A little early for that, I know. But seriously, it’s time to think about Christmas. The last day for sessions to be done in time for Christmas is November 15. Any session scheduled after that may not make it in time for Christmas. As of today, I have one Saturday session and about 4 weekday sessions still available before then, and that’s it! So if you’ve been putting off scheduling a session, don’t wait. I missed my chance to do the mini-sessions like I did last year, but I’m planning on doing a day of mini-sessions in the spring. Just too busy to add that into my schedule for this season.

The studio is *almost* ready for visitors. I just need to get myself a desk and put pictures up on the walls. Oh… and signage for outside. It’s looking good! I’m planning to have an open house sometime, probably in the beginning of November… but I’m waiting until it’s all finished before I commit to anything.

And now… for sharing time. I just finished up this session and don’t want to wait to share it… This family has such an amazing story. The mom contacted me because she’s going to have a kidney transplant next month and knows that she’s going to be pretty sick for a while. She wanted to have a family session done while she still felt pretty good.

Dad is a golf pro at Boulder Ridge Golf Course, so they were able to get us in on a Monday when the course is closed for maintenance. We had the whole place to ourselves. The weather was perfect, the sun was all beautiful and golden. We had SUCH a great time.

During the course of the session, we chatted about the upcoming surgery. I learned that the kidney problem was a result of her pregnancy… that her body attacked itself and caused her kidneys to shut down.

While they lasted until 30 weeks, this little dude had stopped growing and was less than 2 lbs when he was born. The doctors gave him a 5% chance for survival, and IF he survived, there was a 90% chance he would have brain injury or major complications. And yet, this miracle boy survived. And thrived. And is completely normal.

The love within this family is evident.

But the connection that struck me most was between mother and son.

Against all odds, they have each other. They fight for each other. They take care of each other. This upcoming storm is small compared to some of the things they have faced… and they’re meeting the challenge head on. Together.

If you’d like to view the entire slideshow, click right here.