Sunday, January 17, 2010

A mother and her son | Wrightsville Beach Family Photographer

I try to celebrate life every day, and I love being able to do that for others through my lens. Sometimes it's harder than others, because sometimes, well sometimes that celebration only comes after lots of heartache and grief.

Last February, Molly was diagnosed with anaplastic large cell Lymphoma. She was 5. In kindergarten. And just 5 short months she lost her battle with cancer. Like her dad, Buck said, "life is cruel."

Yet, this family, this amazing family, still finds reasons to celebrate. If you aren't familiar with Molly's website http://mollyrowlee.com/ please bookmark it now. Check it often. It will change your life. I think Buck said it well on the site:
"Her battle with cancer sparked the love of a community and thousands of people have rallied behind Molly, as well as our family, throughout this entire ordeal. Molly has taught us many things throughout this journey. We understand too well how very precious life is and we have come to redefine the priorities in all of our lives. Suddenly, we are able to find more time to spend with our families. We hug each other more tightly, kiss each other more passionately, and we're focused on being better parents....better people."

Now that's something to celebrate!

Meg and K are spending the month in NC - and while they were here I really wanted to capture some of their strength, energy, love, and laughter. I had such a great time and could have spend the whole day with them. K is the same age as my Silas - and their interests are the same - so it was fun to talk about Batman, Transformers, and Bakugans.

They started with a puzzle - and it didn't take long before the sillies overtook!
I love K's concentration while putting this puzzle together. I also LOVE his eye lashes here! Oh, and the hands in the overalls - perfect!
Then we headed for the beach. We were hoping for a beautiful warm January day, but, ummmm, well, we just bundled up and went for it! We stopped at the playground first - and K was too cute. He was so proud of himself jumping up to that monkey bar and holding on!
This boy makes me smile!!!!! So silly and so full of energy!
They were looking at how the birds were standing - and the K had to try it out!
I just liked this one!
K was telling me about how his mommy is such a good artist! They love drawing hearts in the sand with Jesus on the cross. I wish I could have recorded K telling me about it - it was a great story.
A little spinning fun - that made Meg very dizzy!!!! I love the shot.....

But also love the fall down afterwards. This makes my heart smile. I know that was a lot of pictures for a blog - but this is one of those sessions that can't be summed up in 4 or 5 images. So thank you for looking.
I hope the support for this family and the Molly Fund can continue to be as strong as it is right now. Meg would like to thank all those that have contributed to the Molly Fund. She knows there are so many that they don't even know and can't thank personally.
Celebrate Life!

30 comments:

Laurie Sachs Photography said...

These are so lovely! What a heartbreaking story, but when you look into little brothers eyes you can see so much joy and hope there. Prayers to them, amazing session Dana.

lindsay said...

These are so sweet! I love all the interaction (which you are a genius at capturing) and love. Its perfect.

Ketti Photography said...

Amazing. The last two are such treasures. My heart goes out to this family.

Tina Ramirez said...

Beautiful captures. Thank you Dana for sharing this family with us!

Janice said...

Dana, you did what you always do best. You told a story of love and connection. Despite their sadness and great loss, it is beautiful to see they can still have so much joy, even just doing a puzzle. These are just beautiful and they brought tears to my eyes. I love them and I really loved the spinning one. So fun!

Libby said...

Dana, these are simply beautiful!

melissa said...

beautiful! you are so wonderful at capturing genuine interaction!! fabulously done!

Heather Latimer said...

My heart goes out to this family. Dana, these images are wonderful - especially the last two. Those are filled with the emotion that is shared b/t a mother and child.

Nicholle said...

Oh these are wonderful! thanks to them and you for sharing their story..

Kimberly Motter said...

So sweet. I really love the interaction you captured. Lots of love in these pictures.

Gabensysmom said...

What an amazing session, Dana. The story is so heartbreaking, yet you captured so much joy between a mother and son...those last two made me tear up...absolutely perfect!

Jill Hardy said...

tearing up here too, fabulous job as always Dana, you always find a way to capture that connection.

Jessica said...

Oh, I love all of these, but especially those last two. What a beautiful bond you captured between the two of them.

Stephanie Bowling said...

These are just amazing. What a special family. I love the emotion you captured. I just LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the last two! Precious!

Photography by Li said...

Such gorgeous photos! I love the emotion and connection you captured. I especially love the last two. What an amazing, strong family.

Photography By Alyssa said...

Speechless Dana. Heartbreaking, touching and very emotional with stunning images that express those emotions so well.

Becca said...

These are so beautiful! So much love in this family. Excellent captures.

Melissa Zihlman said...

The whole session is amazing, but that last ditypch is incredible! What a wonderful gift your have given them! Continuing to pray for this family

Summer said...

What a treasure to have these moments captured soo beautifully. And I know, for this family in particular, they will treasure these stories. My heart continues to reach out in prayer and hope to this family.

KDB Photography said...

oh dana, these are absolutely perfect. such a heartbreaking story, but what a strong family.

Julia Wade said...

you captured a lot of love and the amazing connection in this family. many prayers for them.

Nana said...

Thank you for sharing as this was absolutely heart-absorbing that made my soul smile! - Laurie

Anonymous said...

Out here on the east coast we love the Rowlee family! I love these pictures -- thank you for taking them for this beautiful family!
Sara Gredenius

Betsy said...

I do not have the words to express the emotions these pictures evoke. So amazingly beautiful.

Kristen said...

These are absolutely beautiful images! You did a fantastic job of capturing some great mother/son moments. Hugs to the family!

Krysten said...

I am speechless, Dana. I mean it. I don't know this family at all, but those last two shots made my eyes well up with tears. Just amazing work, like usual, with such strong emotion and connections. I can't say it enough - these are beyond wonderful.

Julie said...

These have such wonderful and raw emotion and love that you captured. Their story breaks my heart but it looks like it has brought these two together and the love shines through!

Kathy said...

beautiful pictures ... K looks so much like little miss molly ... making memories even with a broken heart. I love the very last picture ... great closing to get the tears rolling down my cheeks.

Callie said...

these are gorgeous! love the connection you captured between this mom and son.

jennieg said...

the last photos on the beach made me cry!! Truly beautiful


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About Me

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Carolina Beach, North Carolina
I love a lot of people,things, ideas, stuff. One of my loves is to witness people connecting with other people, things, ideas, stuff. I love connections, I love to capture people connecting, and I'd love to share that with you!