Timeless Keepsakes

When I first got pregnant I had the naive assumption that – nothing would change, life will go on just like it has been there is just another tiny little human to love and nurture.  I had no intention of chaining my entire business structure from 40 weddings a year to maybe a few weddings a year.  I had no idea that such a tiny little human could take up so much of your time and how much they needed you.  I had no idea that sitting for hours and watching my child just sleep, play or learn something would be the most fascinating and rewarding experience.  I had no idea that this little bundle would change my world – heck try rocking my world.  I also had no idea that I was so lucky to be holding a healthy happy little girl.

When I first met Jenn & Lucas in my studio for a wedding consultation in 2008 I had absolutely no idea where this relationship would actually take me.  After shooting their engagement pictures in fall of 2009 at Jenn’s families farm I met Jenn’s mom and pregnant sister Sam.  At the time I was pregnant with Izabel and loved it that Sam and I were expecting babies a few months apart and I would be meeting their little boy at Jenn & Lucas’s wedding.  Heck, Jenn and I would laugh about the fact that both her sister and I would be sitting in corners pumping breast milk on her wedding day.

Fast Forward to January 2011.. my husband and I were taking birthing classes at St. John’s and one evening I ran into Jenn and her sister Sam at the hospital.  I met them with excitement and congratulations on the recent birth of Hunter.  Only to be greeted with the news that Sam’s baby Hunter was sick, very sick, and in the NICU.

It really wasn’t until this moment standing there in front of the elevator; me waiting to go to one floor to learn about birthing and what to “expect” while Jenn and Sam were waiting with their dinners in hand to go to another floor to go and sit with Sam’s brand new baby in the NICU, that babies can get sick, really sick.

That evening I sat in class thinking about Sam and baby Hunter and how absolutely devastating that has to be to have a sick child, scratch that a sick BRAND NEW BABY and not know whats wrong and that this child may not live anymore than a few days or months.  I couldn’t even fathom the idea, I mean they are brand new babies it honestly wasn’t till that moment that I really thought about it and all the news reports and stories of sick babies and children came tumbling into my head.  I mean these are new brand new babies, how could something be so wrong with them so quickly?  Nieve, I know.. but honestly I never thought of it.. NEVER!

After class I sent a message to Jenn and offered my services for absolutely no charge to Sam and her family so they can have amazing photos of Hunter.  Sam and her family waited till Hunter came home and I did the first session of Hunter, click here to see that session.  At that time I really got to know this little family and the financial strain that all the medical bills, time off work and other necessary care to keep Hunter alive put on this family.  So it became quickly obvious that the last thing they could of paid for would of been to have professional photos taken.

So thats when I began to think about offering my services for no charge to these families with children with life altering conditions.  Then after a few weeks of throwing the idea around, I quickly began to realize that this is going to be a huge need for more families then just I could help.  So I started working on forming a non-profit, that way I can get help and funding to provide these families with a specialized service that shouldn’t be inaccessible due to finances.

Well, I quickly realized that even forming the non-profit was more than one person could handle.  So after a few more months and some big life changes for me we had our very first Meeting set for July 6th, 2011.

During this time I was still following the blog and caring bridge site for Hunter and his family.  And Hunter was having some very hard times, and then I saw a post from Sam that broke my heart.  And this paragraph taken from the caring bridge site for Hunter made me contact Jenn immediately, as I wasn’t sure how easy Sam would be to reach.

…. I never would have thought in a million years before I had him that I would be having to decide what to do for my 16 month old to keep him comfortable before….I thought that I would be teaching him how to say words, teaching him to walk and get dirty like little boys do, riding in the tractor with Papa at the farm. But that is not what God had planned for him and that is okay he is perfect in every way and he has taught us patients, love, to not be selfish, and that we can overcome whatever is thrown at us. We are also a lot closer to God since he has come along, it is not that we weren’t believers it’s just now we see his work and that we are also doing his work with Hunter. …

Sam and I set up a session for Hunter on July 3rd to take some more family pictures and more pictures of Hunter.  Sadly just incase.. and it ended up being just in time.  My very first Keepsakes family lost an amazing and forever loved child, Hunter July 6th,2011.

That night we had our first Keepsakes Meeting and it was a blessing to have Tanya and Celeste show up and help out in so many ways.  Our hearts heavy for the Isaacson Family but I only was then more determined to make this non profit work and to help as many families as I could.

My vision is to provide as many families as possible with free portraitures of their family and child during the fight of their lives.  It brakes my heart knowing that too many families don’t have amazing photos of their child as doctor appointments, tests and other things get in the way.  The last thing I want to hear is that a beautiful amazing child looses their fight and the only thing these families have are cell phone pictures or even worse never photos of the WHOLE family.  I can only hope that most of these families can look back at these photos during a time that brought them closer and how lucky they are to have won a fight no child or parent should ever have to fight for.  But the sad reality is that most of the Keepsakes Families will be looking at these photos, as a cherished Keepsake of their child.

So in honor of Hunter – Timeless Keepsakes was started and is in full swing. Thanks to an amazing set of individuals who donate their time and the donation by Pro Photo Blog they provided the template design for me to set up our blog site.

So rest in peace Hunter and know that your memory will live on though Timeless Keepsakes – When Family matters Most.  Because of you little man I cherish every minute with my child and because of you I will cherish every time my shutter clicks capturing another memory another keepsake.

Here are a few of the last photos I took of Hunter.