with us your ideas or show us in a photo what you have done.  We'd love to see your memories of love, too. 

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Hello Giveaway! It’s random giveaway time again from our friends at Hello Canvas. YAY!

Leave a comment here between now and Thursday at midnight and you could win a 20X24 canvas of your photo of choice from Hello Canvas!  Hello, indeed!

EDITED TO ADD:

Thank you all so much for the response on this post! Hello Canvas was so touched by this conversation of Love that they are now offering 40% off all orders when you use our promo code HELLOSISTERS! HELLO!

And thank you sisters, for sharing your beautiful, sweet, warm comments with us.  You have truly touched me. 

Summer Love

I love summer.  It is here and it is most definitely my season.  It’s the only time of the year that I give myself permission to let myself relax.  I love the long days, warm nights and the chance to wear open-toed shoes after a long winter encased in socks and boots.  And of course, getting a pedicure to welcome the new season doesn’t hurt, either.  Like most girls, I have a thing for shoes.  And because summer is my most favorite season ever, I’m always on the lookout to find the cutest (and most comfortable) pair of sandals or flip flops out there.  I know my camera gets most of its use this time of year as well, and there’s nothing cuter than seeing a ‘tween in her cute little flip flops and newly painted toes. It was only natural then, that when I did a photo shoot of the two girls above I just had to include a shot of those too-cute feet.  Seriously, what’s not to love about kids or babies feet or any feet in super cute shoes, for that matter?! 

What do you love about summer? Show us what summer is to you.  And if you have any cute feet pics, by all means, show us those, too! 

In honor of summer and all things feet, Karin Stouffer of Toes N’ Bows (maker of the darling flip flops above which, by the way, come in both womens and girls sizes!) is giving away one pair of custom made flip flops of your choosing and designed by you, so be sure to leave your comment here by 12 midnight PST to be entered in a random drawing!

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Thanks for all your great comments and love of summer!  And congrats to Brooke of Shutterboo for winning the custom-made flip flops!

Genuineness

Genuineness (noun): the act of being true, unaffected, open, honest, forthright

One of the best ways to find real genuineness (yes, it's a real word!) is to go on vacation.  When you have the ability to escape your day-to-day life and get away from it all, genuineness will most definitely occur.  I just got back from a week-long, spring break vacation with 4 other families.  This is one of the best times that I love to photograph my friends and loved ones. Every single smile I capture is authentic and real.  No one is worried about their hair and make-up being just right and even those men who usually look so uncomfortable in photographs will pose willingly for me.  I don't worry about getting that 'great shot' or about composing the photo 'just right'.  Instead, I just take pictures for the sheer pleasure of taking pictures. 

When all was said and done, I came home with over 400 photos.  As I went through them all, one thing was evident: genuineness.  It was in the smiles, the expressions and in the laughter that I heard all week long.  I couldn't not share with everyone so I made a slideshow for them, letting them see the genuineness of it all, too.  As I state in my slideshow, whether or not it is clear to us, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should. The evidence is plain to see.

How about you? Do you have a photo from something or somewhere or someone that shows true genuineness? Please share.  We'd love to see them.

New Beginnings

My favorite tree that has given me so much pleasure during the fall and winter is showing it's new growth in honor of spring.  Winter and all it's gloominess (yes, we do get gloomy weather here in SoCal) has given way to warmer and longer days.  Summer shoes are beginning to replace my winter shoes and there's already 3 or 4 pair of flip-flops sitting next to the front door.  Spring returns the same time every year and will until the end of time, but I still love the newness of it all. 

How do you celebrate spring?  Please, do share.  We'd love to see!

Letting the pictures do the talking

 

Without having to say a word, I love how a photograph I have taken can convey just what I need it to.  We've heard it all our lives: A picture is worth a thousand words. With all the fabulous photo and slideshow programs available now, it makes it easier than ever to put those photos in a slideshow to share with others, conveying everything that needs to be said.  Add a little music and you've got a real treat.  

I recently put together a slideshow as a thank you for my lovely friend for all that she does for my son's school and the students that love her so.  I asked her friends, family and co-workers to choose a word that comes to mind when they think of her.  Each person then came up with their own idea how they wanted to highlight the word they had chosen and I then photographed them.  Everyone was so creative! The slideshow turned out beautiful and my friend was moved to tears by all the kind words. 

I'm not the only one doing this.  Just recently a gorgeous slideshow was made in honor of one of our sisters, Kristin AKA Maine Momma, for her birthday, made by a beautiful bunch of women using their photography and creativity to express what needed to be said.  How lovely it is when a photograph can do all your speaking for you.

Share with us today your creativity or ideas.  Who knows, maybe you'll inspire another.