Today's beautiful post is written by our beloved intern Brenna Fallon. I am spending some quiet time writing letters of recommendation for her and she has prepared this touching missive:

To start off, I would like to say that I feel honored to be asked to write the blog at such an important time of the year. During the holidays, losses are always felt more acutely; it seems as though everyone has someone they wish were there to give them that traditional ugly sweater, kiss them under the mistletoe, or be their present wrapping companion at 1 a.m. on Christmas Eve. This is a season of love and tradition, of loss and remembrance, and of hope and new direction. With the New Year coming and with graduation only 5 months away, I try to notice the little things more often. Everyone has those perfect moments ("infinite moments" I like to call them) when the world seems at peace in some simple way. My mind is a wonderful clutter of memories and moments. I would like to take this time to remember a few snapshots.

I remember 5 years ago, the last time my dear Nana was able to come to Seattle for Christmas. Previously, I never got to stay up late with my mom and Nana since I had to be in bed before Santa arrived. My Nana was already getting creaky in 2003, and I believe my dad carried her to our basement – the traditional wrapping area. By 1 a.m., my mom's and Nana's wrapping had deteriorated considerably. My Nana is notorious for her lack of wrapping skills and this eve, she was wrapping a CD for my brother, yet she miscalculated that amount of wrapping paper she needed, leaving a 3 by 3 inch square unwrapped. So she simply covered it with scotch tape and called it good. I remember her laughing and laughing, and her knees creaking like old trees whipped by the wind.

I remember my first day at Soulumination. I vaguely knew Lynette from a photo shoot when I was six, but I honestly didn't remember much except that she got my little brother to make a t-rex face. Rather than the glamorous blog-writing of today, that summer day in 2005 I opened film canister after film canister. And then I left, not consciously thinking that Soulumination would become the huge part of my life, yet somehow understanding that my simple job had helped.

I remember my Nana's face three nights ago when I gave her part of her Christmas present: a trifold filled with pictures from our family photo shoot with Lynette. Her little face crinkled up into a smile when she saw the picture of me kissing my mother. She giggled when she saw my brother's reenactment of his four-year old t-rex pose.

Soulumination is built on memories, snapshots if you will, of lives. Each photo shoot is an hour of joy and tender love that builds our communities and our relationships with one another. My family and yours are built on memories. We are built on those times at 1 a.m. when we are so exhausted that we laugh till we cry. We are built on those times when the doctor tells a grandmother that her sodium level is too low or that a son's test came back positive. We are built on those times when the wrapping paper doesn't entirely cover the present. We are built on simple smiles and hard work. Love holds us together. Thank you Nana, mom, Lynette, Sarah, Kari, and all the other people who make this world work. You're wonderful.



I hope you have a wonderful day and rest of the year.
Brenna




I completed taking down our tree last night and realize I have been hiding a bit during the holiday season. Without my mom, something was off with me even though I had great times with family and friends, got to skype with Mac and Ian on Christmas morning in Australia, received touching emails and cards acknowledging that this first year would be hard, and got so many wonderful gifts, especially the rubber peacock cowboy boots and the plate that I will share once its fired , the hoodie from Mac that I rarely am without and the tools from Doug that will allow me to finally create the tin luminarias that I have been imaging for years. I now hope to engage more fully in the social part of my life, but hope to balance that with some days of solitude at our cabin. In love and peace, Lynette

Its Christmas morning and as usual sleep escapes me and now I have time to quietly reflect on my blessings as I prepare for a wonderful day with my family. Each time I sign into blogger I get to type a variation of my daughters names to enter and write---another little reminder that what we do with Soul is to build a legacy of love around the children that we cherish.

We have received some lovely donations in the past few days, one in honor of the daughters of our board member Matt Kochel truly touched my heart as Doug and I are so fond of the couple that gave this lovely tribute. There also came a donation from Randell's most new Soul family, the sweetness of this gift to share what was received with other families surely is the essence of Christmas.

