As the new year is upon us, I send special love to our Soul families and today to Christian's in particular since he has joined the angels.  

I am heading to my cabin for an overnight with Doug and his new kitten.  I am sharing today a card that was given to me by Chris Moench, who made the amazing prayer wheels that were sold at our artist sale.  When I first read this poem it was as if the writer put into words the feelings I have about time at our cabin.  In love and peace, Lynette

Images of love and impending loss and one amazingly strong young man are whirling in my head this morning.  I was called to Children's Hospital yesterday by Christian's mom to take some precious photos of his last days here on earth.  His room was filled with smiling faces of family and friends, every single space on each wall was covered with loving images.  His parents, grandma, brother and sister attended him with love and grace in the midst of unending sorrow.  During my visit family arrived from California, 3 aunts, an uncle and grandpa came with hugs and love to heap on this warrior.  Time will take this young man from us but his legacy will be that he touched many plus his family has raised funds for research into a cure for his cancer.  I show some of the photos today that our photographer Kurt Smith took on a day when Christian could be outside enjoying his family.  When its time for your wings Christian, you will fly on  love and compassion.

My mom called me on Christmas morning to tell me she was so surprised and happy to see an article about Soulumination on the cover of the Sequim Gazette.  My parents had told the reporter about the work when interviewing my dad about his days of horse logging.  I am always thankful when the work of Soulumination is unveiled in various medias as it keeps the education about grief and loss moving forward.

I hope the holidays brought you much warmth and many blessings.  Doug and I are enjoying his new kitten, Willi, his Christmas gift from our daughters.  Both girls headed home last night and I woke missing them but filled with such gratitude for having had the pleasure of their company.  I close as always, in love and peace, Lynette

The girls are home and sleeping of course while I am up way too early and am trying to finish those last gifts that just take a little extra time in the creating.  We travel to Sequim today to be with my family and see my dad who is now home and happy after the time in the hospital with his recent stroke.  It was fun to pick up McKenzie last night and to surprise her with the presence of a special friend.  Its so great to get to know the young people who share their lives with the girls.

Today I post a couple of shots from my recent visit with Claire and her mom at Children's Hospital.  May Claire's radiant smile make your Christmas a little merrier and remind us of the resiliency and the hope in each young life.

In love and peace, Lynette

As the holy days are upon us in many ways in many religions, I feel the presence of blessings so great yet so simple.  Even though my mom called to tell me that my dad is in the hospital with the doctors watching him as they think he has had a stroke, the news is that he will be coming home soon and we will all see him tomorrow.    I know that my Llewelyn is asleep upstairs and that this evening we get to travel to the airport to pick up our Mackie .   My dad revels in the presence of his grandchildren so it will be a gift to him just in our arrival.

I  know that many of our families are struggling through the emotions of this time of celebration.  I hope and pray that they can find some peace in their hearts. Many caring bridge updates have come through that tell what the parents are feeling, how the children are doing and for those who have losses the additional heartache that this season brings with so many fond memories flooding over them.

  I am so thankful to all of you who have made the work of Soulumination possible.  Your generosity of time, talent and money have let us continue with this small kindness.  I received a most beautiful card from my friend Sydney's family.  Today marks 2 years from when Sydney sat here beside me to create her book that is now the doggie cards that support our mission.  The time passes but the memories for me are strong and the friendship so very precious.  Sydney's family has been very generous in their support and I am most thankful.  

I share photos of a most stunning new child to Soulumination.  These photos taken by Jodi Rosen and they capture such beauty.  

I close with another photo of my friend Kristin and her son Henry.   I close with my heart full and in love and peace, Lynette

With the holiday season came a check from a family that I met when taking senior photos of their daughter.  This shoot kept being rescheduled as they were waiting to locate a wig that suited this beautiful young woman.  Their honoring us with a donation once again shows us that this work is blessed and full of grace.  We thank them from the bottom of our hearts.

As Christmas approaches I am so excited that in a couple of days both girls will be home again.  I am so grateful that I have a husband with patience and kindness and two daughters who have become more than I ever dreamed.  The next few days will be filled with thankfulness and joy and we will be delighted to be joined in our celebrations by Memo, Lew's boyfriend who is a favorite of our relatives, each side of the family vying for his attendance at the holiday dinners.  

