It has been an eventful week here at my studio. I am getting ready to go to a wedding at my husband's high school. Looking back over the week, it is wonderful to report that we sent my good friend, Jeremy Leffel, out on a shoot for Soulumination and, judging from the first shots that I have seen, the results are excellent indeed. Being able to count on other quality shooters means that part of my life, such as travel, can happen without undue worry over whether the foundation is honoring requests in a timely manner.

We had a work party here in the studio to create more of the lovely albums that are one of the gifts each family receives. We were honored to have two of our Soul moms participating, especially when Cathy explained that she opens her album every night to see her beautiful son. I will share photos of her James with you in my next blog. I thank my wonderful friends for being willing to come help with Soulumination projects every time I ask. We completed 40 albums and they are beautiful indeed.

I want to thank our intern Toshi for his help and for securing an in-kind donation that is so incredibly helpful. He has a friend who owns a business called Evergreen Computer Products, Inc., that refills printer ink cartridges. They have so generously offered to fill Souluminations cartridges.

We are moving ahead with the Husky Nation CD project and will put the photos of the players up with the children once we have final coach approval. We should be ready to roll with that any day now. I am hoping many will purchase this unique piece of Husky history . I applaud Alex Mercier for his hard and ingenious work on this music. We are honored to call him friend and I know you will enjoy his efforts on the playing field this season. Let's support this team and show them that we stand proud of our football tradition here in Seattle.

I share today photos of a special little girl. Her name is Gabby and she is one of the cutest little six-year-olds I have ever met. Her smile and general outlook on life is like sunshine itself. She has a brain tumor but is certainly defined by a joy that is bigger than any cancer.

I spent some time with my parents and my brother's family this past week up in Sequim. It had been my mom's birthday and it was great to have Llewelyn join me to be with her. My brother and his family took me out crabbing and it was so beautiful and peaceful being out on the water doing the same thing that had brought me such contentment in my youth. I was reflecting with a dear friend yesterday over loss and I said that the way through this all for me, since we did lose our dear friend Stephanie's sister and another beautiful baby over the last few weeks, was to concentrate on the joy in each family and the love that each child brings into our lives. I could be consumed with grief but I know the children bring so much to my life that it leads me through each sorrow. I am not unscathed but truly ready to embrace each part of this crazy life. In love and peace, Lynette

I am thrilled to share with you the amazing news that out of the thousands of feature stories produced for news broadcast each year, the piece on Soulumination that aired last year on the Today show has been nominated for an Emmy in the "Outstanding Feature Story in a Regularly Scheduled Broadcast." The awards night for the news Emmys will be in New York on September 25. It will not be me buying a dress for the event, as the award of course is for the team who put the story together, but I have asked our producer to share all the night's details including her dress selection. This nomination truly shows that the stories of these children touch people and are opening hearts to the realities of infant and child illness and death. I thank and honor each family that shared their struggles and opened their hearts for this news story. I am so grateful to Robin, our producer, Ann Curry for her amazing ability to connect to the work with grace and understanding, to Matt Lauer for his words at the end of the airing that sustain me when it all seems so hard, to the local and NY sound and cameramen for their expertise. So if that sounds like an acceptance speech, maybe it is as the rewards of this work come not in any award but in just meeting amazing families and the truly honorable way each news person both locally and nationally has handled this sensitive subject.

Today I share with you the photos of my new friend Jessica and her lovely mom and sister. She is the skateboarder who is battling a rare cancer with amazing faith and a truly sparkling spirit. I think her radiance just shines onto the film and I am so delighted to share this family with all of you. Her complete bio will be on our new gallery soon. As you can see in the shot of Jessica and me, she bewitched me in one hour's time.

With this weeks great weather comes the start of my busiest season of the year, which means I will be seeing so many of my long term 'subjects,' which is always such a pleasure. We are currently on hold with the Husky project, just waiting for final approval from the head coach. Once we are set we will have a way for you to order on line with all proceeds going to our foundation.

I have been thinking a lot about the meaning of my own life and the way to embrace life and now loss so often with this project. I realize that our society tells us to live fully in the moment, then shrinks back when the moments are painful, as when I received the email this week that my new teenage friend Stephanie is now an only child. If I am to live fully, I want to move through all parts of my life with respect and with grace. I found these words in my "Offerings" book: "Ours is a society of denial that conditions us to protect ourselves from any direct difficulty and discomfort. We expend enomous energy denying our insecurity, fighting pain, death, and loss, and hiding from the basic truths of the natural world and of our own nature." Jack Kornfield. Through my new friendships and through the work of Soulumination I realize that to honor each life and to do the best photography possible, it is important to let each story unfold and let its effect come into my life without denying the sorrow, but also realizing that my path is set to move with the stream of humanity that so steadily flows through my life and to not deny any part of that experiance. In love and peace, Lynette

Combine four Husky football players, Emily, Channon, their two older sisters, moms, two photographers, Two Soul employees and a teenage sister of a Soulumination child, and you are bound to have a great time. A few of the resulting photos are posted here today and they will be used to kick off the sales of the "Husky Nation" CD that Husky wide receiver Alex Mercier has worked so hard to produce. We will soon have a slide show up on the site, and a way to preorder your copy. I know these will be such fun Husky memorabilia and the price will be $6.95 plus handling and shipping if you order online, with the proceeds going to fund the work with the families of Soulumination. We need to count on your support as the requests are coming at such a steady pace.

