Roberta + Claudia + Cloe

A wonderful client of mine, Karen (stay tuned for her wedding pictures in August) nominated Roberta and her two daughters for my free photo session contest. It was a joy to meet them. The two girls were so well behaved, it was unbelievable. I asked Roberta if she would take my son for a couple months to "train" him, but I think she has plenty on her plate as it is.

Here are some excerpts from Karen's nomination:

"First I want to say that attitude is 99% what makes life as you see it. Now for my nomination, my closest friend in the entire world, Roberta.

We became friends a long time ago when we both got hired into Consumers Energy at the same time. In the years since then we've become very close. She grew up in a rural area and went through so many tough things in her family life. She managed to get through school and during highschool her best friend was killed in an auto accident. She went on to college but wasn't able to finish at the time. She had to start working 2 jobs to pay her bills.

We became pregnant at the same time. She miscarried while I delivered my youngest. She was there for me anyway. She then had twins just over a year later. One was perfectly healthy and the other was born with a rare genetic disorder known as Alagille Syndrome. Right before her twins were born her father passed away suddenly. That was the one thing that devastated her. He was so excited to see her kids and she was only a few weeks away from delivering. Due to her daughters illness she had to resign from her job to care for her medical needs. She ended up filing bankruptcy when financial issues set in and she lost her house...all because she needed to care for her children. She really did lose everything. She never took the 'Why did God do this to me' route. She picked up all she had, went back to school for nuclear medicine and had to do a 40 hour per week unpaid internship while providing for her children as a single mother. She graduated with her degree and started her first job in her field of study in May 2008.

She was also a pivotal person during some difficult times in my life as well. She took me and my three kids into her teeny two bedroom trailer and was my only shoulder to lean on. That meant more to me then words will ever be able to say. Through it all she is still a very strong person. It's very hard on her but she only says that in the end it will all pay off, and it's starting too. Her life is all about her attitude."

Roberta, you inspire me and your two beautiful daughters are so lucky to call you mom!

Here's a few more of my favorites from their session.