It’s officially here. My new blog, new name and the start of my photography business is finally here. My website will be launched in another month or so, but for now enjoy my blog.
It was a hot, balmy day in the city of Lynwood. Three beautiful families, smiling ear to ear were about to have their lives changed forever. One of my best friends works for Habitat for Humanity of Greater Los Angeles. She called me two days before the event to ask if I’d come and take pictures. I was so excited and honored to come and be part of something so special. Let me explain a little about the organization. These families, after a long approval process, were selected to receive a home. They must put in around 500 volunteer hours towards their home and HFH funds their loan, interest free. They do have a mortgage, but one that is affordable in relation to their income.
The event was the day these three families received the keys to their new homes. The excitement, emotion and pure joy of each family, volunteer, city member and others was evident as I snapped away and smiled all day knowing that something beautiful and kind had just taken place.
Here’s the first family to arrive to the event.
He’s so cute and excited for his new home.
Here they are standing in front of their new home.
Here’s the grandmother beaming with pride. She introduced her daughter and grandchildren and was so funny and poignant in her speech.
Here’s the second family’s litte boy. I loved his smile and the intense look he would give me once in awhile when I had the camera in his face.
Here’s the mother of the third family getting her keys. It was such a beautiful moment.
The Pastor’s Wife from Mosaic (a church in Los Angeles), gave each family turkeys and yams and told them this was their “Thanksgiving” day. Welcome home and feast on all that God has given you! ~I wish I could remember her exact words to quote her exactly.
Here’s the last picture of the day as the families are cutting the ribbon and being officially welcomed to their new home.
If you’d like to volunteer with Habitat, please contact them. You don’t need to have any construction experience. They will train you on the job. All you need is a willing heart. If you want to volunteer you can sign up on their website at http://www.habitatla.org/.
If you had asked me 5 years ago to be a foster parent, I would have said no. I couldn’t imagine at that time, being childless myself, taking care of a child only to give him or her back. God has truly done a work in my heart, mind and soul through this journey of fostering and adoption. Many of you may not know that before we got Eva, we had a little boy in our home for 2 months. His name is Jesse. I’ll never forget getting the call from Jeff, as I had just landed in Sacramento and was waiting to get off the plane, when Jeff told me he was on his way to pick up a 14 month old little boy. I couldn’t believe it. The situation that Jesse had come from was horrible. I had waited so long, and here I was in Sacramento, getting ready to present at a conference. I had to wait until the next day to fly back home. The anticipation was killing me.
I fell in love with him overnight. His big brown eyes, and sweet personality won me over immediately. He came to us undernourished, underdeveloped and with only the shirt on his back. Two months had passed, and we continued to love on this little boy.
One afternoon, I was shopping in JC Penny’s and Jeff called. Jeff was sick at home. He told me I needed to sit down for the news. As I found my way to a bench in the mall, my heart stopped. Jesse was to return to his grandfather in 2 days. I started to sob. I cried all the way home and all night. Why God? Why me? The pain was unbearable. We met his grandfather at In N Out, and the exchange took place. I held it together, smiling and waving goodbye, but my heart had just split in half. It was July 7th, 2007.
The next few months were so hard. I felt so hopeless. We had gone through 7 years of infertility, and now we have poured our love into this little boy and for what? Soon God began to reveal His heart for these precious little ones. It wasn’t about me, it was about them. I’m the adult, they are helpless and needy. God has given me so much, and these little ones have so little. Jesse left us eating real food, he was no longer taking a bottle, he was now sleeping through the night, walking and beginning to talk.
Four months after Jesse we got the call for Eva. You all know the story, on October 15th, 2007 we welcomed Eva Sophia to our home. One year later on October 7th, 2008 she was officially ours.
Jeff and I decided to start the process again. We were so excited to get the call for an infant. Eva was 6 weeks old when we brought her home, but Josslyn was only 2 days old. Of course, like with Jesse and with Eva, I was heading down to San Diego when the Social Worker contacted me. I turned right around and headed home, canceling all my plans and calling my boss to let her know I wouldn’t be attending the conference. For two weeks, I loved on Baby Jossy, feeding her, bathing her, kissing her, squeezing her and praying for her. Jeff, Eva and I saw her grow in just 2 weeks time, eating more formula and starting to fill out her little clothes.
We could hardly believe it when the Birth Mother changed her mind. The night before the “exchange”, I cried myself to sleep. But, this time it felt different. Was it that we already had Eva, a little girl to call our own? Was it that it had only been two weeks? Or was it that I knew deep, deep down that God had given me her for a purpose, to care for her those 2 weeks until her Mama could take over.
The date was July 7th, 2009, the exact day 2 years ago when we gave Jesse back. Before we brought Jossy to her Mom, I felt such peace all day. It was so awesome. I was calm, I didn’t cry, and I knew it was meant to be. We met Josslyn’s Mom, and I knew it was right. A young woman, scared and confused. She was with her Mom and Aunt. The support of the family was awesome to see and as she took Baby Josslyn in her arms. I smiled so big as I handed her her baby girl. We brought clothes, diapers, formula and some other goodies to get her started. I gave her a list of feedings, schedule, etc. We chatted and exchanged emails.
I’ve definitely had my moments since Josslyn left. But, to be honest, I have had such a peace and assurance. My heart has not been heavy, and I have not felt depressed or sad. I feel happy that God entrusted us to care for her, even for such a short time. I also feel hope that God has a little one out there that is meant for us. I thought fostering wasn’t for me, that my heart couldn’t handle it, but I’ve come to realize that I can. I don’t know what God has planned in our future, as currently our home is only licensed for 2 children, but God can see the big picture. I’m just His vessel and pray that I can continue to be open to be molded and used by Him.