I think of the angel babies and the adults that we have met and lost.  The power of this work giving us so many memories to cherish.  I just went and counted the number of back up discs of our new work with adults that was recently launched and already the total is at 20.  Your support and gifts have made this all possible.  I share today a new photo of my friend Kristin with the hands of her son Henry, drink in her power and know that we will be here to honor lives and create legacy.  In love and peace, Lynette

The appreciation dinner last night in honor of my mom was really a fun evening. Sarah did a great job in putting the party together.  I am surrounded by great women who are talented, witty and compassionate.  It turned out I had photographed the wedding of our server's sister and the next large table in our room was the Queen Anne Rotary group that I had spoken to a few months back.  Its fun to see the connections of Soulumination grow and watch the intertwining of compassion in this community.  

My visit with Claire was really special and I got to enjoy her pink Christmas tree and see her in the cutest pink pjs.  She and mom Deb are doing amazingly well and have the best attitude.  Deb's wisdom and insights give me increased faith in this project and it will be a blessed day when she can join us at a work party as she will be an asset in so many ways.  I send my love to her brothers who have had to adjust to so much with Deb being in the hospital with Claire.  I will share new photos of Claire soon.  I tried to go see our pal Emily but the good news is that she was discharged after an overnight in the hospital and went home to bake cookies with her grandma.

Special thanks today to long time friends and supporters in the Dunn family and to little Harvey's family.  Your generosity makes a difference to the families we serve this week.

I share a photo that is dear to my heart today.  During the Artist sale our pal Victor stopped by with this new dog.  Vic was a little cranky about shopping so I scooped him up and took him upstairs where he nestled into Llewelyn's arms and fell to sleep.  The light falling on this duo was just so perfect.  Again congratulations Lulu on your graduation and thank you for being a safe haven not only to Vic but to all of us who know you.

Happy 50th birthday to my beloved brother David who has been such a kind Soul supporter. Hugs to my first born daughter McKenzie, she has gotten the green light on her senior project and will have her diploma soon also.  Those of you who have known about Soul from the start may remember that Mac set up our first fundraiser and handled it all herself when she was a student at Cal Poly.  I am blessed and the blessing spill over into the work of Soul.

At this time of year I keep going over in my mind the lovely angel babies in my life.  I send my love and support to their families and hope they know that meeting these children enriches my life and I know that all of our Soul photographers feel the same way.  In love and peace, Lynette

I am back from a weekend at the cabin, refreshed and very excited about this holiday season.  Both daughters will be home soon and that would lift my spirits any time of year.  We will spend time with our extended families and dear friends, missing  my brother David who lives in Australia but sending him much love. 

 

Today I have the pleasure of meeting over coffee a doctor that has become a friend of mine through Soulumination.  I often see him when I am shooting on the NICU floor at Children's.  He has been a supporter of the work of this foundation and recently Sarah and I were touched by the fact that he had given a speech and the organization sent us the check for his speaking fee as a donation.  I will go to Children's after coffee to visit with Claire and snap a few photos and if Emily hasn't taken off for home I will pop in to see her smiling face.

  

This evening Sarah has organized a little gathering for our employees and volunteers.  Its always important to make sure our helpers are properly thanked but finding funding to do this is not always obvious.  So tonight in honor of my mom I will host the dinner myself.  My mom has wanted to volunteer herself but sadly her health has kept her at home in Sequim so it occurred to me that it would be a nice gift and tribute to her generosity if one of my gifts to her this Christmas would be to take these lovely people out to thank them in her honor.  Merry Christmas mom.  

Its always hard to draw the line at who to invite to these little gatherings, but Sarah has been hard at work gathering up little gifts that she secured through donations for many others.  She and Kari have created many handmade thank you cards as well and through out the week we will all be honoring our photographers, volunteers and helpers in many ways.  Our love and gratitude to all who touch this organization with compassion.

