Last night at the Tractor Tavern we sold out but it was just so much more than that. To see the faces of Pearl Jam fans delighting in the magic of Mike and his guitar standing side by side with Soul parents, my mentors, board members, Soul photographers, volunteers, friends and Llewelyn and Doug was just one of those times when you realize that the love surrounding this project continues to take us into blessed spaces. Mike and Ashley and their musician friends gave of themselves and shared their talent unselfishly and with abandon. The lives that they will touch through the funds raised will be from all walks of life, all faiths, all ethnicity's, uniting them with a legacy project that continues to evolve and grow.

At last nights concert I met two photographers that want to work with us. I am honored to say that our list of shooters contains the very heart of the talent of this city. We are numbering close to 25 now and the names and the experience level are simply many of the stars of the Seattle photographic scene. I feel humbled to count these talented photographers as my friends and their support makes it possible for us to offer our services often at a moments notice. Yesterday both Aaron and Kurt dropped off discs and their images are truly beautiful.

It was such a joy to watch parents last night as the looks on the faces of the parents of the musicians was just so endearing. Mike's dad, Sarah and Julia's parents and Kim's dad we all just so darned proud. They have parented in a way as to foster their children's abilities and now stood with joy on their faces as the crowd roared their approval.

I thank also Sarah and Kari for their efforts in making this a night that will benefit so many. I know that board member and photographer, Randell will provide us with joyful images to remember this event. Hugs to our intern Brenna who came in to hang the Soul photos at the Tractor yesterday afternoon. To the Tractor Tavern we send our very best for their willingness to work with us and for their incredible generosity.


I close in love and peace and with my heart so thankful to Mike and Ashley and their gifted friends, Lynette

Tomorrow is our fund raiser at the Tractor Tavern featuring Mike McCready, one of Seattle's finest guitarists in a show featuring the songs of another of our finest, Jimmy Hendrix. We are blessed to have the support of this Pearl Jam icon and excited that our own Sarah Landa will be singing with her twin sister and Mike. I am very grateful for the fact that Mike and Ashley have so kindly taken on the cause of Soulumination and I am honored to call them friends.

The monies generated from this event are already hard at work as in the past couple of weeks Randell has worked with 2 new families, Aaron and Jon both completed shoots, our newest shooter, Daniel Sheehan worked on Friday for a new family and I worked with my dear friend Austen whose mom has been a big help to Soulumination, plus 2 visits to Children's to complete the work with a new family and my work with my good friends who so sadly lost their lovely teenager. I hope to work with a friend of Margo's family to compile a special Soul album of the photos I have taken of her over the years, in checking my calendar it was just a year ago August 9th that I took the photos of Margo and her sisters on the trampoline here in Seattle and my memories of that evening are so tender and of course now so very precious.

***I still have 9 tickets to tomorrows Zoo Concert featuring Shawn Mullins. I would love to have someone use them and would be happy for a donation to Soul in exchange for them. Let me know if you can use them and I would be happy to share.****

We are planning the December artist sale and I have seen beautiful samples of new products that artists are creating. This show promises to be better than ever so I hope you will attend December 6 and 7th. If you know of anyone who has a product that might fit in please have them call 297-0885 as we might have space for just a couple more artists.

We will make wreaths again this year so I am hoping you will keep us in mind for hydrangeas and lovely cut evergreens as you did last year. As you can tell by the number of shoots we are scheduling, our funding is very important to this legacy work.

Board members Kelly and Brenda are working to give the Soul Legacy Project a boost. We are working with adults but we know that there are many more families out there that would love some beautiful photos. This part of our mission is to provide families with a parent that is at the end of life with photos for their children to treasure. We work with families who have children between birth and 18 and we have seen that this project is very powerful indeed. We just hope to provide the service more broadly in the Seattle area and we want out name out there as a resource for families.

Again, huge thanks to Mary Ann of Paint the Town for her generosity in providing ceramic memories for our families. Charlotte's art work is now at home with Angie and Paul and Angie reports that no one is allowed to touch this masterpiece.

