As the temperature has heated up here in Seattle so has the activity here at Soul headquarters. Yesterday I visited clients who have become wonderful friends and currently my husband is building them a new home. They have a new son who has had a rocky start and I am so excited to report that he is now home and doing so well. This shoot was a gift from Doug and I but the mom had so many insights to share that are directly appropriate to our work here at Soulumination. Her experiences at the hospital and her feelings as a mom going through such a birth are profound. The feelings that flooded over her the first time she saw him after his emergency delivery were filled with not only love but real shock at the reality of all the medical attention he required. As women, which of us really ever thinks of this possibility if we have not experienced it ourselves or with someone close to us. Her experience tells me that we all must be open and supportive of those whose deliveries have been less than ideal. It will be such a pleasure to watch this little guy grow.

Today I did my first shoot at Group Health since the death of my niece 9 years ago. I am pleased to say that little Joshua's life is full of promise even though he has spent the first 4 months of his life in the hospital. He may get to go home on the 4th of July if tests continue to show improvement. He is one handsome little guy and is special to me in that he is the son of one of the lovely couple'sfor whom I recorded their wedding. Their journey has been another rough one and is fabulous to see that he is making such great progess. I was so touched to see that the nurses are making lovely collages of digital photos of each baby. These little poster like creations are very cheerful and I very pleased with the fact that they take the time to honor each little one with such caring additions to the legacy of these tiny survivors.

In minutes clients will arrive that are such a special part of Soulumination. Benny's parents are coming for photos of their daughter Katie. Benny was such a happy and darling little boy that his loss touched us all deeply. I couldn't be more honored that his parents are trusting me to capture Katie's spirit in a special way.

We are proud to say that we may have the opportunity to partner with the Husky football team for a fund raising effort. I have a friend on the team who is one heck of a musician and he has written and produced 6 hip hop 'fight' songs that are performed by the players. This is Alex's senior project and we would help with distribution and PR and we would benefit from the sale of each disc. If this works out it will be such a powerful pairing of the tiny with the brute force of the men of the Husky football program. We need a steady source of funds as the requests have almost doubled in one year's time. We are all excited and if this happens I will hope that all you rabid Husky fans will buy one of these unique pieces of Husky history. I will hopefully do a short promo shoot next Friday with some of the players and our little Channon and Emily.

Today I am posting photos of one of our dear Soul babies, Trevor who recently moved with his family to Indiana. I was priviledged to meet this little guy before he left our fair state. He has a rare disorder called Zellweger's syndrome. His parents will stay in touch and I admire them in so many ways. They are walking that path that we all dread and doing it with grace and wisdom. They seem to live fully in each moment with their son and have a way of accepting him joyfully into their daily life even though his time with them may be short.

Have a safe and happy 4th. In love and peace, Lynette

The days with my daughters passed much too quickly, but it was such a wonderful visit. A few of the photos are back and I am posting one of my husband with our eldest, McKenzie. I am definately missing them so much and have been a little teary if anyone mentions them right now. I am so proud of our daughters and know that I am indeed blessed.

While the girls were home we received a message that there was a family that might want photos of their son, who had been flown to Children's from a small hospital in Eastern Washington due to traumas at birth. A co-worker of the mother called and I encouraged her to have someone close to this young couple tell them about our service. In less than an hour there was a voicemail from the dad saying that they would love to have me come. I left early the next morning to work with this very handsome baby boy. I commend his parents for their amazing foresight and the decisions that were making. The lasting legacy of their son will most likely mean healthier days ahead for many children. They touched me deeply and I have much admiration for their bravery and grace.

I am posting today photos of a charmer that I worked with a few weeks ago. She came to my studio with her lovely family and I think she is just one in a million. Her smile and personality are just so winning. Her story and more photos will be on our updated gallery sometime later this summer. Her name is Gabby and I am happy to share her radiance with all of you. In love and peace, Lynette

Just a few quick lines to say I am so excited to have both of my amazing daughters home for the next 4 days. Their presence is such a treasure that I am feeling very blessed. They will get to see their grandparents tomorrow and I will record this time and share some of the results. Our Father's Day was very special as Doug and I spent the day on Bainbridge at his dad's. Its always a pleasure to watch my husband do what he does best and yesterday that was helping his siblings paint the exterior of his father's new home. Doug really is such a hard worker and its easy to see that he loves being available to his father. I will enjoy time tomorrow with my dad. He has really made an effort over the past 5 years and I am proud of what must be a huge struggle against a tough addiction.

