Valentine's Heart for Charity 2011

It's that time of year again! I love giving to this charity! I can't imagine how hard the mission is to provide clean water for people that don't have any. I love being able to help in the little ways that I can and I hope you find it a blessing to do so as well. I am running a promotion to use my God-given talents to bless this village. Please watch the video!

charity: water 2010 September Campaign: Clean Water for the Bayaka from charity: water on Vimeo.

My campaign goal is $500 and I am doing a couple of great things to raise money for this effort and am using Valentine's Day as a springboard! First, I customized a PERFECT Valentine's Day card that you can send to your family and friends or use for trading at school! Send me a picture of your child (or children) and I can pop your picture in the card and send it back to you. It will be ready for you to take to your favorite processing lab for prints! I will do some minor editing to the image you send me and I can also make the image black and white at your request. Here are a couple of versions I've created from my own pictures to give you an idea:





I love these cards! You may not be able to see the details (like pink polka dots) on your computer screen, but they are super cute! What is shown is a 5x7 size. You may request a 4x6 size instead of a 5x7--the elements will be smaller. I am doing this service for FREE! In return, please help me raise money for building water wells. Donate whatever amount you want HERE and send your child's picture to jholub@capturingcreations.com(no minimum required).

Another way I'd like to use my talents to bless is by offering Valentine's Day mini sessions! The sessions will be held at Old Town Spring on Saturday, January 22nd. Here's a preview!

This picture was taken at Mercer Arboretum, but I plan on using vintage processing on these sessions, which makes Old Town Spring the perfect location!

Only 5 time slots are available!

Valentine's Day mini-sessions are 50% off the regular price, so $75, and you will receive a free *matboard mounted* 8x10.

Valentine's Date mini-sessions are new for this year! Grab a boyfriend or girlfriend and combine your sessions to one slot for a fee of $80 ($40 each)! You will receive 2 regular 8x10 prints.

With both types of sessions, all proceeds will go to the charity! Please pay your session fee(s) HERE to get started and reserve your slot now! Session times are 12:00, 12:30, 1:00, 1:30, and 2:00. You may email me your desired time choice or indicate your desired time in the comments section of your donation. Hurry! If you would like to do the mini-session, but your busy schedule will not allow you to do it on the 22nd, that is perfectly fine, we can find a day that works for you. Donate before Friday the 21st and please keep in mind that in your case, I can't guarantee you'll have your pictures back by or before Valentine's day.

Thank you so much if you decide to donate for any and all reasons. Donating for the awesome cards, the cool vintage sessions, or for no reason other than to help raise money for water wells is a great thing, and I hope and pray you will feel blessed. $1, $5, $10 would help anybody--every little bit counts. $20 will give 1 person clean water for 20 years! That's amazing. Please share your Valentine's Heart with this village of people and give a great gift of clean water. Thank you!! :)

Happy Birthday, Jesus! Happy New Year! ..and it's already Valentine's Out!

Well, it has been another full year and a of course, everyone has made their resolutions...except me! I think I forgot...Lol! In my mind, my resolution was the same as last year: get closer to God, dive in the Word, and in general, learn to love more. So then, I think that's pretty good! I think that if I accomplish that, my choices this year will be affected for the good, so that's a very good thing! ;)

Our family had a BLAST this past holiday season. I don't know where rules are created, but I surely always seem to miss the memo...haha! Don't get me wrong, I love rules that are there to serve, but sometimes unspoken rules can get in the way. Last year I saw a very cool Christmas tree--one that I'll never forget. It had such a profound effect on me that I decided when I saw it that our family will forever change the way we celebrate Christmas. The Christmas tree was themed "Happy Birthday, Jesus!". It was decorated with party hats and streamers, ribbons and gifts...beautiful pinks, purples, and greens. It was full of festivity, it was an amazing sight, and I loved it! It was so nicely done (you could tell someone had REALLY worked hard on this tree), and for me, it obviously caught the essence of what Christmas was always meant to be--a celebration of the birth of
Christ. I loved it so much that I decided that I wanted our family to celebrate Christmas with a birthday party for Jesus, and we did. It was our first year, and it was a lot of fun, and I'm sure every year will get even better. My daughter really, really understood why we were celebrating and when asked about what Christmas is, she always responded, "Jesus's birthday!", which really is our goal as parents. We do talk about Santa (for those that are wondering), and we had a great time with the Santa gifts, but our joy came from the celebration of a wonderful day, which made it so much more special than we have ever experienced before.
I did decorate the house with streamer and even made a "Happy Birthday Jesus" wreath. I bought a helium balloon kit so we could have fresh balloons on Christmas morning. It was so fun to plan! I've been very fond of the pink and purple ornaments and always wondered to myself, "Who buys those? Who has a tree like that? They must have 2 or 3 trees..." I was very surprised to find a lot of great birthday gift themed ornaments at Hobby Lobby and they even carried "Happy Birthday, Jesus" napkins and a table centerpiece. I did have the most trouble finding dishes (I ended up using paper plates--oh well, it's a birthday party!) and a tablecloth--everything was red or green or white.

