Grandma makes the best cookies! “It's true - Grandma...well, the kids call her Nonnie...does make the best cookies. When we all go and stay with her at the beach, this is what happens - a lot of play, a lot of laughter, and a lot of cookies are made, and eaten. Fast. Her cookies really are the best. Nobody can make them like hers - she uses shortening. And love, of course.”
You think you'll never forget...how tiny your baby's hands really are. You think you will never forget the fact that his entire foot (maybe both feet) will fit in the gentle curl of your hand. But you get busy. And you don't think about those tiny feet or hands as much. A picture of your precious newborn's feet in contrast to your adult body says it all...the strength and experience of Dad's knowing, loving grasp and the tender innocence of those baby feet...with so many steps yet to take...
Before the walk down the aisle that both mother and daughter have anticipated for months, even years, Mom gently takes the bride's hand in her own. Flooded with memories, emotion, love...they take the moment in silence...a whispered prayer before the vows are made...
“We wanted a big family photo taken before our oldest daughter left for college. It has become a tradition - we have 5 kids and before each one leaves for college, we have a family portrait taken in August. I love this picture because everyone in the family really looks like who they are - we all look like ourselves. I especially love it because my youngest son, Ryan, is actually on the back of his sister, Brittany, who was getting ready to leave for college. The picture really shows how close they are and how much he was not looking forward to her leaving.”
“My husband actually saw this old pram in an antique store in Montana while he was visiting his brother. They made arrangements to get it here, and it was really in horrible shape, but he restored it himself and worked with different vendors to get it together as a gift for me. He did it all without my knowledge of it - he worked with a cobbler on the leather straps for the suspension, and then he gave this beautiful, restored piece to me as a surprise when our daughter Mia was just a few weeks old.” That was in November of 2004; this portrait was taken in September of 2005; and now the Parnell family is planning for another baby and another photo.
“An officer and a gentleman...that is what he truly was...” said Meg Bishop of her father-in-law. “He was an officer in the navy and she was a nurse when they met. They married and had this great family, and he loved her - it was all about the family for him...when I think about our lives as we get older, I think of them and it gives us something to hope for...they were so in love.” Meg's father-in-law passed away one year after this photo was taken on he and his wife's wedding anniversary. The photo gives the family fond memories of the love and laughter shared with their father and grandfather.
Yorkies
“I know everyone says this, but my dogs are like my babies...Max is bigger and older, and little Miles is the smaller one. Miles actually became the alpha dog of the two. He is athletic and bounces all over the place, while Max loves to snuggle. The dogs really are almost like humans to me and I wish I could know everything they are thinking. I love my pictures of them - we have them upstairs and downstairs and I have them at work. I love this picture because it really reminds me of how precious they are and I am so thankful that I got the pictures taken...” Sonya Niranen reflected on like with two of her very best friends. This portrait is especially important to her as she recently lost one of her pups in an auto accident.
Bride and Groom
Lindsey Fisher looks at this picture and thinks back to April 23, 2005, her wedding day: “Oh, I adore that picture. It is actually hanging on a wall on the way to our bedroom in our home and every day I walk by it and just love it - I love looking at it. That portrait captures the day perfectly - every bit of romance and fun from the day is in that picture.” She and her husband PJ have been married for two years now and both agree that this picture is one of their favorites from their wedding collection.
Emily's Grandma
Steve Niebrand smiles wistfully and thinks about his mom - her laugh, her hugs, her strong opinions, and her love of life. “When I see her big smile in that picture, I think back to how we loved to tease her. We would rib her about politics. She was not a big fan of Bill Clinton and we would tease and joke about him, and other stuff - it was all fun.” Margaret Virginia Niebrand, grandmother of Emily Andrews, was known for her easy laugh and big smile. She lived to be 88 and her family delights in the fact that they have a collection of photos showing her true nature - her wit and joy. Her son Steve also shared, “Well, she was a spry, old gal and she could hold her own. She was a closet smoker and we'd get her to drink a little wine here and there...but she was always fun - that's what everyone said about her ands that's what everyone knew about her - she was fun to be with and those pictures really tell that story.”
Tying the knot
“We were together for six years before we married and in our wedding announcement, we actually had it read, 'We're finally tying the knot.' We love sailing and fishing and so the knot theme was important to us.” Anne and Mike have sailed and fished all over the Pacific Northwest and when they decided to tie the knot and make their vows, they wanted something unique to be a part of the ceremony and this was it. “I love that picture because it captures the special part of our day that was unique to our ceremony and it also shows how fun everything was.” They were married on September 24, 2005 and continue to enjoy taking to the waters and tying various other knots in the area.
The Brenaman's
Dream House. Josh was four years old and enjoying bikerides, learning to read, and playing with his dog when he was diagnosed with cancer. News like that hits every family hard. During his long and often painful treatments, Josh had a dream that his yard could have a tree house - a tree place for him and his family and his fiends to enjoy. “I cannot tell you how many times when he drifted off to sleep and when he was in so much pain, he would be talking about this tree house,” mother April shared through tears. Thanks to the support and donations of many kind folks in his community, Josh's dream came true. And so did his family's. The tree house was built, and Josh made a recovery. At age 6, he and his family smile and give thanks for the generosity of friends, and for the miracles of medicine and love.
The Jackson Family
“Wow. Life is good.” That is what mother Shelly Jackson says should be the caption of this photo. The portrait, taken of her, her husband and their two daughters outside of their home, is of them 18 months after a very different picture was taken. Taylor, who is standing in this picture, went through chemotherapy for two long years and lost all of her hair at that time. A year and a half before this portrait was taken, they had a photo taken of her without her hair. “The photos show so much tenderness and really tell of our journey through that time. It was so hard, no knowing what the outcome would be. And now we have these pictures documenting that time in our life and I am so glad we have the pictures. And this one is really our favorite. Yes, life is good.”