Today I chatted with my friend Scott who is the administrator for the Palliative Care Unit at Children's and told him that I think Soulumination is moving ahead with such wonderful purpose and I am pleased that things are working smoothly. This unit has been the backbone of our referrals and each member of the team has been so kind in their guidance and support.

Some of the parents of the Soul children have sent me the most enlightening emails. I want to thank James' mom, Noah H's mom, and Jenny's sister for sharing emails in the last few days that help keep me inspired. All of you who email lift my spirits and remind me that this little gift can have such lasting results. Please know that I so appreciate your words.

I am very appreciative of the fact that Chelle Haney in California was willing to work with a family in her state when it was not possible for me to travel to fulfill their request myself. The first photo she shared from the shoot was so very beautiful. I thank Jennifer Stoeck for the time she is putting in to create a new gallery format for this web site. I am thrilled with the design and will be proud to share it with the world upon completion. We have new families to share, but I am waiting on release forms and then I will post some of them here on the blog.

In love and great peace, with my daughters by my side, Lynette

My heart is heavy and my feet feel so weighty that going out to the daily ride on my exercise bike seems like a feat too tiring to attempt, but I know that this feeling passes and that things will come to a place of happiness again very soon. This afternoon I will watch one amazing young friend graduate from a career in high school that leads to Yale.

The heaviness comes from the fact that in the last few days I have met 3 new Soul families.
On Sunday before the lovely wedding I shot at Golden Gardens, I visited Children's Hospital for a pretty new baby girl. She had the most charming sister who plans on becoming a "fire girl" and a dentist. At age 4 she informs me that she will be whatever she dreams when she grows up. She was so dear with her baby sister and succeeded in assisting me to get the shots her parents wanted by being able to get her sis to open her eyes. Yesterday I was pleased to meet a new family for some very special shots and I will revisit them in the next months to complete the vision that this most loving mom has for photos of her son. Lastly, our new manager Christine took a message from a doctor asking if I could come right away as a tiny one had arrived weeks before expected and would not survive. With loving words from my sister-in-law who was the first that I worked with in a similar situation, I entered the UW hospital for a sad 30 minutes and left hoping that the few shots I had taken will portray the love and the loss in a way will bring some bit of comfort in a situation that is every parent's worst nightmare. I may never know this couple in any other way, but I put out to the universe that their loss touches my soul.

On Tuesday, I spent a number of hours with old friends, sharing with the wife some of the sorrow and devastation of their loss of a beautiful and accomplished daughter that was the age of our Llewelyn. I do not pretend to know the feelings of such a loss, but I am now privy to a world that lets me know that nothing can be taken for granted. If I learn nothing else I learn that living each day fully is a very worthy goal. So the past few days have been hard as living fully must mean letting yourself experience that pain while recognizing the way back to joy. This blog is such a blessing as it allows me some of the needed release of just sharing with kind and compassionate people. As I told a dear friend yesterday, I am not complaining, I don't want to be less involved, I just need to let out some of the sorrow so that I can move ahead.

I did have a nice evening painting a bowl that was so beautifully crafted by a young artist I so admire. He had made enough bowls for my little art group to paint in celebration of Lise's birthday. Lise is Auni's mom, and as those of you who read this blog know, she is our beloved intern who is leaving to visit Europe and start what I am sure will be a most illustrious college career. Spending time with my friends at this art group always settles me into a place that is one of comfort and support and caring. Thank you dearest friends for allowing me to reset my course without pulling away.

