Lily

2012 Shoot

What can I say about Lily? She has the most amazing bright and beautiful blue eyes. When she looks at you, it's like her spirit speaks to yours.

Lily has a very sweet personality. It seemed as though she took in every word that was said. I loved seeing her eyes light up when I told her she was beautiful.

From Lily I learned to have kind eyes that help others feel welcome. I learned that you don't have to say words to speak. The kindness people see in your eyes is the same as the kindness in your heart. I strive to have that. I strive to be like Lily.

Olivia

Oh Olivia! I am laughing already! Olivia is a hilarious, and I mean a hilarious, girl! When I saw her, I offered her my hand, and said,"can I take your picture?!?" She shrugged her shoulders and walked over to a bush with me. I asked her to smile, and she gave me a beautiful smile! I was pleasantly surprised how photogenic she was. When I looked thought my camera again, Olivia had turned around. She then began to shake her bum at me, looked over shoulder and winked. By now the group we were with was all laughing. I was laughing so hard I didnt get it on my camera. Olivia then began to dance! Such an amazing girl, who is an example to all, how to find joy in life.

 The following is from Olivia's Mama.

"Olivia is an amazing girl-she has overcome so many obstacles and faces new ones with a grin and an I can do it attitude.Oliva was born with Meier-Gorlin Syndrome A form of Primordial Dwarfism-she will remain tiny but she can do almost everything that we as bigger people do-like Skiing-she LOVES to skii and draw and most of all have fun.I don't know what we would do without her...she brings so much love and light into our lives-she is my sweetpea now and Forever. We are very fortunate to be able to be parents of such sweet girls-as Olivia is a big sister-and A great one at that!"

Journal Entry: March 2012

"I am amazed at how I am changing little by little. I am now getting requests from states in every direction! I never knew how big this project would be, but I'm not complaining!"

"Instead of getting married-ha ha. My parents and I are going to get in the car and go to Portland, Oregon. I went on Facebook and automatically went to work trying to find people in that area that could participate in my project. I am so grateful for how many people help me with this project. I had people sending me e-mails, and numbers of people in Oregon that might participate!"

"Oregon has allowed me to do and try new things. We stopped at a crab shack on the side of the road. The menu was basically made up from fish and chips. The guy however sold he fresh catch of the morning too. There were SO many crabs! Iv never really been a big seafood person, but I DO like an adventure! "Hey If I buy a whole crab can you heat it up for me?". " Umm... they are dead". "I know... do you eat it cold? Look, Im a dumb girl from Idaho, and I just want to eat a whole crab...". " Oh! Okay... Ill uh take out the brains and everything for you... and warm it up a bit."... then he had to show me how to eat it.... hahaha ... IT WAS SOOO GOOD!"

"While everything was still dead and yellow/brownish in Idaho, Oregon was lush, green, and blooming with flowers! There is a lot culture, and amazing food here! Plus, my mom is having fun finding all of the thrift stores ha ha."

"Some sad news came today. The 7 people I had scheduled ( they all lived in a home together )... they went to Mexico.... so hopefully I can find someone"

"The Lord blesses me so much! I have found a couple people! I have a session in Washington in the morning, and we are going to travel the coast on the way back. I LOVE the ocean here. I would rather live here than Florida!"

(I was able to photograph a young girl In Salem, who has since has decided to no longer be part of the project. But I learned some things from her, so I am going to share that )

When I first saw this little girl's family walking towards me I thought," Oh my goodness what an adorable family!" It was a windy day and rainy day. This hurt her eyes, and scared her. She didn't want her glasses on for the pictures, even though they helped her see, and protected them from the wind. Every time she got scared her daddy raced over to comfort her, and wipe any tears that formed. It melted my heart. Once time she began to get a little scared and he daddy called her name, and said something like its okay you can hear us, you know I'm here. Its okay, you are doing great! - beautiful right? I thought to myself, that's what God has been telling me this last month. Its okay, I am here, keep going! I wont let you fall, you are doing great.

I also got to travel to Washington on this road trip and photographed an amazing woman named Heather. Her post will be coming soon! Such an amazing story!

"One thing I see over, and over again in this project are the AMAZING families these people are a part of. The love in this family was so strong I could fill it. There is no way I could possibly understand how difficult it is to be a parent, let alone, having one with a disability. It amazes me how they march though trials, where others would crumble. Its a beautiful thing to see."

Liz

Liz! Oh my lanta, Liz is such an amazing person! I met Liz my first semester at Utah State. I was in her institute class, and we would talk here, and there. I ran into her at the homecoming game, and she asked me if I was doing Best Buddies that year. I had actually signed up for it the prior week! She said that she wanted to be my buddy, and I remember going home, and praying that I would be- haha.  BUT... we were not paired up with each other, but ironically, her roommate was my buddy! Liz and I were able to spend a lot of time together!

Liz, is such an amazing woman. She is literally the most caring person I know. When ever anyone is feeling sad or mad around her, or on facebook, she tries to help them. Liz has a special gift. She has the gift of charity and compassion.Its something that is overlooked so much in the world today, and I don't want it to go unnoticed with Liz. SHE IS TOO AMAZING! 

Liz has many other talents, LIKE BEING LEGIT! Do you see that picture? That is a GOLD she got from the World Special Olympics in CHINA! Liz also went to Greece, and has competed in many local competitions. Basically, she is AMAZING!

Liz can do anything, and she has the determination and talent to go with it. Way to go Liz, we sure do love you!