This week my dad, Glenn, turned 78 years old. He is a man of many talents, and has blessed my life and the lives of my family in so many ways. In fact, much of the inspiration we had for photographing grandparent – grandchildren sessions came from considering my own parents, who are now grandparents to 14 grandchildren and 3 great-grandchildren! Happy Birthday, Dad – I love you.
Planning for Paula’s session (known as “Mammy” to her granddaughters) was so much fun…photographing them all together was even better than I anticipated. I knew that Paula was an extraordinary mom and educator, so I envisioned we would pull out some fun educational toys and materials. We started off their session with puzzles, toys, and some great dress-up clothes. The girls were so precious!
I am such a dog lover, something that did not escape Quincy’s attention. Quincy is Paula’s adorably sweet golden retriever – I told her it was therapeutic for me to spend the afternoon with them, since we no longer have a dog. Quincy’s expression in the photo below is priceless, and quintessential golden behavior…long-suffering, patient, the perfect companion for little kids and their parents.
Having a tea party was a fantastic idea, but we were all surprised that Paula chose to use the china tea cups. Now that’s a brave woman!
I learned from Paula that her husband Steve enjoys gardening, and had planting beds ready to go for a new crop. It was the perfect opportunity to get the girls involved in an activity with “Boppy”. When little miss m. started helping her grandpa, she looked sheepishly over at her mom who was standing nearby, announcing that she would be getting dirty. She then proceeded to kneel very daintily in the planting bed with a coy smile on her face…priceless!
Paula, thank you for allowing us the opportunity to capture the love and the beauty that surrounds your family. May these images be a blessing in all of your lives for years to come!
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We were driving to my parents’ home to visit my mom after her recent surgery. Needless to say, our thoughts were turned to family. Gabriel and I began to talk of how we could use our talents and our business to bless the lives of families, reaching to the generations…and the ideas began to flow. Why not create opportunities for grandparents and grandchildren to interact with each other in fun, relaxed and memorable ways, capturing their interactions through still images? Why not inspire grandparents to pass onto their grandchildren skills and talents they possess? For example, my dad is an excellent craftsman with wood. He has created by hand intricate wood cabins for each of his grandsons, and fashioned beautiful rocking horses for each of his children. How I would have loved images from that period of time, of my dad working in his shop, creating these works of art. Bring one of his grandsons into the picture and have images of them working together on this heritage piece – that would be priceless. And as we spoke, we were overwhelmed by the significance of what we were thinking…ideas we felt were inspired by God, who cares about our relationships and thought up the whole idea of family in the first place!
So with our brains buzzing with this new idea, we set out to find grandparents and grandchildren who would help us to define this vision and bring it to life. We talked with our good friends, Bob and Sue, who were more than willing to be our first subjects. (Thank you, Bob, Sue, Natasha and Desarae!). As I began to share with Sue what we were planning, she began to get excited with ideas of her own…I loved that! Her granddaughter Natasha is learning to play both the piano and the harp. Sue thought it would be great to make music together and play a duet, so she brushed up her musical skills and sat down at the piano with Natasha. What a precious memory!
When I suggested a baking project in the kitchen, Sue took it one step further to work with the girls on baking challah, the traditional bread for the Sabbath. Now it was more than just working on an activity together in the kitchen, but it was passing on a tradition with meaning. Perfect!
Knowing that the girls loved to swim, and having a beautiful pool at their disposal at Trilogy, Sue braved the waters to get into the pool with Natasha and Desarae to engage in an activity that would be fun for the girls…what a trooper!
Not to be overlooked, Bob joined in with an activity of his own – playing Backgammon with the girls. Though his skills were rusty, it was fun to watch their interactions as they approached a “new” game together.
I hope that by viewing this inagural grandparent legacy session, you have been inspired with ideas of your own. Your grandchildren are precious, and creating lasting memories of time spent together – time spent investing of yourself into their lives – will be a treasured heritage to be passed from one generation to the next. If you’d like to talk about creating your own legacy session, give me a call at 206.930.1333. I’d love to hear from you!
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by Lorraine Marie
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