I sat down to post the annual Year in Review slideshow, but instead, I'm finding my mind is still swirling from what happened yesterday. I need to explain to you just how grateful my heart is on this first day of 2012. As some of you may have seen on my Facebook page, I spent the very last day of 2011 worried sick over my baby sister in the hospital. She had been complaining of a pain in her leg since her trip to New York earlier in Dec. and she called me early yesterday morning saying she had just blacked out in her hallway. My first thought was a blood clot...and then immediately, the fear of a pulmonary embolism. [I want to pause right here and thank someone very special--she will know who she is--for unknowingly giving me a key bit of knowledge about this very dangerous condition and possibly helping to save my sister's life. Thank you and my heart was very much with you during this holiday season.] 

My first words were, "We're going to the hospital..NOW!"

As she was going through the barrage of tests with so many unanswered questions and the very real fear that my sister could die, all I could think was how desperately I wanted the gift of another year with my sister. Just the day before, she and I watched this and marveled over his courage and peaceful outlook on life and death. While we were waiting in the hospital, we read this and this, pleased with how many of those we had done and vowing to check off the rest this year. 

Turns out, she did indeed have a blood clot in her leg, but thank goodness her lungs were clear!!! She has started treatment, but now we have to figure out why the clot formed so we can keep it from happening again. She is so young and a very healthy, non-smoking young woman...this kind of thing just doesn't make sense for her. As I'm writing this, I am actually glad to share this story with you in the hopes that should you or someone you know experience symptoms of DVT or a pulmonary embolism, you'll know to get immediate medical attention.

2011 was one of the busiest years I can recall in a long time and I know that busy=blessed. I had the privilege of meeting and/or working with hundreds families and photographers from all over the world. (It's funny how small my world has become thanks to Facebook ;-). However, to be honest right now, when I think back over the year as a whole, it's pretty much a blur to me--the only thing I can really remember is yesterday.

But I feel it's important to always acknowledge and thank the people who allow me into their lives and trust me photograph their most important family moments. I want to remind them how beautiful they are...how special their connections are...what a gift their families are. So, like I've done every year since 2007, I pulled just one image from each session to create the 2011 Year in Review... 

(Google Reader users: you'll need to click THIS LINK to see). 

My sister, my mom, and I all had separate plans for New Year's Eve yesterday, but all of our families ended up at my house last night. I couldn't have asked for a more beautiful evening...cooking up an impromptu batch of homemade chili, all of us watching the 360º of fireworks in the horizon at midnight, listening to "Auld Lang Syne" on the iPod, toasting in paper cups, ringing in 2012 together. Grateful.

[p.s. Clients: I sent out the details on the 2011 Pinkle's Pic of the Year contest to you all. If you had a session with me in 2011 of any kind and did not get this info, let me know ASAP so I can get you up to speed.]

You know that feeling when you just click with someone? Well, she and I do. And I like that. A lot. So grateful to know her and her bright, enthusiastic, energetic, sparkling family! (But, she better watch out because I'm going to come by and steal that umbrella of hers--and possibly her shoes, too--in the middle of the night...I do know where she lives ;-)

I've known Carrie online for quite sometime now (actually, she snuck in a session with me a couple of years ago and managed NOT to tell me that we knew each other online ;-) until after the fact. I had the privilege of getting to know her even more when she attended a workshop last year and we've been planning this family session almost since then. I mean, a LOT of planning. She did an amazing job of pulling together some beautiful clothes for everyone and we had scored a DREAM location that was halfway between her house and mine. The day of, I drove out with my mom (aka - photo assistant). The sunrise was beautiful and the weather wasn't nearly as hot as it had been. Everything was perfect. Except...

Oh, bless her little heart. I swear no matter what we did, nothing seemed to make her happy. Maybe she was tired, maybe she was teething, maybe it was just Murphy's Law. We had all driven all this way to make this session happen and I gotta say, I was truly worried we weren't going to be able to pull it off.

Somehow we managed. I think it mostly had to do with Carrie's wonderful sense of humor and how she embraces motherhood and all that comes with it so gracefully. Those girls of hers are truly beautiful and when we finally discovered the secret to happiness (banging pots and pans in the kitchen), all was right with the world.

Carrie...I totally enjoyed our adventure that day and I'm so glad to know you!

I have completely enjoyed my little break so far, hanging out with my kiddos and doing all of these holiday-like things with them each day (in spite of being sick). It has been so nice to get offline and off the computer and out of packing tape to play board games, watch movies, look at Christmas lights, snuggle, laugh, bake sweets, and soak up every thing I missed while I was caught up in the holiday photography whirlwind.

Pinkle Toes Photography will continue to be closed until January 9th (well, still got some sessions and still have workshops coming up), but please be patient as e-mails, facebook messages, and phone calls will likely not be returned until after the 9th.

Clients...I will be sending you the details of the 2011 Pinkle's Pic of the Year contest. Changing things up this year to make it more exciting and the prize is even bigger! Be on the lookout in your e-mail next week and if you don't get something by the 1st, let me know!!!!

I will try to catch up on the blog sometime next year (ha!) to share all of the incredible holiday family sessions and beautiful cards from this year. I have so enjoyed getting all of your cards in the mail!!! Gosh, there are a lot of beautiful happy families out there and that make my heart happy. Meanwhile, if you didn't get a copy yet, here's a peek at our holiday card this year:

I hope you ALL have a WONDERFUL holiday season and are spending lots and lots of time with the ones you love, enjoying old traditions and creating new memories. 

Much love,

Michele

Our first scheduled date got delayed thanks to a horrible bathtub mishap that led to a severely busted lip and the potential loss of teeth - I was just as scared as Kristin (also a photographer ;-) for her poor baby girl having just been through a bathtub mishap with one of my kids this summer (that one ended up with stitches). But she pulled through with flying colors and we were able to have our session on a glorious Austin fall day in a GLORIOUS Austin home!!! 

Sometimes, I have to work really hard to eek out smiles from people, but I'm going to let you in on a little secret here: not the case with these guys. I truly believe when happiness comes from the inside, you can't help but to grin from ear to ear. I also can't help but to grin from ear to ear when I look through their pics.