I would like to mention two recent contributors, Ballard Market who generously provided shopping bags for our Artist Sale and also Annie's Art and Frame who provide a lovely frame for each of our Soul children's families.  I am personally thankful since they are both in our new neighborhood and it feels so great to be welcomed to this community.  There is one other Ballard business who does so much for us, but they wish to remain anonymous so I will just put a huge hug out there and hope that the karma blesses them richly.

I am thrilled to say that we have another talented photographer who will be shooting for Soul.  Jon Ward, film maker and photographer behind our own documentary Portraits of Hope has agreed to join our staff of photographers and we are delighted.

I share today a new Soul child and her family who were recently photographed by Amy Sherrer.  Her name is Megan and you can check the gallery for her story.  This beautiful face should make your holidays a little brighter.

I close in wonder at the goodness around me, in love and peace, Lynette

We will have the first official bachelor's degree here in the Johnson household on Friday.  Llewelyn had her final evaluation yesterday and is graduating in record time.  She now starts the job hunt, so if you know of any possible opportunities for her in the the public health field, please let us know.  We are so proud and I foresee announcing McKenzie's diploma around my birthday time in February as she just has to complete a pesky senior project.  I can't help but show photos of both of them here today since I am the proud mom.

Sarah has been so busy booking new families and I am so thankful to all of you who came to the sale or have sent in donations as the work is expanding each month.  Our goal is to keep the funding rolling smoothly so that we can serve every family who inquires.

I share today some more photos from the artist sale, these taken by Soul shooter, Tara Clark.

I just opened todays Seattle Times and the Close Up section features an article about our lovely Soul child Krystie.  I met Krystie at the Tay Sachs Conference and her story is sweeping the nation.  It is great that the article about her life is educating the public about Tay Sachs.  Here is the link to the article that first appeared in the LA Times:  http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/health/2004068536_eggdonor13.html 

I hope you are having a most blessed holiday season.  I close as always, in love and peace, Lynette

The success of the sale permeates our studio and home and keeps me from sleeping, but what sweet success.  So many people to thank and so many more amazing memories.  It would be hard to single out one moment over the other when you bring a group together to support Soulumination, but getting to hug three pregnant Soul moms in one hour may take center stage. Of course one would have to also cherish hugs from dear Izzy, Victor, Emily, Henry, Garrett, and Ellie.  The moment that stands out in a whole other way was introducing Heidi and Matt, Soul parents connected through loss.  Seeing our dear Angie as the model of the event coming in to sell her beautiful creations and bringing her sisters was another highlight.  On a personal level, just realizing all that my husband does to make this possible, plus his pulling out both his personal and his business credit card to make large purchases is wonderful.  Then the fact that my beloved daughters, sister in law Sally, and lovely niece Betsy joined many other dear friends in creating items for this sale and becoming a part of the Soul artists was so special.

I thank Tammara for her hard work and flawless salesmanship, she made this show possible. Amber Wong did an outstanding job of keeping the checkout process running so very smoothly.  Deb Bluestein spent hours accounting for each sale so that I can write the checks to the artists without delay. Matt and Celina spent all day Saturday working and the bulk of Sunday, Matt personally greeting each guest and joyfully getting his hugs from some dear Soul children.  The entire Fallon family spent hours with us this weekend, plus they helped create the Soul products, brought in many shoppers and are just amazing supports.  Randall, board vice president spent hours here on Sunday with daughter Drew, recording the event.  Her photos are shown her today.  Tara, Soul photographer also brought her adorable boys and took shots on Saturday which I will share later this week.  Board member, Deb created lovely yule logs and firestarters, plus she stood in the cold all day Saturday with Matt creating guests.  So many volunteers spent hours helping us out, not to mention the artists who created amazing product.  

I am thankful to our local newspaper for telling about the sale, but there was one error in that listing.  We do receive all the proceeds from the items that we create as Soul items, but each artist gives us 20% of their sales plus a raffle basket item.  We sold over $2000 in raffle tickets alone. I just wanted to clarify that point publicly and to state that Soul is proud of offering local artists a place to sell and to market their talents.  This sale is of course about raising funds but its also about building a community of loving support.

Today I will start to work toward creating a Christmas atmosphere in my own home and will have daughter McKenzie home one more day to pick out the tree, but its also "back to reality".