We had help this past week from a very talented photographer named Sandra Coan. She stepped in to work with a family at Children's since I was headed out of town for a little break when the call came. This was our first local attempt at sending someone other than myself to work with one of our families. We heard from the mom today that Sandra was exactly what they were hoping for, and they sent such gracious thanks even though they haven't yet seen her photographs. I have seen the excellent results of Sandra's efforts and I am so proud that she has agreed to be of service again in the future.

I worked with two new Soul families yesterday and I was smitten with both. In the morning a beaming young baldy walked into my courtyard with her lovely mom and sister. She has eyelashes that are so exquisite with her baldness and she is personality itself. I have never met a more beautiful trio, and their faith, sacrifices and hope in this battle against a very rare cancer are so inspiring. I will share photos once releases are signed as I know you will all see their unbeatable radiance. I visited Children's hospital later that afternoon to meet with a darling baby and his dad. I will get to meet mom and maybe the lively older brothers when this little fellow weighs ten pounds and returns for heart surgery. This baby has already gotten through so many hurdles and is hopefully going home to put on that needed weight to be ready for the next operation. His dad is another determined and loving parent who just seems to know he can meet difficulties and work through them. This father is a person with such easygoing friendliness that I felt so comfortable and welcome in their room. He also mentioned that they would like to share their son's story and photos so you will get to see them soon.

Llewelyn called last night with the best news: while shopping at a co-op in Olympia, she got to see Serena Joy's sweet parents and their new son. I had just gotten news of his arrival in late June and had written that I would be so excited to see him sometime when I am down visiting our Lulu. This little foundation has given the Johnson family so many new friends.

My heartfelt thanks for the generous donations from Channon's family, another from one of my latest bride and grooms, and our lovely friends who are the proud parents of little Henry that I wrote about last week. We received another call this morning about a family that is being referred to us by Providence, so the kindness of your generosity goes out to the community with love and grace.

In love and peace, Lynette

Today I received the releases to share with you the life of one beautiful baby boy named Hunter, who was born on Father's Day. I met him on the summer solstice and his life will shine through my soul on days that will otherwise seem dreary. His parents touched me so much with their determination to see a way to make their own loss matter in a positive way for others. They were meeting with the staff of our local organ donor organization after I left the hospital. They understood that the loss of their own child might mean saving another baby. I salute them and hopefully we will soon launch another show of the Soulumination Collection in which we can share his story and the heroic decision made by his parents to share his legacy in the most positive way imaginable. Hunter was such a handsome baby, and you could see that he resembled both of his parents in one glance. I am posting three of his photos here today and he will be added to our new gallery soon and you can read his full biography when that gallery is open.

We are so excited to have 4 of the Husky Football players over tomorrow for some promo shots with Emily and Channon. The CD project is moving along nicely and we are just making the first contacts for PR pieces and to get some air time for these novel 'fight' songs. I am so thankful to Alex Mercier for wanting to partner with us in this fund-raising project. You will hear him on the air soon and then watch him work his magic on the playing field this fall. I want to thank Clint Mead for his words of wisdom and for offering the help us market this CD. We are also very blessed to have some help and advice coming our way through Celia and Dan Evans. Their journey with daughter Eloise has made them such wise mentors in this work and I have loved this couple since meeting them to record their wedding. Once the CD is out for sale, I hope you will consider purchasing one as a novel and catchy piece of Husky history, plus the price will be affordable and the difference each dollar makes in funding this work is so treasured by our Soul families.

We are waiting to hear if the Soulumination Collection will hang at Johns Hopkins University. We are being considered by the staff, so if you have any ties to this honored institution, please put in a good word for us. I am happy to say that we have Sarah Mattingly working on this possible show. Locally, our board member Kelley Myers has agreed to take on the task of moving the show to appropriate sites. If you have possible show locations please let us know.

I hope you all had a great 4th of July. I spent the day picking berries with Doug and Lew, which is one of my favorite pastimes. Later that evening Doug and I walked the Burke Gilman Trail to Fremont to view the spectacular fireworks. I don't know why, but the ethereal beauty of the display always makes me melancholy over the losses of the beautiful children of Soulumination while reminding me that something as simple as fireworks can thrill me. In love and peace, Lynette