And the Winner is...

Well, it's officially Christmas Eve and I couldn't be more excited to announce my contest winner. I've got to tell you, though, this was hard. As in H.A.R.D. I thought every aspect of giving away a family portrait session would be fun because I love giving gifts and I kept thinking how excited a family was going to be. But then I started getting the nominations and I wanted everyone to win because every single one of those nominated deserved to win. Trust me, I've spent the last few days trying to figure out if I could just make everyone a winner. They all had stories that pulled my heart strings.

Every one of those families nominated are so blessed to have friends who would take the time to submit a nomination on their behalf. Thank-you for the nominations and even if your friend did not win, I encourage all you nominators to keep finding ways to bless your friends. They need you.

And now to the exciting part, this nomination quickly stood out. Those of you who are close to me know that childhood cancer has come closer to our circle of friends than I would ever want. Every time I hear of another child who is diagnosed my heart cries. The littlest member of this family was diagnosed with Leukemia this past summer. He underwent chemo and a bone marrow transplant in November and is on his way to recovery. While I can't wipe out this part of your lives, Joel and Sarah, I do hope that this gift can provide you with hope and let's you know that people out there really do care. I can't wait to give you photographs documenting your beautiful family held together with grace and love.

Please pray for me as I keep asking God how I can get more involved helping families who are battling cancer. I honestly wish I didn't have to worry about making money and could just gift these families all the time.

Merry Christmas to all!