moma mini.

happy mother's day to my one and only mom.

i've been blessed with many ridiculously awesome women in my life, 

but only 1 rad moma.

pre-kids and pre-husband.

i seriously love this picture.

the hot blond with the camera.

interestingly enough i carry a bulky camera around my neck.

i was the second baby girl, but you can tell my mom adores me just the same.

duh.

fresh baby with a fresh moma of II.

i love that she dressed up with us and went all out.

nothing like a Wizard of Oz themed Halloween.

and nothing short of creative and resourceful as she dyed my gym shoes and 

i believe made lea's wicked witch of the east outfit as well.

just keep looking... mom doesn't really age.

dear lord, please send me these genes.

(although Paisley pointed out the stripes on my head... don't know if i have them...)

loooooved vacations at the beach!

as a little tyke, mom let me choose my own outfits to foster independence and creativity.

and she never told me i had to be a certain way.

or dress a certain way.

or act a certain way.

just be you.

i appreciate that. even when in my awkward stage(s...) i never really questioned my awkward-ness or quirkiness until much later in life (like now) when I could give a hoot less.

thanks to mom i was encouraged to make my own decisions 

even if it meant wearing sunglasses in your junior year of high school photo (see above).

i don't think mom minded. she prolly just showed people and framed it and said 

"well, that's just caren"

family snap shot... down memory lane. 

i'm not really sure how people say lea and i look alike.

as you can see... lea favors dad, and i favor mom.

*photo credit by loft3pd

yep still little aging.

nice work.

and a recent shot from our wedding.

i was so lucky to have mom help plan. 

we have the same mind-set in the planning/organization department and she understood my vision

so, uh, delegating stuff was not difficult. 

we both like to write, plan and create.

Mom,

thanks for EVERYTHING you do and have done for me.

and lea.

and dad.

and our little families.

and your fams.

thank you for your unending support. thank you for letting me speak my mind (even if you disagree).

thank you for fostering creativity. thank you for encouraging me to make things happen.

cheering us on at sports.

tutoring me in math in high school and college even when i got angry and threw my book across the room multiple times and wanted to curse the teachers.

...(and wait... all subjects besides art? haha) ok kidding, but you get the idea.

for letting me change the spelling of my name from K to C.

for pushing me to follow what i wanted in life and make a plan.

for your enthusiasm when i started college away and moved to new york 

even when i couldn't keep it together at the airport. 

so clearly i could go on.

thank you for helping to shape who i am today.

i hope i can fill some shoes for nugget.

(luckily my feet are small so fitting into shoes is not usually a problem...)

xox