I have almost daily contact with the two moms who inspired the work of Soul, my sister in law, Sally and best buddy, Joan. Today I will get to spend time with Sally and her family at our Christmas celebration and on Tuesday Joan and her family came for the yearly photos of Llewelyn and Kiel. This was our 23rd year of photographing these two together and the first time that we were not only missing and wishing Janus were with us, but with McKenzie in Australia we had another not in immediate attendance. With Janus we reach him with our hearts but with McKenzie and Ian we now reach them through the magic of skype. It seems impossible that like McKenzie, Janus would be 24 years old if he had loved. Our Llewelyn had created a gift for the these best friends, a beautiful platter that shows our family trees growing together with a branch for each child, it totally knocked us out. I post today a photo of the Aussie sweethearts on Skype and the rest gathered to wish them a Merry Christmas.

I miss my mom this morning and I send my love and caring to all of our Soul families, to those whose losses cut so deep, to those whose children move forward in this life and to those we will meet in the New Year. In love and peace, Lynette

Today has been special as I was graced with a visit from Claire Calhoun and her wonderful family. They brought me the most beautiful cupcakes and I frankly love cupcakes. To get to see Claire home and so happy is just the best Christmas gift. I am very fond of Claire's brothers and feel like my holidays are now in full swing. I hope the images of Claire and her family make you feel the magic also.

I send my very best to Soul photographer, Jodi Rosen who was so kind as to venture out in the ice yesterday to be with a new Soul family as another angel was added to our dear list of angel babies. My heart breaks for this young family but I am so thankful that someone with Jodi's heart was there to record the love that surrounds each and every Soul child.

Please keep our families in your prayers and keep yourselves safe and warm in this very cold holiday season. As I finish this missive I look outside to see that the snow is falling again. In love and peace, Lynette

The roads are now a sheet of ice and its quiet here in Ballard. All four cats are intrigued but also in a bit of hibernation mode. Me, I am enjoying the silence, the empty office and time to play in my art space. I got to chat with McKenzie on Skype and Lew called to tell me that some of the stores in Uvillage were closing early, so this mom is very happy tonight, just hearing their voices is such sweet holiday music to my ears. I fear that the roads will be much too icy for a trip to Sequim this weekend, but I trust my family knows that I am with them in spirit.

We got a call late today about a last minute shoot for tomorrow at Children's and since Doug is too busy to be my taxi, our wonderful photographer, Jodi Rosen has agreed to take this assignment as she lives very near the hospital. I am hoping that my dear friend Claire and her family will be coming for a Soul update shoot here on Saturday. Claire is currently at home for the Christmas holiday which is truly a surprise blessing for her adoring family.

I look back at this year and marvel over how far we've come. The word about our mission is certainly trickling through the population and we now get calls from neighbors and friends of people who could use our help in capturing the beauty of families.

This loss of my mom is certainly hitting me with the holidays upon us, but I am trying to celebrate all the amazing years we shared. She would have been baking and preparing for days now if not weeks. I woke this morning thinking about our families and how so many have suffered the loss of a beloved child at a young age. I send them much love and endless caring. I hope that the work of Soul and our amazing staff and the photographers has made a difference in allowing these families to clearly savour the image of the beautiful angel babies.

I wanted to share tonight the wonderful images of new Soul child, Shamus as his parents kindly sent in the release forms this week. I am happy to say that Shamus HAD neuroblastoma and is now happily doing a follow up at Duke just to be sure things continue on this path to full recovery. The photos were taken by Daniel Sheehan and I am so grateful to him for volunteering to be part of our little foundation. I will post them as soon as Sarah can make it to work and send me the proper files.

I thank all who have been giving to Soul since we mailed the newsletter. We have been so busy that the money is greatly appreciated. Again thanks to everyone who made the Artist Sale such a success. I am so grateful to be surrounded by such talents. I close as always in love and peace, Lynette

This morning I am heading to Bainbridge for lunch with the two first moms of Soul and I have arranged for our good friend Fred Moody to join us to surprise Sally and Joan. Fred really launched Soulumination and created our name out of words that I told him I liked. His article in People Magazine catapulted us into existence. So it will be fun to have time with these special Soul friends.

