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We have decided that ALL of the money from sessions will be donated directly to the orphanages in Haiti!! These kids need our help more than ever, between the rising number of new orphans and the likelihood that adoptions will be more difficult due to the destruction. Please please please help!! If you've been putting off your kids or family photos ... or if you've been waiting to do your senior photos NOW is the best time!!
Matt and I have been talking these past few days about what we can do to raise support for Haiti and the earthquake victims. This is a cause that we are really really passionate about - we have good friends who have adopted from Haiti and have been considering it ourselves ... so to see their country in such shambles has just broken our hearts. The situation for Haitian orphans was already dire, and after this disaster it has become apparent that we must do something ... NOW! And here is how YOU can help and get involved with helping Haiti ...
CALL US BY JANUARY 31 to schedule your kids, family, pet or senior session during the month of FEBRUARY, and we will donate ALL session fees to Haiti relief organizations. We will try to split it between a few different organizations helping out - we are still working out the details. If you have any recommendations we would love to take them - we are doing our research to find out how we can make the most impact with what we have! So if you have been considering family, kids or senior portraits and just putting it off, NOW is the best time! We will be sending out an email newsletter in the next couple of days outlining the details, (SO BE SURE TO SIGN UP!) but don't wait to call us because we are confident that February will fill up fast with generous people who believe in helping those in need! Oh, and this cute kid is Silas, who was adopted from Haiti and is now enjoying a wonderful childhood here in Siloam Springs...but there are many more Silas' still in Haiti who need your help!
When Matt and I started our business a few years ago, we decided to each pick one friend who regardless of what they could pay, we would photograph their wedding. Matt chose his roommate in college and best friend, Dan, who is from Mexico City. Dan's parents are missionaries who were house parents at Niños de Mexico, an orphanage, throughout his childhood, and only recently left that role to serve the orphanage in a different capacity. We had visited them several times, so when Dan told us that him and Marcela were getting married we were thrilled to return and see all the kids and photograph his wedding. Here are a few photos - before the ceremony we went to some old ruins outside the city for portraits. It was a lot of fun to photograph in a different environment, and thankfully I remembered a lot of Spanish so we were able to get around. :)
Well it seems like this blogging everyday is quite a bit harder than I thought! Haha! It's been a busy day of errands, client meetings and cleaning! I guess the biggest news is that Mara went into heat today. WOW. I am still freaking out a little. She does have the cutest little panties though, black and white polka dots!!
I was doing some internet searching for wedding inspiration to share, and I came across some articles that I thought really did a great job of talking about the importance of hiring a PROFESSIONAL wedding photographer. Now, I know I am a bit biased, but honestly ... there are a million reasons out there to skip the weekend warriors and go with the pros. I understand that there are plenty of people on tight budgets, and I am definitely not advocating going over your whole wedding budget, but there are ways to cut costs in other areas if you are close to a professional photo budget. Also, many people have said that even if you can't afford the album now ... get the great photos and then save up for the album as an anniversary gift to each other, or have your photographer create a registry where people can purchase part of your album as a wedding gift.
Here are a few quotes from the articles that stood out to me ... in case you're like most of us and don't want to read the whole thing!! ;)
"My fiancé and I are on a tight budget and had planned to take a gamble and hire an amateur photographer friend. Now? We’re determined to find a way to get a pro."
"Joey’s attention to such minute detail went way beyond “Say cheese” and brought out the couple’s absolute best. He knew how to manipulate the room’s light and reflective surfaces in ways I never would have dreamed of, transforming what I thought was an unremarkable setting into a photo studio with endless possibilities."
"There are tons of people out the calling themselves photographers, yes, some of them are great…others are the weekend warrior type who bought a slick camera but don’t know how to use it. If you have done your research, you’ll be able to spot these people and avoid them at all costs."
I cannot believe what I am seeing on the news ... Haiti has been completely devastated by this earthquake. Our hearts and prayers truly go out to those hit so hard, those with no place to call home anymore except the debris covered streets. I can't even imagine what they must be going through. Not even knowing if their family members and friends are even alive anymore ... that's how I felt as I scrolled through the photos on CNN.
One family here in Siloam has been especially hit hard. The Tugwells are in the process of adopting an 11 year old boy, Louis, from an orphanage located in Petionville, one of the hardest hit areas of Port Au Prince. The process has been completed, so they are his legal guardians, just waiting on some government paperwork to go through. Not long ago, they were in the process of adopting Titus when he passed away from malnutrition before they were able to bring him home. Our hearts broke for them, and they were in anguish as they waited for what seemed like an eternity for news about the orphanage. Finally, this afternoon, they received word that the kids in the orphanage were all alive, though their building had collapsed. I can't imagine the relief they felt ... now if they could just get down there to get their boy and other orphans waiting for adoption. Their story will be on 4029 news, CNN and other news sources this weekend. They already have a son, Silas from Haiti as well as their daughter Lily who is from China. We worked with them a while back on the Titus Task event ... and I have to say these are some of the most loving, caring and wonderful people. We're overjoyed to hear that Louis is alive!!
One way that we can help the victims of Haiti without actually going physically is to donate money to relief organizations. Compassion International has set up a website where you can go on and donate to the relief effort, plus sponsor children in need all over the world. I would encourage everyone to give even just a little bit, because together we can help a country who is in greater need than we could ever even wrap our minds around.
Before we left for Nashville I downloaded a ton of new music for the 8 hour drive. Our favorites? We really loved Cobra Starship's beat and plain craziness! They really got us moving. Lady Gaga's Bad Romance is kind of like a bad addiction ... we kept playing it whenever we needed to wake up in the morning on the way to the conference. It was a great dancing song!! I also downloaded a few more Owl City songs - Hello Seattle and Umbrella Beach were a couple of our favorites. And, last but not least ... I know, dorky, but I LOVE Glee's rendition of Don't Stop Believin. That was a great one for driving through downtown Nashville ... so if you like musical music it's a sure fire winner!! A couple other favorites from our trip were Jay-Z and Alicia Key's version of Empire State of Mind ... as well as Sex on Fire by Kings of Leon.
What a day!! It was a fun (and long) day of learning, exploring new products at the tradeshow and ended with a bowling party! Our team didn't do so hot but we got to hang out with a bunch of friends. So I'd say it was worth it ;)
