An afternoon with Mollie, a session through The Gold Hope Project

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“It’s so beautiful. It’s just so beautiful!”

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Those were the words that Mollie said over and over as we made our way through the Birmingham Botanical Gardens. Her joy was contagious and inspiring as she looked at every flower and tree with wonder. Mollie was diagnosed with cancer in the summer of 2016.

September is National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, so I thought it was an appropriate time to share this session I did with The Gold Hope Project, an organization that aims to aid research for rare pediatric brain cancer while raising awareness through photography.

Before I started volunteering with The Gold Hope Project, I did not realize that childhood cancer affects 40,000 kids in the US every year and that less than 4% of the National Cancer Institutes’ annual budget is accounted for childhood cancer research. Non profit organizations work to provide more funding, but more has got to be done for these children who have their entire lives ahead of them.

I really can not imagine what these children and their families experience as they fight through treatment and fight for a cure. Please go gold for the month of September and consider what you can do to help. Spread the word about The Gold Hope Project, donate a session, become a volunteer photographer, send a note of encouragement to a family affected by cancer. There are many ways to raise awareness. It matters.

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The Ceass Family, Atlanta family photographer

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An afternoon with Eli, Atlanta Family Photographer

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When every day feels the same, it can seem like there is no way you will possibly ever forget how you spend your days.

And then silently, the days shift. Phases end. Toys sift to the bottom of the toy bin. The games you play together change. You move to a different home. You get new pets. Teeth fall out and grow back in. Expressions fade and new ones show up.

The passing of time is loss after loss after loss of the things that get left behind as you move through life.

There’s no use trying to slow it down. There’s no way to bottle it all up.

It’s overwhelming to think about trying to remember it all. You can’t. You won’t.

All you can do is have a glimpse of that time in your life to activate the memories.

Photographs are our portals to the past.

Remember what matters.

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The Clark Family, Atlanta Family Photographer

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Of meatballs, marshmallows, and a magic house

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Magic. That's what happens when two brothers, two incredible women, and a group of cousins get together every year. It's always magic.

This is the third time I have been able to photograph these families together, and each time gets exponentially more fun as the cousins get older and a little more...magical. The energy and excitement the kids feel when they are together extends to the adults, and well, I'm not sure if it's the kids or the grown ups who are having the better time.

Earlier in the day, the brothers put together a brand new swing set, and the kids had a blast breaking it in before roasting (well, burning) some marshmallows. There were all sorts of shenanigans that made the day fun, drinks out of cups with the family crest, plenty of games of chase, flying toy cars, and some good old fashioned wrestling.  

The parents decided to have their own fun with a blind meatball contest this year. Tanya's meatball recipe was up against the family recipe. When it was time to eat, the meatballs were judged on categories such as tenderness and taste. I'm not at all surprised that Tanya's recipe won.

I hope we continue to make a tradition out of this. The times I spent with my cousins growing up are some of my favorite memories of my childhood, and I so wish I had more pictures of the times we were together. Plus, it's crazy to see year after year how much these kids have all changed. Not long ago, they looked like this and this. It's pretty hard to believe. 

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