Matters of the Heart

I have my own personal Thanksgiving tradition and that is to photograph the Lambert family. Usually I wouldn't show you such holiday card worthy shots on the blog at this time of year because I wouldn't want to steal their mailbox thunder. But their card is out, the first to arrive in our mailbox. They took a cruise on spring break and used fun pictures from that trip. It's a photogenic family so it's no surprise they had so many great pictures to choose from. But I simply must mark the years by taking their picture whether they want or need it. My pictures are my love song to them, an outpouring of admiration.

Their old English sheepdog Poppins is getting on in years and so we wanted to get some pictures of the family with her. She was lovingly cooperative.

The boys are both actors in the Alley Theatre's production of A Christmas Carol. They are both lovable, precocious and theatrical. But A has dreams of being an actor and has logged more Equity stage time than I have in my 10+ years as a "professional" actor. It's in his DNA and I have every reason to expect him to continue his dramatic success.
And then there's D. Who gets a lot of attention for his adorable looks and precious size. I mean, come on, the kid personifies charming and cute.

And together? Well, just take a look. Who needs words....
K & S both teach high school (upper school for the fancy types) at the Kinkaid School in Houston and both of their boys are students there. (Terrific students I might add.) Kinkaid as you may or may not know is in the middle of a culture war maelstrom which you can read about here. Suffice it to say Kate's English students are witnessing their own personal Crucible right there in their own school.

NOT an easy time. The Lamberts take their work ethic and commitment to the school and community very seriously. But that school and community has become a foreign place of late which would leave anyone feeling shaken to say the least.

So this family is focused in, now more than ever, on what matters most to them. The love and comfort they feel together. On what they wish to teach their children. And holding on as tightly as they can to their one sure thing - each other.

Baby Magic

Meet Jacob. Can you say sweet?!?

It's no surprise really. His mother and my husband went to business school together (swanky elite b-school no less) and she was commonly known among our crowd as the nicest person in their class. I don't think anyone would dispute that title. So I have no idea why I was so taken aback by how sweet her little baby Jacob is and how quickly I just fell.in.love! Apples don't fall far you know.

Knowing his mother I should have expected that. The other thing I didn't expect was that she would have her act so completely pulled together. Showered. With make up. And clothes without baby drool and spit on them.

She looked so pretty I just wanted to take her picture all morning. Seriously. I had to restrain myself and focus on that baby. But I was so mesmerized. And it's not just that her body is at this perfect voluptuous shape, and that she has the most amazing blue eyes you've ever seen, and a sparkly smile that lights up a room. It's that she's literally glowing from the inside. The love she has for motherhood and this baby and this family of hers comes shining out of her. She has a sincerity and a confidence and such joy that she brings to every single little task of parenting. I truly felt like I was under a spell and when I left I was walking on air. So moved and inspired and, well, HAPPY.

I'll be quiet now so you too can bask in the glow of these two....

And my very favorite picture from the shoot.....

I think these two have a magical future ahead of them. With this much love and sweetness, how can they not?

The Miracle of Normal

That's my fancy new logo. My husband was smart enough to befriend the nicest guy in his office who also happens to be a brilliant graphic designer. And in exchange for photos of his family in perpetuity he designed a logo for me. We had a brief email exchange in which I said very little about actual design. I wrote of mood, feeling. And somehow he was able to cull, from a sentence I sent him in an email, this logo that says everything I want it to say about me and my business. He's a genius.

Long overdue and with a heart full of gratitude and humility I arrived at their charming home to begin the first of many gazillion photo shoots with their family.

This is C. A completely normal 8 year old kid. Active, healthy, good student, loves his dog and sports and video games.

What is not at all obvious from looking at him is that he is a miracle of modern science. You see just a week or so after a perfectly normal 6 month old check up little baby C was in the PICU on a ventilator. So sick there were periods of time when they wondered if he would make it. And after running a series of tests and trying to determine what was going on with the little guy they discovered he had a rare genetic condition called XHIGM Syndrome. So they were faced with not only the challenge of getting him through his current bout of pneumocystis carinii pneumonia but also looking at an uncertain future even if he were to survive.

Ironically enough, baby C was taken off the respirator after 3 weeks and breathing successfully on his own on September 11, 2001. That's a date that means something to all of us. Can you imagine all this family was facing that day?

