NEVER FORGET

Foolish thinking this morning. I felt like a might have a bad day because my mood was just off. I got an e-mail from Heidi and Dave who are in Colorado. Heidi was asked to speak at a "Lie Down" at the State capitol. WOW...what a powerful moment the day must hold. Here I am walking around in the beautiful sunshine, finding something to complain about. In Colorado, all they can think about today is all the loss that happened 10 years ago and it still feels like it happened yesterday. My thoughts are with Columbine today and my prayers go out to all those still mending their hearts from all the loss. I will never forget them, and I hope this reminds all of you out there.

Remember the boy hanging out of the window on the live coverage? Dawn Anna is one of the most beautiful souls I have ever met. Because of her loss of her daughter Lauren, each day when I drop Jalena off at school, we give each other the sign for "I Love You". Just as Dawn Anna and Lauren did on that horrific day. We can't ignore what happened because it could happen in any one of our schools on any given day. I don't mean this to bring the fear into our lives, just to open our eyes.This shot was taken on the day of the memorial!

Too Many Gun Deaths

As many of you know I have been a part of an amazing journey with my dear friend Heidi Yewman. She is writing an incredible book I have spoken of before about gun deaths. You have to go check out her site. I know that this is a highly debated topic and this book isn't pro or anti gun. Heidi always likes to say that she is "anti-people dying from guns". We had the pleasure of interviewing a man that lost his son in the Columbine Masacre. His story was the first that Heidi ever told me about and in an instant I got a vision of a picture for the book. Although this isn't the image that we will probably be used in the book I still wanted to share it. This amazing man is a advocate against guns and he speaks on many occasions, sharing his loss with the world....all the while wearing his son's shoes that he was wearing when he was murdered. Intense, right? Well, this image for me is intense as well. His son's spirit is with him everytime he speaks and it was interesting how there is a reflection behind him.....Hearing just one of these stories is going to change the way you view guns and I thank the 19 brave people that have shared a glimpse into their painfully shattered lives to bring awareness to the rest of us. There loved one's spirits live on and these stories matter...we will never forget.....
Just a quick poem that came to me as I was working on these photos.....
If Shoes could talk...
I'm proud of every step that you've taken in my shoes. I thank you for continuing my journey that was laid out before me. No one else could wear the heaviness of these shoes. I admire your strength, courage and determination. Your shoes always seemed so large to fill, but look, we're exactly the same size now.