Our good buddy and Paralympic swimmer, Marin Morrison is home until September 1st when she leaves for Beijing. She will be traveling with her family to fulfill her dreams and give us all a huge thrill with her amazing talent and perseverance. As you can see in this photo, I am a groupie. I feel as if I get to be a little part of Olympic stardom by being near Marin when truly I can barely swim. For some of us the light of such talent as Marin's just burns into our own hearts and lets us experience the greatness we would have like to achieve in some way that we can call our own. I close as always in love and peace and with my Olympic size dreams being realized in ways that are truly blessed, Lynette

Sometimes losses come in ways that are never to be understood and this week has been shattered by a loss of a beautiful young friend of mine named Margo Jennings. I met Margo when she was a bit more than a toddler and have had the pleasure of recording her with her charming sisters and parents as she grew into the stunning and happy teen that was lost to this world a week ago. She was not one of our Soul children, as she was healthy and living a life that seemed destined for something great, but that ended with an accident on a swing. As I went to say goodbye tonight I had the honor of holding her parents in my arms and thanking them for letting me know their daughter. I have always admired the way Laura and Mark have parented and tonight was no exception. It was especially hard for me as this family have been supporters of Soulumination from the start but none of us imagined that I would ever serve them through our mission. I send endless love to the entire family, I am so very sorry for this loss.

Margo's dad cried as he said he doesn't know how I do what we do here at Soul, but I have been thinking about it and its not really something that any of us really want to do, its just simply the right thing to do. Honoring these young lives is the least I can do for a community that has long supported my business in photography. The work is hard but it has grace. The work is not a choice really its a calling to try to use a talent in a way that will maybe bring some small peace to shattered lives. Any of our shooters would tell you that the work has a way of giving you a feeling of doing something meaningful, something beyond the normal and into the spiritual.

I also worked again with a new family for Soul at Children's, I met them last Saturday night but returned today to get a few more shots with the siblings of their tiny one. While I was at the hospital I was privileged to listen to a panel of bereaved parents explain their feelings about how one is treated when in the situation of losing a child. I am thankful for this opportunity and feel that I learned more about compassionate work.

I send love and hope across the miles to another dear teen friend of mine, Marin Morrison as she lives out her dream as an Olympic Athlete, representing the United States in swimming at the Paralympics. She safely completed the first leg of her journey to Beijing and you would think I am competing myself for all the excitement it brings me. But I do get to be a little bitty part as when she left she was wearing on of the eye patches that I made for her. I don't know if she noticed that on one of them I signed the inside and drew a little heart as I couldn't resist letting her know that I think she is truly a hero.

I want to thank my dear friend Kurt Smith for accompanying me tonight. His support and expertise are such a gift to my work. I thank him and I close tonight in love and peace and sharing the prayer he sent me. Reading it and thinking about the work of Soul has brought some needed comfort:


Prayer of Compassion
May any spiritual merit that I obtain
Through my devotion to the Way
Be dedicated to relieving the suffering
Of all living beings without exception.
May I be the doctor and the medicine
And may I be the nurse
For all sick beings in the world
Until everyone is healed.
May I fall as rain of food and drink
To clear away the pain of thirst and hunger.
And during times of famine
May I change myself into food and drink.
May I become an inexhaustible treasure
For those who are poor and destitute.
May I turn into all things that they could need
And may these be placed close by them.
May my bodily powers and all my acts
Of goodness in the past, present and future
Be offered without remorse
To the well being of the world.
May I be a protector for those without support,
A guide for all travelers on the Way.
May I be a bridge, a raft and a boat
For all those who wish to cross the water.
May I be the shore for those adrift,
A light for those in darkness.
May I be a home for the homeless
And a servant for the world.
May I act as the mighty earth,
Or like the free and open skies,
To support and provide the space
Whereby I and all others may grow.
And until they pass away,
May I also be the source of life
For all the realms of varied beings
That reach out unto the end of space.
~ Shantideva (India, 8th Century C.E.) ~

Last night after a beautiful wedding in the Arboretum, I had a new family to work with at Children's. I got to work with a nurse that is so helpful in the NICU and the family was so gracious and kind. Its hard when I feel like I am saying hello and goodbye all in one visit, but the tiny one was so cute and so obviously loved. As I left I popped down to the SCCA ward and as I walked down the hall I saw Marin's mom standing outside her door with the biggest grin on her face. I was thrilled to say hey to Marin and wish her well as the first stage in her trip to Beijing is scheduled for this Wednesday so please keep her in your heart as she is a swimming champion beyond anything I have ever met and she so deserves this chance to compete. See Marin pictured here today with her dad in a photo taken during my visit a week ago Sunday. You may have seen a recent story on KOMO 4 news about Marin and if you missed it, I found it on their website and it is truly beautiful.