So he was in the clear for now but there was still the genetic condition to worry about which basically compromises the immune system. The cure for the condition? A full stem cell bone marrow transplant. Neither parent was a complete match. Their only hope was to have another baby who could be a match. They turned to IVF and some mad scientists. Two rounds and 27 embryos and only 1 was even viable. And that special one just so happened to be a complete match, a girl (girls are carriers and don't have the condition) and, lucky for her and her future, she wasn't even a carrier.

Meet 6 year old E, lifesaver extraordinaire....


E just explodes with life. She has enough not only for her and her brother, but for her entire family, block, town, city, state and country. She's joyful, enthusiastic and quite possibly the silliest little thing I've ever met.

When E was a year old she was able to give a successful bone marrow transplant to her brother which effectively cured him of the condition.

And it's clear she feels some ownership.

It's impossible to imagine all this family has been through. They've each had their own unique experiences and journeys and jobs to do. But having recently celebrated the 5 year anniversary of the success of the treatment, their life is simply normal. A gift and a blessing they hoped and prayed for in their darkest days.

And C & E are like any other siblings. Rough housing, annoying one another, playing together. But there's something between them you won't find in other families. A quiet undercurrent of all they've been through. Some intangible bond that is rather breathtaking to witness.


Miraculous aren't they?

The Sweet Life

We recently traveled to Ann Arbor, Michigan (a city with which I fell completely in love) to visit our dear friends and their precious daughter. You may remember her from her appearance here on the Blog. It was a perfect fall weekend with the leaves starting to change, crisp weather, apple and pumpkin picking. This is Clara's pumpkin. I love the way kids take ownership of things and transform them from objects to playthings, companions. We were trying to get holiday pictures (which we did) but kept having to explain that pumpkins don't belong in Christmas pictures. So we took plenty of pumpkin pictures to satisfy her. And with that smile, that sweet face, that adorable personality, well, I'm putty in her hands. What Clara wants Clara gets.
We got a few without the pumpkin too. I seriously could photograph this beautiful child every day. I don't know how her parents haven't had cameras surgically affixed to their limbs. She's just.so.precious!


There are several from the Holiday collection that are wonderful. But I want to save those for the holiday card "ta-da!" But I can't resist giving you a glimpse. She's so dreamy!


But enough about Clara. Can I talk about her Mom for a second? A woman with incredible intellect and charm, grace and beauty. She reminds me of a Kennedy and this picture captures the feeling I get when I think of her special magic.

We got several pictures of the family together for the cards but this one is what every day looks like in their household. Clara is obviously chattering on about something that is very important to her (verbal skills as off the charts as her adorableness people) and her parents, not for the camera but for her, just sit and enjoy her, allow themselves to be fascinated and amused. And shower her with their loving attention.

Ah sweet life. Sweet, sweet life.

The Early Bird Catches the Worm

My dear friend Michelle is chronically early. Seriously, it's like a disease with her. One that I really hope is contagious. (Along with several other qualities of Michelle's - her generosity, her ease, her ability to maintain a sense of humor and fun even when the situation calls for the opposite.)

My early bird friend has her holiday cards printed and IN HER HOME right now. All they need is the photo (that's where I come in naturally), the stamp, and well, the month of December. But knowing Michelle she won't be able to wait that long and they'll hit the mailboxes before Thanksgiving. I can feel it.

Anyway, we had a lovely shoot with the entire family. Our first time to get Mom and Dad in pictures which was great. We have several quality contenders for the beautiful card (and one perfect submission for Awkward Family Photos) but I won't show you those here. That is for Michelle to reveal on her own timetable in her own way. But I will show you some glimpses of the day. These girls should look familiar, they've graced this blog here and here and here.


According to Michelle there aren't enough pictures of The Vic with The Chicks. Which is a shame because this is one Daddy with 2 Daddy's girls and he wouldn't have it any other way. This man LOVES being a father and his girls love him.

Michelle adores her girls and would do ANYTHING for them. She is a uniquely wonderful person with an ocean of love to give. They are lucky to have a Mom like her, who is fun and doesn't take life too seriously. That's another one of her qualities I'm hoping rubs off on me.


Theirs, while never dull, is a happy home. (One whose halls will be fully decked the minute the turkey leftovers are in the fridge.) And it's clear that these beautiful chicks feel loved and nurtured and cared for by their charming and devoted parents.