What I'm Thankful For...

Since we don't have a lot of followers yet, it may not have been noticed that we haven't made a blog post for awhile.  Truthfully, we haven't felt much like it and we really still don't!  Our mom left this world quite unexpectedly on Friday, November 5; and although they say life must go on, I think the holidays will be weird and sad and different this year; and I'm actually not much in the mood for celebrating them.   I may not celebrate, but I will participate because there are so many she left behind who are all feeling the same way...and because she would want us to be together and to move forward, even if it's one baby step at a time.

Perhaps it's fitting that Thanksgiving and my birthday are following so closely behind her passing.  It's the time of year we tend to focus more on what we're thankful for than we do at other times of the year, although we should be waking up each day full of gratitude for the many blessings in our lives.  I find that when I focus on my blessings and on being thankful, the sad or difficult things become much easier to bear and they don't seem quite so large.  So now I face the task before me... 

"The unthankful heart... discovers no mercies; but let the thankful heart sweep through the day and, as the magnet finds the iron, so it will find, in every hour, some heavenly blessings!"  ~Henry Ward Beecher

I could provide an endless list of what I'm thankful for and so could the rest of us.  Suffice it say, I'm thankful I had the mom I did for as many years as I did.  I was blessed by her every day of my life, although I'm sure I didn't always know that in my younger years.  I'm thankful I realized that before it was too late.  I'm thankful for the friends and family who have been and will continue to surround me with sympathy, love, understanding and comfort.   And I'm thankful that she is at peace, resting in the arms of the Lord, and that I can look forward to being reunited with not one but two moms one day in Heaven!

So, for today my wish for all of you is that you will find blessings too numerous to count in the midst of whatever burdens you heart. 

I'm thankful for times like these...and plenty of good memories!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Blessings to you and yours,

Karen

"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life.  It turns what we have into enough, and more.  It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity.  It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend.  Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow."  ~Melody Beattie

A FUNdraiser for Mia...

Even though neither of us is much in the mood for writing or posting the blog, this item is too important to pass up.  We've written before about our little friend, Mia Foutz, and the battle she is waging against brain cancer.  Most of us know how devastating serious illness can be emotionally, physically and also financially.  If you live in the Phoenix area, please consider attending this fundraiser for Mia.   We assure you that it's a great cause!

After all, can you think of anything better to do on the first Friday night in December?  You won't be sorry, I promise!  You could even bid on a photo session and print package the "Sisters" are offering!!!

Blessings to you and yours,

Karen and Tina

"Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could only do a little."  ~Edmund Burke



"Pinkalicious" Times Two

Here’s another story about sisters – twin sisters this time!!  These beautiful, spunky twins have been through more in their short five years than many of us will go through in a lifetime!  And this is a good story, one with a good outcome so far, one with answered prayers after a long wait.  These are the kinds of stories that keep us believing in the power of those prayers, the amazing strength of people to overcome the worst and the importance of being surrounded by family, friends and loved ones during our most difficult times.

Taylor was just 3 years old when she was diagnosed with acute myelogenous leukemia, a fast-growing cancer of the blood and bone marrow.  She and her mom spent close to a year in Phoenix Children’s Hospital for her treatment.  You can read about it on her blog,  Loving Taylor.  I learned about her through a mutual friend and was so touched by her story that I followed it closely while she was ill and prayed often and hard for her.  

These little girls who had been together since birth were suddenly separated most of the time and I can’t even imagine how hard it was on each of them individually as well as on their parents, grandparents and everyone else who loved and cared for them.  Last year on their fourth birthday they hadn’t seen each other for almost a month and they got an hour in the hospital for cupcakes! 

What I picked up on immediately upon meeting them for the first time was their infectious happiness to be there and their love for each other.  I think you’ll see it in the photos.  Along with joy and love, if you look closely at them you’ll see grace, serenity and a little mischief!

We are so thankful to have been able to photograph these beautiful girls.  We pray for Taylor’s continued good reports from her doctors and we hope to have the opportunity to photograph them as they grow up into what will surely be beautiful young women!

In the meantime, Happy Fifth Birthday, Taylor and Savannah!  We know it will be a joyous celebration!

 

 

Blessings to you and yours…

Karen

 

“Sisters touch your heart in ways no other could.  Sisters share…their hopes, their fears, their love, everything they have. Real friendship springs from their special bonds.”   ~Carrie Bagwell

Mia's Family

We first wrote about Mia and her awesome family a few weeks ago.  Mia is a beautiful five-year old girl who is going through the fight of her life right now as she battles brain cancer.   You can read about the journey on her blog at Human Tribe Project.

A few of the things you will learn there are that Mia is a fighter; that she has two awesome parents who are trying to juggle family life with two other children who need them too and who are suffering along with their child; that she has an extended family who will do whatever it takes to keep things going and make it possible for someone to be with Mia at all times--and that she now has an extended blog family on Human Tribe Project who are all praying, offering words of encouragement and strength, helping the family in any way they can and supporting them financially by purchasing Tribe Tags.

That is why Human Tribe Project was created.  There is a need it fills during the time of a devastating illness or crisis.  For those of us on the “outside” there is some comfort in knowing some of what is going on and in finding direction for our prayers.  Still, we feel helpless.  For those on the “inside” there is the moment-by-moment pain of watching this unfold.  We hope there are at least some moments of joy and celebrate hearing about things like a big, strong Daddy having his nails painted lavender by his child…and leaving the polish on.  And we hear about some of the moments that bring tears to our eyes and make us sad.  Unless we’ve been through it, we still don’t know…BUT we pray! We pray for whatever it is they need and then some.

This is Mia’s Family…or the Foutz side of it anyway.  They are there to lift each other up and to deal with the hardest moments and they are amazing.  A year is a long time, but I believe they will get through it…one day at a time!  I believe they will have a healthy, beautiful daughter in the end.  In the meantime, I hope and I pray…and I give thanks that they have each other.  And I am thankful we had an hour or so one Sunday evening to capture not just Mia, but all of them…looking like any other family for a little while!

 

I might add here that this family is pretty blessed in the “cute kids” department.   I think you’ll agree!

Blessings to you and yours…

Karen

“Other things may change us, but we start and end with family”    ~Anthony Brandt