We just wrapped up the fundraiser for Cristian & my heart is filled with gratitude for those around me who are SO giving & so willing to share what they have with people in need.
After the fundraiser closed for Cristian, a tragedy struck in a young family that lives in my hometown Reno. Through the help of my friend Nicole, I’ve realized that doing another fundraiser is a very appropriate thing to do. I know that so many of you have already given, but please read the following story about Karli Johnson:
Karli was a young, positive, loving woman who was 7 months pregnant. Last Thursday morning Karli had an aortic dissection – doctors felt it was safer to separate Bodie and Karli. He pulled through like a champ, 5lbs 1 oz 18 in. Karli, on the other hand had to get through the next 48 hours. She was so brave and courageous through all of this. As she waited during those hours, she was positive, cheerful & worried about others instead of herself. Saturday afternoon Karli was finally able to meet her sweet baby, Bodie. She held him for about a half hour & shortly thereafter she went into emergency surgery. Sadly, the doctors were unable to save Karli’s life. She was a young wife, someone who had a passion for everything around her & someone who was so excited to be a mother. She loved Bodie & her husband Willie more than anything.
There are so many people whose lives were touched simply by knowing Karli. I simply cannot imagine the heartbreak that this small family is going through right now & I’m hoping that together we can raise some money to help with medical bills & other expenses. It is better to give than to receive…Karli spent her life giving others joy. I have learned this month how much better it is to give than to receive…I know that at this point in the year we are all strapped for cash as dollar after dollar has been spent to purchase Christmas gifts for the ones we love. If you can, please make a donation to this family during this time & share in the true meaning of the Christmas spirit by clicking on the donate button below the photograph.
Any dollar amount will be accepted. 100% of the donations received will be given to to this family. The photograph of the poppies will be emailed to you in high resolution format. The photograph is then yours to print, frame, give as a gift, use as a desktop photo, etc. The photograph will not have my watermark on the image. ALL of the proceeds will be given to the Johnson family to help them during this tragic time in their lives.
God bless each & every one of you who have been so gracious to give…you are truly angels in someone’s lives this year. XOXO, marielle.
It’s a song we sing at church every once in awhile. And it’s a song that I simply cannot sing without crying. The words are so simple but there is so much beautiful powerful in them. And whether you believe in God or not, the words are so true because they apply to each & every one of us…
Because I have been given much, I too must give.
Because of thy great bounty, Lord each day I live.
I shall divide my gifts from thee with every brother that I see,
who has the need of help from me.
Because I have been sheltered, fed by thy good care…
I cannot see another’s lack and I not share-
my glowing fire, my loaf of bread-my roof’s safe shelter over head,
that he too may be comforted.
At this time of year, it’s easy to look around us and see how blessed we are. It’s also easy to look around at those around us & see that there are people who are struggling. Family illnesses, home foreclosures, people losing their jobs, those without the means to provide basic needs for their families. Life.is.HARD.
I am going to share a story with you about a family who needs some extra help at this particular time in their lives…
Cristian is a 7 year old boy-currently he’s in the second grade at school. On October 1st Cristian was complaining of pain in his right foot. As the days progressed his foot started hurting more and more, by Wednesday October 5th, Cristian woke up unable to walk & unable to use his right side. That morning his parents took him to his doctor for a check up. The Doctor sent him to the emergency room & later that day they diagnosed him with a brain tumor on his left side. They soon discovered that the tumor was the size of an orange. He was flown to the Oakland Children’s Hospital where he underwent an 8 hour surgery to remove the tumor. After the surgery Cris recovered well….and as his family was eagerly waiting to hear from the doctor regarding the results from the tumor. On October 14, they were given the bad news that Cristian’s Tumor was malignant and that we would have to do Chemotherapy for four rounds along with a bone marrow transplant & radiation.
As if this wasn’t already a hard enough time for little Cris & his family, his father was laid off from his job at the same time. Their family has six children to care for along with heaps of medical bills.
I’m hoping that you can see all that you’ve been given in your life & recognize how much others can benefit from your small contribution. Because we have been given so much in our lives, I really believe that we need to give to others & help those who have needs greater than our own.
Although our lives & the trials we are given are uncertain, there is one thing that is for sure: that there are wonderful people out there who are willing to help…and I hope you are one of those types of people!
I am holding a fundraiser for sweet family-100% of the money raised will go to this family to help them in this time of their lives. Thanks to my friend Liz for donating the lovely merry-go-round photograph. The other photographs are ones I took while traveling in Europe. Each photograph that you purchase will be emailed to you in a high resolution format. The photograph is then yours to print, frame, give as a gift, use for Christmas cards, use as a desktop photo, etc. The photograph you are emailed will not have my watermark on the image. ALL the proceeds will go to Cris’ family to help pay for his medical bills & to help them get back on their feet.