Sarah will be working with the 4 new Soul family photos that were taken this past week.  I will be shooting on Thursday for Soul.  Obviously Tammara, Kari, Sarah and I will be cleaning and accounting and all it takes to wrap up the sale.  We will be working to have our Soul products available on line.  

Please continue to use goodsearch and goodshop.  Keep

 our dear Soul children and their families in your prayers.  In love and peace, Lynette

Its early in the morning, both of my daughters and my husband are hopefully having sweet dreams while I am sitting here thinking of the blessings in my life and how charming my studio and Doug's garage look with all the amazing work of the artists just awaiting the opening of our second annual sale.  The love and the devotion of so many people have made this possible and I salute Tammara, Sarah, Kari, every artist and all the volunteers who have made this happen.

This work and how it touches the lives of so many people and continues to grow in ways that seem so unstoppable gives me a renewed sense of wonder and allows the photographers of Soulumination to share their talent and their heart with honor and humility.  It seems the angel babies and the work of Soul has unbelievably moved into the rock star realm. Through the kindness of my new friends Ashley, Mike and Kaya the work of Soulumination in now on the Pearl Jam website.  I am so thankful to have met this family, their friendship and their generosity means a lot to both Sarah and myself.  Sitting inches from my keyboard is a signed Pearl Jam poster that they have added to the raffle basket for the artist show which is now mentioned in a stickie on the message pit of  their web site.  You can see Soulumination's blurb on the site at http://www.pearljam.com/activism/.   In the past I took a lot of ribbing about getting Soulumination on the front page of the sports section of the Seattle Times through the CD Husky Nation and the work of Alex Mercier.  I can only imagine the reaction to this new connection.  I am trying not to just sob as I write this as in my life I never dreamed that a small kindness would lead to such an opening of hearts.  This type of caring means so much to our families and for me personally it prods me to move forward honorably, lovingly and with passion.

This morning in the quiet I am looking at the words that my dear friend and Soul artist, Babs Glover chose to put on a most beautiful key ring that will hold photos of the first angel babies, Janus, Lanie, Joey and our mutual friend Sydney: 

  "My lyre is tuned to mourning and my pipe to the voice of those who weep."  

I close as always in love and peace, Lynette

Its a very busy week here at Soul.  We have 4 new families this week, 3 children and one adult.  I am so proud to say that work is being done by talented photographers and Sarah is doing an amazing job of organizing the schedule and making the gifts for the families in the middle of all the Artist show preparations.  I have been taking a break since I am already 16 shoots over the amount I had targeted for myself for this year and I am thankful for some quiet time to replenish my soul so I can  be fully engaged when I am called out for my next Soul shoot.  I believe that Stephanie, Jodi, Sandra, Michael, Randall, Janet,  Sharlane, Susan,  and Christina have current assignments or have just completed shoots.  I am so thankful for all their dedication and hard work.

Last year right before Christmas I was called to Children's hospital for a shoot with a baby boy and his parents.  He was being taken off life support, but much to every one's surprise he lived a number of weeks longer.  I was honored to be with this family when they got to hold him for the first time.  Today the forms arrived that give us the privilege of sharing this beautiful baby.  As you can see he was a stunning little guy.

I am sharing some of the still shots from the video that Greg Johnson filmed of Chris driving for the first time.  I just feel like laughing whenever I think of the video as it was obvious that everyone was having such a good time.

We were gifted a signed Pearl Jam poster to add to the raffle basket at the artist sale by new clients of mine.  This dad happens to be a guitarist with the band and they have been most generous with this donation.  So if you are one of the millions of Pearl Jam fans the

 tickets are only $1.00 each and you can buy them on line in groups of 25 through paypal from the home page here at Soulumination.org.  We are also thankful that we will soon be listed on the bands website as a foundation to support.  I send special thanks to Ashley and Mike for their support and compassion.

I want to also thank Ballard Market for their kind donation of large bags for the artist sale.  I am a regular customer at the market and have always thought they were great on service so I was not surprised when Tammara came in with a smile saying they had given us 300 bags and will be happy to supply more if we need them.

