Blessed!

So before I head out to a sunny, 80* beach in Florida tomorrow, I really wanted to share something that truly touched me this week. A couple of months ago, a group of people from work were putting together a bake sale and were donating items to a really nice guy that we all work with named Dan. Dan's wife has cancer, and what a great way to raise money to help the family. I was not working the day of the sale and was not able to make my donation in time. I ran into Dan a few weeks later and we got to chating about my photography! I had really wanted to do something to help his family and all the sudden I thought "Pictures!!!" I told Dan that if he ever wanted family pictures or just pictures of his soon Cooper, to let me know and I would waive the sitting fee.

A few weeks ago we were able to catch up and plan a date to do pictures. I had so much fun taking pictures of his son and by far some of my favorite pictures were of Dan and Cooper together. Later that next week once I posted the pictures on my blog, I recieved a phone call from a friend of mine that works at a bank "Ashley, I just had to call and tell you that Dan stopped into the bank today and I have never seen him more excited! He was so happy about his pictures, he was showing all us girls your blog when he came in!!" I was sitting in my car about to go into work when she called me and the timing couldn't have been more perfect. I was sitting there with a huge grin on my face and I was so happy to know that I could make someone else happy with my work.

Last week I posted the pictures on my website and printed off a book for Dan and his family of all the proofs. I e-mailed Dan that the pictures were up and in turn, I recieved the nicest e-mail ever. Dan had said how happy he was with the pictures and how I was able to capture his son perfectly, and how happy he was to see this gift his wife had given him. It brought a little tear to my eye to read Dan's incredibly nice words and also made me remember why I got into photography to begin with. This is my passion and my dream, and I have had so many people helping me along the way. I want to be able to capture these special moments in peoples lives and hearing what Dan said really made me feel like I had. Last week Dan recieved bad news that his wifes cancer is back and the prognosis is not good. If you could keep Dan and his family in your thoughts and prayers, I can't imagine how difficult this must be for them.

And on a lighter note, Have a good weekend! :)

Ashley