artist.

Sterling is an oil painter that had a space near my studio when I was in Utah.  We had been talking for ages about getting his shoot scheduled and when he found out I was moving it decided it was time.  We did a quick shoot at his home with his wife, Barbara. 

Sterling has been so good to me.  He has been extremely generous to me and Gracie adores him.  He's one of the artists that always made Gracie feel like such a big girl.  Every day she would check to see if he was in his studio and if he was she would go down to chat with him and usually come back with some beautiful piece of artwork she'd done with pastels or markers on cool watercolor paper. 

Sterling and Barbara's home is filled with a lifetime of memories and art and sweet beauty.  I'm so glad I got to spend a little time with them before I left...

sweet. LIFE.

so fun.

I am so glad I got to hang out with Marci and her family just before I left Utah.  She is my dearest friend from college and she always makes me laugh.  We end up being so silly together...and if you saw our '80s pictures from college you would totally know why we spend most of our time laughing at ourselves.  (Marci wouldn't let me steal them away from her to post here on my blog...)

We had fun watching the kids work it with their skills on the trampoline, tumbling, basketball, and some awesome footwork with the soccer ball.  Marci has really made her home a sweet haven for her family.  They love to hang out at home and to hear Marci talk about the memories she has sitting and talking with close friends and special people it would make you want to live at her house, too. 

We mostly hung out at home having fun and then took a little walk down a path to a bridge that is special to their family for a number of reasons.

I love any chance that I get to be with Marci.  She's been through a lot.  I always hope that I'll be a great friend who will say all the perfect things to give her strength but, inevitably, I walk away from my conversations with her feeling like she has said the perfect things to me to give me perspective and strength and filled me with the love of a sweet friend.  

Here's to another 15 years (at least) of friendship...your family...

and laughing again...

sweet. LIFE.

sweet. little. taylor.

Every time I get to see the Framptons I love it.  They are such a wonderful family.  I am so grateful that I’ve gotten to see Ashlun as he has grown over the last two and a half years.  It amazes me how quickly life changes and how dramatically kids change seeing them from one time to the next.  Now, Ashlun has a very sweet little sister.

I was so excited to hear that Stacey had had a little girl and was so looking forward to meeting her.  When  I arrived Ashlun showed me all the latest and greatest of what he could do and his favorite toys.  Taylor was so sweet and I just love the way their family is patient and kind to each other.  Taylor is so happy and smiles so much already.  She just loves her parents and you can tell they are totally smitten with her.  It’s always wonderful to see Stacey and Kent.

Thank you!

fun. LIFE.

wow.

Natalie, Becky's daughter wrote me an email about her mom.  She told me that she was legally blind but didn't let it stop her from living a very full and beautiful life.  When I went to meet Becky I walked into a marriage and family therapy office and met a woman and hesitantly asked if she was Becky.  She had walked right up to me and shook my hand.  I was thinking, "Am I in the right place?  Is this the right lady?"

Over the next hour or so Becky showed me some goggles that she had made to help children be able to see what she sees in her everyday life.  The picture above is how she sees the world.  She has absolutely no peripheral vision to the side of her or above and below her.  She sees only through a little peep hole.  Because her vision is so completely limited she hits her head on things a lot, she's fallen down stairs and tripped over more things than she can count, she can't drive, and she walks every where. 

Becky has a sweet guide dog named Cricket...they go everywhere together.  Cricket, even though she is a young guide dog, is still so protective of Becky.  She keeps Becky from falling into holes and being hit by cars.  As long as Cricket is on her harness she knows she's at work.  She doesn't rush to be pet or ever run off from Becky.  What's amazing is that she is still a puppy.  The moment Cricket is let off of her harness she turns into a wild and crazy puppy.  She runs and chases other dogs, adores getting loved, and races around the yard like a maniac....you wouldn't know it's even in her to be wild when she's at work with her harness on.  She loves to work and to help Becky and you can tell that the relationship between them is a special one. 

The thing that I love about Becky is the way she smiles all of the time.  She laughs and she laughs at herself.  Her perspective on her life is a beautiful thing and I love the time I got to spend with her.  She sees the blessing in every experience.  She uses her own life challenges to bless the lives of others.  Listening to her talk about her job was so inspirational; she had me convinced that I would love to go back to school and get my counseling degree.  The way she talked about the experiences she's had in her profession with clients who are grieving with personal loss of loved ones, of their  deterioriating health, of fighting cancer and the hope and understanding that she gets to give, was touching.

We sat and talked about her life and the process of her losing her vision over her teenage years and into her early twenties, the day she couldn't drive anymore, and the way she looks forward to every spring....and wonders if this will be the last time she will see the flowers that she plants in her garden.

Over her lifetime her vision has gradually faded and at some point she will wake up and not be able to see anything.

As much as this is not something that she is looking forward to, she went for a time completely blindfolded to face that inevitable fear, to stare that tiger in the face and not back down.  After that experience she decided that she would be able to handle her biggest fear. 

Becky's husband went to great lengths in their new home to make sure that she wouldn't be hurt walking around her own house.  He had custom flooring put into each room so that she would be able to tell by her feet what room she was in, he had all of the corners of the walls rounded so that she wouldn't walk into them with her face, he raised the cupboards so that if they were left open she wouldn't walk into them.  I love the dynamic between the Becky and her husband...the friendship, mutual admiration, concern, and love...

Becky hasn't let anything stop her.  While most people with failing or failed vision essentially give up on living a full life, Becky has embraced it.  She is an entrepreneur with her own marriage and family therapy practice, she tandem bikes with her sweet husband in marathons across the country, she gardens, she's raised two children (and managed that without driving a car), and so much more. 

Becky's disease is called Retinitis Pigmentosa.  To learn more about Becky and how you can help fight blindness go to the following websites:  www.fightblindness.org  ; www.blindness.org  ; www.wardelfamily.blogspot.com  and to keep up with Cricket:  www.cruisinwithcricket.blogspot.com 

Both times I got to be with Becky were a gift to be able to see her life and the way she smiles and laughs and makes the best of every aspect of her life.

true. LIFE.

so. great.

I loved hanging out with Jessica and Caleb.  I already love the chance to have Jessica around the studio.  She does such an amazing, efficient, and personable job of working with everyone in the studio as well as everyone that calls or comes to the studio.  She is a blessing to all of us and I'm so grateful that my life has crossed paths with hers. 

Jessica is a modern dancer, loves the Stephanie Meyers "Eclipse" series, The Office, Caleb does the cooking in an apron his friends gave him at his bachelor party, and they are looking forward to their sweet little girl arriving in September. 

Jessica is so dedicated, sincere, and pays so much attention to the little details.  Jessica will be answering the phone and emails while I'm in transition from here to South Carolina. 

Thank you, Jessica!

blessed. LIFE.