Today I was honored to attend a brunch after the Danskin Triatholon in honor of my friend and inspiration for the Legacy part of Soulumination, Julie Becker. It was so amazing to see how many of her friends participated, including her sister Sandy, who has been such a big supporter of this expansion of Soulumination as well as our beloved board members, Brenda and Kelly. I thank Kelly for her very generous donation to the work of Soul as she handed me the money we had all given to pay for our portion of the meal. I share a photos of myself with Sandy, Brenda and Kelly from this lovely brunch.

I want to thank Randell for her hard work the past days, she has completed 2 shoots plus went back to one of the families to take photos when a sibling arrived in Seattle. Big hugs to all our shooters, especially Sandy who also completed a shoot this past week.


Doug and I were guests for a lovely meal at the home of Charlotte and family on Friday and we just had a grand old time. We worked with Cha's sister Maddie to create the first plate donated by Paint the Town. It was such a great activity with board member Matt and his lovely wife Celina joining right in the fun. Charlotte's nurse that night was a friend so it was just a sparkling evening. Paul, Charlotte's dad, sent me photos of this little creative moment that I share with you. Happy birthday to my dear friend and super Soul mom of Maddie and Charlotte: Angie, we love you.


This week was busy and full of friendship, I also got to take shots of our family friend Austen in all her bald glory. Austen lived near us on Capitol Hill and is a dear and treasured friend of my daughters. Her mom June created the lovely video slide show last year for Soulumination and is pictured with her stunning daughter. Austen was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma a few months back and I am thrilled to my toes to tell you that this amazing woman is now heading back to college in Florida where she is a stellar goalie for her soccer team. She is through with treatment and should be just fine to live out a long life.

I close in love and peace, Lynette

Just a quick update to ask you to keep our families in your hearts. I got word that my dear friends in New Jersey, the ten Berge family are needing our best hopes as Elise seems to be tiring of the battle with Tay Sachs disease. I met Elise when in New York for the Today show and I treasure the friendship that I have built with her family and care givers. She is pictured here today from the shoot at our first meeting. Also lets hold big hopes that my pal Marin keeps making good progress as well as dear Charlotte. I will see Cha Cha on Friday and hopefully take some new photos for her family.

I need your help with selling some tickets that I bought for my family and friends before realizing that Mike and Ashley were going to organize our upcoming fund raiser at The Tractor Tavern. I have 9 tickets to the last Zoo Tunes concert featuring Shawn Mullins. The show is at 6 with gates opening at 5 . I would love to sell them. I paid $18 each and it would be great to recoup that money if you know of anyone who would like tickets send them my way. They can email and I will get right back to them-----lynette@soulumination.org.

I am so proud and thankful to announce that Soulumination will be partnering with Paint the Town, where my daughter Llewelyn is currently employed. You might recall that Marin and I painted a mug at the hospital for her mom for Mother's Day. The nurses liked the idea so much that they and Palliative Care did a plate with one of our recent Soul children. With the help of Llewelyn in bringing us all together, Paint the Town is now offering to join us in providing this new type of legacy. I thank Mary Ann, the owner of Paint the Town from the bottom of my heart and we will link them to my mentor Michelle to offer this to families.

Thanks to board members Brenda and Kelly for organizing a little meeting yesterday with Randell and I to really push forward our adult legacy work. We now have some clear guidelines for reaching out to the hospice community. Randell was also on her way to work with a new Soul family.

I thank Sharlane for trying to work with a new family yesterday at Children's. There were some holdups but Sharlane was able to work with the child and I sincerely thank her for her efforts in trying to make this happen.

I close in love and peace and with such pride in Llewelyn for moving us forward in our mission, Lynette

This will have to be quick as I have an early start to my day tomorrow and need to get at some sleep as its been a very busy week and I leave early in the morning for a mushrooming expedition in the Cascades. It will be such a much needed break from the rush of a busy season.

Hugs to my friends from Japan who have just given another donation from their yearly lemonade stand. These vivacious twins have each year taken time from their busy schedule in their Seattle visit to raise funds for the work of Soulumination. We couldn't be more thankful for their efforts.

