Moms Rock!

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Happy Mother’s Day!  We asked our members and Facebook followers to submit “photographic love letters to moms” for our Mother’s Day blog feature and we are so moved at the response.  Grab a tissue and enjoy!

Mother’s day is a tough one for me, ever since my mom died. Brad and I have been dating since High School. When my mom was very sick my senior year, my dad had to go on some business trip – the kind that if you don’t go on, you get fired. So he went. Brad’s parents wouldn’t hear of me staying at home by myself. That was the first time they stepped in to take care of me, the first of many. Since my parents passing in 1999, Brad’s parents have acted like my parents. People assume I’m his mom’s daughter. We don’t even correct people anymore. They live 10 minutes away and they are how we manage to be in 4 places at one time, his mom is the reason my kids will do well in Algebra 1 to Calculus, she is the reason we have big, home-cooked holiday meals, and she is the reason Brad and I can escape this madness every once in a while. And then there’s Lylah and Grandma. Lylah is the only granddaughter of her seven grandkids. Their relationship is amazing. They are so lucky to have each other and I love watching it.

~Lynne Rigby | Lynne Rigby 

My sister recently had a really difficult home birth. There were moments when I couldn’t shoot through the tears and I had to leave the room at one point because it was too hard to watch. Through it all, my mom was there. Steadfast, calm and lifting my sister up in prayer, just like she’s been doing for our entire lives. I love my mom so much. She is truly one of the strongest and kindest people I know and her heart blesses me every single day. I’m so thankful that God gave her to me for a mom.

~ Sarah Phillips | Sarah Phillips Photography

This is a photo of my mom, her sisters, and my grandma, taken at my grandma’s 90th birthday.  These are the women who have taught me what the word “family” really means.  When I was growing up we all lived in the midwest and every holiday involved a big family get-together.  Every summer meant playing with my cousins for a week straight when we all rented chalets in Michigan.  As jobs changed and kids grew up and moved away, simple geography prevented us from all getting together as often as we liked.   Now we are spread across the country in Illinois, Arkansas, Kansas, Oregon, Florida, and Washington.  The efforts of these four women always bridge the distance though –  phone calls and Facetime, little cards and gifts sent throughout the year, Auntie Karen’s famous cookie care packages arriving on mine and my cousin’s doorsteps for every holiday no matter how small.   And whenever we are able to get together, it’s as if no time has passed at all.  Happy Mother’s Day Mom, Busica, Aunt Karen, and Aunt Cindy!

~ Jes Gwozdz | Jessica Gwozdz Photography

My brother and I and our families took my mom on a trip for her 70th birthday almost two years ago. The trip itself couldn’t have been any more of a perfect gift for her, as spending that weekend with her two kids and her five grandkids meant so much more to her than anything we could have bought at a store. In addition to the trip, we gave her a framed picture of all five of her grandkids, and seeing the joy on her face as she opened it – with lots of help from her four oldest grandkids – was the best thanks we could have received. My mom loves her kids and her grandkids with every ounce of her being, and even though she lives a long way away from all of us, she always makes sure we know just how much she loves us and just how much we mean to her. She’s taught me so much about love and selflessness and so much more… I am so fortunate to have her as a mom.

~Ashley Spaulding | Ashley Spaulding Photography

I’m also realizing that I need to take more pics of my mom!  She is my best friend and someone I can always count on–I am very blessed.  Just as an example, when I was hospitalized for three months during my last pregnancy, she stepped in and took care of my four children–including homeschooling them–so that my husband could continue working. She’s amazing.

~Sabra McKibbon | Sabra McKibbon Photography

My Grandmother Georgia was the most beautiful, kind, loving, gentle & amazing woman I have “never” met. She passed tragically at the young age of 42, four years before I was born. Her death was a devastating loss to my family, but especially my father. However, her death did not restrict me from knowing her. Every day of my childhood, my father talked of her, told me stories of his mother and his childhood… bringing me ever closer to her, knowing that she may not here in the physical, but always with me.

