First Sari: A Beautiful Tween Event

In South India, a girl receives her first sari as a gift from her maternal grandmother in a ceremony surrounded by family and friends. Although N’s maternal grandmother is no longer living, N was surrounded by family and friends while she received her first sari, gifts, advice and love a couple weeks ago.

The tradition begins with a bath in rose petals, and then many hands dressed N in her sari, brushed and blow dried and styled her hair, applied her makeup, and assisted with jewelry and bindi.

We took photos outside, then she came downstairs to greet a crowd of women and girls, accompanied by all of the little girls present, all decked out in beautiful traditional Indian clothes.

N received prayers, blessings, advice and bible verses, she was given gifts and flowers. She was glowing and beautiful, and I could not be happier to be part of her life.



Arlington County Fair: My Happy Kids

My kids LOVE the Arlington County Fair.  After letting them tag along for Chloe's session on Wednesday, I returned Thursday with just the kids for a special trip.  They loved the Fun Slide, the train, and all the colors and lights!

Photos at the fair are a favorite part of my summer, from long before I opened my business.  The fair may be small (#smallcountybigfun), but I love the small town feel and running into everyone we know - classmates, friends from the Down syndrome community, neighbors, and past clients.

 

 

Arlington County Fair: A High School Session

The Arlington County Fair is one of my favorite spots for photos.  The lights, the color, and the chance to do something a little different make me so happy!  I met Chloe, the subject of these photos, for the first time at the fair, but she's the subject of a photo I took at the student walkout in March that was picked up by a few minor news outlets.

I'll be back at the fair tonight with my kids to hit up the areas we missed yesterday - specifically, pig racing!

Florida: Vacation Time!

I can hardly believe it's been so long since I posted a session!  I stayed busy the week after my last post with headshots, then running Vacation Bible School, and then my family spent a week in Naples, Florida!  

I love the beach, but due to red tide, we spent most of our days at the water park.  Growing up in California, I never realized that red tide was so very dangerous at high levels.  My family all experienced respiratory issues at the beach, and we sadly saw some dead sea life as well.  However, we also had a wonderful time just being together in spite of those issues.

#GraciesWish: A Make a Wish Session

Gracie's family has been important to us since we first met them when their oldest daughter, Charlie, was adopted.  They went on to add three more kids to their family, all adopted from Eastern Europe, all with Down syndrome.

Gracie, however, is facing a lot more than just Down syndrome.  She has a life limiting diagnosis, and has spent far too much of her life in hospitals.

But on Tuesday, Gracie got to celebrate and go do something for fun.

No doctors and nurses there to treat her (although there were some in the audience.)

A special Make a Wish event, just for her.  Rachel Coleman from Signing Time performed a private concert.

A day for Gracie.

A day for her sisters.

A day for her parents.

Of course, I had to get there, even if it meant going to Minnesota for less than 24 hours.  (And even a little less, thanks to some crazy flight delays!)

Rachel Coleman and Leah were wonderful.  The folks from Make a Wish were great.  And my eyes welled up with tears the whole time!