what is it they say? minutes pass like years but a year passes in a minute. slow down or you might miss something. you'll blink and they're all grown up. well, this was the fastest 9 month blink. ever.
then/now.
feeling like the years are flying by? MINI SESSION DEAL is here and so are gift certificates for father's day or just because. contact me at i.furiephoto@gmail.com
isabel
as i catch up on emails, and editing. but for now, just one from a perfect day with best friends, babies and sunshine. mitchie. needed a big change after getting himself covered in chocolate ice cream...i maybe kinda wanted to lick him.
isabel
it's monday (er...tuesday), and everyone is recovering from the weekend festivities. whether or not you have dayenu stuck in your head or a tummy ache from easter candy, this weekend was the universal celebration of spring. a new leaf. a fresh start. coming through our narrow places out into the light. like everything, cyclical. unfortunately, the bud must burst through it's tight wrapping. the child is thrust into the bright, loud world from the comfort of the womb. the snake takes it's time as it wriggles free from it's past life, leaving it's skin behind. every transition, every fresh start, every new phase of life comes with discomfort, struggle, and sometimes pain. friday, as i was prepping to get ready for our seder dinner with friends that night, i was at lunch with my mom. i got a text from one of my best friend's. not best friend in that we hang out all the time kind of way. best friend in that we don't see each other for 6 months and talk each other's ears off for lunch. best friend in that hey, want me to help you deliver your child, kind of way. a text from her, she's been diagnosed with breast cancer.
i hardly had time to really read it. or really even understand or grasp what it said. my mom asked what i was looking at, and as usual was annoyed that i was instagramming lunch or texting someone. so i tucked the phone away. the rest of the day carried on and i didn't really let myself go back to that nugget of information. sitting, burning a hole through my phone. we got through a beautiful seder dinner, headed home and put the kids to bed. i lounged around friday night like nothing happened. and then saturday, i woke up.
saturday basically didn't happen. i mean, i'm pretty sure i woke up, i sat somewhere for a long time, then moved and sat somewhere else. just in the act of waking up i had realized what i had been told. the truth of it. will it be fatal? we hope not. but will she feel fear? sickness? pain? worry? exhaustion? yes. and suddenly i am thrust back to the moment of my mother's diagnosis. i am reliving it all again and i am now laced with guilt, for the things i did not do, the flowers i didn't buy enough of, the treatment sessions i didn't go to, the nights i could have gone over, just to spend time with her. i woke up saturday morning thinking about seder the previous night. thinking about watching my friend's daughter cry, and not wanting to look at her. not wanting her to make eye contact with me because what i wanted to do was scream out "I WAS THERE! I WAS SCARED TOO! The crying becomes less intense and the fear becomes more a constant, dull ache" but i didn't. i sat there. and just...buried myself in the chaos my toddler was creating. i am beyond blessed that my mother is in remission, i am thankful for that every day. for the chance to make more of the time. but as my friend begins her own journey with this disgusting disease, i am desperate to find ways to not feel so helpless. i know, selfish.
after a week of a cold, this news, and my inability to function at all on saturday, i figured i was out for Easter Sunday activities. i had planned to send the man and kiddos on without me. isn't it funny what little, sweet morsels of life happen to fall into our laps sometimes? at the most painfully perfect moments. my brother in law and sister in law just had twins. they were born two weeks ago (holy crap, it's been two weeks already?!) and only a few days had passed since my nephew James was released from the NICU (he's fine, his lungs just needed some time) but we hadn't met them yet. somehow, the thought of dragging my two guys into a hospital, etc. seemed unpleasant to say the least. at the last minute, they decided to head over to my in laws for Easter for dinner. it was just what i needed to get myself moving.
i walked in, said hi to whoever was directly in front of me, put down my camera bag near the babies and got my hand sanitization on. i sat in that room for maybe 1.5 hours. for however long they were there. it is amazing to me to be an aunt to this many kids, let me just say. i have 15 nieces and nephews, 13 of which i see fairly regularly. it's so interesting to see the ways they are alike, like my husband and his siblings, like my parents in law. and all the ways they are so very different, from looks to likes. they are all such great kids though and really and truly adore each other. cousin time is coveted and you can always trust them to be looking out for each other. mostly. though i wonder what 5 nephews born in the span of, what, 4 years, is going to look like in high school...
the bottom line is these little people give me so much. and being with my newest niece and nephew was just what i (selfishly) needed. i sat there and soaked up the miracle that they are, all the while hoping that my friend gets her miracle too.
isabel
well hello there. i thought i would take a minute to go over some recent changes i've made and explain them a bit. the two big changes are that my pricing has been redone and two is that mini sessions, session discounts and print sales will now only be offered to current clients and those who subscribe to the isabel furie photography mailing list. but. let me break it down.
pricing.
i had to overhaul pricing. packages, prints, digital, it was a nightmare. taking all the fun out of what i do. it breaks down like this, the reason i started this, the #1 thing i want you to walk away with, is beautiful prints. and the #1 thing most people/families want these days are digital files. so, where do we find the happy medium? and how do we make it easy, because easy is my middle name. er. wait. that's awkward...
ok, but i think i have made it easy for you. this is what i had to consider. my passion is lifestyle family sessions. whether that means i'm shooting you welcoming a new baby into your home, a sunday dinner where the whole extended family gets together, you and your kids running around your favorite field or eating ice cream sundaes at home. i love to spend time with you. to know you, to capture who you truly are, the in between, real life moments are my goal. but what this means is sometimes "sessions" (i'd really so much rather call them play dates or something...) are longer than 2 hours, sometimes i get fed coffee or pancakes, sometimes it means my pants get wet at the beach. so this is time away from my family, but it's also time doing exactly what i truly love.
ok, onto the next thing. newsletter!
this saves me time posting deals, announcements, etc all over mom message boards and the like. this way, i know who wants the info and it gets to them easily. i'll be releasing my first newsletter the first week of April. it will include details about upcoming mini sessions, referral deals and print sales. and in fact, JUST for signing up you receive a $50 print credit good towards a session that takes place this year and that's not all...
you can sign up NOW by clicking on the little envelope that says "Subscribe" it's easy and only takes a minute. and to check out the new pricing go HERE .
and because no post is worth anything without some pictures, here's Evan, who's pretty excited about his new house.
isabel