I am sharing more of Randell's photos from the Artist Sale. These shots feature our artists and volunteers, again huge thanks to all who helped. See the previous blog for more news. In love and peace, Lynette

Its hard to think of where to start because so much has happened in the past few days. But of course our families are the most important thing and yesterday I heard Sarah booking Jodi to work with a new adult on Saturday, Aaron worked with another adult last week, Carolyn and Stephanie's photos of two new Soul children were being assembled into the gifts of Soul, Randell's latest shoot was being prepared for printing, Sarah will pick up the prints from my latest shoot at Children's and Michael Good was out on a shoot this weekend.

I want to salute our amazing intern, Brenna as she proudly completed her second grant application recently for Soulumination and we received word that we are the recepient of a $9K grant from the McMillian Foundation to further the work with our adult Legacy Project. We are thrilled and thankful to think of how we can move forward with this funding. Brenna and her entire family are such gifts to this foundation. They have actively been involved since the start of Soulumination and have woven us into their lives and we think the world of the 4 of them. I have been photographing Brenna since she was a little girl and now I have informed her that Sarah and I want to take her on a shopping expedition for her senior prom dress when the time comes. Looking to her future I see the world is wide open for someone with such heart and dedication. It will be both exciting and sad for us when she leaves for college next year.

A huge thank you to board member Kelly for her donation to Soul this weekend and for bringing her son and his best friend to act as greeters. These two charming teenagers really impressed my husband and we are all so excited that they are doing a project on Soulumination and will soon have a bake sale to benefit our mission. Of course I will share photos of that fundraiser when the time comes! Hugs to the members of my board who tirelessly worked at the sale. Deb not only worked the entire sale either as a greeter of cashier but she is the creator of the beautiful and popular yule logs. Matt and his parents were absolutely amazing and we thank them for their time and for the beautiful souluminarias. Lori, our board president was on hand of course and I want to mention that her most recent newsletter is bringing in funds daily. This grass roots support of Soul has been built around her thoughtful writing and editing. Brenda was on hand with numerous female family members and her efforts to move the Legacy project forward are seeing such positive results. We always love to see board member Mark and his wife Deb as both have been with us from day one. Mark leads us forward in everything financial and is the rock behind our efforts, we hope he will stay with us through his lifetime!

The Artist Sale was a grand success and I am so thankful to Kari for her efforts in making this event grow and become even more special. Truly this sale weaves together a community of artists, volunteers, Soul families, the neighborhood and so many friends that this fact alone makes it a success, but combining it with bigger sales and more enthusiasm is truly remarkable. I personally got to hold some special babies during this event, these children I call Soul sisters and brothers. Some of them are now to big to hold but they thrill me just the same. In my arms were: Brady's little sister, Sydney's little brother, Josiah's siblings, Trey's little sister, Lillian and Lauren's new sister as well as hugs to Blake's sister, Charlotte's big sister plus Emily and her sibs are always able to melt my heart. It was amazing to walk into the check out area and see some of the women I admire most in my life manning the station: Shirley, Jenni, Molly, Amber, Diane, Patrice, Deb, Lori, both of Sarah's sisters, Lily and I am sure I am forgetting others but it was so great. The raffle was hugely popular and the woman who won the quilt was just ecstatic when she picked up yesterday, we are so grateful to Jane and Betsy and are thrilled to think that they are willing to create for us again next year! We were able to offer 4 other lovely baskets with so many amazing items from the artists. Carla was new to Soul this sale and ran the coffee and cookie area and on Sunday I personally was thankful as one of our board member, Deb's cookies were all I had for both breakfast and lunch. Our greeters were just wonderful and compiled stats for us about how each shopper heard about the sale----so indeed word of mouth wins out so keep telling the story of Soulumination and encouraging others to participate! Our artists offered so many amazing items and were just a pleasure to have as part of our mission. We are so blessed by so many talented people.

Tonight is the office party for Soul and my business and I dedicate the Soul part of the evening to my mom. As the holidays are unfolding I miss her so much, but I know how proud she would be of all the efforts for the families of Soul. We are currently working with the NTSAD Foundation to make sure the trip to their conference in April is a huge success and I will be flying there using mom's frequent flyer miles as she wished. So even though I am sad, I know that mom's life was rich and full and who could ask for more than her love?

