They are already yours in your heart, now they are officially yours in your arms.

I am always looking for ways to use my photography for positive things, and recently I decided that one way is to support families that are choosing adoption as a way to expand their family.

Many of our family friends have adopted some, or all, of their children.  My husband has two adopted siblings, and I think that this is why we would eventually like to adopt; we have seen the impact that it can have in our own lives.  But until that day, I have wanted to do something in support of adoption, so I am offering a free "Gotcha Day" session. 

"Gotcha Day" referrs to the day when your child first becomes your forever child.  You can choose from the time you bring your tiny bundle of joy to the US, when you sign the last of the court papers or whatever date you have signified as your day. You can arrange a date beforehand, or take your time and adjust to all of the changes and then give me a call!

I am proud to announce that on Saturday, October 9,  I will be the second shooter/assistant fellow Christian and fellow photographer Carissa Swartout of Carissa Christine Foetographie at Portraits in the Park, a fundraising Mini-portrait session event in Thomas Lake Park in Eagan, MN. 

Carissa and her husband will be travelling to India where her in-laws are currently missionaries to serve for eight weeks.  All sessions are offered for whatever you can donate.  You can view her blog for more details on the work they will be doing and the sessions themselves.  Sessions will last approximately 30 minutes and yield you about 20 images to choose from.  If you are interested you can contact her to set up an appointment in an open time slot.  Any donations can be made payable to Redemption Ministries (http://redemptionmin.com.)

I am really excited to be working with a talented photographer like Carissa and to gain experience in mini-sessions.  But more than that I am thrilled to be using my time and talent for a reason as dear to my heart as missions.

Fall has sprung- although maybe only Spring is allowed to actually do that, but it feels as if it has sprung and brought some relief from what has been a rainy, oppressively hot summer.  The cooler days has also given me the chance to break out my son's fall duds and buy him some new shoes- one of his great obsessions and one of his first words, although it comes out more like, "sssuchuees." 

So needless to say, my already achingly adorable son was looking rather dapper and cozy in his fall clothing, and I decided that it was time to try out one of my new props that hasn't had the chance to be put to good use.  As the mother of a toddler I am always on the lookout for props that will entice busy bodies to pause, even momentarily, to get some good shots.  And recently I found this tiny yellow chair for a steal and fell in love. 

As a person who deals with visuals every day, I would be remiss if I didn't mention all of the images of the September 11th tragedies that are replaying today on television, Internet and any other media device out there.  These photos and videos are still a shocking sight, even all of these years later.  They are so striking, that it is easy to find yourself trapped in them once again, as we all were on that day, and in the many days after. 

However, I would like to encourage you all, to look, to remember and honor, but to not get bogged down in the sadness, fear and morbid curiosity that can come from seeing something so horrible painted in front of you.  I do not think that those that lost their lives, or those that lost loved ones would want us to live in that fear and have those images running through our minds as we lay our heads down to sleep tonight.

So balance out the sadness by looking at photos of your children when they were tiny, look at images of this Great Land that everyone came together to protect and preserve 9 years ago today, and honor those lost and those left behind with your appreciation of what we still have.