June 15 is Francisco and Echo's birthday. Blessings to the family of Francisco as they mourn his loss on this special day and great joy to Echo's family as they celebrate this milestone. In love and peace, Lynette

The word of the work of Soulumination has spread to such a degree that while I was gone to our cabin for three days we received requests for three new families. I worked with the first two on Friday and will visit the third on Sunday. News also came while I was away that our friend Andrew had his scans and the test results are excellent, all clear. This sent shivers of joy through me at the time and just writing it now makes me so very happy. The two new families yesterday both have beautiful sons. One sports incredible red wavy hair and a smile so charming he just melts your heart. The other little guy is dark-haired and at just a few months of age was watching the first match of the World Cup and acting as if he understood the game. He lives near my Llewelyn so maybe she will be able to deliver some of his photos and meet this charming baby. I also got to take a few more photos of my new little friend with the brain tumor. She was bright-eyed and looked so good when I popped in that it was nice to take a few more shots. I also ran into a family that I haven't seen in months, their son was only three pounds when I met him at Swedish and he is now 20 pounds and from the looks of his web site he is making great progress.

It was a busy week and I had the pleasure of taking an entire day to go hunting mushrooms in the Cascades with two women whose reputations place them as royalty in the mushroom-gathering hierarchy. We found some 'shrooms, but the glory of the country and the time spent with these two--Patrice and Hildegard--and another charming new friend, Penny, was just so refreshing. The wildflowers are so astonishing right now and the whole countryside was just so breathtaking. While eating some to the morels last night it transported me back to the sight of the elk and the smell of the forest. Penny shared with me the loss of her son 26 years ago and is one of the only moms I have met who had complete and dedicated support from family as she navigated through this devastating loss. She explained that one of the things she feels so strongly from her experience is that each loss in war is someone's beloved child. She relates to these losses in a profound and compassionate way. It seems she has a very human and dear way of understanding the devastation to the parents of those young people.

Doug and I watched our friend Kiel race at Seward park on Thursday. Kiel is a bike racer of great skill and prowess and it was thrilling to see him place second. He is the brother of Janus, to whom the work of Soulumination is dedicated, and he just happens to be riding for the Benaroya Research Foundation team. He will get to tour the facilities as I did if he is not off racing in Belgium.

Its off to weddings today and tomorrow, but I managed to slip away after dinner last night to hear one of my favorite writers read from a new publication. I am a huge fan of Ivan Doig and had the pleasure of meeting him at a wedding. His books are some of my favorites and if you haven't had the pleasure of reading his work, try starting with This House of Sky.

Today I am posting photos of my little friend from California, Taryn. She had a rough time this past week, so keep her in your hearts. She and her family flew up for these photos and this little one charmed my socks off. She does not speak or hear but she is so enchanting and connected to people through her own special magic.

I want to mention my appreciation for Microsoft's matching programs. With all the new families calling, we do not want to ever turn anyone away, so funding is just so important for the continuation of the work. Microsoft's matching funds have kept our heads above water these past two weeks as they sent one check that matched employees' contributions, which was grand, and another that gives us money per hour for any of their employees' work with Soulumination. Thank you Kelley for the hours you have spent that resulted in this check, it makes such a difference to have that check to directly serve the families this month. In love and peace, Lynette

Yesterday I met with three wonderful photographers to discuss the possibility of them working with families when I am unavailable or if the work load becomes too much for my schedule. I am so delighted that all three are willing to give their talent to our project. My heartfelt thanks to Amy, Jeremy and Susan, as they start to work with us I will post released images and they will be incorporated into our gallery that will soon be remodeled on the web site. We have many new children to post but need to revamp the site to make it function smoothly with all the lovely faces. I am posting today some shots taken by my wonderful new friend Sarah Mattingly who worked with Dylan and his parents back East. Dylan is our 5th Tay Sachs child and I am thrilled with the beautiful work by Sarah. He is pictured with his younger brother and his mom. I am also posting a shot that Susan took of me working with Taryn and her family from California when they came up last week for family photos.

I am heading off to our cabin for a few days after I have the pleasure of working at a wonderful wedding today. Auni comes in to edit photos this morning and make the gifts for our recent child who suffers from a brain tumor. I am very pleased with the photos and I am happy to think that her aunt and I have been in contact via email to work on a photo she took recently that needed some touch up. The mom had asked if we could enhance the photo and my friend Stephen has done a most remarkable job. Our little one is still with us and I hold her and her family snuggly in my heart and soul as they move through the days ahead. She is just so spirited and beautiful.

In love and peace, Lynette