Its the end of another busy week and I have had the pleasure of meeting two very special new families. On Monday, I visited Children's Hospital after having a lovely day on Bainbridge Island. The family arrived dressed so nicely, and there were grandparents and uncles in attendance. We had such a nice time and it was a big day, since it was the first time they were able to dress their baby girl in special clothing. We were able to take some sweet photos in three darling outfits, and I must say this little one looked just so precious. I will be able to take the photos to them on Halloween, when I will work with another little guy.

Last night I had tickets to hear Barak Obama, but my husband and father-in-law attended, as I had another little girl scheduled for photographs. This little girl arrived with her grandparents and was just a little angel in pink. She is so lovingly cared for by these grandparents and it is obvious, by the way that she snuggles with them that she is very bonded with them. I was so moved by the gentle aura around this three-year-old.

Both Tara Clark and Michael Good had photo assignments this week for Soul. Tara so graciously completed hers even though she is incredibly busy . I know the images will be lovely. Michael, unfortunately, will have to reschedule, as there was a medical emergency for a close family member of the child. Heartfelt thanks to these two kind people for sharing their skills with our families. I am so excited to have such caring support.

The tickets for Barak and the ones I used to hear Annie Leibowitz speak were gifts from a treasured client and dear friend. I have been recording her family for a number of years and she never fails to amuse me. Thank you Heija for your generosity. It was enlightening to hear Annie speak and she touched me with the fact that she couldn't read about her beloved Susan or her father without crying. It was the first time she had returned to Seattle, where Susan Sontag was a patient at Fred Hutch. The fact that photos of her father and her partner are included in her book at the end of their life makes me think that I should contact Annie to share about the work of Soulumination. My husband, Doug, bought me a copy of her book, and Annie signed not only the usual page, but also the page that shows a photograph hanging on the wall that I took at Bill and Melinda Gates' wedding. I am very pleased to have an image of mine represented in this book, even if its incidental.

I am so excited to be attending the Husky game tomorrow, compliments of Alex Mercier. Doug, Lew and I are all attending and I so look forward to seeing "our" players on the field. Little Ellie Jo was back today for some photos with her grandparents and I think she was just a little sad not to see those big new friends of hers in the courtyard. I am sharing a shot of her with last week's Husky game standout, Marlon Wood. So many people are stepping up to help sell the cds, and that is great, since we are working with five new families in less than two weeks. I had the pleasure of meeting JR Wolfrack, who was a big part of putting this cd together. He has been tirelessly selling at the HUB the last two days and I am so grateful for his efforts. There will be a table set up at the U Village QFC tomorrow, and I owe Mary Mercier, Alex's mom, a big thank you for making that happen.

We are working on the Artist Show and Sale which will be here on December 9 and 10th. We have such a talented array of artists, so I hope you will come by and see if we don't have some items that would tickle people on your gift list.

I want to thank Leslie Brown for helping us create a lovely holiday card. I have had the honor of photographing her children for a number of years, and she and Joel are treasured clients and friends. She offered to print the cards and envelopes as a gift to Soul, and today our volunteer Christa Nielson spent hours putting a lovely color wash over the cover images. Christa is so a wonderful addition to our foundation. I had the honor of shooting her wedding and always felt she was a very special individual, so I am blessed to have her on board with us.

It has taken me a few days to get back to this missive and I must say that JR is a standout in my book, and it's not a surprise that he played for the football team and participated in track at UW. Thank you JR for making a difference in the Husky Nation project. I know we will be expanding this project to include other sports at the U and we will be working with our families to capture some special images that I will share with all of you. I close to run to the camera repair shop. In love and peace, Lynette

