weddings and warm weather!

I am supper excited for this years weddings! With summer like weather the past couple days, I can't wait for Saturday's wedding outdoors at Harbor Lights Garden on Lake Michigan. Outdoor weddings are a big gamble with weather, but it looks like it is to be a spectacular day this Saturday. On that note, check out my previous post from last year on protecting your dress. I know most brides are concerned about that one of kind dress you have dreamed of and yet you want to get from point A to B and not have it get dirty.

Pricless children candids

Would you like to get the chance to win a complimentary photography session?

Now that everything is green and warmer weather is on the way, I want to see some of your candid moments of your children or nieces and nephews. I love photographs especially a candids that capture that one of a kind priceless moment. Become a fan or should I say "Like" on my business Facebook page http://tinyurl.com/2dabljk upload your favorite photograph of your child or niece or nephew and let the voting begin (if you include a name 1st names only please). Your photographs need to get posted on my page before May 24th. You and your family and friends can then vote for your favorite one. The one with the most votes will win a complimentary portrait session by Paul Owen PhotographyLLC!

Mother's Day contest results!

Ok the votes are in and I very happy to say Kim Gregor is the winner and below is her mother's story.

I've always know my mom was the best since I was little. Times were tough with five children but we never knew it. For months before Christmas my mom would secretly go to my parent's bedroom where she kept her sewing machine and forbid us to enter. We'd wake up Christmas morning with loads of presents under the tree that my mother lovingly made for all of us. We'd have doll clothes galore from scraps of fabric and we'd get new flannel pajamas every year.

Fifty years have passed since my first Christmas and my mother is still lovingly sewing gifts for all five of her children and her grandchildren. I have a beautiful quilt on a bed, another on the back of my sofa, and one on my chair with sayings about blessed daughters. I have been the one blessed to have such a wonderful mom. I had surgery a couple of years ago and while I was recuperating, I covered up with one of the quilts and felt my mom's love. She visited often and brought meals. She is always caring for others. If one of us gets sick, she still makes homemade chicken and dumpling soup to help us recover.

My mom has taught us what it means to be charitable. If someone is in need, she is always there to offer whatever she can. Children learn by imitation and she has also taught us the value of hard work. She cared for us without the modern conveniences we have today. She had a ringer washer, hung laundry outside on the clothesline, and canned all sorts of produce from our garden. After the youngest child was in high school, my mom got her first paying job. She can do anything she puts her mind to. Even though my parents didn’t have college degrees, my mom insisted I get my degree of which I am very thankful to have had all of that support.

A few months ago my mom suffered a stroke that left her with left-sided paralysis. She has showed us again that she can do anything and that hard work pays off. She faithfully does her exercises and is improving every day. She just finished crocheting a prayer shawl to donate to our church to give to someone who is ill. Soon, she will be totally independent again. She has taught me well and I have her to thank for the person I am today. This is why my mom is the best.