Irene Bellis: 1919 - 2008

My blog has been a little slow for the 2 weeks and it was due in part to another death in my family. My Grandma, Irene Bellis, passed away on August 8, 2008. She was an amazing woman who took care of everyone that she ever met. In her 89 years on this Earth, she truly showed all around her how to love everyone and find good in them all. A very spunky woman, she was not shy with telling you if you have done something wrong, but it was always in the pursuit of making you a better person.

We got to enjoy some time with her in April when myself, Shan, my boys, and my parents all went to Florida for a visit. My Dad took us all to Disney World and it turned out that this would be Grandma's last trip to a place that she loved. She always loved watching the kids light up in such a magical place. Kids were always a thrill for her. It was said at her funeral that she was happiest when she had a baby in her arms.

These were taken on our trip to Disney. (You may have seen them before when I blogged about that trip.) It was great that we got to go with her one last time. We had made a trip about 2 1/2 years ago when Ian was about 2 years old, so it was nice to go with Grandma with Christian in our family now too.



These were taken the very first week we opened our commercial studio location. Grandma was one of my very first clients. She was a spry 85 year old Grandma in these pictures and she was so happy to be spending some time in my new office. She was so proud of my photography business as she herself was a photo nut!

Grandma with Ian (he was only 10 months old!)

Grandma with my Dad

Grandma with my Dad and Mom

Our whole family. (Dad, Mom, Me, Grandma, Ian and Shan)

Sadly, I believe these were the last professional portraits ever taken of my Grandma. And even more sadly is that the previous professional pictures taken of her were at least 10 years before this!

This brings me to my only soapbox for this post. If you have been putting off that family picture because you want to lose weight or it is too challenging to get everyone together to do it, let me stop you right there. Do it now! You don't know how long any of use will still be here on Earth and it was heartbreaking to me that the only professional portraits of my Grandma past the age of 75 years old were ones that she allowed me to do in my new studio as a groundbreaker.

I am just as guilty of this as any. It is horrendous to try and get my boys to sit still for a portrait, but I am going to try harder. It is even harder to get my family to agree to a family portrait, but I can assure you that I will make that happen the next time we are all in the same city. (Hopefully in a couple of weeks) As for Shan and I, we make sure that we take a family Christmas picture every year. (Always in the hopes of getting the family Christmas card out, but it doesn't always make it to the mailbox.) But at least I have it. The fat me, the skinny me, the pregnant me, the longer haired me, the shorter haired me. I have been different in every picture (and I haven't always liked the way I looked at the time), but I at least have it. My Mom jokes with me all the time that the only family pictures she has of us are in our Christmas outfits! LOL

So make that appointment. It doesn't have to be with me. It could even be at Wal-Mart, but do it! Do it now....before you regret it later. I am just thankful that at least I have a portrait of my Grandma.

I am sad that she is gone and the world got a little darker that day when her light went on to Heaven and left this Earth. But I know that she is reunited with my Grandpa and the happiest she has ever been. (A little part of me smiles thinking that she is in Heaven's nursery even now, asking God if she can hug all of the babies before they leave Heaven for their journeys to Earth.)

Until we meet again in Heaven. I love you Grandma...and miss you already.