One Sweet family!

What an amazing first “Portraits with a Purpose” session we had this past weekend! This family loves to get out as much as they can to parks and museums, and wherever else they can take Natalie in her wheelchair. They love to be creative at Halloween with costumes for the whole family. Dad even made the Eiffel Tower one year for their Paris themed family costume. Natalie went as a french baker!

Natalie’s amazing mother shared some details with me about Natalie’s disability. “Natalie has a rare genetic syndrome called Trisomy 9 Mosaicism; she has an extra 9th chromosome. She has very low muscle tone and is cognitively like an infant. Natalie cannot walk, so when we go somewhere as a family, we have to make sure places are handicapped accessible . Natalie does not speak and can’t really communicate in any way so if she is in pain, we have to guess what might be wrong. Her older sister may be one of the few 11 year olds who knows how to work a suction machine and a feeding tube. She doesn’t want to leave Natalie’s side when she is sick.”

The family had to move to a ranch home, install two ramps, and just recently purchased as special van that is handicapped accessible.

I asked mom what it means to them to have a complimentary portrait session done for them. “Having professional portraits done is such a gift! It’s a luxury we aren’t able to do for ourselves because our budget is focused on equipment and resources for Natalie. Having our portraits taken is a blessing and we are so thankful to the family who gifted the session to us!”

I am so happy to have done this for an amazing family like this. Natalie was an absolute Joy to photograph, as was the whole family! Their day to day lives are a lot more challenging than a typical family, but mom said “She is one of the happiest kids you’ll ever meet and has put things in perspective for our family. We can’t imagine our life without her now.”

And I just have to mention that big sister is one amazing girl! It’s so obvious that she loves her little sister so much, and never complained once about helping out during the session, and at our meetings with the family. This is so inspiring to me.

This has been an amazing experience for me so far, and at times tearful (happy tears) but I am so excited to see where this program goes and who the next family will be. Thank you so much to the sponsor family that made this session possible! The receiving family is so grateful and wants to say a big thank you as well!

The sponsor family has been my client for a couple of years now, and I love working with them, and their children! Their kids are involved in lots of different activities, so they love spending any time together that they possibly can. They enjoy movie night, game night, hiking and going to the beach together!

Mom said, “This opportunity was wonderful. Ana has come up with such a special idea...a way to give that is a win-win for everyone involved. It has been a teachable moment for our children about giving. And the receiving family has beautiful pictures and memories to enjoy.”

I absolutely love what I do, and now, it means even more! I can’t wait to continue this program and see where it goes from here! If you know anyone who would benefit from a complimentary session like this, or if you would like to be a regular client of mine and become an automatic sponsor by placing your qualifying order, I would love to hear from you! 302-300-7569 or ana@photosbyexpressios.com Thank you!