Here’s hoping that you can see another’s need & share what YOU can with this family. Thanks in advance for helping this sweet family in their time of need. Merry Christmas to each of you!
I am hoping that the photographs will be purchased for $7 each, but I am leaving the amount blank so that you can donate as much or as little as you like. Donations will close on December 24th, 2011.
I had the pleasure of hosting a fun workshop in Nevada in October-it was a ton of fun & we covered everything from posing to lighting all the way down to interacting with your clients. I am lucky enough to have amazingly beautiful friends who were willing to model for the workshop! Thanks to everyone who came & a special thanks to Derek & KayLynne for being so gosh darn attractive! And thanks to my sweet dad who let us use his prized Corvette for the photos!
Here are my favorites from the workshop…
Holy smokes, KayLynne. You are beautiful!!!
It’s crazy how things come full circle. Trina & Anthony first met over 20 years ago in middle school…they were close friends & they even had a short relationship (like most middle school romances it lasted about 36 hours!). Over time, they realized that they were just the best of friends. They would see each other at church dances, in the hallway at school & they’d talk after school-making each other laugh like crazy. As time went on, Trina & Anthony moved on to High School, getting wrapped up in their schoolwork, extra curricular activities, school & LIFE. Years went by & one day Anthony saw Trina on Facebook (thank Mark Zuckerburg!). Suddenly a wave of memories came back to Anthony & he remembered the beautiful, funny & fabulous Trina. He HAD to contact her. Anthony had to be persistent with Trina & convinced her to go on a date with her. As soon as their date began, they picked up right where they had left off…and once again they became the best of friends. They would meet for dinner every few weeks & as time went on, they realized that they could not be without each other. They made each other laugh, they had a blast when they were together & most importantly, they were head over heels in love with each other!
As they were celebrating a family member’s birthday, Anthony stole Trina away from the party in a limo & took her back to the same middle school where they had first met. He explained that it was in those halls at that very school where he fell in love with her all those years ago…that he never wanted to be without her in his life again. He got down on one knee and presented her with the most GORGEOUS ring and asked here to be his wife. After a few minutes of being speechless & looking at that ring……she said YES!!!!!!! I am SUPER excited for their wedding at Tahoe in the spring!
Funny story about their engagement location…they wanted to go to Baker Beach-a place where I’ve shot dozens & dozens of engagements. Apparently Baker Beach is a nude beach & so every.single.time I go there with a couple, I always mention, “this is supposedly a nude beach but out of the dozens of times I’ve been here, I’ve NEVER seen anyone in the nude.” When I took Trina & Anthony there, I gave them the disclaimer about it being a nude beach & we laughed about how funny it would be if we saw people there in their birthday suits. As we walked closer & closer to the Golden Gate Bridge, we saw off in the distance a horrifying sight: an old man doing YOGA in the nude!!!! I almost died laughing. The waves were bigger than I’ve ever seen them at the beach & I LOVE that Trina & Anthony climbed up these rocks so we could get this awesome shot…
LOVE THIS ONE!
Nice work on the ring, Anthony!
At this time of year, it’s clear to me that I am ready for a little break. So far this year I’ve photographed 36 weddings, taken over twenty five thousand photos (just at weddings alone!!!). In addition to my job as a wedding photographer, Sam & I were asked to teach an early-morning Bible class (Monday-Friday starting at 6:30am!). It seems like every second of every day there is something to do, somewhere to go, something to accomplish, hugs to be given, laundry to be done, weddings to edit, candy to eat, owwies that need to be kissed, dinner that needs to be cooked, a kitchen that need to be cleaned, paperwork that needs majorly needs to be filed. At this time of year my eyes, hands & my whole body needs a break. And I’ll be honest…being a working mom is HARD. But being a working mom helps me realize that even though that even though my plate is full (sometimes I feel like it’s so full that it’s overflowing), that my plate is also filled ten times more with blessings from God. It’s so easy for me to look at the things in my life that I need to do & I end up overlooking the things that I am blessed with.
The other day I had an appointment & instead of parking close to the building where I was headed, I intentionally parked six blocks away. I know that’s not a big deal for some of you, but walking six blocks for me is like RUNNING A MARATHON. Normally I (like everyone else in the world) would pull out my phone & check my emails while I walked but this time I decided to walk & look at all the beautiful things around me. The red & orange leaves rustled in the trees. They were beautiful, rich hues with golden light pouring through them. As I walked, I realized how thankful I was to have legs that move. To have a body that works. To have eyes that can see the beauty of the earth around me. I realized how grateful I was for my arms which could pick up my darling daughter & hold her. I remembered that the reason why I have all of these blessings is because of a loving God above.
Even though my plate at times seems overwhelmingly full, I realize that my plate is overflowing with beauty, love & blessings from God. And even though the rush of the holidays is here, I hope we can take the time to appreciate all around us. Wishing you all a very blessed Thanksgiving!
