happened back in january, but i am just sharing it now. how did that happen?
i was contacted by heather and immediately wanted to cry after reading her email. she is a young mother of three children aged 11,6, and six months who was diagnosed with esophageal cancer in december 2006. her email was full of emotion and the desire to freeze frame her family the way it is. RIGHT NOW.
she has a blog that follows her progress: “i have what?”
i cant tell you how much this family affected me. their strength in such a scary time. a painful time. a time when everything else is on pause and they wait for mom to get better. it was really really difficult to do the session without crying. i think we all cried at some point. but we also laughed. a lot. they are a riot!
this session was a celebration of what this family has together. and what they do not want to lose. if you let that sink in when you think about what you have, you will realize how truly lucky you are.
wow…you did a wonderful job capturing this family! so cool!
capturing the moments by a photographter is the best gift to give the future family members. thanks for sharing!
what a story.. my thoughts are with them in this very scary time.. I think that along with losing one of my children is my biggest fear.. ( I would image it would be the same for anyone ) I can tell just by looking at them they will get through this with strength and grace… You captured them beautifully Tara
Years ago my father died of esophogeal cancer. I was 14. It stemed from a problem with the muscles in his esophagus/stomach; because he found comfort in what was happening it turned into an eating disorder. The problem started when he was young, like 7. The disorder I’m sure you’ve never heard of. When my mom forced him to see a doctor (12 years before he died) he lied about the number of times during the day there was a problem. Had he been honest they would’ve been able to treat the physical problem and it’s likely he would still be alive.
This family will be in my prayers.
Tara,
You have done an amazing job, I can see their love, and the photos even without the story made me hold my breath, but to know the story, it puts life into perspective.
Lots of happy thoughts for this family & for you, for capturing such moments and helping them freeze frame, i hope they can hold it forever,
karina
This post has brought me to tears. I too have a young daughter (7 months old). I can’t imagine what this young mother with young darlings is going through. This family is in my thoughts and prayers. Thank you for capturing their beauty. Isn’t this what it is all about?
Love your work Tara!!!
Natalie
This entry moved me to tears. I too am a mommy to a young one……I can’t imagine what this is like for everyone involved. Tara, I loved that you captured the family with your awesome pictures. Isn’t this what it is all about??
This family is in my thoughts and prayers!!
Natalie
What a beautiful way to capture this family.
Tara girl you never cease to amaze me.
My uncle had esophogeal cancer, they thought they beat it after he had his esophagus and stomach removed, but it spread. He left behind my aunt and two teenage cousins, but he lived much longer than any of us thought possible.
thanks for sharing
Tara these are wonderful as always and.. so special. I try and convince my clients to come as they are and be who they are.. because you never know how important that could be.
Wow what great moments you captured. I went over to visit her blog….what a powerful family and woman.
I will be praying for them.
These will be such special memories for them as a family. Hopefully everthing will be fine for them (I’ll be praying they are) but either way, good or bad, they will be changed as a family. This will be SO important to them. You did a wonderful job. I just love the last one of the whole family. Thanks for sharing!!
Beautiful shots Tara. Just beautiful.
I can understand what this family is going through. Last summer I had some health problems that really put our lives on hold. I saw several doctors, had more tests run than you could imagine and we kept hearing “It could be one of five diseases, but MS is number one.” In the end, it turned out I didn’t have MS…yet. I’m at a higher risk of developing it later in life. I was fortunate enough to start medication to prevent anything from happening, but it really made me and my family take stock of our lives.
I’m not sure why I told you all this other than I can relate to this woman and what she is going through. I think it’s wonderful that you were able to do this photo shoot for her and her family.
Wow, those photographs are beautiful. What a wonderful memory for that family. It is stories like that, that remind me on the “hardest” days with toddlers that “perspective is the key to motherhood”.
OMG this story touched my heart!!! You captured their life story so BEAUTIFULLY!!!!!!!! Incredible pictures :)
Oh wow – what a wonderful gift you’ve given them in these photos!!! I hope that in 20 years, they can all look back on these photos together!!
beautiful shots of a beautiful family.
Hope she got what she was looking for!
What strikes me the most about these photos is the last one, and the way the husband is looking at his wife. You can see so much love and care in his eyes.
I wish them all the strength in the world to bring them through this time.
Tara, thanks for sharing their story. It is always good to do some reflecting on how fragile life really is.
I love the arches, that is so cooool!
It is so wonderful that she chose to do this, and that you were the one to make it happen for her. My friend’s sister just passed away from colon cancer on Saturday. She was 38, and has 4 children under the age of 10. Photos are SO IMPORTANT. Thank you for sharing this.
Cherish every day.
you are so right- it is all about family, and thank you for the reminder to cherish what we do have! given what it took for us to have our 2 baby girls, we truly are fortunate and feel very blessed. your work is just beautiful. thank you so much for sharing!
uh, tears here. I didn’t even realize that Heather was sick because I looked at the photos first, and then read the post. She looks beautiful, and so does her family. What an eye opening, perspective changing experience. Thanks.
magic. pure genius and magic.
Lots of love and thoughts her and her scrummy family xx
Thanks for sharing such a special story and truly priceless pictures. Tara, you are one amazing woman.
Beautiful family. I am glad you could capture these moments for them.
Hugs to you and prayers to their family.