Yesterday Sarah and I worked at the wedding of the daughter of a friend and supporter of Soulumination and we had such a lovely time. The wedding was stunning even if we did have a lot of rain on a garden wedding--of course the rain stopped just long enough for the happy to couple to say their vows in the stunning Dunn Gardens. As we were leaving the reception I noticed that I had missed calls from a board member. I talked to her and learned that my friend and renowned swimmer, Marin was in Children's Hospital yet again. This morning I got to visit Marin and her dad was kind enough to use my camera to capture this champion and I while she is wearing her newest eye patch that I created after hearing the news of yet more issues surrounding her tumor. Marin had asked for red, white and blue eye patches a few weeks back and since I had sewn the other fashionable ones it was up to me to get the job done in short order. So around midnight I enjoyed watching the amazing US swimmers and thought of Marin and stitched up a couple custom patches. Please keep Marin in your hearts and prayers as she is one valiant and talented woman. We all are hoping that this young swimmer will get to represent the USA in the Paralympics in Beijing.

While visiting Children's I got to see our redheaded buddy, Claire. She looks marvelous and has such spunk. She should be home soon and I look forward to updating their photos and seeing her crazy brothers.

I want to thank board member and talented photographer, Randell for her recent shoot at Children's hospital. She had short notice but graciously has used her skills to record another beautiful baby. We had word of a shoot for a new adult shoot that Sarah will work to set up tomorrow. This week I will meet with board members Randell, Kelly and Brenda to work on ideas for expanding our work with adults.

The show at the Tractor is nearly sold out so don't miss this fun event. I am also excited to say that Kari is working with us on the artist sale and it promises to be better than ever. We are planning the sale for the first week in December. Now to bed with warm thoughts for Marin and my friends Elise and Charlotte who have had some rough patches lately. In love and peace, Lynette

I am in the middle of my busiest weeks of the summer and enjoying the amazing weddings and the returning family clients I am seeing daily. I had some time with dear and trusted friends at the wedding on Saturday and it was great to have their loving wisdom to guide me to a more stable place. There are times when working in such a personal field as photography for clients that I lose my confidence, but with such wise people to share my thoughts I am blessed to find some balance.

At last nights wedding Sarah and I met a grandmother in the last few minutes of the evening that really moved both of us. We will be working through Soulumination with her daughter and granddaughter and it will be an honor to be of some small service to such a family. It seems that every day some connection through my work life leads us to be of service through Soul. Before we arrived at yesterdays wedding I commented to Sarah that the mother of the bride had been one of the very first people to donate to Soul, even before our tax exempt status was complete. It touches my heart to think that we can be of service to one of her dear friends.

Just minutes ago I received an email that will lead us to working with a man and his family that are here from Australia. I wish to thank one very caring and amazing doctor for connecting us and I hope she knows that her pioneering work is a gift to this world.

Today is my one day off in two weeks and our board president Lori Sawyer will be coming in for a little meeting, followed by drop offs at the printers, some bookwork and finally the evening should wrap up beautifully with Llewelyn and her boyfriend Mike coming over for dinner. I love to cook with the local fresh vegetables and look forward to a couple of quite hours just preparing food for my family. I have been in daily touch with McKenzie as it was her 24th birthday. Besides taking care of her two beloved cats shown here today, she is now mothering a baby burrowing owl that showed up on her porch in Chico. McKenzie will be home soon for a nice long visit before her big move to Australia and you can imagine just how excited both Doug and I are to be having her home for a bit.

While Sarah was out of town last week we received calls about 2 new families for Soul and Tara was busy photographing a two year olds special birthday party at Children's Hospital. I will be taking some updated photos of our dear friend Charlotte very soon. Please keep Charlotte in your hearts as her family is currently waiting on some test results. We also said goodbye to our amazing summer intern, Zoie. She was a gem and we are gifting her with senior photos that Sarah and I will take in the next month or two. We so hope that Zoie will stay in touch and be a continuing part of our work. We thank TIPS for a fourth year of great intern help.

Lastly, I hope you are going to buy your tickets to the fund raiser at the Tractor Tavern very soon. From the response I think it will sell out shortly which would be so great since its my goal to show Mike and Ashley that we are so appreciative of their generosity and that we take this very seriously. It seems so touching to me that such a revered local talent is willing to give such a gift to our mission. In love and peace, Lynette