As I listen to "our" Huskies give California a big surprise in the first half of today's game I am reminded that we are so blessed to be aided by such honorable and hard working young men in this effort to provide families with a gift of kindness. The Dawgs aren't the only honorable young sportsmen helping us out as today we received a check from the Bishop Blanchet girls soccer team for their efforts in selling the Husky Nation discs. Alex Mercier's sister has been one of the young players involved in the sales. Alex and I are thankful to Christine Horsman for her efforts in writing an article about Husky Nation and Soulumination for an upcoming issue of Blanchet's Miter. Also, our own intern, Brenna Fallon has brought in yet another nice amount of funds with her efforts in selling the discs. Brenna is a member of Seattle Prep's volleyball team. I send special hugs to Stacia and her daughter Sophia for their amazing efforts and to Tina Lappano for her support as well.
I will share with you today photos of a dear little girl that I met thru my friend, Julie who is a social worker at Children's Hospital. Hailey is one spunky and dear little girl. She brought such spirit to my studio and really rocked me with her joyful effervescence and incredible spirit. This amazing person brought her new baby sister and it was a day to remember. Keep Hailey in your heart as she is going through treatment for a second cancer in her young life.
Tomorrow is the memorial service for our new friend Blake, a day that I hope will have that lovely sense of peace that Blake brought into my courtyard. The family will show the beautiful video that was the first effort of our friend and volunteer Greg Johnson. Greg's video captures this family in a most loving way. I am so thankful for friends that continue to amaze me with their generosity and talent. Blake, you moved us all and you will be missed by so many people.
Blake's service is on the one year anniv
ersary of a loss that also wrenches my heart. Many of you know that one of the two babies that I dedicate this work to is Janus Reijnen. His lovely aunt's life was brutally taken one year ago and I send his dad Derek my love as he deals with the anniversary of the loss of his beautiful sister. I will spend Monday with Derek's wife Joan and my sister in law Sally, two of my best friends and women that have both lost a treasured child. I close as always in love and peace, but with tears and sadness as I realize the loss of Blake reminds me of all the lovely Soul children that have gone before. Their beauty and spirit will move me to do all I can to answer each request with honor. Lynette

It is sometimes hard to accept that I have to say goodbye to a wonderful child that I only met a couple of weeks ago, but sadly I have to write that dear little Blake died yesterday. He and his family are now a part of my soul and I can only imagine the depths of grief that his passing brings. I share today a couple more photos of this charming little boy and I send my love to his family and friends. One can only hope to have lived a life in which we are cared for and loved in the way Blake experianced. His quiet and gentle presence filled my courtyard the day of his shoot and will not be forgotten. What a wonderful thing that my friend Greg Johnson was here that day to capture his essence in action footage and sometime next week we will be so pleased to give Blake's family their video.

I was happy to see an article today on the front page of the Times sports section about 'our' Husky, Quintin Daniels. He is one fine person and deserves a little recognition. I am proud to say that I talked to Alex today, #15 in tomorrows game, he has been out injured all season, but today he let us know that he will be "getting some snap". That phrase caused a lot of laughter here at Soul headquarters, as middle aged women repeating that sounds a lot less dynamic than when it comes from Alex's mouth. But, we sure are thrilled for him and I am just a bit proud to say the least. Both Prep and Blanchet High schools are selling the CDs tonight at their games and I am so thankful. We have been joined in the work of selling by Sandi Lappano and her sons as well as long time friend and client Stacia Steele and her daughter Sophia. Friend and client Kate Johnson has been having nice success with sales also. I am so grateful for this help as I have a new family to shoot a week from Tuesday, am awaiting another new family to set a date and our friend Michael Good is working with yet another new child. We have been contacted by a social worker with the Kindering Center of Bellevue and most likely will start receiving referrals from them in the near future. We must keep funding sufficient to serve all families and I am most thankful that we can pair with the Huskies for just that purpose.

Doug and I go to visit our first born, McKenzie in San Luis Obispo this weekend. We are excited to meet her new kitten as we are losing our crazy old cat Yoko any day now. Its such a blessing having such wonderful daughters and I am thankful everyday to be their mom.