I want to leave you with some statistics. Los Angeles County has about 38,000 children in the foster care system. Around 11,000 of those children are ready to be adopted today. Most of those kids are older. It’s the largest Adoption Agency in the world. DCFS Los Angeles has more adoptions in one year than any other private or public agency. If you’ve ever contemplated Fostering or Adoption, call me. It didn’t cost us one dime. It was free and the County gives assistance to Foster and Adoptive families. It’s not for the faint of heart, yet we’ve known friends that have adopted privately and have had heart break. It’s not a perfect system, but these children are worth it.
I was so blessed to get an opportunity to photograph such a wonderful family last weekend. My coworker Maria had asked me to come out and take some pictures of her family a few months back. When I asked her how many people, she said, “Hmmmm, between 20-25 of us”. I immediately felt a little overwhelmed, but of course up for the challenge. Thanks Maria and Dave for the awesome opportunity. Here are just a few of my favorites.
Dave has this great old Cadillac, which of course I can’t remember the year. All I know is that it was such a cool ride (and a great prop). I love this picture of the two of them.
Don’t you love their home? They live in a great Old Victorian Doll House, fully restored, in Fullerton.
Here are a few of the whole family. I love this porch.
Maria, her mom, and 3 siblings.
The cutest little one.
Our mini photo shoot commenced at the UCR Botanical Gardens. Two models were scheduled to arrive, yet due to a flat tire they couldn’t make it. So here we were, 12 photographers, cameras in hand and no models. We just had each other, and believe me none of us wanted to be photographed that day. Hanssie our fabulous hostess did some serious begging and managed to convince Michelle (a fellow photographer) and her boyfriend to model for us. Michelle and Curtis you rocked that shoot. Thank you for your time and talent. Kudos to Hanssie for pulling this together at the last minute. Many thanks to both Hanssie and Matt who hosted this event.
Makeup by: Kacee Geoffroy
Practicing off camera lighting with Matt.
Something you may not know about me is that there isn’t much in life that scares me. I’m always up for a new adventure and a new challenge. I crave change, and need to be challenged or I get bored very easily. I’m the kind of person that loves to explore new things, from learning a new instrument (most recently the drums), to attempting to learn a new language, to trying new and exotic foods. The problem with this life philosophy is that I probably don’t get really good at just one thing. I’m not sure if that is necessarily a good or bad thing. Yet, that is just the way I am. As a child I played the violin for 13 years, but didn’t continue after I went to college. The longest hobby I have had in my adult life is my photography, and I do plan on getting really good at that.
When I was one I took the liberty to try swimming on my own by jumping into the pool in my beautiful Easter dress. My father frantically jumped in after me as I tried to swim away thinking it was a game. I was never scared of anything, and honestly, I’m still a dare devil. A few years ago I jumped out of an airplane and the only thing that would keep me from doing it again is how nauseous I felt once the parachute opened. The reason I won’t repeat skydiving is not from fear mind you, but because my stomach gets more sensitive with age.
The memory I have of my very first bike is still as clear as if it was yesterday. The bike was hot pink with little yellow flowers. It had a sweet white basket attached to the front, and the inscription on the bike was “Sweet and Sassy”. The best part of the bike was the banana seat. “Sweet and Sassy” is a great description of me, and anyone that knows me today would say that is true.
For Mother’s Day this year Jeff surprised me with a new bike. I felt like a kid again. The pure joy and exhilaration I felt was such an awesome feeling. I honestly hate exercising, but riding a bike to me doesn’t feel like exercise. It’s pure joy.
We bought Eva a bike seat for the back of Jeff’s bike, so now we can ride as a family. She has the cutest little bell on her seat and looks too cute in her helmet. I’ve included some recent pictures of her below. Whether you are a little sweet, a little sassy, or maybe a little bit of both like me; don’t forget to rediscover some of your old passions, and discover a new one along the way.
My little one is definitely a little bit of both. Don’t you think?
My friend from work is the Make-up Academy instructor at the school I teach, Downey Adult School. She had asked me if I could take pictures of some of her students’ models. Each student was responsible for putting together a concept, including hair, make-up and clothing. Six other photographers joined me on that cold, windy day to photograph these beautiful models. A big thank you goes out to all our models, photographers, and especially our artists for making this such a successful day.
Make-up Artist: Danielle
Model: Tiffany
Have you ever visited a place that just takes your breath away? Every turn, there was something new and wonderful to see. The Chinese Garden, Japanese Garden, Roman Garden, and Rose Garden, were just a few of the gardens you could visit along with the museums. I’d love to pitch a tent and just live there for awhile. It’s a little taste of what heaven will be like, and it’s in Pasadena. Visit the Huntington Library, you won’t be disappointed.
We surprised my dad and took him there for his 60th birthday. Yes, it’s hard to believe my dad is 60. That just means that I’m getting older too. Oh well. We had such a great time, amidst my daughter fighting her nap in the stroller. The day couldn’t have been more beautiful, sun shining, 70 degrees, and everything in full bloom. Here are a few pictures from our day.
Dad, me and Eva
Jeff took these two pictures. Great job baby!
Dad and Mom
Chinese Gardens
Japanese Tea Room~Aaahhh!
My favorite picture of the day
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