I am so looking forward to tomorrow when both of our daughters will be home.  It was Doug and my anniversary tonight and I am thankful for 29 years of life with one patient and kind man.   I must get back to cleaning off my desk as it will be used as part of the checkout for the sale.  Cleaning is not my strong suit but for Soul I will get right to it!   I close as always,  in love and peace, Lynette

As the holidays approach there is so much to be thankful for and so much that hits my heart directly.  I called the office from the salon where I was getting my hair cut yesterday to check on how arrangements were going for an end of year gathering when Sarah told me she was busy booking a shoot:  a 31 year old mom with a three month old baby.  Sarah had talked with her husband and was arranging the shoot for this Friday as time is of the essence for this young mom.  Janet Klinger is working with this family and I feel so grateful for all the photographers who give to our families.  I think of my young mom friends who passed away this year and know that Julie, Deanna, and Vicki are such a strong part of this work.  Their lives inspiring me to start this part of Soulumination. 

   

Please join us this weekend for the sale.  We would love to see the faces of all of you who make this work possible and who follow our story on this blog.  In love and peace, Lynette

I am typing with pitch stained hands that are now collecting dust in their stickiness.  It will be days before I can get the smell and the residue of amazing evergreens off of my skin, which isn't such a bad thing.  The wreaths look lovely and we learned a lot----on a rainy day such as yesterday, many people can't make it in to volunteer, plus cold and flu season dwindled our numbers to just a few of my close friends which made the time very special indeed, but we now know that we have to work over 3 or 4 days next year to produce enough and that we need many more greens.  

The day started out as many do here at Soul Ballard, with tears by the founder and laughter from the same.  Sarah had shared with me her mornings project of working with some photos from the brief life of one beautiful little boy who is the nephew of a former bride and groom.   His beauty jumped off her computer and went straight to m

y heart.  This sharing was followed by a visit with my great friend Amber who has been such a help to Soulumination from the start.  Amber has just moved into a new house with her husband and there is a photo of her sister hanging in this home.  I will be honored to meet this little girl in the photo as she died when she was 4 years old and until Soulumination formed I did not know that Amber had a sister.  These two tearful incidents lead straight into wreath making but I took a break to check the mail, as anyone who knows me understands that I LOVE getting mail and there was the balance to the sadness, a holiday card from a couple that I met at Christmas time last year, it showed them with the son they lost with a note stating that they are awaiting the arrival of a baby girl in April.  I am on cloud nine about this as I knew in working with them that they are the most amazing parents.

This morning another thrill came through an email from my friend, chef and filmmaker, Greg Johnson.  He has completed the video of dear Chris driving the golf cart.  It is such fun that I sat and cried joyfully over all the blessings in my life that come through

 the talents of my cherished friends.  Many thanks to my clients who provided the golf cart that allowed Chris to have his first driving experience.  I share a photo of Chris today from his time here with Jake Locker and Marin.

The weather has Llewelyn's boyfriend off doing National Guard duties with all the flooding.  It such a relief that this work is right here in our state as I am trying to think of ways to connect with Memo after August that will have value and meaning as he is most likely headed to Iraq.  Just writing those words makes me shake but he is one honorable young man and he is most thankful to be finishing his college degree through his service program.  I share a photo of Memo and Lew in Mexico.  When his time comes to leave for the middle East, I hope you will hold him in your hearts.

I want to thank those who participated in the wreath making, Kari for her hard work and her wonderful soup, even though she was not feeling well she did an amazing job, Ken, my landscape designer and friend for taking a day off work to create with us, Suzanne for working to help Sarah produce gifts for families and then for making that one lovely wreath, Sidni for the beautiful wreaths that she produced with speed and abandon, Monique for collecting the prettiest greens over the past weeks and for making a lovely one and purchasing 2 others and to Sarah for holding down the fort and for joining us in making a wreath at the end of the day and spearheading the clean up.  Susan and Pat Dunn  and Steve for sharing greens that made such a difference in our Soul product.  Also Lynn, Scott, my brother and his wife Diane for helping me gather the needed greens.

See you Saturday or Sunday at the Artist sale, if you can't make it please consider buying raffle tickets on line.  In love and peace and smelling of evergreens in this holiday season, Lynette