One thing my father taught me, was that her favorite flower was the tulip, reds & yellows… she loved their delicate yet bold blossom. Every.Single.Tulip I see reminds me of her. And in her honor & memory, I planted a beautiful tulip garden in my yard (in every home I have lived in)… so every spring, and every tulip, is a little reminder of my Grandmother Georgia. Keeping her memory fresh & beautiful… and her spirit & love close to me and my own children 

~Tracy Joy Tignino | Tracy Joy Photography

This is an image of my beautiful mother, Titika, embracing my young daughter, Cici. It was taken on the island of Skyros, Greece, last summer. These two don’t get to see each other very often, because they live a continent away, but when they do their deep connection is visceral! My 3-year old likes to cuddle on her own terms–usually a hurricane of a hug followed by a quick transition to her next activity–but she will allow my mother to hold her for hours listening to stories, riveted, until she finally drifts to sleep in her lap! I love this image because it really captures their palpable love! I look at this and instantly remember the safety of my mother’s embrace, the comfort of her presence. It fills my heart to see my daughter basking in that warmth…because there truly is no love as soothing, or unconditional as hers.

~Melina Nastazia | Melina Nastazia Photography

Until two years before my Mom passed away, I had always felt like she didn’t love me. That’s when I read this book. It anointed my heart with healing and understanding. While reading it, I cried and cried. I finally realized my Mom did love me. I called her up and told her all about it. And she cried too. She asked to read the book. I mailed it to her. This book is a bridge from my heart to her heart. I miss her so much. She loved being surrounded by nature and taking walks in the woods…. and ice cream.  I hope she is finding all kinds of awesome books to read in heaven and setting them aside for me to read when I get there…. and some ice cream to share too.

~Melanie Hood | The Inside Dish

When I lost my Mom four years ago I had, had no idea what a role she had played in my life. When Aaron Nelson of Evantide Photography asked me to present at PhotoLush 2014 – the unveiling of a new understanding of my Mom’s role in my life blossomed.  Another story for another time. My Mom holds an enormous place in my heart and mind.
– Heart, because of the values she bestowed – her unwavering love of her God and her children.
– In my mind, because in her very simply way she lead me to my firstphotographic profession as a journalist with a camera.
She helped me recognize and get my first images published. Then again, In her dying days, gave me the opportunity to create a visual documentation of her last days with my father and her children. Demonstrating her love of family in intimate ways that tear at the heart. Even in her frail, troubled and frightened stages of dying.  From the beginning of my career to the end of her life – she did what all good, loving Moms do – she encouraged and fostered her child’s passion. I am forever grateful.   Happy Mothers Day, Mom – Loretta Maria Waidelich, July 21, 1920 – July 27, 2010

~Martin Waidelich | Photos By Martin

Photographic Love Letter to mom. Mom….meaning me. I tried to get a shot of my own mother, but she ran for the hills. So, you will have to settle for me.

Being a mom is hard work. It really is. I don’t get a shower on most days – including today. There is fighting, struggles, homework, chauffeuring, cooking, cleaning, sick days, fake sick days, more fighting, temper tantrums in Target, LAUNDRY, crying for no reason, more laundry, injuries, illness, ER visits, unauthorized home haircuts, coloring on the walls, spilled milk, sassy attitudes, runny noses and stinky bottoms, insubordination, more laundry and fighting….and the list goes on. Being a mom is the most challenging thing I have ever done. I am exhausted every single night.

But, along with all of the laundry and fighting and temper tantrums, there are moments of absolute greatness. Pure bliss. Things that make your heart hurt in the best of ways. Things you couldn’t imagine even if you tried. For example, hearing your daughter read out loud all by herself, having your youngest tell you that you are beautiful – EVERY SINGLE DAY (and meaning it), and having your eight year old son initiate holding your hand – in public. There have been huge moments of triumph that have given me more satisfaction and joy than I could ever imagine. Watching my kids launch off of huge ski jumps and fly thru the air and land like it was no big deal. Impromptu dance parties. Christmas morning. Watching them find something that really makes them happy – for my kids, that is sports. Finally getting over the fear of the dentist. Riding a bike without training wheels. Making cookies. The unexpected snuggle. Watching one kid help the other in an act of kindness that was not mandated by mom. Teaching them how to do things right the first time. Field trips. Storytelling. The looks on their faces when they bring a new art project home from school. Taking them to other countries. That wonderful time right before bed when they open up and really talk about their day. Again…the list goes on.

