August Sessions for Izzy

As you hopefully have read here, Lantern Tree will be donating ALL Portrait Session fees in the month of August to the Mattocks Family as their daughter, Izzy undergoes 15 long months of treatment for cancer. I am determined to raise at least $1000 for them, which translates to 10 full sessions booked in August! To be honest, I am actually hoping to run out of room on the schedule, find sitters for my children so I can add more sessions, and blow that $1000 out of the water! I can't raise the money without your help, and I am so excited to donate my time and resources to give you all the gift of some fabulous pictures in return for your generosity. So let's get started!


Here are dates available for sessions (see pricing below):

Saturday, August 4th, 6:30-8:30

Sunday, August 5th, 6:30-8:30

**Friday, August 10th, 6:30-7, 7:15-7:45, 8-8:30, Location: Coxhall Gardens, Carmel

Sunday, August 12th, 6:30-8:30

Monday, August 13th 6:30-8:30

Friday, August 17th, 6:30-8:30

Saturday, August 18th, 6:30-8:30

**Wednesday, August 22nd, 6:30-7, 7:15-7:45, 8-8:30, Location: Falls Park, Pendleton

Saturday, August 25th, 6:30-8:30

**Sunday, August 26th, 6:30-7, 7:15-7:45, 8-8:30, Location: Indy Arts Center, Indianapolis

Friday, August 31st, 6:30-8:30

Two-hour sessions are $100. You choose the location anywhere in the Indy and surrounding areas (I'm happy to help with location ideas!). Your two hours include unlimited wardrobe changes & unlimited props. This session applies to families, children, engagement, and newborn sessions for up to 4 people. Each additional person is $15. You'll receive a minimum of 30 proofs to view in regular, black and white, and urban/vintage formats on a password-protected proofing and ordering site.

**Denotes Mini-session dates, cost is $50 per 1/2 hour time slot. You'll receive a minimum of 15 proofs to view in regular, black and white, and urban/vintage formats on a password-protected proofing and ordering site. Location is already determined for your session.

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To reserve your session, please email or call me (317-752-9671). Your scheduled session will be crossed off the list above after your session fee is received (you'll pay the fee DIRECTLY to Molly and Kendrick via PayPal). Because of the nature of this fundraiser, session fees cannot be refunded. However, if unforeseen events occur, you may certainly reschedule your session for another date. :)

Please spread the word about this fundraiser for Izzy!! I can't do it without your help. Follow Lantern Tree Photography on facebook (www.facebook.com/lanterntree) to receive updates on progress toward my $1000 goal! I am so excited to see God at work for the Mattocks family! Thank you for helping me make it happen!


-Shannon

Fighting for Izzy

Isn't this just the most beautiful photo ever? I adore how it shows how a father's love can make children so happy. I can't take credit for this photo, though--it was taken by a post-college roommate of mine, Molly Mattocks.  Pictured here are her husband, Kendrick, and daughter, Izzy. You may have heard of Izzy recently, especially if you're a Lantern Tree Photography facebook fan, or someone lucky enough to know the Mattocks family.  If you need caught up, Izzy is a 4 year-old, beautiful, princess-loving little girl, and little sister to Carter. She's also a cancer survivor. Diagnosed with a neuroblastoma just days before Christmas last year, Izzy quickly underwent surgery to remove the large cancerous mass. The doctors removed it all, and one month later, her scans were still clear. Two months after that, clear  again! Things were looking good. Until three months later, just six months after the neuroblastoma was removed, Molly and Kendrick were horrified to hear that the neuroblastoma had returned--this time, surrounding her kidney, doubling her kidney in size, and even more alarmingly, had spread to her bone.  It's back, and this time, it is Stage 4.  


Molly and Kendrick have pursued treatment for Izzy at Cincinnati Children's Hospital, which is approximately 2 hours from their home in the Indy area. Izzy's 15-month treatment plan is about as horrifying as the diagnosis itself.  Six rounds of 5-day doses of chemo, with 2-3 weeks in between. Next is a stem cell harvest, tumor removal, then two more rounds of chemo. Then more chemo, this time with radiation. A stem cell transplant.  More radiation, and finally Immunotherapy chemo. I am told by Molly that the survival rate, even after all of this painful, extensive treatment is 60 percent. Izzy's first round of chemo starts tomorrow. 


Needless to say, Izzy and her family are spinning. They're hurting. They are certainly not looking forward to tomorrow, or the 15 months ahead of them. I am sure they feel like they're holding on by a thread, and want nothing more than to wrap their arms around Izzy and make everything right again. But instead, they are forced to fight. They will fight for Izzy's life through the dark, painful times ahead. And this is a battle they can't fight alone. 


If you're anything like me, you're feeling pretty helpless right now! I want to swoop in and rescue them from all this pain, slay the cancer, dry Molly's tears, and help them get back to the life they knew a few weeks ago. But I can't, and neither can you. So instead, we can fight with them. Give them whatever they need to make it through this, help take care of all of the other seemingly meaningless details of life, so they can focus on Izzy. We can be shoulders to cry on, ears to listen, warriors to pray. We can unite to Fight for Izzy. 


In a few days, while Izzy is undergoing her first round of chemo, I will launch a facebook site that will serve as our way to unite us all. It is OUR page, an open forum where we can announce how we are fighting, where we can call others to action to help the Mattocks family. If you know a need, ask someone to fill it. If you've created a resource for them and need to recruit help, tell us. If you're raising financial support for the family, announce it. Spread the word. We can all help! Even if it's just sharing the page with friends and family who may want to help--you are needed. I believe that we are all united already--united with the desire to help. Let's surround Izzy, Molly, Kendrick, and Carter with our love and support, so much that they will feel wrapped in their Father's arms, and can feel the joy that only He can bring in the darkness ahead. 

(picture courtesy of Molly's facebook page) 

To start us off, Lantern Tree Photography will be donating ALL session fees from the month of August to the Mattocks family. My goal is to raise $1000, but I know we can blow right past this amount! Sign up for a photo session, and I'll tell you how to reserve your spot by paying the session fee DIRECTLY to Molly and Kendrick's account.  Details on available session dates and times will be announced shortly. Thank you for joining me in this fight with the Mattocks family. If you haven't already, please begin thinking of ways you can fill a need, raise money, or create a resource! Use the upcoming facebook page to announce what you're doing. Share this blog post, get the army together. We're all united to be the Lord's hands and feet throughout these next 15 months, so let's get started! 

-Shannon Beaver

Lantern Tree Photography

317.752.9671

www.facebook.com/lanterntree

MaternityLand: Stop Two!

Alright, here we are on the second half of our MaternityLand trip, and we'll be making this stop with another couple near and dear to my heart--none other than my brother and sister-in-law! Ryan and Stephanie are expecting their first child VERY soon--in fact, their due date is tomorrow! I am choosing to calm my excitement and impatience by blogging, rather than pacing and repeatedly calling the two of them to get a baby update like I feel the urge to every single minute of the day! Ha. But enough about how much I want my new niece to hurry up and get here (more on that later!), back to the photos! 

So not long ago, the three of us ventured out to Coxhall Gardens in Carmel for their Maternity Session. We brought along the infamous Lantern Tree Pink Vintage Chair, a fun frame, and of course, our sister, Karie! Karie's unofficial job was to occupy Ryan while Steph and I got down to some posing and shooting business--that is, until we'd beckon Ryan over for a shot or two and then send him on his way again. Stephanie and I had a great time capturing some gorgeous shots of her ridiculously cute baby belly. And then we'd hear a bunch of giddy laughter coming from Karie, which typically meant Ryan was doing something cheesy. Iphone snapshots, Instagram formatting, and Facebook posting ensued, and before I knew it, my sister was attempting to put me out of a job! Man, those iphones can be great little cameras, and my sister has quite the eye for photography to boot. I'll include some of their craziness and iphone shots for you to check out, too.

Now, I'd like to make you a deal: I'll only reveal these photos to you if you all stop reading right now, call my brother and Stephanie, and ask if the baby is coming yet. And when they tell you no, please do not let them hang up until you get some details about the baby's name! No amount of begging or pleading has worked for me so far. Maybe they'll tell you. So go ahead, and good luck!

Yeah, they wouldn't tell me either. Sigh. Thanks for trying. You can also await the arrival of my named-but-you-can't-know-it-yet niece by checking out the fun we had at our maternity shoot! And you can bet your biscuits that we'll have some newborn shots for you soon, too! AHEM. Hopefully VERY soon, little baby. Aunt Shannon's running out of distractions! ;)

Enjoy!

And now for the Instagram Photos:  

MaternityLand!

Welcome to MaternityLand!

You are about to take a trip with me to visit some very important people in my life, both of whom are lovely, glowing, adorably cute-bellied, pregnant women!  Our first visit is with a friend of mine who may as well be considered family. Everyone, say hello to Christina (Hi, Christina!), wife to Bob, mother to Zander, Micah, and most recently, to Asher! Baby Asher was considerate enough to wait for us to snap these maternity pictures before he entered into this world about a month early. Whew! Thanks for that, Asher!  ;) But seriously, Christina and I scheduled her Maternity session in the nick of time--the baby came just days afterward. And of course, I'm happy to report that Christina and Asher are both doing great! 

As for Christina's maternity pictures, I decided to present all of them to you in our newly offered "Vintage/Urban" format. It's everyone's new favorite. Well, maybe just my new favorite, but I fully expect you all to love it too! What do you think? Isn't Christina just gorgeous in all of her almost-ready-to-have-this-baby-ness? Post some comments letting her know how beautiful she looks, and tell us what you think about the new photo format option! The next stop on the MaternityLand train is just around the way, so stay tuned!  

Marky Mark, Glamour Shots, and FREE session videos!

Ahh, best friends. Remember the good ole Stovetop Stuffing days when we could hang out with our friends, relaxed and carefree, back and forth between homes (If we could convince a parent to drive us, that is!)? My last Mini-Session took me back to my own middle school and high school days of braces, I.O.U. sweatshirts, and listening to Boys II Men, Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch, & Mariah Carey! Oh yes, I was totally cool back in the day. I know you all believe me! Ha.

Now, Hannah and Caroline here are clearly not going to look back at their middle school days and shake their heads in shame like I am today. These girls were so much fun, are stunningly gorgeous, and were just so easy to photograph! Hannah and Caroline are best friends, whose (can I just say awesome) moms decided to let the two of them have a photo session together. I think my best friends and I would have just died for the chance to feel like models and have someone photograph us--who else remembers wanting to go to Glamour Shots? Just me? Anyway, Hannah and Caroline were just fabulous models, and we also were joined by Hannah's younger sister, Abby. Talk about FUN! Abby was not afraid to jump in the Falls and strike a pose for the camera, which is my idea of a good time! We had a blast in Pendleton for our Mini-Session, as I'm sure you'll see!

Be sure to scroll to the end of this post for a peek at the FREE video offer going on this month!

Click THIS LINK to view the Mini-Session video that these girls will receive free, just for booking a session in June! This is a brand new LTP item that you can purchase for $75, featuring every. single. image. from your session!  Woohoo!  But it gets even better--the special free offer has been extended through July! ANY session booked this month (Mini-Sessions included) will include your own personalized video, given to you on DVD to keep! Session spaces are limited, so book yours now!