I'm a finalist in Melissa Zihlman Photography's Continental Give-away!!! I'm currently in second place, and the contest ends tonight! Please log on and vote for me! You can vote from more than one computer/electronic device, BUT only once from each. Please help a sister out!!! Voting ends at 8pm tonight!
VOTE HERE
Here is my entry:
The loves of my life.
Like any mother would say: unequivocally, without a doubt, beyond measure . . .
The loves of my life are my children. 5 year old Brooklyn and 3 year old Jake.
Brooklyn is such a sweet, passive soul. She wears her heart on her sleeve and cares for everyone she meets which I think is why she is such a worrier! She is constantly making sure that everyone around her is happy and well taken care of. Her best friend is her cat, Zyrtec, who she treats just like her own baby. Even though she is only 5 years old, I know that she will be an amazing mother one day. God gave me Brooklyn to teach me about humility, caring, and selflessness, and I learn from her daily.
Jake is our charmer - my husband says that he has me wrapped around his little finger. Of course, I deny this, but secretly inside I’m smiling at the accusation. It’s true - that little boy could get me to do anything by just scrunching up his eyes and wrinkling his tiny bud of a nose and saying, “Mommy, pweeze!”. He’s wild; he’s fun; and my personal favorite, he’s a Grade A cuddler. His favorite spot is wedged right up next to me on the couch. He’ll stay there for hours just to be close to me. Some of my favorite moments are when Jake leans into me and rubs my face right before he tells me “I wuv u, Mommy”.
I could go on and on about how much I love my children and just how much they have changed my life for the better. I would LOVE to have a family session with MZP to capture these fleeting moments with my kiddos and my husband. I know that beyond a shadow of a doubt, I would treasure those moments forever.
But . . . that’s not why I want to win this session . . .
I want to win this session, not for me, but for the loves of my life - my children. I want to celebrate one of the most special relationships in the life of a child - that between a child and his/her grandparents.
I recently lost my grandfather who was just like a dad to me. My PawPaw was the most amazing man I have EVER met. He was caring and kind and selfless and funny - I see him in both of my children all the time. I miss him more than words can say and think of him often. And when I look at pictures of him, it’s almost as if he’s right there beside me. We just have blurry snapshots of him - mostly at Christmas or another family holiday. I wouldn’t take all of the money in the world for these pictures, but I wish that I had images of me and him together that truly encompassed the wonderful love we had for each other.
This is what I want for Brooklyn and Jake.
I want this for my loves - who have already lost one grandfather when Brooklyn was 3.5 and Jake was just over a year old. I realize that I should have done something like this back then, so that my children would have amazing images to look back on and remember their time with Granddaddy. It’s too late for those now.
But it’s not too late for Nanny and Mimi and DudDud!
Nanny (my mother) and Mimi and DudDud (my husband’s parents) are the light of Brooklyn and Jake’s lives. For them, nothing is better than a weekend spent at Mimi and DudDud’s eating pizza, going for a stroll around the neighborhood, and dancing the night away on Mimi’s stage (which is really just their foyer at the bottom of the stairs!). And nothing can compare to the weekends when Nanny spends the night with us - staying up late watching movies and eating popcorn, playing Frontierville (or whatever the newest game is on FaceBook!), or going bargain hunting at the neighborhood yard sales early each Saturday morning.
I want to document the way that Brooklyn and Jake run full force into their grandparents arms when seeing them for the first time in a while; I want to document the look of pure joy on their faces as they sit in their grandparents laps and listen to stories and books; but mostly I just want to document the sweet love that radiate off of all of them when they are together.
There is something so unconditional and reciprocal about the love between grandchildren and grandparents. It’s indescribable.
This is the love that I hope to have MZP capture for the loves of my life, Brooklyn and Jake. Moments spent with their grandparents. Memories that, throughout their lifetime, will warm their hearts and bring back those
feelings of security and ultimate love.
