There are many things in this life that make me smile but none so far has compared to being there when my one and only daughter was proposed to!  Not only was I there, but I was deep in the snow taking portraits behind the scene!  Adam, her fiancé' asked if I could capture this special moment in their lives.  To be perfectly honest, I was worried that I would lose it and not capture the "shot".  Surprisingly, I was not emotional but was in the mode to not "miss the shot"!  I could not be happier for both of them and to see her smile so big, makes me smile!

I'm sure there will be lots to do in the coming months:  engagement portraits, venue shopping, wedding dress shopping (oh my) and all that goes with creating the special day for our daughter!  However, if THE day was anything like the proposal , it will be absolutely perfect!  To top it off, Adam asked Meg to marry him on my parents would be 56th wedding anniversary!  So, now the 27th of February has a new meaning to all of us!

To have and to hold from this day forward........let the memories be magical and the special times that I will have with my daughter be slowed in time.  Will let everyone know when the date has been set.

In the meanwhile, the song "Going to the chapel" keeps  playing over and over in my mind.  

love,

Susie

I'm writing this today feeling thankful for the new friends I have made at ILSP in Contra Costa County in California.  For the last two years, I have been blessed to take senior portraits of these remarkable young men and woman that are either in the foster care system or they are living on their own.   Each one of them, like each one of us, has a story to tell.   I love hearing their story and their goals for the future!  My goal is to make it such a special day/treat  for these individuals and hope that when they remember their senior portraits, it brings a smile to their faces.

This young man, {D}, wanted his senior portraits taken but didn't have a way to ILSP on Saturday a.m.  One of the directors, picked him up to take him to his senior portraits with the catch that he had to help me all day with the other seniors, which meant moving equipment, chairs and making the other seniors feel comfortable as well as set up and tear down of my equipment.  What a sweet young man, I was able to work with last Saturday.  We got on the subject of faith, which I usually don't do, but we had a conversation about it and at the end of a very exhausting day,  he wanted one more shot of him praying.  I cannot wait to give him his framed portrait for him to keep and to remember not to give up faith no matter what life throws his way.  My hope is that when he looks at this, he will remember how he touched my life on January 30th!  Thank you {D} for all of your help!

Creatively,

Susie

Happy New Year, Everyone!  I hope everyone had a great holiday season and 2016 is starting off great!

Today, I am reminded about how the heart works.  How strong of an organ it is and how none of us can survive without this organ.  But you see, there is just surviving and then there is connecting with others through your HEART!

Today, after many, many months of persistence, my youngest son, Conner, connected the excess waste of food at his college to an organization that finds people in need to feed.   He worked in the college cafeteria  a couple of years ago and saw the food that was being thrown away and also saw the many homeless people throughout the community.  It took many months to jump through all the hoops associated with giving food away and through this, his heart knew he had to keep fighting to make this happen!  It became his passion and his mission!  It did MY heart good today when he called and said he made his first delivery from school to a church that feeds the homeless..... To hear the excitement in his voice!!  And now, even though it is his last semester in college, he has connected the surplus food at his college with individuals in need!  You see, although I will be so very proud when he graduates; I am most proud of the man he is today! 

               For I was hungry, and you fed me.  I was thirsty and you gave me a drink.  I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home.

                                                                                                                                               Matthew 25:35

We all have things that tug at our heart and my hope is that in 2016, you do something about it!  

Blessings,

Susie