Leaving a Legacy

This beautiful lady is Violet and yesterday I had the honor (and I do mean honor) to photograph Violet in celebration of her 90th birthday. Can I just tell you, I had NO IDEA how much I would enjoy this shoot. To be honest, I almost didn't do it. I had planned to take this week off, to just be with my kiddos and get Christmas stuff done but when Arlene (Violet's daughter) emailed me I took a couple of days to think and pray about what I should do. In the end, I decided that the kids would probably enjoy a playdate and I would hopefully be able to serve as a blessing to Arlene and Violet by taking the time to do this shoot for them. HA!! I was the one that got blessed! In fact, if I would have been wearing socks, I do believe they would have been blessed right off! (By the way, this a side note... in case you haven't heard, I am making the "flip flops" my signature! I'm gonna be known world wide as "you know that photographer that ALWAYS wears flip flops.")

Now, I am not a "keeper". I purge on a regular basis, always simplifying and getting rid of things we don't use or need anymore. I take pictures of things I want to remember, favorite stuff animals from when I was kid, my kid's school work etc, but for the most part, I am a "get rid of it" kinda girl. Arlene, is not. Wow!! She took me on a tour of her home pointing out furniture, dishes, figurines, linens and much much more that belonged to her mother, mother-in-law, grandmother and so on. In the picture above, the figurine in the background was a gift to Violet from her husband.
In this picture, Violet is sitting at her old dressing table. Arlene shared stories with me about how she used to sit at this table as a child and try on her mom's jewelry, oh my goodness, what a precious memory.

What touched me the most, was when Violet agreed to climb the stairs to the 2nd floor of Arlene's home so that we could take some photos with "her things". This was Violet's first trip upstairs and I was so moved to see her reaction to the things Arlene has so carefully preserved. It was positively precious. (In fact, I was so excited to share this picture with you, I couldn't sleep last night!!)

This was Violet's chair when they lived on the farm.

I am so thankful that I took the time to pray about this shoot, the Lord lovingly used my time with Arlene and Violet to remind me to cherish the people and the memories that make up the tapestry of the life He is weaving out for me.

Happy Birthday, Violet!!