I close with a thanks to my family. Doug takes the disruption of the Artist Sale with true grace and was available each time we needed just one more thing, plus he is a great shopper for Soul and connects with so many of our supporters. Lew in her quiet and gentle way spreads the word for us and guides me through the weekend with her calm and steady manner. Mac checked in via email and her contribution to the creation of the wine bottles made a big difference in their appearance. Sally and Joan, my sisters and first moms of Soul were of course on hand with their enthusiastic presence. But it was a special thrill to see my nieces Kimme, Lauren, Audrey, and Betsy and nephew Ben act as greeters. I am one lucky aunt. In love and peace, Lynette

Its early Friday morning and I know in just a few hours the artist will start arriving to set up for the sale. I feel a little teary this morning just thinking of all the kindness and the support that surrounds everything we do here at Soulumination. Kari has worked so hard and has pulled things together beautifully. My husband Doug, even though he is not feeling at all well has been gracious enough to clean out his entire garage space for us and has been stellar at answering each request for help. Pat and Sue Dunn facilitated a delivery of the most amazing greens for the fresh wreaths along with Soul uncle Steve DeRoux. The crew that worked on the wreaths are artists, designers and landscapers and they are really works of art. The price this year is only $25 as we are trying to be mindful of the economic times. In looking at wreaths for sale elsewhere I know that these are truly standouts at a very good price. We hope to see you tomorrow or Sunday. One special part of the sale is that I get to see so many of the Soul families. A number will be attending with their new babies. Board member and Soul dad Matt will be one of our greeters and his mother has lovingly created the Soluminarias that will be for sale. His newborn, Ellie is rumored to be making an appearance. Here is another of the her birthday photos!

This week I had the pleasure of meeting a lovely new Soul family
with a daughter that qualifies as a 'puddin'. Sarah and I call babies that have a certain joviality, "puddin's." This little beauty had a great fun hairdo and was sporting a new heart that she received in April. She was so smiley and animated and loved it when I would shake my head wildly to match her own exuberance. The parents are hopeful of having her at home for Christmas so I am keeping that wish in the forefront of my holiday list also. Sarah is booking another new child and a new adult, so things are continuing to be very busy.

While at Children's I popped in to visit Claire and her mom but to my surprise and delight I got to see her grandparents. It was great knowing that her mom had gotten a little break and could be at home with Claire's brothers. Claire recently had surgery that had us all on pins and needles, but she came through brilliantly and was up walking around and had early been cruising the halls wearing the coolest knit hat and huge butterfly wings. Right up there on my wish list is for Claire to be at home for Christmas also. It certainly looked possible to me because when I asked if I could borrow the butterfly wings, Claire responded with a resounding "NO". Claire's photo from a visit in October opens this missive.

Part of the holiday season of course is thanking all of you that have so faithfully supported the work of Soulumination. With all the lovely greens we have had to work with I have been working two additional days on them to produce some that are thank you gifts to those businesses who donate in kind to Soul. I want to especially mention these businesses and encourage you to support them. Please mention Soulumination when you visit any of the following and let them know how their support is so appreciated: Moonphoto, Ballard Sip and Ship, and Annie's Art and Frame. Moonphoto prints a special 5 by 7 free of charge for each and every Soul family while Annie's frames the photos and Sip and Ship provides packaging when we need to mail the framed gift. Hats off to these businesses for supporting this mission.

On Wednesday we will celebrate with our year end party at Paint the Town in UVillage. Llewelyn has been working there for a while now and we will paint ornaments and have a nice meal to toast the success of 2008 for my business and for the foundation. I treat the Soul workers to this celebration in honor of my mom. So thank you Sarah, Kari, Shirley, Barb, Brenna, Dawnelle, Christa, Jenny and Deb for all your hard work for Soulumination and to Diane, Katie, Dawnelle, Llewelyn and McKenzie for making it possible to run a business while heading a foundation. Both of my daughters stepped in to assist at weddings when it was needed and I am most grateful.

So here's to a great weekend in which we celebrate the work of Soul through the Artist Sale and Doug and I celebrate 30 years of marriage----great husband, I often say there isn't a day that goes by that he doesn't wonder, "What was I thinking", but hopefully the craziness of being married to me has added some spice to his life. In love and peace, Lynette