It is awesome being a mom. There is love in this house. Big, huge, heavy, indestructible, consuming love. Every. Single. Day.

My job is hard. It can be daunting. I am responsible for making sure that these little people turn out to be good, fair, kind, respectful, responsible people. Honestly, on more than one occasion I have wondered if I am raising little serial killers. (They have their moments.) My job is hard. Some days I am great at it, some days I feel like I have totally missed the bus and my kids will need years and years of expensive therapy to undo my errors. But, even though it is hard, I love it. So here is a nod of respect to all of the other mothers out there who are on this crazy adventure called motherhood with me. I wouldn’t trade it for the world. I am not a perfect mother, but I am the only mother they have. If you asked me if I am a good mother, I would say, “ABSOLUTELY. I have 3 very lucky little kids.”

I owe everything I am as a mother to my mother. She is a phenomenal mother. She set me up really well for this gig.

Thanks, mom. I love you.

~Rebecca Waldock | Rebecca Waldock Photography

This photo was taken the last time we were over visiting my parents. This picture speaks to me because it shows the busyness and fun times in our lives. My mom has raised five kids and now enjoys five grandkids. She loves her kids and grandkids immensely. She has always been there for me in my times of need and is always ready to lend a hand to help. The kids love going to gramma’s house to play and rarely can sit still there. In this photo my son was trying to get away from a quick picture but they all were erupting in fits of giggles because of it. She has a giving heart – always thinking of others and how to help. I am thankful to call her my mom.

~Kristin Peereboom | Kristin Peereboom Photography

All I’ve ever wanted, for as long as I can remember from my earliest childhood, was to be a mother. When I was little and people would ask me what I wanted to be when I grew up, all I could think of was that I wanted to be a mommy, just like mine. I know that this was because I had such a wonderful childhood with such a wonderful mother – she set such a wonderful example of mothering and I learned so much from her and I grew up always wanting to be just like her. My mother was strict, we didn’t get away with anything, she always knew exactly where we were and exactly what we were doing, she didn’t let us eat junk food, she didn’t let us stay out late – and she always, always, let us know that we were loved. Every day with my kids I think of her, every day I know that I am the mother I am because of her.

~ Lisa Marsh | Lisa Marsh Photography

Around this table my Nanny (grandmother) has laughed with, comforted, advised, and watched grow: 3 children, 9 grandchildren, 13 great-grandchildren, and 1 great-great grandchild. She is one of the strongest women I know, but what guides her most is love. She has lived through the Great Depression, a World War, a son in Vietnam, and shown her independence (even down to pumping her own gas for the first time) when the love of her life, my amazing grandfather whom she wed at 16, passed away 10 years ago. So many of us in our family are who are because of her, and all because she understands that we are all special, and we are all different, and she loves us to the moon and back because of it.

~ Lindsay Klodt

Photographic Love Letter on motherhood :My sweet girl, my littlest love, as I sit and try to describe how it feels to be your mother, words are failing me. How do I describe to you how I feel? Which words will be powerful enough to convey what you mean to me? How wonderful you are, how precious, how strong. I will simply write what is in my heart and hope that someday, when you read this, you will feel it in yours.

Your energy and spirit delight and captivate me; I watch you grow, play, sing, laugh, learn, cry, change, evolve, love; and I feel deliriously blessed to have been chosen to be your mother. What an honor, what a gift I’ve been given. When you touch my cheek and press your face to mine, when you whisper “I love you my mama”, when you beg me, giggling like crazy, to kiss you “100 times”, I make a silent promise to always drink you in – every ounce of you, every little bit of the essence of who you are. I see you, I see your light; it is brilliant, and blinding, and magnificent. I dreamed of you, but I never knew, how sweet…how lovely.

~Julia Stotlar | Julia Stotlar Photography

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