I awake this morning overwhelmed by all there is to do in the next 3 months....it is such a beautiful day and inside I know that eventually all will settle into a routine, but its both frightening and amazing to see where we have come in the short time since the People Magazine article was published, the pace is fast, the work is emotionally fulfilling and tough......I realize I come to love each child and their families and that is why its so obviously the right thing to do. I look back at the local news casts, each one so touching, as well as NPR, and the Seattle Times, ahead is The Today Show, the Pediatric Archives Journal and the show on October 30 at St Marks. Sprinkle in Camp Agape, EWomens Network Conference, the wonderful fund raiser at Jack and Kathy's, the trip to New York, Swedish Hospital work with the March of Dimes and the upcoming move to Ballard, plus my busiest time of year for my regular business, fullfulling each Soulumination request and I am really overwhelmed. Without the help of dedicated interns and volunteers I would be just stopped dead in this water. I sincerely thank all of you who allow me your support, even those who just listen and encourage are so important right now.

Funding is a real concern so any ideas are welcome. I so hope funds keep trickling in as we need office help so badly and always there are film costs associated with each shoot....... we hope to gain sponsorship of the show in October, it would work as amazing advertising to underwrite this show and get a name on board to read---Soulumination Collection presented by_________________. With national media spotlighting this work I am thinking someone will step forward with the support we need. We are so fortunate to have Museum Quality Framing with us for the framing of this work and they are definately getting recognition for their efforts.

I am attaching another photo from my time with Elise and her family in New Jersey. She is a most beautiful child and it was an honor to meet her and her loving family. Again I thank Jonathon Smith for his photographs of this special moment. With hope and wonder, Lynette

I am very happy to post a few shots from the cancer camp, Camp Agape, that I had the priviledge to attend due to the generosity of my friend Nanette. The camp is in Gig Harbor and is headed up by the nicest couple and joining them were their two sons. Deb and Jeff are such warm and welcomming people that you feel at home as you arrive, they are pictured here with the smiles they wear so genuinely. I met a number of families that day, each with a story to tell, each family loving and kind, each family having battled through so much and showing such happiness at the outcome that it made my day one to remember. I am delighted to share a couple of photos of young Danny and his family. I was so touched by the fact that his lovley mom was teary just because I was there to record her amazing troop. Again, it seems like the least I can do when I have been so blessed in my career.

We are moving ahead with the seating of our board, it very exciting to welcome some new people and to embrace long time supporters. The photos are being printed and framed for October's show......the Today show producer and I are in touch daily as they work on the editing....Fred Moody kindly wrote an article for my mom to take to my home town newspaper in Sequim.....we heard from the IRS that our application is on file and waiting its turn for review.......I visit a new Soulumination baby on August 13....I will work at Swedish with a new program through the March of Dimes that is concentrating on premies......so many friends working so hard to make this project a success. I am honored and humbled by this show of support, Lynette

I am honored that we now have releases to show the amazing face of young Bennie, I met him at Children's hospital when filming with the Today show. His face is one to remember, his cheeks courtesy of the anti-rejection drugs that are part of his treatment. He is one happy and delightful little guy and it was my pleasure to record him. He is pictured on this page with his mother on the evening of our first day of filming in Seattle. He laughed at the bubbles blown by our producer Robin. I am so grateful that we were blessed with Robin's presence while working with the Today show crews as she won the heart of each child and vice versa would be my guess.

Still feeling the wonderful warmth from Friday's fund raiser, I am posting a few photos from the night, the first showing the fun of the raffle prize drawing with hostess Kathy on far right, one of her cohost and husband Jack and then finally the wonderful Kelley Myers and husband Jeff. Kelley joined in the efforts of this project after meeting me at a photo shoot and has since put up the entire web site and sat on our steering committee and given countless hours to this mission







I spent Monday in Gig Harbor at Camp Agape, a camp for children and their entire families who are living with cancer. I was introduced to this amazing experience by a treasured friend Nanette Hayre and am so grateful for her suggestion to photograph these wonderful families. I hope to see the photos later today and will post some here if it is agreeable with my subjects. Nanette and her husband so generously funded the film and processing. I hold a wish in my heart to return to camp next year, we will just have to see about the funding, but believe as always that in this work the right thing will work out.

My interns are hard at work assembling the pieces for the new office furniture. I am so grateful to TIPS foundation for providing these amazing young people to work with us this summer. I would like to mention my new friend Deanne Wilson who has been generously offering her time and talent to make the new office design work efficiently. Deanne has provided help in so many ways that she is indeed a godsend in this process. Doug and I hope to move this September and are so looking forward to sharing our new spaces with all of you. We have a new address but don't mail there until I let you know we are officially moved, but if you drive through Ballard take a peak, its on the corner of 52nd and 11th NW and the new address will be 5206 11th Ave NW.

My best to all of you who venture to this site, Lynette

On Friday night we had our first local fundraiser, hosted by Kathy and Jack Kindred, they had a vision to celebrate with friends and create a party with a purpose....it was so much fun and brought in funds that will help keep this project alive and available to families......I am so thankful to them and to their friends for this support......the event was handled so perfectly through the help of my steadfast friend Sidni, she worked tirelessly to pull this off with help from Caitlin, Auni, Pierre, Isabella, Terra, Bret and my husband Doug.......Attending from Soulumination were Alice, mother of Josiah and Henry, Fred Moody, the writer of the articles that threw the project into the national spotlite and his wife Ann, plus Kelley Myers of our steering commitee and her husband Jeff.......we were able to display the first framed prints for the Soulumination Collection show set to open October 30 at St Marks Catherdral.