I close as always in love and peace and tonight in tribute to a small boy with such a moving presence. Lynette

I was so excited about the latest photos of little Claire that I just had to share them with you. It was amazing to see her as she is now saying some words and for the first time ever she stood up unaided in our courtyard. That feat caused some laughter, tears, and much clapping. We will deliver the photos to her mom on Thursday when they visit Children's for yet another blood transfusion. Many issues have arisen just since I saw Claire last, so it was exciting to see her so vivacious and ready for a little new adventure.
I am also attaching a shot of the lovely wedding favor from Julie and John's wedding. It touches me so much that they thought of us and shared on such a special day in their lives. This donation somehow takes me back to the time when I got to sit with my dear friend Sydney right here at my computer and create with her the little book of photos of her beloved dog Muggsy. The donation from her family of Sydney's savings strikes the same chord with me as the wedding favor donation---- something so precious that it reminds me to always serve these families with love and dignity and honor. I take this task very seriously and here in this little office I am daily reminded of the way we are all so connected in this life and that each person we meet may teach us to be just a bit more loving, more evolved, and more accepting.

We are working with 2 new families to confirm times for their photo shoots and my dear friend Kurt Smith is taking on a second assignment for us in November. I got to view some of the photos from Kurt's first shoot and now I clearly see why he told me that he understood why I often call these little ones 'angel babies' as this dear baby girl is such a lovely child. I close as always, in love and peace, Lynette

Today I am so excited to introduce you to our latest Soul child. His family came to visit the same day the Huskies were here with Ellie Jo and her family. His name is Blake and he suffers from Vein of Galen Malformation. I have so enjoyed meeting him and his family, and have had the most inspiring communication from his mom, and got to chat with his dad when he came to pick up the photos. He has two older brothers who are just so loving, and a little sister who is a 'puddin' and who reminds me of my wonderful friendship with dear Francisco, as she is also Mayan.

Blake is pictured here today with his dad and again with his little sister and will soon grace our gallery with more photos.

I am also showing a shot of our newest member from the East Coast, compliments of our good friend Sarah Mattingly. This little beauty is yet another Tay Sachs child. This is our sixth Tay Sachs child, so we are truly reaching that community. Previous Soul children featured on our gallery with this genetic disease are Joey, Timothy C, Elise, Dylan, and Connor. I will post an updated shot of our Connor, also taken by Sarah. She is definitely a huge supporter and a great friend to Soul. We are so thankful for all she has done and continues to do for us. She will team with Timothy's aunt, Naomi, to try to set up some dates for the Collection to be shown again in their area.

The story about Husky Nation and Soulumination in the Seattle Times sports section one week ago today has generated new support. It's great to take the project into a realm that you would not connect with the work. I know that as people read and hear of our families it will open hearts to honoring these families and their children and will help make the idea of legacy building a common occurrence in our society. We have the second thousand CDs arriving next week, so please share the word that a little $7 donation will help make a difference and will get you a piece of unprecedented Husky memorabilia. With the efforts of the players on the field, it is giving us a chance to make sure we have funding to honor each and every request we get for photos.

My good friend Kurt Smith will be working with his first Soul family this weekend and has agreed to work with a second family in November, as he is well suited to this particular request. He will join Michael Good, Tara Clark, Jeremy Leffel, and Sandra Coan as local photographers who have joined in this foundation. My pal Greg Johnson is setting up a time to do his second little film for a Soul family; he will work with our dear Claire and family sometime later this month.

We are gathering amazing artists and are led by one of my treasured friends, Patty Grazini, in setting up the December art show and sale. Patty is someone who inspires me artistically in so many ways. She is producing such amazing pieces for the sale and I know this event will be a chance to support local talent and Soulumination in a meaningful way. The dates will coincide with the Ballard Art Walk and I know we will have great items that would make lovely holiday gifts.

Doug and I recently got hit by local 'talent' on our new fence and building. Gosh, graffitti is a nasty thing. I did, however, meet the nicest police officer, who kindly helped with towing the abandoned vehicle from in front of the studio. He also recommended a book that I think will be inspiring. It was nice to have something positive come out of that irritating gesture by some unfeeling person. My hope is that Doug's quick and effective effort in removing the mess will discourage future attempts.

I have just a few more days to capture the local fisherman on film, as the season is winding down. These men of the Suquamish Tribe have become friends, and my efforts to record them has proven to be a great way for me to step out of the hustle and bustle of the office and just connect with nature and a culture that I have wanted to understand more fully. I have to suffer much teasing from these native comedians, but have enjoyed the process and hope to continue documenting them over the next few years, to come up with a body of work that will truly represent this way of life. I close as always, in love and peace, Lynette