Little Miss Gracie….Shoes, ducks, and leaves

This post is long overdue… but for many reasons it just didn’t come together quite yet.  It was a mix of emotions, the season, work travel, and just not being able to form the right words.

But, a few weeks ago I had the opportunity to photograph a very special little girl.  This was for The F.I.L.M. Project, a national non-profit that connects volunteer professional photographers with families dealing with  cancer… https://www.thefilmproject.net/  The organization is only a few months old, but the goodness that happens is contagious.

Part of my wanting to be a part of this organization, was drawing on my own experiences.  Almost 15 years ago, I was a donor for my brother dealing with life threatening lymphoma.  There were five of us kids, he being the oldest, me the youngest, and oddly, we were a perfect match.  The process was such the journey near death…and shows you all miracles that can happen going through it.  These experiences lead me to this organization, and i feel very blessed to be able to give  my talents during this difficult time.

Cancer, treatments, therapy, and all the stuff in between can have beauty in the midst of the hardship.  That is the beauty I have the opportunity to capture.

Gracie, who turned two years old just last month.  She has been battling cancer for  the past nine months.  We had a window of opportunity, between the blood counts, schedules, and the weather… we were able to play one morning.   We had so much fun, capturing the simple joy from this little girl and her fascinations.  Shoes, ducks, and leaves.  Fall was perfect to show the twinkle in her eye as she ran back and forth, back and forth, back and forth…. pretty much loving every second of this cold fall day playing in the leaves.  Gracie is such a gift.. to all that meet her… to her family… and the images capture the beauty of that love.

Gracie, a very bright shining star….and i feel very blessed to have spent time with you.

Here is to healing… to love, laughter and so many giggles  on your journey!

Gracie...