Let's give Brenda & family a lasting memory!

Many of us were shocked and heartbroken after learning that our dear friend Brenda was diagnosed with ALS, a degenerative disease which robs the body of its function. A disease that has already robbed, and will continue to rob, Brenda and her family of so many other things too.

But one thing that ALS cannot steal from Brenda and her family is the support and love from all of us. We have all wondered, and in some cases directly asked, how we can support Brenda and her family during this time. While Brenda has provided some fantastic ideas (audiobooks, sending her life updates, yummy food, etc.) there is one more that we would like to add to that list and for which Brenda would never ask herself; a family and lifestyle photo session. A session that will provide her and her family with a fun, joyous experience and lasting memories. What a wonderful holiday gift this can be, from us all!

Fortunately, the arrangements for this photo session have actually already been made so nothing is needed on that front! No surprise that Brenda has made fantastic friends everywhere she goes, all over the world, and with everything she does. And no surprise that among her friends is a pretty phenomenal photographer, Betsy McCue Gibson of Betsy McCue Pictures (I'm sure some of you know Betsy as well!) Brenda and Betsy became friends and colleagues through the world of weddings, and Betsy was actually able to photograph a lifestyle session for Brenda and Dayton years ago when they all still lived in San Diego. Fortunately, the stars have aligned for Betsy to fly out at the beginning of December to photograph Brenda and her family once again.

So where do you come in and how can you be of help to make this happen for our favorite gal pal? If you are able, please consider pitching in to cover Betsy's costs for making this happen. She is very graciously gifting much of the session to Brenda and Dayton, but will have to pass along her travel costs and the hard costs she incurs on product (album and/or prints) that Brenda and Dayton will be ordering. To be fully transparent about why we are hoping to raise $1,800 here is the break-down of that total:

Any sized donation that is comfortable for you will be very much appreciated! If a monetary donation is too much or you prefer to show support and love in any of the other ways in which Brenda has mentioned previously (life updates, audiobooks, yummy food, etc.) then please continue to do so!

If by chance we surpass our goal, then rest assured that extra money will be put to good use for Brenda and Dayton. As many of you are aware, ALS is expensive and much of the costs they are incurring at this time are out-of-pocket. They have not asked for a dime, nor would they. But for those of you who do not know, I've been told and read that the average annual cost of care for ALS is $145,000. So I'll repeat it again, that ANY extra money that happens to be raised beyond our goal for gifting this photo shoot to Brenda and Dayton will be put to very, very good use.

Lastly, so no one is worried, this was all posted with Brenda's (probably reluctant although appreciative) permission. :)