Monthly Archives: October 2009

Feed the Hungry Can Contest – The Results

Mom Blogging:

Our Feed the Hungry Can Contest has ended, and we are so grateful to all of you who turned in cans and other non-perishable food to be donated to our local food pantry.  The need is so great, especially now with many people unemployed or under-employed in this economy, and the food pantry has been getting more demand than they can meet.  It is wonderful that all of you who turned in grocery store gift cards, cans, and other foods are making a difference for the poor in our area!

This was not only a wonderful way to help the hungry in our community, but it was also a project that our oldest son got very excited about and involved in.  He helped stack and count cans, went can shopping with the gift cards to get more non-perishable food, and would ask all the time if any more food came in.  This was not just a contest, but also an important lesson for a young boy about being grateful for what you have and sharing those blessings with others.  As a mom, I am so proud of my son and the heart he showed in all of this.  It makes me very happy that our contest was a success!

In the past 4 weeks, we collected a total of TWO HUNDRED AND THIRTY ONE food items that we will be taking to the food pantry!  We had 188 cans of food, 10 boxes of pasta, 8 jars of peanut butter (with 1 jar of jelly!), 5 boxes of rice, 4 boxes of mac and cheese, 3 boxes of cereal, and a variety of other foods as well!

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And now to announce the winner…

Jamie and Tristan turned in one hundred and one cans and are the WINNERS of our contest!  They have won a free session that they can use any time before February 1st and a free 8×10 gallery wrap from that session, a value of over $200!  When they have their session, any profits from prints or products that are ordered will be donated to Feeding America, the nation’s leading domestic hunger-relief charity.  Congratulations Jamie and Tristan, and thank you for all of the cans!

And everyone who participated received .40¢ in credit for every item donated which can be used toward any session or product.  We have given away almost $100 in gift cards from this contest!

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Once again, to everyone who was a part of this, we want to send you a big…

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Here we are doing our final count:

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Some of you have asked if you can still turn in food or grocery gift cards even though the contest has ended.  The answer is YES, OF COURSE!  We donate food to the local food pantry almost every week and would be happy to drop off any of your donations as well.  In fact, our son’s class is now having a canned food drive and is collecting cans and non-perishable food items from now until mid-December!  If you didn’t get a chance to turn in any food yet, you can still do so now!

Kerri and Andy’s Ybor Engagement Session

Dad loved Kerri and Andy!  They told him they were a fun couple and they did not disappoint.  On Monday morning dad met them in Ybor for their engagement session.  Kerri and Andy were a blast to hang out with and dad had a great time!  Now he cannot wait for their wedding in December!  Kerri and Andy, thanks for such an awesome session and for making time on your way to the airport.

Mom saw this picture and couldn’t understand why one woman would have so many white bras, and why she’d wash them all at once.  Dad had to explain to her that it was there for National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.  Mom is just glad dad didn’t make Kerri and Adam climb up there for some silly picture!  That is definitely something dad would do!

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Nicole and Shane’s wedding at the Lakewood Ranch Golf and Country Club

Sunday was Nicole and Shane’s wedding day!  Their ceremony was held at The Lake Club in Lakewood Ranch and the reception was at the Lakewood Ranch Golf and Country Club.  Both are beautiful locations.  Dad said that everyone at the wedding was really nice and he enjoyed celebrating with all of them.  The guests had so much fun and the party went on well past midnight!  Nicole and Shane are wonderful together and have lots of happiness to look forward to in their future.  Congratulations newlyweds, and thanks for having dad there to share in your day!

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The reception was decorated with chocolate browns and oranges to give it the look of fall.  It was very pretty.

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The place card trees:

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Sabrina and Rustie’s Wedding at the Don Vicente

In January dad photographed Sabrina and Rustie’s engagement session in Tampa.  They had a beautiful wedding on Saturday at the Don Vicente de Ybor.  The couple had Staci of Unique Event Design as their coordinator and she did a great job pulling everything together.  Hair and makeup was done by Wilson of Shear Artist, the florist was Forever Flowers, and at the reception linens were from Connie Duglin and the cake was made by Chef Michael of Let Them Eat Cake.

Sabrina’s shoes were gorgeous and dad thought it was a fun coincidence that the bride from the wedding the day before had the same shoes but in a different color.  It was also dad’s second day in a row working with Ben from Grant Hemond and he did a great job again.

Sabrina and Rustie are an awesome couple and dad had a terrific time at their wedding.  Their friends and family were a blast to hang out with, and the newlyweds were lots of fun as well!  Dad was so happy to be a part of their day.  Thanks Sabrina and Rustie!  Enjoy Mexico!

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The bridesmaids wore pretty shoes too!

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Sabrina is an absolutely stunning bride!

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The bride and groom’s table:

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Dad and daughter dance:

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Mary and Mike at the Westin Tampa Harbour Island

Mary and Mike were married on Friday at the Westin Tampa Harbour Island.  They are friends with Mandy and Jim (click here to see their wedding on the blog) whose 1 year anniversary is this Saturday!  Mandy and Jim just had a baby girl so they have many blessings to celebrate during their first year of marriage.  Happy Anniversary!

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When dad met Mary and Mike early this year, they had their adorable baby son with them.  When dad saw them on Friday, their son was now a toddler!  He looked so cute in his bow tie.  The wedding had a fun music theme, with rose petal cones made out of sheet music, tables named after musicians such as Dave Matthews, Peter Gabriel, and Nat King Cole, and admission tickets for each guest to give to ushers to be seated at the reception.  The wedding colors were black and white with green to brighten it up and it came together to decorate the reception room beautifully with white hanging paper lanterns, black linens, and green centerpieces.

Debbie of Champagne Wishes was the florist and mom thinks she did an awesome job with the bride’s bouquet.  Ben from Grant Hemond always has tons of energy and he rocked the reception.  Dad likes working with him.  A Piece of Cake made the couple’s unique and creative cake.  Mary and Mike had a fun first dance and worked with Olga of You by OG for the choreography.

Congratulations Mary and Mike!  Enjoy your Disney honeymoon!!

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It was raining that morning so the wedding was moved inside, but the couple waited and the rain eventually stopped.  They ended up with their outdoor ceremony by the water but the late start had it starting just after sunset.

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Mary changed to a fun black dress for her first dance, then changed back to her gown for the rest of the reception.

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