I get calls quite often from various organizations asking for donations of photography sessions or packages. I am more than happy to do this! This particular donation made my heart sing to be able to witness a very special family in action. HoustonMama.com is a local website for well…Houston Mamas. You should check it out. They ran a Mother’s Day Contest to find the most amazing Houston mother and wanted me to contribute a package of photography for the winner. I recently had the session and it was a wonderful experience. Please read the following excerpt about the family, as submitted to the contest, by a good friend of theirs.

Good Morning Mama’s,
 
I hope you get the chance to meet my friend Tammy . She
is truly amazing. She and her husband Andrew have four children:
Avery and Ethan are 4 year old twins, Vivian is 3 years old and
little Lauren is 15 months old. Tammy stays at home with their
children. She is also the VP of Programs for The Woodlands Mothers of
Multiples club where she does a fantastic job planning meeting for
the group. She takes her children to most of the groups socials which
are held several times a month. She and Andrews are faithful,
involved members of their church. Tammy is outgoing and friendly
towards people she meets. She makes you feel as if you have known her
for years even if it was the first time you met her. She is always
busy, as you might imagine, but not like most moms would want to be.
Tammy takes Avery and Vivian to weekly therapy appointments for their
Autism. It can be very frustrating trying to find ways to help them
overcome their difficulties when you do not know the exact cause of their illness. She is devoted to her children and will do what she can to get help for them. Tammy takes all the kids everywhere they she goes whether it is to doctors appointments or
social outing. She is one of those moms who loves to be with her
children. While some might think she has her hands full with four
kids, she is content to care for their needs and enjoy every minute
with them that God gives her.

You see, she and Andrew have had to face life and death decisions
regarding Lauren, their beautiful little miracle. At six months
old, doctors had to emergently remove Laurens eye because a dangerous
tumor was wrapped around the nerve in her eye; she was diagnosed with
retinoblastoma. Since this, Tammy has not hesitated to educate
everyone she can about the signs of this awful disease. She has even
helped save two other children’s eyesight thru education. Tammy seeks
out the best medical care for her children and travels from Dallas to
San Antonio to Houston for Lauren’s specialist appointments. Lauren
now has a beautiful prosthetic eye that looks just like her original
eye. She is so beautiful inside and out. Lauren continues monthly
testing and chemotherapy, hospitalizations, daily shots given by her
parents, and lots of blood draws because her doctors discovered that
she also had cancer in her remaining eye. Tammy has cause to be sad,
angry and depressed about her little ones, but she chooses to remain positive and continue to pray for a cure for Avery, Vivian and Lauren. Throughout this, Tammy
has relied on family, friends and her faith to get her thru this
awful time in her families life. She is one of the strongest women I
know. Watching her empowers me to press on thru my seemingly
difficult days with my family. I imagine that I might be a much more
selfish person, had I not watched Tammy endure the sacrifices she has
made for her family. I am blessed to know her and I know that if you
choose her to be your 2008 Houston Mama, your lives will be enriched
too. 
Thank you,
Cynthia

Here are some of my favorites from our morning at Mercer Arboretum: