Senior Portraits

Earlier this month I took two of our three seniors out for a little photo session (our third senior decided to wait to have his pictures done). It's amazing to me that two years after our first group of three seniors graduated... we will have three more graduating at once. I overheard one of our boys explaining to someone this week that Joe's Place is the only reason he's even in school right now. It's not been an easy year... but he will be putting on his blue cap and gown in just a few months. We are so proud of him and our other two that have worked through so much to get where they are now. There was actually another story done on Joe's Place and the documentary that is set to premiere on Saturday. You can read it here. We really are so thankful for all the people that have bought tickets and donated so much to make this place possible. 6 graduates in 4 1/2 years... now that's something to celebrate!!

Joe's Place on NBC

Our local NBC station did a story about the upcoming Joe's Place Documentary last night. Just a reminder that you can get tickets by calling 314.644.4400 or you can donate online here: http://www.joesplacestl.org/donate.html. The film will premiere Saturday night at 7pm in the MRH Theatre. Hope to see you there!!

Joe's Place: The Documentary

Next Saturday night, April 2, is an evening that we have been waiting for with much anticipation. Two years ago we were approached with the idea of having a documentary filmed in our home at Joe's Place. Over the span of the 08-09 school year there was a video camera following the life and events of our group of then seniors in their final year of high school. We were excited about the idea... but also a little (ok... a lot) nervous. Life here is not perfect. It's actually far from it. It would mean the imperfections of our life and the boys would be recorded forever. It would also mean that there would be shots of our house in all its unorganized glory on a giant screen for everyone to see. But it would also mean that three boys who have been through more heartbreak in their short lives than most people experience in a lifetime would have their last year of high school documented showing their resolve and resiliency as they overcame an incredible amount of obstacles. So... Saturday night we will be attending The Premiere of Joe's Place: The Documentary at 7pm in the MRH High School Theatre!! The filmmaker, Matt, has spent an incredible amount of time on this project. Not only did he film and go through hours and hours of video... he flew out to Hollywood to meet with David Oyelowo (best known for his role in "The Last King of Scotland") who volunteered his time to narrate the film.

This Premiere will be the main fundraiser for Joe's Place this year!! The cost for the film is $10... or $35 for the film and the wine reception following. You can purchase tickets by calling the MRH Central office at 314.644.4400. If you live out of town and cannot attend... but would still like to contribute... you can visit the Joe's Place website here. It's hard to believe we have lived here for almost 4 1/2 years with 14 different boys. We are so thankful to be a part of this unique community, school district, and program.

And... just in case you haven't had a chance to see it yet... here's the trailer....

A little break from Spring...

Earlier this week we were able to leave the house with shorts and t-shirts... this morning we woke up to more SNOW! I love winter... but I am so seriously ready for Spring! Our Spring Break was last week (it snowed then too) and Fred's Spring Break is this week. We were thankful we were in town and it worked out for him to be home for an extended period of time! Carter is the one who's really been soaking it up! Last night he even talked Fred into watching a little Dinosaur Train with him...

Ryan Kirby ~ Postcard From Vermont

Last month we had the honor of photographing and designing the album for a friend and incredible musician! We have known Ryan and his wife since we first moved to St. Louis 8 years ago... so it was really so fun to get the chance to work on this project with them. We're so excited for his CD release party next week! To learn more about the album, performances or to purchase a cd... you can check out Ryan's website and music here: www.ryankirbymusic.com.

11 Months...

I keep telling myself that I'm going to get back to blogging... but it just hasn't happened! In the last 14 weeks... we've had visitors or been out of town for 9 of those weeks. I'll take friends and family any day over sitting at my computer! :) Anyway... we have a few exciting things coming up in the next couple weeks that I'm going to post about soon... but until then... here is our sweet Claire on her 11 month birthday today!