Here some pictures of the tree when it first went up, before all of the rest of the decorations, and of course, the token "kids in front of the tree" shot. At least my son is pointing fun at me. I love this picture--totally shows their personalities.



Here's one on Christmas morning--you can see her a little blurry by the tree...she just woke up and this is in the "magic" of the reveal! Such a sweet time!



If I blog more often, I won't have sooo much to talk about each time (or be behind for that matter)! I am doing more on Flickr, so make sure to visit my photostream and definitely have always been active on my Facebook page, so make sure to "Like" it! I am now booking springtime photos and am excited to announce some vintage custom photo shoots. Please email me with more info at jholub@capturingcreations.com or visit my website to send me a message.

Valentines Heart for Charity mini-sessions will also be coming up--please stay tuned here and on my Facebook page for sure! Valentine vintage processing and outdoor fun is in store for this year! Proceeds will go towards providing money for water wells in third world countries. Dates soon to be announced; I'm looking forward to it! Start your own charity at mycharitywater.org. See you soon!

Transformation Essay Winner!

Announcing our winner for the Transformation Essay!
April from Magnolia writes:

The most important transformation in my life occurred on December 9, 2004 when I realized that I was pregnant with my first child at the age of 31. My husband and I had been married for 8 years and I was perfectly happy with my life. I am a very giving person, I think my friends and family would agree with that, but when it came to the decision of having a child, I very selfishly decided that I did not want to be a mom. I was happy with sleeping in on the weekends, not having to worry about a little person who would demand all of my time or deal with the financial burden. I liked my designer handbags and being able to go shopping when I wanted. My husband kept telling me that we needed to pray about it but I did not want to pray about it. I had it all figured out. I was going to do things my way and on my terms. Deep down, I wrestled with the guilt that came with that decision. I would hear stories of other women that so desperately wanted a child and here I was, just brushing motherhood so easily aside. I would just bury my guilt and carry on, happy with my decision. I justified my decision usually by convincing myself that I would not make a good mother anyway.

On December 9, 2004 I took a pregnancy test and I have never been so terrified in my entire life as I was when that tiny little screen flashed the word "Pregnant". My husband, bless his heart, he called every person we knew. I have never seen him happier. His happiness eased some of my fears and my panic but I did not know how I was going to deal with the pressures of motherhood. I have to admit that I was a little annoyed at God. Wasn't it MY decision not to have children?

On July 15, 2005 at 5:03 p.m., I was blessed with the most beautiful thing I have ever laid eyes. CW came into our lives almost exactly 5 months after my mother lost her younger brother and my grandmother lost her youngest son in a motorcycle accident. CW not only blessed my husband and I but he blessed our entire family. He not only transformed me as a person and as a woman but he transformed our entire family. I know that when my grandmother held CW, it helped to ease some of the pain she felt for her loss and gave her hope. CW was a blessing from God in so many ways. The only way that I can describe the love that a mother feels for her child is that I don't think I ever truly knew the meaning of the word L-O-V-E until I had CW.

I now buy my handbags at Target after my old one is falling apart. I love buying CW a new outfit and could care less about going shopping for myself. God blessed me with the ultimate gift and I thank Him every day for showing me humility and teaching me that He is in control and that I should always rely on His grace and His love.

Thank you for allowing me to share my personal and spiritual story of transformation.

Such a great story of love and how God shows He truly is in control. I appreciate the honesty in being "a little annoyed at God". After all, so many of us feel that way when things don't go OUR way (in the way that we think they should). What I have learned is to trust God, and in Him, I always have hope. I believe April experienced Romans 12:2:

"Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will."

Great job, April! You will receive a free session and package, CONGRATULATIONS!


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