I am so happy with the prints for the show, they are beautifully framed through the generosity of Northwest Framing/ Museum Quality Framing and specifially Nick Hanauer......the prints themselves are wonderfully executed through the talent of my long time printer Shane of Moonphoto.......Without the help of Moonphoto and Museum Quality Framing we would not have been able to move ahead with this show. Please mark your calendars as we want all of you to attend the opening on October 30 at St Marks.....this event is going to be headed by Stephanie Solomon who is a party planner that I love and admire, she is one of the best in the country and I am honored to have her join with my dear friends Joan and Sally (mothers of the children that my work with Soulumination is dedicated to). I am thrilled to say that many of the Soulumination families plan on attending, including Brandon's from Edmonton, Alberta which gives us the international reach that I would not have dreamed possible in an organization so young.

We are forging ahead with the building blocks of the foundation, the flyer bringing in funds slowly and steadily, but really working so well to let so many new people know about the work......my steering committee working very hard to create a simple yet viable framework to support the project....they are to be commended for all the hours they have devoted to getting things moving, especially in the areas of the application for a 501c3, the website construction and maintenance, and grant writing.

As you can see in the photograph taken while I was working with Elise's family in New Jersy by Jon who was part of the Today show crew, I am wearing one of the bracelets provided to the Soul mom's by GotCharm, each mother who has received one has been utterly delighted, I actually am the proud owner of two, one with my own amazing daughers and if you look closely you will see my second one, Joey Wes, my first angel baby.......I daily stand in wonder at the workings of all this, its hard to fathom that the People magazine article was dated February 14 and all this has happened in that short time.....I realize this points to the fact that the mission was one that was ready to be brought to light and that with the Today show airing the story in the fall that I am heading something much bigger that I ever dreamed possible, so the support is a blessing and I hope we continue to bring in funds to keep ahead of the demands........with love, Lynette

Here are some photos to illustrate the happenings at the conference described in the previous blog message, I will write about all the wonderful happenings of the week when time is available. I wanted to put these up right away to show you all how it went that night in Dallas with the EWomen'sNetwork conference.

My sincere thanks to those who are responding with gifts, I so hope we can raise enough funds to have help in the office after the departure of my amazing interns. The daily work load is mind blowing and I can't even think of keeping up, so as I have said before every gift will be honored and spent wisely and we appreciate your kindness so very much. Humbly yours, Lynette

I am back from Dallas, one tired cowgirl, but I bring with me joy and complete amazement over what happened while I was with the wonderful women of EWomenNetwork. I arrived ready to go through the walk through for our big night. There was a group of young women who were to receive recognition first, followed by the grant recipients and I kept wondering why no one else was worrying about their speech and why my name was never called....It took 2 hours of that before I asked and the response was, "you are a different grant winner, the recipient of our corporate grant and you will go last and you are the only one to speak."

After dressing in my Dallas glitter, I came back to wait in the green room. Everyone was so nice and I started the usual pre-speech jitters, getting up leaving the room, totally rewriting and finally abandoning the written speech, all the time chatting as always and wondering why the people who were directing me kept trying to keep me in the green room when I still had so long to go. Finally after over 2 hours it was my turn, I would be the last to receive my grant and speak before the keynote speaker. I proceed on stage wondering why they didn't play the King 5 piece, the room was full of women, all in tears over the introduction given by the founder of this organization, Sandra. A room full of clapping, tearful women, a thousand strong is a force in itself and I launched into my typical Lynette talk about how I am blessed with a family, business and foundation----photos of the angel babies appear on the screen and we are off into tearful yet joyful thoughts of the beginning of this project. Nearing completion I hear a soft whisper of my name and quickly wrap up thinking I am out of time and now I will receive the grant, and the surprises that all the grant winners received---- $500 gift card from Office depot and Microsoft software....but no, the founder comes on the explain that I am the first winner of the "Humanitarian of the Year Award" and that there is someone special to speak and present the award, I turn around to the smiling and composed face of Alice Adams, mother of Josiah....

Needless to say, I am a crying mess at all this and stand being hugged while Alice beautifully tells of our meeting in Josiah's hospital room at Children's Hospital......Suddenly I realize that Alice is alone on stage, Could Henry and Dave be here too? Of course the Network brought them along to wow the crowd of women as only Henry and his dad can.....It was one amazing sprakling night and I am telling you that after that event I have never been hugged so much or so tenderly as I was by the attendees. I am proud, yet humbled as I stood among such amazing grant winners and realize that once again the angel babies give me grace and guidance like I have never experianced in my life.


I am off to see what is happening at our new headquarters in Ballard, Doug and crew continuing to delight me with the progress, this week aided by the hard work of my lovely niece Tina who came from Sequim to help.

I want to thank those who have so generously sent checks, we so need the support and I thank you from all of us who are working hard to make this a most honorable foundation. Again, please realize that even a small gift is grand in our eyes.

With love and amazement, Lynette

I am preparing for the trip to Dallas where I will speak to 1200 women about the project, its exciting to think that many new folks will hear about the work, a bit unnerving to think of speaking to so many but I will keep to the idea of honoring the babies and their stories.

We have had the most amazing offers in the last couple of days. Timothy's aunt who lives in Virginia is thinking of ways of raising funds for the work in her state and one of my first bride's is a special ed teacher and she is working to set up a fund raiser run by her students. Both of these offers touch my heart and make me see that loving help comes from all directions.

If any of you would like flyers to share with friends, please let us know as there is no better way of spreading the word than through close relationships. I have high but humble hopes that people will recognize that I need help with all this since the PR is spreading the word world wide and will be moved to offer a little financial support to allow me to have some part time help by the time the Today show airs.

Each day brings more amazing emails and calls and I am inspired by the outpouring of compassion, onward, Lynette