Jamie is the featured winner of the March 2018 Pay It Forward Session Giveaway! See more about her story below + her adorable session by Sarah Borchgrevink.
Howdy, gang, and welcome, friends! Today's blog post is super special because it showcases Jamie's act of kindness. You've probably heard the phrase, 'pay it forward'. This means you respond to a person's kindness by being kind to another person. In turn, you 'pay it forward' through your own act of kindness. For instance, I've had a wonderful business year! I've been blessed with many super sweet and awesome clients; they're always so kind to me, really making my day! Everyone has different gifts and talents; this is part of the unique characteristics within the dynamics of human nature.
In response to my kind clients, I awoke with a grateful, giving heart. There are few feelings that are as rewarding as doing something nice for another person, just because. In March 2018, I ran a completely complimentary session giveaway in which I asked readers to share an act of kindness they've accomplished. I chose two winners and they receive a free session with me complete with full resolution digital files + stunning heirloom prints of professional grade quality.
Well, I was more than shocked at how many people responded! So much brightness is in the world; it's easy to forget there are still amazing, good, and beautiful qualities within others. I love this positive aspect and truly had a tough time narrowing down the winners. In full transparency, I thought maybe 1-2 people would respond to me, but over 40 followers took the time to share experiences, or even acts of kindness bestowed upon them. How inspirational is this?
Meet Jamie
Jamie is a super sweet mom of two adorable little boys! I've actually photographed several sessions for her and can attest she is truly a gem! In fact, I recently ran into her in Home Goods, ha, and she was so sweet to ask me about my own kiddos, and take the time to catch up with me! She also sent me an invitation to her son's birthday party, so it's really nice when your clients become friends. I am thrilled to know her!
Jamie donated a year of breastmilk to the NICU
"Not every mommy can produce milk or have the time. Or maybe the baby is delivered early.
I’m very lucky to produce plenty of milk. So on July 8th (im still pumping) as a celebration, I’m donating my entire freezer chest of breast milk to babies in need (hospitals, neonatal units)
Pumping is not always easy and at times, I just want to give up. Especially at 2 am when I want to sleep but the boobs are aching to be relieved. Or when I’m flying, gotta make a way to pump... even at the zoo,gotta figure out what to do, at my job, I work in the field, so pulling over in a parking lot to pump twice a day...and an occasional flashing to the person next to me cause I didn’t realize some one was in their car eating lunch!
That’s my biggest pay it forward! Donate all my frozen liquid gold to Houston’s littlest future scientist, nurses, astronauts doctors, and future photographers!!"
Highlights from Jamie's session
Jamie's request was really simple: a cake smash session with updated images of both her precious little guys! She chose the sunrise session time, which is currently around 6:30 A.M. We used a great, rustic location in Northwest Houston in an area called Cypress.
Fun fact about this precious little one:
Broccoli is one of his favorite foods so Mom brought along a stalk of it for him to hold and snack on during our session, ha! It made me smile and just goes to show how unique each kiddo is.
A cake smash and splash is truly a super adorable way to work with a little one! I also happened to photograph big brother's cake smash and splash, so you may like looking back on those highlights, too!
See the whole session below
The inspiration behind the giveaway
You may be wondering what sparked the inspiration behind giving away a completely free session. While I am a full time business owner, it is important to be kind and find ways to treat others well. Sometimes it's easy to lose sight of what's important, such as being a good person, having compassion for the world, and also thinking of small ways, such as a simple photography session, that you can impact others through your own gifts an talents.
I really enjoyed the giveaway and am looking forward to blogging the second half of the giveaway, which was the other winner! She is visting in August for a posed newborn session for her second son, so I cannot wait to meet her!
Get Inspired by three other acts
Here are three others acts of kindness that really gave me all the feels!
"When I moved into my first apartment my now in laws gave me so much furniture to furnish my apartment as they were about to toss some and get new stuff. The only request they had was when I was done to find someone else who may need it if it’s still in good shape. They said they know almost all of their stuff in their first home was given to them by people and it helped them so much so I made sure to do what they asked and gave it away to someone who was moving into their first apartment. More recently we decided we weren’t going to have anymore children due to my medical conditions and we still had all of our baby stuff saved and stored for if we had another one. Well when we came to that decision I asked Patrick if instead of selling everything if we could give it away as a way for me to heal by doing some good since I really wanted a second. I ended up asking a girl in my neighborhood if she would like some stuff and come to find out her husband had just lost his job and their baby was 7 days old. I gave them all of the big stuff so that they wouldn’t have to worry about any of it. ❤️made my heart happy knowing it went to someone who truly needed it." - Tonya
"I am a mom of multiple miscarriages(3) and an infertility diagnosis. Many people and other women who were going through the same thing were a shoulder to cry and lean on for support. So after my miracle babies came into this world I have made it my mission to help any woman who lets me know that she had either miscarried or received an infertility diagnosis to make her feel like she is loved and is not alone by buying her flowers and something like a book that helped me and anonymously leaving it on her doorstep. It’s how I remember my three precious angels that I lost." - Alicia
"As a teacher buying supplies for kids in my room isn’t out of the ordinary. Each summer, before I even know my kids, I take my favorite trip to Target and buy composition notebooks, glue sticks, crayons...for those students who bring zero or close to no school supplies. Throughout the year it makes me happy to hand them over supplies they don’t have. Their smiles are priceless." - Jessica
As always, friends, thank you for stopping by my blog! I hope you enjoyed reading about Jamie's session!
Sarah Borchgrevink Photography is a Houston Newborn Photographer specializing in gorgeous posed newborn sessions. Her studio is located in Northwest Harris County. In addition to breathtaking baby portraiture, Sarah also offers stylish natural light family photography as well as dynamic outdoor maternity sessions for expecting mothers and couples. Sarah joyfully serves the entire Harris and Montgomery county areas including Houston, Cypress, Tomball, Spring, The Woodlands, Kingwood, Memorial & West Houston, Katy, Sugar Land, Pearland, Richmond, West University and Rice Village.